JP6582017B2 - Terminal holder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal holder that is mounted on a vehicle and holds a portable information terminal that receives a user's operation.

  In recent years, portable information terminals such as smartphones or tablet PCs are rapidly spreading. The portable information terminal has a user interface such as a touch panel display for inputting and outputting information to and from the user. The user can obtain a large amount of information from these portable information terminals or perform various operations on data stored in the portable information terminal without selecting a place. A conventional portable information terminal is described in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2011-142492 A

  However, since it can always be used regardless of the location, there is an increasing problem that a driver driving a car uses a portable information terminal and develops into an accident. For this reason, there is a need to limit the use of the portable information terminal while driving.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a terminal holder that is installed in a vehicle and restricts the use of a driver's portable information terminal.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a first invention of the present application is a terminal holder that is mounted on a vehicle and holds a portable information terminal that receives a user's operation, and a connection unit that is electrically connected to the portable information terminal; wherein the portable information terminal is connected to said connection means, said control signal to disable the operation of the user the portable information terminal is accepted, and output means for outputting to said mobile information terminal, said portable information terminal is the connection A connection detecting means for detecting whether or not the mobile information terminal is connected; an acceleration detecting means for detecting an acceleration; and the connection detecting means detecting that the portable information terminal is not connected to the connecting means. And an informing unit that prompts the user to connect the portable information terminal when the acceleration detected by the detecting unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value .

2nd invention of this application is a terminal holder of 1st invention, Comprising: The said portable information terminal has a display which displays a home screen, If the operation with respect to the said home screen is received, the said home screen will be switched to an application screen The output means outputs a control signal for forcibly displaying the home screen on the display.

A third invention of the present application is the terminal holder of the first invention or the second invention, and includes a power supply means for supplying power to the portable information terminal connected to the connection means.

According to the first to third inventions of the present application, when the portable information terminal held by the terminal holder is operated by the user, the user's operation is invalidated to restrict the use of the user's portable information terminal. it can. As a result, when the user drives the vehicle, if the portable information terminal is attached to the terminal holder, the use of the portable information terminal while driving the vehicle can be restricted. As a result, an accident caused by the use of the portable information terminal can be prevented. It can be prevented in advance.

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention , when the vehicle is started without the portable information terminal being attached to the terminal holder, the user is prompted to attach the portable information terminal to the terminal holder. Can do. Thereby, the use of the portable information terminal by the user while driving the vehicle can be restricted.

It is a perspective view of the smart phone with which the terminal holder concerning one embodiment of the present invention and a terminal holder are equipped. It is a figure which shows an example of the installation place of a terminal holder. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of a terminal holder. It is a figure for demonstrating a control signal. It is a flowchart of the process which a control part performs.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Below, a smart phone is demonstrated as an example of the "information terminal device" of the present invention. However, the information terminal device is not particularly limited as long as it is a tablet PC or any other portable electronic device. The smartphone user described below is also a vehicle driver.

<1. Configuration of terminal holder>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a terminal holder 1 and a smartphone 100 attached to the terminal holder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The smartphone 100 according to the present embodiment includes a touch panel display 100A. The user operates the smartphone 100 by touching an image displayed on the display 100A.

  The terminal holder 1 is an in-vehicle cradle to which the smartphone 100 is attached and is electrically connected to the smartphone 100. The terminal holder 1 has a function of supplying power to the smartphone 100 and charging the battery of the smartphone 100. In addition, the terminal holder 1 has a function of outputting a control signal to the smartphone 100 and restricting the use of the smartphone 100. The control signal will be described later.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an installation location of the terminal holder 1. FIG. 2 is a view of the vehicle 101 as viewed from above, in which a part of the roof of the vehicle 101 is cut away, and the inside of the vehicle (driver's seat 101A and passenger seat 101B) is visible.

  The terminal holder 1 is installed in the vehicle 101. The terminal holder 1 is fixed to the dashboard 101C in the vehicle 101, for example. However, the installation location of the terminal holder 1 is not limited to this, and may be fixed to the windshield, or may be in the vicinity of the driver's seat 101A, for example, within the reach of the driver. The terminal holder 1 installed in the vehicle 101 has a connector (not shown), the connector is connected to a cigar socket, and power is supplied from the vehicle 101.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the terminal holder 1 includes a housing 2. The housing 2 includes a pedestal portion 21 and a backrest portion 22. The pedestal portion 21 is a member fixed to the dashboard 101C. The smartphone 100 is placed on the pedestal unit 21. The backrest portion 22 is a member that is provided to be inclined with respect to the pedestal portion 21 and supports the smartphone 100 placed on the pedestal portion 21. That is, the smartphone 100 is placed on the pedestal unit 21 in a state of leaning against the backrest unit 22.

  A connection plug 3 is provided on the base portion 21. The connection plug 3 is an example of the “connection means” in the present invention. The connection plug 3 is connected to a circuit board (not shown) disposed in the housing 2. The connection plug 3 is connected to a jack (not shown) that the smartphone 100 has. Thereby, the terminal holder 1 is electrically connected to the smartphone 100. The terminal holder 1 supplies power to the smartphone 100 via the connection plug 3 and outputs a control signal.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the terminal holder 1. The terminal holder 1 includes a control unit 10, a connection plug 3, a connector 4, a power conversion circuit 41, an acceleration sensor 5, and a speaker 6.

  As described above, the connector 4 is a connector connected to the cigar socket of the vehicle 101 in order to obtain electric power from the vehicle 101. The power conversion circuit 41 converts (steps up or high voltage) the power taken from the connector 4 and supplies power to the smartphone 100 via the connection plug 3. The power conversion circuit 41 is an example of the “power supply unit” in the present invention.

  The acceleration sensor 5 is acceleration detection means for detecting acceleration applied to the terminal holder 1.

  The speaker 6 is a notification unit that outputs a notification sound that prompts the user to attach the smartphone 100 to the terminal holder 1, which will be described later.

  The control unit 10 includes a microcomputer, executes a program previously written in a memory or the like, and drives and controls each unit to be connected. The control unit 10 functions as an “output unit”, “connection detection unit”, and “notification unit” of the present invention.

<2. About control signals>
Below, the control signal output to the smart phone 100 from the terminal holder 1 is demonstrated. When the smartphone 100 is connected to the connection plug 3, the terminal holder 1 outputs a control signal to the smartphone 100. The control signal is a signal that invalidates a user operation received by the smartphone 100. In the present embodiment, the control signal is a signal forcibly switching the display on the display 100A of the smartphone 100 to the home screen.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the control signal. In FIG. 4, the transition of the screen displayed on the display 100A of the smart phone 100 is shown.

  The home screen is displayed on the display 100A of the smartphone 100 in the operation reception waiting state (FIG. 4A). A plurality of icon images associated with the application are displayed on the home screen. For example, when the user touches the “Mail” icon image on the home screen, the smartphone 100 switches to the application screen for mail (FIG. 4B). When receiving the control signal from the terminal holder 1, the smartphone 100 switches the display on the display 100A from the application screen to the home screen (FIG. 4C). That is, even if the user operates from the home screen and the application screen is displayed, the user cannot operate the smartphone 100 because the user immediately returns to the home screen.

<3. Operation of control unit 10>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed by the control unit 10. The process shown in FIG. 5 is started, for example, at a timing when power is supplied from the vehicle 101 to the terminal holder 1.

  The control unit 10 determines whether or not the smartphone 100 is connected to the connection plug 3 (step S1). When the smartphone 100 is connected to the connection plug 3 (step S1: YES), the control unit 10 outputs a control signal to the smartphone 100 (step S2). Accordingly, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the user cannot operate the smartphone 100.

  When the control unit 10 outputs the control signal in step S2, the control unit 10 executes the process of step S1 again. That is, the control unit 10 outputs a control signal to the smartphone 100 as long as the smartphone 100 continues to be connected to the connection plug 3.

  When the smartphone 100 is not connected to the connection plug 3 (step 1: NO), the control unit 10 acquires the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 5 (step S3). The control unit 10 determines whether or not the acquired acceleration is greater than or equal to a threshold value (step S4). The control unit 10 determines whether the stopped vehicle 101 has started based on whether the acceleration is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

  If it is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S4: YES), the control unit 10 determines that the stopped vehicle 101 has started while the smartphone 100 is not attached to the terminal holder 1, and outputs a notification sound from the speaker 6. (Step S5). This prompts the user to wear the smartphone 100 in the terminal holder 1. When the acceleration is not equal to or greater than the threshold (step S4: NO), the control unit 10 determines that the vehicle 101 is stopped and returns to the process of step S1.

  Note that when the smartphone 100 is connected to the connection plug 3, the terminal holder 1 supplies power to the smartphone 100 and charges the battery of the smartphone 100. When the smartphone 100 is attached to the terminal holder 1, the smartphone 100 forcibly displays the home screen by the control signal, and thus consumes a battery. However, the battery of the smartphone 100 can be prevented from running out by charging the battery during connection.

  As described above, the terminal holder 1 can restrict the user's use of the smartphone 100 by invalidating the user's operation on the attached smartphone 100. Thereby, use of the smart phone 100 during the driving | operation of the vehicle 101 can be restrict | limited, As a result, the accident by use of the smart phone 100 can be prevented beforehand.

  Further, by prompting the user to attach the smartphone 100 to the terminal holder 1, the use of the smartphone 100 while the vehicle 101 is being driven by the user can be restricted.

<4. Modification>
As mentioned above, although main embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said embodiment. For example, the shape of the terminal holder 1 is not limited to the shape shown in FIG.

  In the above embodiment, the terminal holder 1 is connected to the smartphone 100 via the connection plug 3. However, the terminal holder 1 is connected to the smartphone 100 wirelessly and outputs a wireless signal to the smartphone 100. Good. The terminal holder 1 may have a function of charging the smartphone 100 wirelessly.

  Further, the terminal holder 1 may be able to use the functions of the vehicle 101. For example, although the terminal holder 1 has the speaker 6, it may be emitted from the speaker of the vehicle 101 when making a notification sound. Further, the terminal holder 1 may be able to acquire acceleration from an acceleration sensor that the vehicle 101 has.

  In the above embodiment, the terminal holder 1 determines the start of the vehicle 101 from the acceleration and prompts the user to wear the smartphone 100, but is not limited thereto. For example, a user may be prompted to wear a vibration sensor when vibration is detected for a certain period of time when the smartphone 100 is not worn. Furthermore, when prompting the user to wear, light may be used visually.

  Further, a removable proximity sensor may be attached to the bumper of the vehicle 101, and the terminal holder 1 may be connected to the proximity sensor so as to be capable of wireless communication. In this case, when the proximity sensor detects a failure, a collision sound of the vehicle 101 can be avoided by emitting a warning sound from the speaker 6 of the terminal holder 1.

  Further, the control unit 10 may output the control signal continuously or at predetermined time intervals. Or the control part 10 may output a control signal in response to operation of the smart phone 100 by a user.

  The control signal is a signal forcibly switching to the home screen, but may be other than this. For example, the same signal as when the power button of the smartphone 100 is pressed may be used. When the control signal is a signal for switching to the home screen, the operation of the application is limited, but viewing of information such as the time display included in the home screen is not limited.

  In addition, you may combine suitably each element which appeared in said embodiment and modification in the range which does not produce contradiction.

1: Terminal holder 2: Housing 3: Connection plug 4: Connector 5: Acceleration sensor 6: Speaker 10: Control unit 21: Pedestal unit 22: Backrest part 41: Power conversion circuit 100: Smartphone 100A: Display 101: Vehicle 101A: Driver's seat 101B: Passenger seat 101C: Dashboard

Claims (3)

A terminal holder that is mounted on a vehicle and holds a portable information terminal that receives a user operation,
Connecting means for electrically connecting to the portable information terminal;
When the portable information terminal is connected to the connection means, an output means for outputting to the portable information terminal a control signal for invalidating a user operation accepted by the portable information terminal;
Connection detection means for detecting whether or not the portable information terminal is connected to the connection means;
Acceleration detecting means for detecting acceleration;
When the connection detection unit detects that the portable information terminal is not connected to the connection unit and the acceleration detected by the acceleration detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the user is prompted to connect the portable information terminal. Notification means;
A terminal holder. The terminal holder according to claim 1,
The portable information terminal has a display for displaying a home screen, and upon receiving an operation on the home screen, the home screen is switched to an application screen,
The output means outputs a control signal for forcibly displaying the home screen on the display;
Terminal holder. The terminal holder according to claim 1 or 2,
A terminal holder, comprising: power supply means for supplying power to the portable information terminal connected to the connection means.

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