Method and device for displaying a pointer in an instrument panel, and vehicle having a display device

Abstract

A method for displaying a pointer in an instrument panel is described. The method comprises retrieving a current instrument status of an instrument of the instrument panel that is to be displayed, determining a pointer form on the basis of the current instrument status, retrieving of the determined pointer form from a texture atlas, and rendering the pointer in the instrument panel with the retrieved pointer form. There is further described a device for displaying an instrument panel, which device comprises a display module configured to display at least one instrument panel having at least one pointer instrument, and a controller configured to carry out the method using the display module. A vehicle having such a device is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method for displaying a pointer in a digital instrument panel, the method comprising: retrieving status data representing a status to be displayed by the pointer at a future point in time; determining a pointer form on the basis of the status data and a unique identifier of the determined pointer form, the determined pointer form reflecting the status; retrieving the determined pointer form from a texture atlas via the unique identifier, wherein the texture atlas comprises a plurality of pre-computed graphics of four or more and a respective unique identifier for each graphic of the plurality of pre-computed graphics, one graphic of the plurality of pre-computed graphics being a graphic of a pointer having sharp contour lines, and within any two pointers among the plurality of pointers, one of the pointers will have an increased motion blur over the other one, wherein an increased motion blur comprises an increased range spread and a decreased display density, and each of at least two of the others of the plurality of pre-computed graphics being a graphic of a pointer having motion blur that is different relative to motion blur of a graphic of a pointer of another of the plurality of pre-computed graphics; and rendering the pointer in the instrument panel with the retrieved pointer form.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the pointer form comprises calculating a pointer position, and wherein the rendering the pointer comprises rendering the pointer with the retrieved pointer form at the calculated pointer position.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the calculating the pointer position comprises calculating a pointer position for the future point in time including a delay between the retrieving the status data and the rendering of the pointer in the digital instrument panel.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining the pointer form further comprises: determining a speed of the pointer with which the pointer is to be displayed as moving in an instrument of the instrument panel; and determining a motion blur type on the basis of the determined speed of the pointer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining the motion blur type comprises comparing the speed of the pointer with at least one threshold value, wherein the motion blur type is chosen based on whether the speed of the pointer exceeds the at least one threshold value.

6. A device for displaying an instrument panel, the device comprising: a display module configured to display at least one instrument panel having at least one pointer instrument; a controller configured to carry out the method of claim 1 using the display module.

7. The device of claim 6, further comprising: a memory configured to store the texture atlas and to provide it to the controller.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to: compute one or more pointer forms; and store the computed one or more pointer forms in the memory.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the computation of the one or more pointer forms is carried out on the basis of a user preference.

10. The device of claim 7, further comprising: an interface adapted at least to receive data representing the texture atlas and to provide the data to the controller and/or to the memory for storage of the texture atlas.

11. A vehicle having the device of claim 6.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective motion blurs of the at least two of the others of the plurality of pre-computed graphics differ from one another by at least one of a blurring side, a blurring edge, an after-glow, a fore-glow, or at least one blurring contour line of the pointer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective motion blurs of the at least two of the others of the plurality of pre-computed graphics differ from one another by at least one of a different degree of transparency, a different degree of color blend of a color of the pointer with a color of a background of the instrument, or a different degree of brightness.

Description

(1) A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be explained in greater detail with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which

(2) FIG. 1 shows, schematically, a conventional display of a pointer, wherein jitter has occurred;

(3) FIG. 2 shows, schematically, a display of a pointer with motion blur;

(4) FIG. 3 shows, schematically, a texture atlas;

(5) FIG. 4 shows, schematically, examples of motion blur types for a pointer in an instrument shown in part;

(6) FIG. 5 shows an example of a flow chart of a method for generating a texture atlas;

(7) FIG. 6 shows an example of a flow chart of a method for displaying a pointer in an instrument panel; and

(8) FIG. 7 shows, schematically, a device for displaying an instrument panel.

(9) FIG. 3 shows, schematically, at least in part, a texture atlas 120. The texture atlas 120 can contain one or more pointer forms 121-128 for one or more pointer types. In FIG. 3, eight pointer forms 121-128 are shown by way of example for one pointer type. The pointer type is a lozenge that is stretched asymmetrically in its length, wherein the first pointer form 121 has sharp contour lines of the pointer. This first pointer form 121 can be used, for example, when the pointer is stationary or is moving only slowly within the instrument. In other words, the first pointer form 121 is used when a current instrument status corresponds to a previous instrument status or differs only marginally therefrom (for example by less than 10% or less than 5%).

(10) The remaining pointer forms 122-128 have increasing motion blur. The corresponding pointer form 122-128 thus not only increasingly loses the sharp contour lines of the pointer but is also shown increasingly fainter in color. For example, the color of the pointer in the respective pointer form 122-128 can be represented increasingly more transparently. As a result, the color of the pointer is increasingly blended with a background color of the instrument 117 (FIG. 7), so that the color of the pointer becomes increasingly more similar to the background color. The pointer forms 122-128 can be used, for example, when the pointer is moving with a specific speed within the instrument 117. In an embodiment variant, a speed range between zero and a maximum displayable speed of the pointer (at which the pointer is still just discernible for an average observer) can be divided into speed ranges of equal size, wherein a pointer form 121-128 is associated with each speed range.

(11) If a pointer that is moving on the scale of the instrument 117 with a specific speed (relative to the instrument 117 which is represented stationary in the display module) is to be displayed in an instrument 117, the corresponding pointer form 121-128 from the texture atlas 120 can be used. A subsequent rendering of the pointer in the instrument 117 on a corresponding display module 110 (FIG. 7) can thus be carried out very quickly and without extensive computations.

(12) FIG. 4 shows, schematically, examples of motion blur types 131-133 for a pointer in an instrument 117 shown in part. In the case of the first motion blur type 131, a motion blur into the past is provided. In FIG. 4, the pointer is moving from left to right, or clockwise, and, at the point in time at which the representation of FIG. 4 is displayed, has considered position 135 relative to the scale of the instrument 117. The motion blur is thereby displayed in the region in FIG. 4 that is to the left of position 135. By way of example, the pointer is blurred in the region in which the pointer position is temporally before the current position 135 and depicted continuously fainter as the distance from the current position 135 increases. This motion blur type 131 can correspond, for example, to one of the pointer forms 122-128. The width of the blur, that is to say the distance between the current position 135 and the “oldest” region of the instrument 117 at which a blurred pointer is displayed, can be chosen in dependence on at least one parameter. For example, the region of the blur can be chosen to increase as the speed and/or acceleration of the pointer increases.

(13) Motion blur type 132 comprises symmetrical motion blur, that is to say into the past and into the future. The motion blur into the future is correspondingly depicted to the right of the current position 135, or clockwise, and temporally before the current position 135. Symmetrical blur starting from the current position 135 can thereby be depicted. Furthermore, a blur can also be depicted at the current position 135, as is shown in FIG. 4. As a result, the actual current position 135 is only vaguely discernible, whereby high speeds of the pointer can be reflected. Here too, the entire width of the blur or the width of the pointer (the region in which a blurred pointer is displayed) can be chosen in dependence on at least one parameter of the instrument 117.

(14) Finally, motion blur type 133 uses a blur directed into the future. For this purpose, pointer positions which, owing to the direction of movement of the pointer, are in the future (to the right of the current position 135, or clockwise, in FIG. 4) can be reflected by blurred regions of the pointer.

(15) The texture atlas 120 can of course also contain pointer forms 121-128 which correspond to those of motion blur types 132, 133. Thus, for example, the texture atlas 120 shown in FIG. 3 can comprise further pointer forms other than the pointer forms 121-128, which are applied for specific parameters of the instrument status, or some or all of the pointer forms 121-128 can be replaced by other motion blur types.

(16) It can also be seen in FIG. 4 that the pointer or pointer form 121-128 is not limited to a needle-shaped, elongate pointer. A motion blur can thus also be depicted at the outer and/or inner end of the pointer in a corresponding pointer form and/or be more pronounced than in the region of the actual pointer. For example, a motion blur can be represented at the outer end of the pointer that results in a T-shaped pointer, so that the position of the pointer (the instrument status) is made clear at the outer edge of the instrument scale. This increases the discernibility of the pointer even when the pointer is moving at high speeds within the instrument 117.

(17) FIG. 5 shows an example of a flow chart of a method for producing a texture atlas 120. In that method, one or more pointer forms 121-128 is/are first computed in a step 106. The computation comprises a drawing operation, wherein pixel values (color values, brightness, transparency, etc.) for a specific region are computed. Then, in a step 107, the at least one pointer form 121-128 is stored in the texture atlas 120. In other words, the computed pixel values are stored in a corresponding section of the texture atlas 120. Each of the sections corresponds to a pointer form 121-128 of the texture atlas. This method can be carried out independently of the subsequent use of the texture atlas 120, that is to say also independently of the hardware that renders the pointer using the texture atlas 120. For example, the texture atlas 120 can be generated on a server or other electronic device with a higher computing power than a control device for displaying instruments 117 and pointers.

(18) FIG. 6 shows an example of a flow chart of a method for displaying a pointer in an instrument panel 115 (FIG. 7). This method serves for the actual rendering of a pointer on a display module 110. For this purpose, the current instrument status is first retrieved in step 205. One or more specific parameters of the instrument 117 is/are thereby retrieved and/or computed, such as, for example, a value that is to be displayed in the instrument 117. Then, on the basis of the parameter, a pointer form 121-128 and optionally also a pointer position is determined in step 210. In a simple form, a comparison of the parameter with at least one threshold value is carried out in order to ascertain the predetermined possible region of all the parameter values in which the retrieved parameter (instrument status) is situated.

(19) When determining the pointer form 121-128 and optionally the pointer position, a speed of the pointer can be determined on the basis of one or more earlier parameter values (instrument statuses) and/or a future point in time at which the pointer will be displayed in the instrument panel 115 can be used. The pointer form 121-128 is determined, for example, on the basis of the determined speed and/or acceleration of the pointer and/or position of the pointer within the instrument 117. Thus, different speed/acceleration ranges can identify a pointer form 121-128, whereby a possible speed/acceleration range for the pointer is divided into different speed/acceleration ranges, to each of which a pointer form 121-128 is allocated.

(20) Then, in step 215, the determined pointer form 121-128 is retrieved from the texture atlas 120. A specific pointer form 121-128 of a specific pointer type can thereby be retrieved from the texture atlas via an identifier and/or coordinates. A coordinate origin U for the first pointer form 121 is shown by way of example in FIG. 3. If all the pointer forms 121-128 in the texture atlas 120 are of the same size, the respective pointer form 121-128 can be retrieved quickly and simply via the respective coordinate origin and the fixed size. The retrieval can here comprise the reading of a graphic, texture, image, etc. or simply the reading of pixel values from the texture atlas. In step 215, raw data for the display on a display module 110 are read from the texture atlas or optionally generated, for example.

(21) Finally, in step 220, rendering of the pointer with the retrieved pointer form takes place. On the basis of the determined pointer position, the graphic, texture, image, etc. extracted from the texture atlas 120 can be placed at the corresponding pixel position within the graphics memory. Optionally, a rotation, flipping, a zoom function of the graphic, texture, image, etc. extracted from the texture atlas 120 (extracted pixel values) also takes place, in order to position the retrieved pointer form 121-128 correctly corresponding to the instrument 117 and bring it to the correct size. Pixel values can thereby be transferred from the texture atlas 120 (with or without further processing of the pixel values) to a graphics memory. Pixel data which can be represented (made visible) on a display module 110 are thus from the raw data of the selected pointer form 121-128.

(22) The determination of the pointer form 121-128 can further comprise a determination of a pointer type. The pointer type can be chosen in dependence on the instrument 117 and/or in dependence on a user preference. For each pointer type, the texture atlas 120 can contain a corresponding group of pointer forms 121-128. Alternatively, each texture atlas 120 contains a specific pointer type and the different pointer forms 121-128 thereof.

(23) FIG. 7 shows, schematically, a device 10 for displaying an instrument panel 115. The device 10 can be a general control device in a vehicle (not shown). Alternatively, the device 10 can be a special graphics module for displaying instruments 117.

(24) The device 10 comprises for that purpose a memory 101, which is adapted to store at least one texture atlas 120, and also a controller 105 and a display module 110. The controller 105 is adapted to display or represent a method for displaying a pointer in an instrument panel 115 on the display module 110. The display module 110 is correspondingly adapted to display at least one instrument panel 115 having at least one pointer instrument 117. One or more pointer instruments 117 can thereby be unchangeably displayed in the display module 110, while the controller 105 controls only the display of a pointer. The controller 105 can of course also control the display of all the objects (such as, for example, the scale or the scale section of the instrument 117 from FIG. 4) that are displayed in the display module 110, including all pointer instruments 117.

(25) In an optional form, the device 10, in particular the controller 105, can edit and/or supplement the texture atlas 120. Thus, one or more pointer forms 121-128 can be computed, wherein the display data (pixel values) for the specific pointer form 121-128 are so computed that, in the simplest case, they can be transferred to a graphics memory for direct display on the display module 110. In the memory 101, the pointer forms 121-128 are stored in at least one texture atlas 120. FIG. 7 shows, by way of example and schematically, a texture atlas 120 for each of three pointer forms 121-128.

(26) Alternatively or in addition, the device 10 can comprise an interface 102 via which data representing a texture atlas 120 can be received. The interface 102 can further be adapted to provide the data for storage of a texture atlas 120 to the controller 105 and/or the memory 101.

(27) The pixel data obtained from the texture atlas 120 can be transferred, with or without further processing, to a graphics memory, wherein the graphics memory can be integrated in the controller 105 or can be in the form of a dedicated memory (not shown). The transfer of the pixel data from the graphics memory, which can be implemented, for example, in the form of a video-RAM, to the display module 110 then takes place with the frame rate of the display module 110.

(28) For updating the graphic displayed in the display module 110, the pixel data in the graphics memory can be updated at specific predetermined time intervals. Preferably, the updating of the graphics memory takes place with the same frequency/timing as the frame rate of the display module (for example 60 Hz). Alternatively, the graphics memory can also be updated with a greater or lesser frequency/timing. When retrieving the current instrument status and determining the pointer form (steps 205 and 210 in FIG. 6), the controller 105 can first also determine whether a representation of the pointer is necessary after an updating interval (1/60 s) of the display module 110. In particular in the case of small changes (low speeds) of the pointer, the movement of the pointer may not be visible due to the pixel resolution of the display module 110, so that a “new” pointer form 121-128 and pointer position 135 does not have to be determined/computed and thus the pointer form 121-128 does not have to be retrieved either. The graphics memory would not be updated in this case.

(29) The form of rendering of a pointer disclosed herein makes possible a continuous computing power for representing different pointer forms 121-128 and also different pointer types with correspondingly different pointer forms 121-128, since the computation for representing the particular pointer form 121-128 or pointer type already took place beforehand, and the corresponding result is stored in the texture atlas 120 in the memory 101. Access to the memory 101 and the corresponding conversion of the pixel data to the display module 110 are the same for every pointer form 121-128. The pointer forms 121-128 stored in the texture atlas 120 can also be used for more than one instrument 117, so that the computing power for displaying the instrument panel 115 can be significantly reduced overall.

(30) Furthermore, the use of at least one texture atlas 120 allows the different pointer forms 121-128 and pointer types to be changed easily, so that the instrument panel 115 is simple to adjust.