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US 5,949,345 AGranted
Displaying computer information to a driver of a vehicle
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsRichard D. Beckert, Mark M. Moeller, Li Zhou
Life of this patent
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AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsRichard D. Beckert, Mark M. Moeller, Li Zhou
Estimating the term…
A vehicle computer system includes a display device that is configurable for viewing by a driver of a vehicle while the vehicle is moving. The display device is responsive to a processor that executes application programs in conjunction with an operating system. A plurality of sensors are used to indicate the position of the display device, to indicate vehicle motion, and to indicate the state of a chosen vehicle control such as a parking brake. Application programs open display windows in conjunction with the operating system. In opening a window, an application program can indicate whether the window will contain driving-related information. The operating system monitors the sensors and prevents the display of non-driving-related windows to the driver when the vehicle is in motion or when it has the potential for motion. Specifically, the operating system in such a situation hides any windows that have not been specified as being driving-related. Initially, all windows are assumed to contain non-driver related information; hence, they are hidden until it is determined what type of information they display.
A vehicle computer system comprising:
A vehicle computer system comprising:
A computer-readable storage medium containing an application program that is to be executed by a vehicle computer system, the application program having instructions for performing steps comprising:
A computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that are executable by a computer system on a vehicle to perform steps comprising:
A method of displaying information to a driver of a vehicle, comprising the following steps:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.