WO2014127792A1

WO2014127792A1 - Motor vehicle infotainment system with automatic input completion during search term input

Info

Publication number: WO2014127792A1
Application number: PCT/EP2013/003543
Authority: WO
Inventors: Toralf Schumann
Original assignee: Audi Ag
Priority date: 2013-02-22
Filing date: 2013-11-23
Publication date: 2014-08-28
Also published as: DE102013003041A1; DE102013003041B4

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating an infotainment system (10) of a motor vehicle in order to search in a database (12) in which at least one database entry (30) with a distinct object identifier (32) and corresponding metadata (38) is stored. A partial input (20) of a search term input is received by an input unit (14) from a user and an input completion unit (22) searches through a search history (24) for a matching search term (26). The input unit (14) then completes the partial input (20) on the basis of the search term (26) found to provide an input suggestion (28) and then a matching database entry (30) in the database (12) is determined (S14). The invention addresses the problem of providing in the infotainment system, for automatic input completion, a list of search terms that are useful for the input completion. To this end, after the search the metadata (38) from the determined database entry (30) is stored in the search history (24).

Description

Car infotainment system with automatic entry completion when entering search terms

DESCRIPTION:

The invention relates to a method for operating an infotainment system of a motor vehicle in order to assist a user in entering a search term for a search in a database. For this purpose, the method realizes an automatic input supplement when entering the search term. The invention also includes a motor vehicle with an infotainment system operated according to the method.

When searching for navigation destinations in a navigation database of a navigation system of a motor vehicle, it can be provided that, based on a combination of letters already entered by the user, a list of navigation destinations is proposed which the user has previously selected in a previous search. A memory device for navigation destinations that have already been selected during a search is referred to here as a search history. The user can then select a list entry from the list to abbreviate the search term input directly. This search term can then, if appropriate after input of further characters, be based on a search in the navigation database. The list described contains only those entries that are already known to the user.

From DE 10 2006 057 921 A1 a possibility is known to determine a more extensive list with supplementary suggestions. Thereafter, after each entry of a character or a group of characters, a search is already carried out in a database on the basis of the part input already input by the user, and after each entry the found destinations are displayed. A search engine provided for this search can perform a free text search or full text search in the database based on a full text index. The search can be based on navigation targets. be limited, which are in a predetermined radius to the current position of the navigation device. Finally, the search unit in the free text search can also identify similar sounding but differently written terms and record the set of possible goals. A disadvantage of a direct search for each input step is that the search initially, if the part input already entered by the user is very short, can lead to many unusable search results. In addition, a particularly powerful arithmetic unit is needed for the complex search. From EP 2 354 984 A1 it is known that a full-text search can be made less expensive if not a single full-text index, but several index tables are used, which are linked via a parent table. It is further known from the document that a single database entry of a database can contain, in addition to the actual, unique object designations for navigation destinations, also category data which indicate, for example, that a specific navigation destination is a restaurant.

The invention has for its object to provide in an infotainment system of a motor vehicle for an automatic input supplement in a search term input a list of search terms that are useful for the input supplement.

The object is achieved by a method according to claim 1 and a motor vehicle according to claim 9. Advantageous developments of the invention are given by the dependent claims.

The method according to the invention can be used for searching in a database in which at least one database entry with a unique object name and associated metadata is stored. Metadata in the context of the invention is generally understood to mean an indication that is not unique to a specific database entry but can occur in multiple database entries. In particular, the metadata is category data which indicates which category a particular database entry is associated with, ie, for example, whether it is a restaurant or a gas station. The inventive method starts in the known approach to receive in a motor vehicle by an input unit of an infotainment system by a user a search term input. For example, can So the user type in the search term with a keyboard or a touchscreen or touchpad.

If the user has entered a part, ie not yet completely inputting the search term, then an input supplement unit of the infotainment system searches out a search term that matches the part input as a function of the part input in a search history. A search history in connection with the invention is a search term memory in which possible search terms for the automatic entry supplement are stored. In a search history, search terms entered by the user in connection with previous searches in the database are usually already entered. A "matching" search term is one that has a proportion that matches the part input, In the method, the retrieved matching search term is transmitted back to the input unit, whereupon the part input that the user has already entered based on For example, if a user is looking for a Chinese restaurant called "Lotusblume", the user may already have entered the letters "Lotu" as a part input, for example, the search history may be from an earlier search already contain the search term "lotus flower". The search term "lotus flower", which is therefore retrieved from the search history, can now be used to supplement the part input "Lotu" with the input suggestion "lotus flower." The user can now initiate the search in a navigation database without further character input, for example the address to learn the restaurant or set the restaurant as a navigation destination, or continue the search to specify the search.

By means of a search unit, at least one matching database entry is then searched for in the database for the supplemented search term input, ie for the search term "lotus flower." As a rule, this results in at least one matching database entry If only one single matching database entry is found, then the selection can be dispensed with. In principle, the method therefore makes at least one entry into the supplemented search term entry matching database entry is determined by either using the single matching database entry or by selecting multiple matching database entries and then receiving a selection from the user. If there is a selected search result for this current search, the search history must also be updated. In order to update the search history, it is provided in the method in a known manner to store the search term input itself based on the search and / or the object name from the ascertained database entry, eg "lotus flower" In the case of the example "lotus flower" but nothing is saved, since this search term already existed in the search history.

In order to achieve a further meaningful automatic input supplementation, it is provided in the method according to the invention to additionally store the metadata from the ascertained database entry in the search history after the search. In other words, the search history also stores information about a previously selected database entry that the user has never entered himself. In the above example, in the search history, for example, the term "Chinese restaurant" can now also be stored in the search history from the metadata in addition to the already entered term "lotus flower". This has the particular advantage that in a subsequent search, for example, if the user is in another city and realizes that the Lotus Flower restaurant is too far away, he is looking for a similar restaurant, now for example Simply enter the part input "Chin" and get the entry suggestion "Chinese Restaurant" as an automatic input supplement This is possible with the method according to the invention, although he has never previously entered or selected the search term "Chinese Restaurant" himself. Tests have shown that the additional storage of metadata to previously selected search results leads to a drastic reduction of the input effort.

The method according to the invention can be used very flexibly. One embodiment provides that the database comprises a navigation database in which a database entry is used in each case as a location name. a location, ie in particular a place name, a street name, a name of a specific navigation destination (point of interest). The data describing the location are then stored as metadata in each database entry, such as a category designation (restaurant, airport, fashion shop), a brand name (brand) of an operator (eg McDonalds®) or, for example, a style, such as what type of food offers a specific restaurant (eg vegetarian or chinese). The method is also suitable in connection with a media database for example for MP3 files or video files. This embodiment of the method then provides that such a media database comprises database entries which each include a title as an object name (ie music title or film title) and as metadata information describing the work of art titled by the title. Such metadata can thus specify, for example, a genre of music or film genre or an artist or director.

The method can also be used in conjunction with a database which comprises an address database in which a name (ie a name of a person or an institution) is used as database entries as object name, and then information that is the respective named person as metadata or institution are stored.

A particular preferred embodiment of the method provides that in the search history the suitable search term is selected in dependence on a current geoposition of the motor vehicle and / or on a predefined target region and / or a predetermined prioritization. The assumption of the current geoposition, as can be determined, for example, by a GPS receiver (GPS Global Positioning System), has the advantage that the user also when entering the generally held metadata, such as the restaurant category "Chinese Restaurant Restaurant or the name of a chain operator (McDonalds®), but still receives meaningful search results for their current whereabouts.The same applies to the assumption of a predefined target region, for example a navigation destination City names get displayed by big cities and only if the input suggestion is rejected as a further input suggestion a city name of a smaller city from the search history is proposed. Such prioritization can make it possible for the first or second input suggestion to be usable by the user.

Another preferred embodiment of the method provides that in the search history of the appropriate search term depending on an operating mode of the infotainment system, ie context-dependent, is searched out. Thus, for example, whenever the user is currently making an entry for a navigation, only those search terms that also have to do with navigation destinations can be taken into account in the search history. If, on the other hand, a search input is made for, for example, a telephone conversation, the search in the search history can also be limited to addresses and related metadata. It is important to distinguish here that in the prior art the search in a search history is not context-dependent, but only the search in the database itself.

Another advantage arises when a search term is selected in the search history, which has a share that only phonetically matches the part input. The user does not have to write the term exactly as it is stored in the search history in order to get an input suggestion. This is particularly advantageous in the method, since search terms are taken over from the metadata into the search history, which the user has never previously written himself.

According to the invention, as the input suggestion either a single search term or even a list of several matching search terms can be formed.

As already stated, the invention also includes a motor vehicle with an infotainment system. In the motor vehicle according to the invention, the infotainment system is designed to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

In the following, the invention is explained again in more detail with reference to a concrete embodiment. For this purpose, the single figure shows a block diagram of an infotainment system, which performs an embodiment of the method according to the invention. In the figure (FIG.), An infotainment system 10 and a database 12 are shown. The infotainment system 10 may be installed in a motor vehicle, such as a passenger car. The infotainment system 10 may provide functionalities such as navigation assistance and Internet access. The database 12 may also be part of the motor vehicle. It can also be provided in whole or in part by means of a vehicle-external device, for example a server on the Internet. The database 12 may be, for example, a navigation database, an address database or a media database or even a combination thereof.

For further explanation, it is assumed that a user (not shown) in the motor vehicle wants to specify a navigation destination in the infotainment system. For this purpose, the user activates a navigation mode of the infotainment system 10. An input unit 14 of the infotainment system 10 then enables the user to specify a search input used for a search of data to the navigation destination in the database 12. The input unit 14 may comprise in known manner an input device 16, for example a touchpad, buttons on a touch screen or a rotary-push-button.

Furthermore, an input field 18 can be provided by the input unit 14, in which the user receives the already entered characters. The input unit 14 can be provided both by hardware components and by program modules of the infotainment system.

By means of the operating device 16, the user has already entered a part input 20 in the example, for example, the beginning of a place name to which he would like to drive. In the figure, the letter sequence "AB" is symbolically indicated here as the part input 20. The infotainment system 10 also includes an input supplementation unit 22. This may also be a program module or a hardware component of the infotainment system 10. The input supplementation unit 22 facilitates the On the basis of the part input 20, the input supplementation unit 22 determines which place name the user is highly likely to enter. I would like to. This place name is then presented to the user as an input suggestion.

For this purpose, in a method step S10, the part input 20 is transmitted from the input unit 14 to the input supplement unit 22. The input supplementation unit 22 searches a search term 24 for a possible search term that the user might mean. The search history 24 may include a memory in which the search terms from previous searches may be stored. In the present example, the input supplement unit 22 finds a matching search term 26 ("ABCDEF") in the search history 24 and transmits it from the search history 24 to the input unit 14 in a step S12. The input unit 14 supplements the part input 20 on the display unit 18 to the input unit and thus forms an input suggestion 28 for the user's search input The user may now accept this input suggestion 28 if the place name matches, and instead of a single input suggestion 28, a list of multiple input suggestions may also be displayed 28, a search for a database entry is carried out in a known manner on the basis of the search term input by the input unit 14 in a step S14.

For the example, assume that there is a database entry 30 in the database 12 in which an address 32 ("XYZ") is also stored for the place name ("ABCDEF"). The database entry 30 further contains category data 34 (M1, M2). For example, the category data 34 may indicate a category M1 in which the place name is arranged. For example, it can be a swimming pool or a sports hall, an airport or a restaurant. Similarly, for example, a category M2 may be stored as a location operated by a particular company with a particular company name. The address 34 and the category data 36 may represent metadata 38 of the database entry 30 to the location name 32 in the sense of the invention.

The found database entry 30 is transmitted to the input unit 14 in a step S16 for displaying a search result, where it can then be displayed, for example, on the display unit 18, so that the User can acknowledge that it is the desired navigation destination.

If the user acknowledges that this is the desired navigation destination, the metadata 38 is transmitted in a step S18 to the input supplementation unit 22, which then stores the metadata in the search history 24 in a step S20.

If the user now enters, for example, the initial letters of the address 34 or, for example, initial letters of the categories M1 or M2 in a subsequent search via the operating device 16, a suitable search term is also found for this partial input in the search history 24, which is then used is used to make an input suggestion. This is possible although the user has never previously entered the address 32 or the category data 36.

Thus, in the search history, user-adapted suggestions are gradually collected. In summary, the idea according to the invention consists in the fact that metadata which are available for this search result are also stored in a search history for once selected (ie not searched, but already found and acknowledged by the user) search results. The search history can be configured globally, that is to say for a search for each operating mode of the infotainment system, or also context-related, that is to say separately for, for example, telephony, navigation and media playback. If parts of the metadata are then typed in for the following search entries, the metadata is also proposed for the following search entries if the already entered letter combination matches entries in the metadata.

The search results as stored in the search history are in particular destinations of a navigation system, ie place names, street names, names of point-of-interests, brand names of operators of different locations, for example restaurants, and types of locations (restaurants, airports and the like) and styles (eg food-type).

The display of the hits from the search history is preferably dependent on a current geo-position, a predefined region (EU, NAR). North America) or an indication in which context is searched (navigation, phonebook, etc.) or a prioritization criterion, for example, which city is the largest. In the hit list, it is preferred to mark in color which part of the matching search term from the search history matches the part input.

A particularly preferred search in the search history takes place at the phoneme level in order to take account of different writing variants.

Alternatively or in addition to navigation data, the search results from the search history are music data with artist, genre, song, station list (sender) or telephone lists (call stacks, address books, favorites).

The overall context-sensitive list of input suggestions thus obtained adapts more and more to a user the more often the user uses the system.

Claims

CLAIMS:

A method for operating an infotainment system (10) of a motor vehicle for a search in a database (12), in which at least one database entry (30) with a unique object name (32) and associated metadata (38) is stored,

a) a part input (20) of a search input is received by an input unit (14) from a user,

b) by an input supplementation unit (22) as a function of the part input (20) in a search history (24) in which possible search terms (26) for an automatic input supplement (28) are stored, a search term matching the part input (20) ( 26) is extracted and transmitted to the input unit (14) (S12),

c) by means of the input unit (14) the partial input (20) is supplemented on the basis of the retrieved search term (26) to form an input suggestion (28) and then at least one database entry (30) matching the supplemented search input is determined (S14), wherein at least one search in the database (12) additionally stores in the search history (24) the respective search item input on which the search is based and / or the object name (32) from the ascertained database entry (30),

characterized in that

in addition, after the at least one search, the metadata (38) from the ascertained database entry (30) is also stored in the search history (S18) (S18).

The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a navigation database in which at least one name (32) of a location as an object name (32) and the location descriptive metadata (38) are stored as database entries.

The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the database (12) comprises a media database in which are stored as database entries in each case a title as an object name and the titled by a titled piece of art descriptive metadata.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the database (12) comprises an address database in which as database entries are each a name as an object name and a descriptive by the name person or institution descriptive metadata are stored. 5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in the search history (24) of the appropriate search term (26) is selected in dependence on a current geoposition of the motor vehicle and / or of a predetermined target region and / or a predetermined prioritization.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in the search history (24) the matching search term (26) depending on an operating mode of the infotainment system (12) is selected context-dependent.

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein in the search history (24) a search term (26) is searched out, which has a proportion that coincides with the part input (20) phonetically. 8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein from a plurality of matching search terms of the search history (24) a list is generated with a plurality of input suggestions.

9. Motor vehicle with an infotainment system (12), which is designed to perform a method according to any one of the preceding claims.