Vehicular electronic device and operation method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2021329116-A1
Application number	US-201916500240-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 30, 2019
Priority date	Apr 30, 2019
Publication date	Oct 21, 2021
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed is a vehicular electronic device including a processor configured to receive information on a user gaze direction, to determine whether a user looks forward based on the information, to perform control to make a call using voice only upon determining that the user looks forward, and to perform control to make a call using voice and an image upon determining that the user does not look forward.

First claim

What is claimed:

1 . A vehicular electronic device comprising:
a processor that is configured to: receive information on a user gaze direction, determine whether a user looks forward based on the information, perform control to make a call using voice only upon determining that the user looks forward, and perform control to make a call using voice and an image upon determining that the user does not look forward.

2 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform control to make the call using voice only at a conversion stand-by time to an autonomous driving mode from a manual driving mode.

3 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform control to make the call using voice and an image after conversion to an autonomous driving mode from a manual driving mode is completed.

4 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to display a front image of a vehicle with a telephone image according to received information on an autonomous driving level, and display the front image including a larger amount of information as the autonomous driving level is lowered.

5 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform control to make the call using voice only when a signal for conversion to the manual driving mode from the autonomous driving mode is generated.

6 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a communicator configured to exchange a signal with a terminal of a user,
wherein the processor is configured to perform control to make the call using voice only or the call using voice and an image based on a signal received from the terminal.

7 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 6 , wherein, upon receiving a first call signal transmitted from a terminal of a counterpart from a first terminal of a first user and receiving a second call signal transmitted from the terminal of the counterpart from a second terminal of a second user, the processor is configured to perform control to make a multilateral call including the first user and the second user.

8 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a communicator configured to exchange a signal with a terminal of the user,
wherein the processor is configured to activate a first personal device closest to a first terminal that receives to first signal through the communicator among a plurality of personal devices included in a vehicle.

9 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 7 , wherein, upon determining that a telephone number included in the first signal is stored in the second terminal, the processor is configured to further activate a second personal device closest to the second terminal.

10 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to perform image-processing on an image transmitted to a counterpart based on whether a call is in a personal mode or an open mode.

11 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to, when the call is in the personal mode, perform cropping or blurring a remaining part except for an utterer from the image transmitted to the counterpart.

12 . The vehicular electronic device of claim 11 , wherein, upon receiving a call join request signal, the processor is configured to inactivate the cropping or the blurring, and activate a camera, a speaker, and a microphone of an apparatus that generates the call join request signal.

13 . An operation method of a vehicular electronic device, the method comprising:
receiving information on a user gaze direction, by at least one processor; determining whether a user looks forward based on the information, by the at least one processor; upon determining that the user looks forward, performing control to make a call using voice only; and upon determining that the user does not look forward, performing control to make a call using voice and an image.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
performing control to make the call using voice only at a conversion stand-by time to an autonomous driving mode from a manual driving mode, by the at least one processor; and performing control to make the call using voice and an image after conversion to an autonomous driving mode from a manual driving mode is completed, by the at least one processor.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
displaying a front image of a vehicle with a telephone image according to received information on an autonomous driving level, and displaying the front image including a larger amount of information as the autonomous driving level is lowered, by the at least one processor.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the performing control to make the call using voice and an image includes activating a first personal device closest to the first terminal that receives the first signal through a communicator among a plurality of personal devices included in a vehicle, by the at least one processor.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the performing control to make the call using voice and an image includes, upon determining that a telephone number included in the first signal is stored in the second terminal, further activating a second personal device closest to the second terminal, by the at least one processor.

18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising performing image-processing on an image transmitted to a counterpart based on whether a call is in a personal mode or an open mode, by the at least one processor.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the performing image-processing includes cropping or blurring a remaining part except for an utterer from the image transmitted to the counterpart when the call is in the personal mode.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising, upon receiving a call join request signal, inactivating cropping or blurring, by the at least one processor.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Donghwa
• Noh Eunkyung
• Park Iljin

Classifications

• B60W60/0051 Primary

  from occupants to vehicle · CPC title

• B60W2050/0005

  Processor details or data handling, e.g. memory registers or chip architecture · CPC title

• B60W2540/225

  Direction of gaze · CPC title

• B60W40/08

  related to drivers or passengers · CPC title

• B60W60/001

  Planning or execution of driving tasks · CPC title