JP2003111199A - Onboard audio apparatus and audio reproducing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an onboard audio apparatus and an audio reproducing method whereby a desired piece of music can be promptly selected with ease. SOLUTION: Two ore more pieces of music serving as reproduction candidates are reproduced by speakers SP1 to SP4 on different acoustic image positions. A control section repeats the following cycle: parts of the pieces of music are captured into a storage section from a provider, a music reproducing section is caused to simultaneously reproduce the captured pieces of music, and the subsequent part is captured during the reproduction. The control section accepts selection of a desired piece of music via a button, and the music reproducing section also reproduces the selected piece of music.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle audio device that reproduces a song provided from a source such as D or MD with a plurality of speakers and an improvement of an audio reproducing method. In particular, it enables quick and easy selection of a song desired to be heard. It is a thing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of electronics and motorization, it has become common to enjoy music by reproducing audio from a source such as a CD or MD using an on-vehicle audio device even in an automobile. As a conventional technique for selecting a song such as a CD or MD, a button for moving to the next song or the previous song is arranged on the front of the car audio or the remote controller, and the operator selects the song by pressing the button. What is known is.

In this prior art, the operator presses a button to move to another song, judges whether it is the desired song, and if it is different, presses the button again. It is necessary until you reach the desired sound source <
It was essential to repeat the operation-judgment> behavior.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned prior art is time-consuming, requires a large number of operations, and is complicated.
The repetition of monotonous operations is tedious, and there has been a potential long-awaited improvement for a more comfortable music experience.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its object is to provide a vehicle-mounted audio device and an audio reproducing device capable of quickly and easily selecting a song desired to be heard. Is to provide a method.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an in-vehicle audio device which reproduces a music piece provided from a source by a plurality of speakers,
Reproducing means for reproducing a plurality of music pieces as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions by using the plurality of speakers, means for selecting a desired music piece based on the sound image position, and reproducing the selected music piece. And means for doing so.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the invention of the first aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In an audio reproducing method for reproducing a music piece provided from a source with a plurality of speakers, the plurality of speakers are used. A process of reproducing a plurality of songs as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions, a process of selecting a desired song based on the sound image positions, and a process of reproducing the selected song. Is characterized by.

[0008] In these modes, instead of confirming a plurality of songs which are options of reproduction candidates one by one, they are heard from different directions by the stereo reproduction principle using a plurality of speakers in the vehicle. To play simultaneously at different sound source positions. Since the operator hears this and selects it with a switch or the like corresponding to the sound image position, there is no need to repeat <operation-judgment>, selection of a song can be significantly quick and easy, and driving safety can be further improved.

Further, if the simultaneous and parallel reproduction is continued as it is, the zapping of a plurality of songs can be facilitated and an effect as entertainment can be obtained. Further, by using a plurality of speakers for a plurality of songs instead of a single speaker, and by making the listening directions different from each other, the resolution for the operator to listen to and understand a plurality of songs simultaneously is improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the on-vehicle audio device according to the first aspect, the reproducing means sequentially reproduces a plurality of music pieces as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions by using the plurality of speakers. It is characterized by doing.

In this mode, each song is little by little, for example, 1
By changing the sound image position for each song while sequentially playing back for 0 seconds, it is possible to eliminate the difficulty of listening to the song.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the on-vehicle audio apparatus according to the first aspect, the reproducing means collectively captures a part of a plurality of songs from a source into a memory, and simultaneously captures the retrieved songs. It is characterized in that the cycle of retrieving the next portion during the reproduction is repeated.

In this mode, since the next fixed length is read in batch during the reproduction of the previous portion, the head seek is compared with the case where the sectors and tracks in which individual music pieces are recorded are sequentially read following the reproduction. And the waiting time for rotation is short, and the operation becomes smooth.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the on-vehicle audio device according to any one of the first to third aspects, each of the songs as a stereo sound source is converted into a monaural signal, and the converted songs are subjected to the above-mentioned steps. It is characterized in that the reproduction volume from each speaker is weighted.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, the invention of the fourth aspect is grasped from the viewpoint of a method. In the audio reproducing method according to the fifth aspect, each of the songs as a stereo sound source is converted into a monaural signal and converted. The reproduction volume from each speaker is weighted for each subsequent music piece.

In these modes, in many cases, a song that is a stereo sound source is once converted into a monaural signal and then weighted for controlling the sound image position. Therefore, compared with the case where a plurality of stereo sound sources are reproduced, individual songs are reproduced. Can be easily understood.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. Although each embodiment can be realized by controlling a computer with software, the hardware and software in this case can be implemented in various ways. Therefore, in the following description, each embodiment of the present invention and this embodiment will be described. A virtual circuit block that realizes a function is used.

[1. Configuration] The present embodiment relates to an on-vehicle audio device (hereinafter referred to as “this device”) and an audio reproducing method for reproducing a song provided from a providing source by a plurality of speakers. It can also be understood as a program to be realized and a recording medium recording the program.

First, the present apparatus is provided with four speakers SP1 to SP4 installed in the vehicle interior space as shown in FIG.
And the overall system configuration shown in FIG. That is, the present apparatus includes a display 10, a music change start button 20 for mode switching, a button 1-8 for command execution used for changing music, a control unit for monitoring the mode and receiving a button signal and for controlling the whole. 30, a storage unit 40 for temporarily fetching music from a source such as a CD or MD, a music reproduction processing unit 50 for simultaneously reproducing a plurality of music, a CD deck 60,
It is composed of an MD deck 70 and speakers SP1-SP4.

Of these, the buttons 1-8 may be buttons that are graphically displayed on the touch panel display, or may be physical push button switches provided around the display or on another operation panel. Further, the control unit 30, the storage unit 40, and the music piece reproduction processing unit 50 operate as follows by physically utilizing other hardware parts according to the control by the computer program.

[2. Operation] That is, the music reproduction processing section 50
Uses the speakers SP1 to SP4 to reproduce a plurality of reproduction candidates at different sound image positions. At this time, the control unit 30 collectively loads a part of a plurality of songs from a source such as the CD deck 60 or the MD deck 70 into the storage unit 40, and simultaneously loads the loaded songs into the song reproduction processing unit 50 in parallel. , And the cycle of capturing the next portion is repeated during this reproduction.

Further, the control unit 30 accepts selection of a desired music piece based on the sound image position with the button 1-8, and the music piece reproduction processing unit 50 also reproduces the selected music piece. Further, it is possible to consider an example in which the operations of reproducing a plurality of music pieces as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions are sequentially performed instead of in parallel.

Next, taking as an example the case of changing the music being reproduced on the CD deck 60, FIG. 3 shows a display example for the touch panel display at the time of the music changing operation, and FIG. 4 shows a flow chart until the operation is completed. . That is, when the operator wants to change the reproduced music, the operator presses the music change start button 20 (step 01) and shifts to the music change mode (step 02). In the song change mode, a fixed amount of CD data is read at double speed (step 03), and the data is temporarily stored in the storage unit 40 (step 04).

The stored data is sent to the music reproduction processing section 50 and processed in parallel for the number of music to be reproduced (step 05). This process is, for example, parallelization in which each song is stored in a plurality of reproduction buffers. When one parallel process such as storage in such a buffer is completed, the next song data starts to be read (step 03). The data is overwritten on the storage unit 40 (step 04).
This operation continues until the song ends.

Further, different sound image positions for each music are realized by weighting. Specifically, each music which is a stereo sound source is converted into a monaural signal, and each converted music is output from each speaker. Weight the playback volume of.

That is, the data of the songs transmitted in parallel by the number of songs in the song reproduction processing unit is weighted to determine which song is output from which speaker (step 06), and is output to each speaker. The signals are combined (step 07) to form the final speaker output (step 0).
8).

When the operator wants to hear a song, the command execution button 1-8 displayed for changing the song in the display of FIG. 3 corresponds to the direction in which the song is heard. By pressing the button (step 0
9) The song number data is sent to the CD deck 60 via the control unit 30, and only the selected song is played back from all the speakers SP1-SP4 (step 10).

Here, as an example, as shown in FIG.
Consider a case where eight songs of T8 are reproduced using four speakers of SP1 to SP4 so that sounds can be heard from the respective directions shown in FIG. In this case, the data of the CD is cut out from the beginning of the music piece by 100 KB, for example, and the data of eight music pieces is sent to the storage section 40. At this time, if the reading speed is too slow, the music reproduction is interrupted, so that the reading speed of 8 times (the number of pieces of music) or more as compared with the normal music reproduction is required.

As an example of the sound image position, in order to make the music of T1 audible from the position shown in FIG. 6, it is sufficient to output only from the speaker SP1. On the other hand, in order to make the T2 song audible from the position shown in FIG. 6, the song is output from the speakers SP1 and SP2, and the total volume is T.
The volume may be the same as that when 1 is reproduced from one speaker. In this way, from T1 to T8,
FIG. 7 shows a result of weighting each of the combinations of the speakers SP1 to SP4.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the CD of each song
The data 51 is weighted according to FIG. 7 in the weighting circuit 52, and the output T from the speaker SP1 of the song T1 is output.
1 _{SP 1} to T8 output from speaker SP4 of song T8
A total of 32 signals up to _SP4 are sent to the mixer circuit 53 and output from the speakers SP1-SP4.

[3. Effects] As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of songs that are options for reproduction are not reproduced one by one, but stereo reproduced using a plurality of speakers in the vehicle. Based on the principle of, the sound sources are played back at the same time so that they come from different directions. Since the operator hears this and selects it with a switch or the like corresponding to the sound image position, there is no need to repeat <operation-judgment>, selection of a song can be significantly quick and easy, and driving safety can be further improved.

Further, if the simultaneous and parallel reproduction is continued as it is, the zapping of a plurality of songs can be facilitated and an effect as entertainment can be obtained. Further, by using a plurality of speakers for a plurality of songs instead of a single speaker, and by making the listening directions different from each other, the resolution for the operator to listen to and understand a plurality of songs simultaneously is improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, each song is little by little,
For example, if the sound image position is changed for each song while sequentially playing back for 10 seconds, it is possible to eliminate the difficulty of listening to the song.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the next fixed length is read in batch during the reproduction of the previous portion, compared to the case where the sectors or tracks in which individual music pieces are recorded are read sequentially following the reproduction. , Head seek and rotation waiting time are short, and operation is smooth.

Further, in this embodiment, in many cases, a song which is a stereo sound source is once converted into a monaural signal and weighted for sound image position control. It becomes easier to distinguish the songs.

[4. Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes other embodiments exemplified below. For example, a typical number of speakers is four, but more or less may be used. In addition to portable recording media, the sources of music can be multiple radio waves, multi-channel digital music broadcasting, etc.
In the case of a recording medium, not only CDs and MDs but also other types of music discs, sound track portions of video discs such as DVDs, and music data recorded on various memory cards may be used. The music is not limited to music, and means all sound sources including recordings for learning English conversation, news, talk, and various readings.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an on-vehicle audio device and an audio reproducing method capable of quickly and easily selecting a song desired to be heard.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a layout view of speakers according to an embodiment of the present invention viewed from an upper part of a vehicle interior.

FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of an in-vehicle audio device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display display during a music changing operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a flowchart at the time of a music piece changing operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram when eight songs are played back simultaneously from four speakers in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the arrangement of speakers and the sound image position at which a song is heard in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing weighting of reproduction volume in each speaker for each song in the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

SP1-SP4 ... Speaker 1-8 ... (Change song) button 10 ... Display 20 ... Song change start button 30 ... Control unit 40 ... Storage unit 50 ... Music change processing unit 51 ... CD data 52 ... Weighting circuit 53 ... Mixer circuit 60 ... CD deck 70 ... MD deck STEP01-STEP10 ... Each step of the procedure

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification Code FI Theme Coat (Reference) H04S 7/00 G10K 15/00 M

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An in-vehicle audio device for reproducing a song provided from a providing source by a plurality of speakers, a reproducing means for reproducing a plurality of songs as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions by using the plurality of speakers. An in-vehicle audio device comprising: a means for selecting a desired music piece based on the sound image position; and a means for reproducing the selected music piece. 2. The in-vehicle audio device according to claim 1, wherein the reproducing means sequentially reproduces a plurality of music pieces as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions by using the plurality of speakers. 3. A cycle in which the reproducing means collectively captures a part of a plurality of songs from a source into a memory, simultaneously reproduces the captured songs in parallel, and captures the next part during the reproduction. The in-vehicle audio device according to claim 1, which is repeated. 4. The stereophonic sound source is converted to a monaural signal, and the converted sound volume is weighted with a reproduction volume from each speaker.
The in-vehicle audio device according to any one of 1 to 3. 5. An audio reproducing method for reproducing a music piece provided from a providing source with a plurality of speakers, a process of reproducing a plurality of music pieces as reproduction candidates at different sound image positions using the plurality of speakers, An audio reproducing method comprising: a process for selecting a desired song based on the sound image position; and a process for reproducing the selected song. 6. The stereophonic sound source, each song is converted into a monaural signal, and the reproduced sound volume from each speaker is weighted for each song after conversion.
Audio playback method described.