JP2006188181A - On-vehicle multi-media device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle multi-media device suitably adjusting an amount of sound or the like in front/rear and left/right speakers regarding sound/voice related to an image displayed on respective monitors in the on-vehicle multi-media device in which the monitors are mounted on a front seat and a rear seat and the speakers are installed at front/rear sides and left/right sides in the vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The on-vehicle multi-media device 10 is provided with a monitor control part 20 for determining the contents outputted to the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202; a speaker control part 14 for selecting a sound source for outputting to the respective speakers and adjusting an output level of the voice/sound outputted to the speakers; a control unit 11; and a control program for adjusting the sound source and the output level outputted to the respective speakers according to a combination of the contents when the contents outputted to the respective monitors are different. The contents outputted to the front monitor and the rear monitor are determined and the sound source outputting to the respective speakers is selected to adjust the output based on the determination result and the control program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an on-vehicle audio device, a so-called car audio device and other multimedia devices, and in particular, an on-vehicle multi-device equipped with monitors in front and rear seats and speakers on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle. In the media device, when different images are displayed on the front seat and rear seat monitors, the sound volume related to the images displayed on each monitor is appropriately adjusted at the front, rear, left and right speakers. The present invention relates to the in-vehicle multimedia device.

  In recent years, in-car audio devices, so-called car audio devices and the like have been made multimedia and upgraded, and not just car audio devices, but also multimedia devices that have navigation functions and DVD video functions. It is developing. Such an in-vehicle multimedia apparatus is not uncommon for an apparatus having a configuration in which monitors are mounted on the front seat and the rear seat and speakers are installed on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle. In the in-vehicle multimedia device having such a configuration, not only the driver but also a person sitting on the rear seat can appreciate the favorite content. For example, while a driver or a passenger seated in the front passenger seat is receiving navigation services on the front monitor, a passenger seated in the rear seat enjoys playing a movie or other video recorded on a DVD on the rear monitor. be able to.

  By the way, as described above, in the case of an in-vehicle multimedia device having a configuration in which monitors are mounted on the front seat and the rear seat, and speakers are installed on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle, There is a difficulty in operating the device in a certain setting state and automatically obtaining an appropriate acoustic effect corresponding to all usage states of the in-vehicle multimedia device. Especially when different images are displayed on the front seat and rear seat monitors while the driver is driving, and audio related to the images displayed on each monitor is played from the front, rear, left and right speakers. This is because it is necessary to appropriately adjust the volume and the like so that the person who is watching each video can hear the related voice without disturbing the driving operation.

  Generally, in an in-car car audio device, an audio output unit such as a speaker is fixedly installed at a specific position in the vehicle. And, since the operation part of the device is installed in the front seat, if the number of people to ride changes or the seating position changes, the operation part of the front seat is operated appropriately to move forward and backward in the car An appropriate sound field is generated by appropriately adjusting the output of the installed speaker. Normally, such adjustment is performed by a driver seated in the front seat or a passenger seated in the front passenger seat, among the various control keys provided in the digital signal unit (DSP) of the car audio device, This is done by operating a balance knob (volume). Therefore, when the number of passengers changes or the seating position changes, the driver or passenger in the passenger seat needs to perform the above operation and adjustment each time.

As a technique for solving such an inconvenience, for example, a control device for an in-vehicle device described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-60075) is disclosed. The control device of the in-vehicle device disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects a seating position of a person who has boarded by a sensor such as an infrared sensor installed at each seat position in the vehicle, and based on the detected seating position information, For example, it is configured to perform appropriate control of a positioning changeover switch and a left / right balance volume of a digital signal unit (DSP) of a car audio device, thereby improving safety and convenience during driving operation. This control function is performed by program control by a microcomputer built in the digital signal unit (DSP), and a seating output detected by each sensor is input to the microcomputer.
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-60075 (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0009] to [0011])

  However, the control device for the in-vehicle device disclosed in Patent Document 1 relates to a car audio device, and is a technique for automatically controlling the volume of front / rear / left / right speakers by detecting the seating position of a person on board. It is disclosed. Accordingly, in the in-vehicle multimedia device in which monitors are mounted on the front and rear and speakers on the front and rear and right and left, as in the in-vehicle multimedia device according to the present invention, different images are displayed on the front and rear monitors. There has been a problem that the sound related to each video cannot be diverted immediately as a technique for appropriately adjusting the volume etc. in the front, rear, left and right speakers.

  For example, in an in-vehicle multimedia device according to the present invention, navigation video is displayed on the front monitor and DVD video video is displayed on the rear monitor. The sound output to the installed speaker is not only controlled so as to obtain an appropriate acoustic effect according to the seating position as in the audio device of Patent Document 1, but also using a front monitor. There is a problem that it is necessary to control so that a person who uses a voice guidance for navigation and a person who uses a rear monitor can hear a voice output of a DVD video.

  The inventor of the present application has conducted various studies to solve the above problems, and as a result, based on the images displayed on the front monitor and the rear monitor, audio related to the images displayed on the front and rear monitors. The present inventors have found that the above problems can be solved if the control of the speaker that outputs is appropriately controlled based on a control program created in advance, and the present invention has been completed.

  That is, the present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in the in-vehicle multimedia device in which monitors are mounted on the front seat and the rear seat and speakers are installed near the front and rear seats in the vehicle, the front seat When different images are displayed on the monitor of the rear seat and the rear seat, the sound volume related to the images displayed on each monitor is appropriately adjusted at the speaker installed at a position suitable for listening at the front and rear seats It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle multimedia device that is adjusted to the above.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is
In-vehicle equipped with a front monitor installed in the front seat and the rear seat, a rear monitor, a speaker installed at least at a position suitable for listening at the front seat and at a position suitable for listening at the rear seat Multimedia device
The in-vehicle multimedia device selects a sound source to be output to each speaker and adjusts an output level of sound to be output to each speaker, and a monitor control unit for determining contents output to the front monitor and the rear monitor A speaker control unit, a control unit, a sound source to be output to each speaker according to a combination of the contents when the contents to be output to the front monitor and the rear monitor are different, and a control program for adjusting the output level. Prepared,
The monitor control unit determines content output to the front monitor and the rear monitor, and the control unit controls the speaker control unit based on the determination result of the monitor control unit and the control program, and A sound source to be output to a speaker is selected and its output is adjusted.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present application, when the contents output to the front monitor and the rear monitor are different, the speaker control unit is installed at a position suitable for listening on the front seat. On the other hand, the sound source related to the content output to the front monitor is selected and the output level of the sound is greatly adjusted, and the rear monitor is compared with the speaker installed at a position suitable for listening at the rear seat. A sound source related to the content to be output is selected and the output level of the sound is adjusted to be small.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3 of the present application, in the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, when traffic information is output to the front monitor, the output content to the rear monitor is not affected. The control unit controls the speaker control unit, selects only a sound source related to the traffic information, and outputs a sound only to a speaker near the front seat.

  In the invention according to claim 1, when the content output to the front monitor and the rear monitor is different, the in-vehicle multimedia device determines the sound source output to each speaker according to the combination of the content and the output level thereof. A control program for adjusting, wherein the monitor control unit determines content output to the front monitor and the rear monitor, and the control unit is configured to determine the speaker based on the determination result of the monitor control unit and the control program. The control unit is controlled to select a sound source to be output to each speaker and adjust its output. Therefore, when the contents output to the front monitor and the rear monitor are different, the output level of the sound of the sound source output to the front and rear speakers can be adjusted appropriately. For this reason, a person who gets in the rear seat without disturbing driving can enjoy DVD content and music content on the rear monitor, and an in-vehicle multimedia device with excellent safety can be provided. become able to.

  In the invention according to claim 2, when the content output to the front monitor and the rear monitor is different, the speaker control unit outputs the content output to the front monitor for the speakers near the front seat. Select the sound source related to the sound and adjust the sound output level to a large level, and select the sound source related to the content output to the rear monitor and adjust the sound output level to a smaller value for the speakers near the rear seat. To do. Accordingly, a person who gets on the rear seat without disturbing driving can enjoy DVD content and music content on the rear monitor.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 3, when traffic information is output to the front monitor, the control unit controls the speaker control unit regardless of the output content to the rear monitor, Only the sound source related to the traffic information is selected, and the sound is output only to the speaker near the front seat. Therefore, when the driver outputs traffic information to the front monitor, only the sound related thereto is output to the speaker, so that the driver can surely recognize the necessary traffic information.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle multimedia device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a control table showing an aspect of audio output control in the in-vehicle multimedia device of FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the in-vehicle multimedia device of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle multimedia device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit 11 including a microcomputer, a RAM 12, and a ROM 13, and the control unit 11 stores a control program stored in the ROM 13. To control each part. In controlling each unit, the control unit 11 reads and writes necessary information using the RAM 12 as a temporary storage.

  The in-vehicle multimedia device 10 includes a front monitor 201, a rear monitor 202, a left front speaker 101, a center speaker 102, a right front speaker 103, a left rear speaker 111, a woofer 112, and a right rear speaker 113. Each unit is installed at a predetermined location in the vehicle. For example, the front monitor 201 is installed in front of the front seat, the rear monitor 202 is installed in front of the rear seat, and the left front speaker 101, the center speaker 102, and the right front speaker 103 are the front, left side, center, Installed on the right side, the left rear speaker 111, the woofer 112, and the right rear speaker 113 are respectively installed at the rear, left side, center, and right side of the rear seat.

  The in-vehicle multimedia device 10 further includes a disc playback unit 15, a tuner unit 16, a monitor control unit 20, an operation unit 17, a power supply unit 18, and a speaker control unit 14. The operation unit 17 is for operating various functions of the in-vehicle multimedia device 10 and includes keys, knobs, and the like. The power supply unit 18 is a unit that supplies power to the in-vehicle multimedia device 10. The disc playback unit 15 is a unit that plays back a disc recording medium such as a DVD video, and the tuner unit 16 is for receiving various broadcasts.

  The in-vehicle multimedia device 10 can operate one of its functions and output the same image to the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202, and can also operate the two functions simultaneously to operate the front monitor 201, Different videos can be output to the rear monitor 202. The monitor control unit 20 controls output of content such as video output (displayed) on the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202, and the speaker control unit 14 is based on the control of the control unit 11 described later. The volume of the left front speaker 101, the center speaker 102, the right front speaker 103, the left rear speaker 111, the woofer 112, the right rear speaker 113, and the like are appropriately controlled according to the operating state of the in-vehicle multimedia device 10.

  For example, a driver who gets on the front seat or a person who gets on the passenger seat activates the navigation function of the in-vehicle multimedia device 10 to display a navigation image on the front monitor 201, and a person who gets on the rear seat It is assumed that the DVD function is activated and a DVD video playback image is displayed on the rear monitor 202. In this case, the audio guidance for navigation and the playback audio of the DVD video flow to the speakers 101 to 103 and 111 to 113 as sounds related to the images output to the respective monitors 201 and 202, but are preset in the control unit 11. According to the control program, the left front speaker 101, the center speaker 102, and the right front speaker 103 are adjusted so that the navigation voice guidance output is increased, and the left rear speaker 111, the woofer 112, and the right rear speaker 113 Adjustments are made so that the output of the playback audio is increased. The speaker control unit 14 performs this adjustment based on the control program of the control unit 11 described above.

  In the control program of the control unit 11 (stored in the ROM 13), the operation status of each function of the in-vehicle multimedia device 10, that is, the video (content) output to the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202 is stored. Depending on the combination, the sound source to be reproduced, that is, the sound source related to the video output to each monitor and the setting of the control amount such as the volume for each speaker 101 to 103, 111 to 113 are programmed, The speaker control unit 14 adjusts the output of each speaker based on this control program.

  FIG. 2 shows a sound source to be played back according to a combination of video (contents) output to the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202, that is, a sound source related to the video output to each monitor and each sound source. It is the figure which showed notionally the function of the control program which sets the control amount, such as a sound volume with respect to the speakers 101-103 and 111-113, as a control table. In FIG. 2, the “front monitor” column indicates the type of video (content) output to the front monitor 201, and the “rear monitor” column indicates the type of video (content) output to the rear monitor 202. NAVI is navigation, TV / FM / MD / CD / MP3 is music content, DVD is DVD video, and traffic information (FM) is traffic information broadcast.

  The “sound source to be played” column is a sound source related to the video output to the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202, and the “localization setting” column is output to the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202. This is a sound source that is output to each speaker in accordance with the image being played, and is a control amount setting such as volume for 101-103 and 111-113. For example, when a navigation video is output to the front monitor 201 and a DVD video playback video is output to the rear monitor 202, a navigation sound source and a DVD video sound source are selected as sound sources, The navigation sound source is selected as the sound source for the speakers (left front speaker 101, center speaker 102, right front speaker 103) installed in the section, the output level of the navigation voice guidance is increased, and the speaker installed in the rear (left rear speaker 111) The sound source of the DVD video is selected for the woofer 112 and the rear right speaker 113), and the output level of the reproduced audio of the DVD video is largely adjusted. This state is shown in rows 24 and 25 in FIG. 2, and the positions “front” and “rear” in the localization setting indicate the sound source selection and output level adjustment of the front speaker and the rear speaker, respectively. Yes.

  For example, as shown in row 28, when both the front monitor 201 and the rear monitor 202 output music content, each medium (MD / CD / MP3) is selected as the sound source, and the localization setting “intermediate” The notation indicates that sound is output equally to all speakers (the left front speaker 101, the center speaker 102, the right front speaker 103, the left rear speaker 111, the woofer 112, and the right rear speaker 113).

  As shown in lines 32 to 33, when the front monitor 201 outputs the traffic information, the traffic information is given the highest priority and the sound related to the video output to the rear monitor 202 is displayed on the rear speaker. It is controlled so that it does not output. That is, the sound source selected as the sound source to be reproduced is only traffic information, traffic information is output only to the front speaker, and no sound is output to the rear speaker. In this case, the volume of the rear speaker can be adjusted to the minimum level as the volume adjustment. Line 32 indicates that the navigation video is output to the rear monitor 202, line 33 indicates that the music content is output to the rear monitor 202, and line 34 indicates that the DVD video content is output to the rear monitor 202. Each case is shown.

  Further, as in the case where traffic information and navigation content are output to the front monitor 201 and related sounds are output to the front speakers (the left front speaker 101, the center speaker 102, and the right front speaker 103), The function is considered to have an adverse effect, and it is preferable to turn off the digital signal unit (DSP) not shown in FIG. 1 and adjust the equalizer to be flat. The notations “DSPOFF” and “EQ FLAT” in the “Remarks” column in FIG. 2 indicate this.

  The operation of the in-vehicle multimedia device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the process of step S <b> 10, the monitor control unit 20 determines the video (content) output to the front monitor 201. In the process of step S11, it is determined whether the determination result in step S10 is traffic information. In the case of traffic information, in the process of step S12, the speaker control unit 14 selects only the sound source of the traffic information output to the front monitor 201, and the speaker installed at the front (the left front speaker 101, the center speaker). 102, this sound is output only to the front right speaker 103).

  If the content output to the front monitor 201 is not traffic information in the process of step S11, the monitor control unit 20 proceeds to the process of step S13 and determines the video (content) output to the rear monitor 202. In the process of step S14, the speaker control unit 14 selects a sound source for each of the speakers 101 to 103 and 111 to 113, and adjusts the volume in the process of step S15. This control is executed by the control unit 11 controlling each part based on a control program created in advance based on the concept shown in the control table of FIG. 2 described above. If the control is not finished in the process of step S16, the process returns to the process of step S10, and the processes of the above steps are repeated. When the control is finished, the above series of processing is finished.

As described above, according to the in-vehicle multimedia device according to the present invention, a plurality of devices installed in the front and rear of the vehicle corresponding to content such as images output on monitors installed in the front and rear of the vehicle. The sound source output to the speaker and the sound volume thereof can be appropriately controlled, and an in-vehicle multimedia device excellent in safety can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted multimedia apparatus concerning the Example of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the control table which shows the aspect of the audio | voice output control in the vehicle-mounted multimedia apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of the vehicle-mounted multimedia apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 On-vehicle multimedia device 11 Control unit 12 RAM
13 ROM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Speaker control part 15 Disc reproducing part 16 Tuner part 17 Operation part 18 Power supply unit 19 Internal bus 20 Monitor control part 101 Left front speaker 102 Center speaker 103 Right front speaker 111 Left rear speaker 112 Woofer 113 Right rear speaker 201 Front monitor 202 Rear monitor

Claims (3)

In-vehicle equipped with a front monitor installed in the front seat and the rear seat, a rear monitor, a speaker installed at least at a position suitable for listening at the front seat and at a position suitable for listening at the rear seat Multimedia device
The in-vehicle multimedia device selects a sound source to be output to each speaker and adjusts an output level of sound to be output to each speaker, and a monitor control unit for determining contents output to the front monitor and the rear monitor A speaker control unit, a control unit, a sound source to be output to each speaker according to a combination of the contents when the contents to be output to the front monitor and the rear monitor are different, and a control program for adjusting the output level. Prepared,
The monitor control unit determines content output to the front monitor and the rear monitor, and the control unit controls the speaker control unit based on the determination result of the monitor control unit and the control program, and An in-vehicle multimedia device characterized by selecting a sound source to be output to a speaker and adjusting its output. When the content output to the front monitor and the rear monitor is different, the speaker control unit
For a speaker installed at a position suitable for listening at the front seat, select a sound source related to the content output to the front monitor, greatly adjust the output level of the sound, and listen at the rear seat The in-vehicle system according to claim 1, wherein a sound source related to content output to a rear monitor is selected for a speaker installed at a particularly suitable position, and an output level of the sound is adjusted to be small. Multimedia device. When the traffic information is output to the front monitor, the control unit controls the speaker control unit regardless of the output content to the rear monitor, and only the sound source related to the traffic information is output. The in-vehicle multimedia apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the audio is selected and output only to a speaker near the front seat.

Images