초록 ▼

A personal onboard information system for use in a vehicle. The system includes a portable, personal computer including a touch-responsive screen and a cradle mounted on the vehicle for detachably receiving the computer. The computer is programmed to generate characters of preset size on a display o

A personal onboard information system for use in a vehicle. The system includes a portable, personal computer including a touch-responsive screen and a cradle mounted on the vehicle for detachably receiving the computer. The computer is programmed to generate characters of preset size on a display on the screen. The cradle has a lamp for illuminating the computer screen and a power supply for supplying the computer with power when the computer is in the cradle. The system further includes an interface communicating with the computer for formatting the display for use of the computer in the vehicle when the computer is in the cradle. The interface is resident in the computer or in the cradle and causes the display to display characters relatively larger than the characters of preset size so that the characters can be easily viewed by a passenger thereby facilitating use of the computer in the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [20.] A method for configuring a portable, personal computer for use in a vehicle passenger compartment, said computer being relatively small so as to be capable of being hand-held and including a touch-responsive screen having a display, said computer being programmed to gene

[ What is claimed is:] [20.] A method for configuring a portable, personal computer for use in a vehicle passenger compartment, said computer being relatively small so as to be capable of being hand-held and including a touch-responsive screen having a display, said computer being programmed to generate characters on the display, said display being an on-screen menu of options available to the user of the computer, said on-screen menu being responsive to the user touching the screen for selecting from the available options, said method comprising the steps of:detachably receiving the computer in a cradle mounted in the vehicle passenger compartment, said cradle adapted to support the computer such that the display can be viewed by the user in the passenger compartment when the computer is in the cradle;formatting the display for use of the computer by the user in the vehicle passenger compartment when the computer is in the cradle by causing the display to display characters when the computer is in the cradle that are relatively larger than the characters displayed when the computer is not in the cradle so that the characters can be easily viewed by the user when the computer is in the cradle and so that the on-screen menu is responsive to the user touching the screen with a finger for selecting from the available options;generating an on-screen menu on the display to display options available to the user, said on-screen menu being responsive to the user touching the screen for selecting from the available options;storing in a memory a plurality of prior selections by the user of the available on-screen menu options; anddisplaying a preferred one of the available options at a dedicated portion of the display and other available on-screen menu options at a variable portion of the display when the computer is in the cradle, said preferred one of the available options being the most frequently selected option based on the plurality of prior selections stored in the memory whereby use of the computer in the vehicle passenger compartment is facilitated when the computer is in the cradle.