Clustered instrument panel in a transportation apparatus

Abstract

A clustered instrument panel on a display of a dashboard in a transportation apparatus is disclosed. The clustered instrument panel may be used to combine multiple individual instrument panels, such as the odometer, tachometer, temperature meter, battery meter, navigation screen and any other instrument panels that are traditionally presented separate and independent from other instrument panels. The individual instrument panels may be layered on top of each other to form the clustered instrument panel, with gradual increase in size from the first instrument panel to the nth instrument panel. Information associated with a given instrument panel in the clustered instrument panel may be presented in the gap area between the given instrument panel and the neighbor instrument panel in the clustered instrument panel. In one embodiment, the clustered instrument panel is a triple-circle meter.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system configured to enable user to configure a clustered information panel in a transportation apparatus, the system comprising a processor configured to perform:
 receiving a first user input indicating a selection of a first information panel for inclusion in the clustered information panel;   receiving a second user input indicating a selection of a second information panel for inclusion in the clustered information panel; and   determining an arrangement of the first and second information panels for displaying the first and second information panels within the clustered information panel such that the first instrument panel occupies an innermost area of the clustered instrument panel and the second instrument panel occupies the remaining surface of the clustered instrument panel, in response to receiving the first and second user inputs.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
 receiving a third user input indicating a selection of a third information panel for inclusion in the clustered information panel; and   determining an arrangement of the third information panel for displaying the third information panel within the clustered information panel such that the third information panel occupies an area between the first and second information panels within the instrument panel.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
 receiving a user input indicating removing the second information panel from the clustered information panel; and   in response to receiving the user input indicating removing the second information panel from the clustered information panel, effectuating removal of the second information panel from the clustered information panel.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second information panels are arranged to be centered on a same center point. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the first and second information panels are in concentric rings. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to perform:
 receiving a user input indicating swapping the second information panel and the first information panel within the clustered information panel; and   in response to receiving a user input indicating swapping the second information panel and the first information panel within the clustered information panel, effectuate the swapping within the clustered information panel such that the second information panel occupies the inner most area of the clustered information panel and the first information panel occupies the remaining surface of the clustered instrument panel.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first information panel includes a panel presenting gauge information related to the transportation apparatus, navigational or GPS information related to navigation of the transportation apparatus, and/or configuration information related to configuration of the transportation apparatus. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first information panel is a speedometer and the second information panel is a tachometer. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the third information panel is a battery meter. 
     
     
         10 . A method for enabling user to configure a clustered information panel in a transportation apparatus, the method being implemented by a processor, the method comprising:
 receiving a first user input indicating a selection of a first information panel for inclusion in the clustered information panel;   receiving a second user input indicating a selection of a second information panel for inclusion in the clustered information panel; and   determining an arrangement of the first and second information panels for displaying the first and second information panels within the clustered information panel such that the first instrument panel occupies an innermost area of the clustered instrument panel and the second instrument panel occupies the remaining surface of the clustered instrument panel, in response to receiving the first and second user inputs.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a third user input indicating a selection of a third information panel for inclusion in the clustered information panel; and   determining an arrangement of the third information panel for displaying the third information panel within the clustered information panel such that the third information panel occupies an area between the first and second information panels within the instrument panel.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a user input indicating removing the second information panel from the clustered information panel; and   in response to receiving the user input indicating removing the second information panel from the clustered information panel, effectuating removal of the second information panel from the clustered information panel.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first and second information panels are arranged to be centered on a same center point. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the first and second information panels are in concentric rings. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving a user input indicating swapping the second information panel and the first information panel within the clustered information panel; and   in response to receiving a user input indicating swapping the second information panel and the first information panel within the clustered information panel, effectuate the swapping within the clustered information panel such that the second information panel occupies the inner most area of the clustered information panel and the first information panel occupies the remaining surface of the clustered instrument panel.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first information panel includes a panel presenting gauge information related to the transportation apparatus, navigational or GPS information related to navigation of the transportation apparatus, and/or configuration information related to configuration of the transportation apparatus. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first information panel is a speedometer and the second information panel is a tachometer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the third information panel is a battery meter.