JP2009124271A - Audio apparatus and external adapter used for the audio apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform speech communication through a mobile phone device by an audio device using the hands-free function of the audio device when there is an incoming call to the mobile phone device while playing an audio content from the mobile phone device, in the audio device capable of playing the audio content stored inside the mobile phone device which also has the function of a portable music player. <P>SOLUTION: When there is an incoming call to the mobile phone device 21 while an audio source recorded in the storage means of the mobile phone device 21 is fetched through the external adapter 20 to the audio device 10 and played by the speaker 15, the mobile phone device 21 is switched to a speech communication mode through the external adapter 20 by the pressing of the prescribed operation button of the audio device 10 by a user, and the speech communication is performed through the mobile phone device 21 by a hands-free function using the microphone 32 and speaker 15 of the audio device 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an audio device that reproduces an audio signal through a speaker and an external adapter for supplying an audio source from a mobile phone to such an audio device.

  Mobile phone mounting functions are expanding year by year, and many functions such as camera functions, 1Seg TV functions, Web browser functions, GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation functions, video playback functions, music playback functions, etc. are installed as standard functions. Has been. Among them, the music playback function has been provided such as “Chaku-Uta Full” (registered trademark) that allows you to listen to the entire music, and unlimited music content listening plans. In addition, music can be downloaded anywhere using the Internet, and charges can be paid simultaneously with the payment of mobile phone charges, providing the user with conveniences more than a general portable music player.

  The previous style of listening to music has a large amount of music content such as CDs (Compact Discs) in the home, listen to it with stationary audio equipment, and bring out some audio content (for example, several CDs) when going out Listening style with a portable music player was common. However, since the sound reproduction function of the mobile phone has been improved as described above, music content is downloaded and purchased by the mobile phone and stored in the semiconductor memory which is an internal storage means. The style of listening to music is becoming common. In this case, the mobile phone is used like a mobile music player. For example, music can be listened to by connecting headphones to the mobile phone.

  In such a background, an external adapter that also serves as a charging stand for taking out the music source of the mobile phone in order to view the music source taken into the semiconductor memory of the mobile phone with higher quality at home. Alternatively, using a cradle and playing the music written in the semiconductor memory of the mobile phone by the cradle with an audio device has already been proposed, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-42931, or also practically used. It is provided. Such a system can output an audio signal of the audio content of the mobile phone, and can perform an audio playback operation of the mobile phone from the audio device side.

  Due to the characteristics of such a system, the mobile phone does not necessarily have to be placed on the TV or audio device side, and the user can play and listen to the music source of the mobile phone from the audio device.

When the mobile phone receives an incoming call while playing the music source written in the semiconductor memory of the mobile phone and listening to music or the like with an audio device, the user is as far as the mobile phone. Therefore, it is necessary to stop the music content playback mode by the mobile phone and switch the mobile phone to the call mode to make a call. During such an operation, a problem such as the telephone being disconnected may occur.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-42931 JP 2003-163721 A

  The problem of the present invention is that when there is an incoming call while the audio source of the mobile phone is being played back by an audio device, the above playback operation by the mobile phone is stopped and the mobile phone is manually switched to the call mode. It is an object of the present invention to provide an audio device that eliminates this problem.

  Another problem of the present invention is that when a mobile phone receives an incoming call while the music content of the mobile phone is being played by the audio device, the audio device can make a call based on the incoming call. An audio device is provided.

  Still another problem of the present invention is that when a mobile phone receives an incoming call while playing a music source stored in the semiconductor memory of the mobile phone, the microphone and speaker of the audio device are used. It is an object of the present invention to provide an audio device that can make a call via a mobile phone by a hands-free function.

  Still another object of the present invention is to use a hands-free function of an audio device to operate the audio device when making a call with the mobile phone while using an audio device connected to the mobile phone. It is an object of the present invention to provide an audio device that can operate a mobile phone with a sense of operation.

  The above-described problems and other problems of the present invention will be clarified by the technical idea of the present invention and the embodiments thereof described below.

The main invention of the present application is to supply an audio signal to a speaker and reproduce an audio, and
An external adapter connected to the audio device;
A mobile phone connected to the external adapter via a short-range wireless communication means;
An audio source audio signal from the mobile phone is played on the audio device via the external adapter,
In addition, the present invention relates to an audio apparatus characterized in that a call can be made in a hands-free mode by controlling a hands-free function of the mobile phone via an operating means provided in the audio device.

  Here, the audio device may be provided with a disc player to reproduce an audio signal recorded on a disc-shaped recording medium. The audio device may include a control microcomputer, and the control microcomputer may switch the audio device between a playback mode and a hands-free mode of the audio source of the mobile phone. The external adapter may include a mobile phone control microcomputer, and the mobile phone control microcomputer may control the mobile phone to be switched between an audio source playback mode and a call mode. The short-range wireless communication means may be Bluetooth wireless communication.

  The audio signal of the mobile phone may be an audio signal related to a sound taken in from the outside and recorded in the storage means. The mobile phone may be switched to a call mode by a mobile phone control microcomputer of the external adapter in conjunction with an operation of a predetermined operation button of the audio device. The predetermined operation button may be a PLAY button. Further, in conjunction with the operation of another predetermined operation button of the audio device, the call mode of the mobile phone may be blocked by the mobile phone control microcomputer of the external adapter. The another operation button may be a STOP button.

Further, here, in the hands-free mode, sound input by a microphone of the audio device may be transmitted by the mobile phone, and a sound signal received by the mobile phone may be reproduced by a speaker of the audio device. Further, the mobile phone is switched to the hands-free mode in conjunction with the operation of a predetermined operation button of the audio device, and in the hands-free mode, the voice input by the microphone of the audio device is transmitted by the mobile phone. The audio signal received by the mobile phone may be reproduced by a speaker of the audio device.

Also, here, the external adapter acquires the position information detected using the GPS function from the mobile phone, transmits the position information to the audio device, and the position of the mobile phone is displayed by the display device of the audio device. Information may be displayed. The external adapter acquires position information detected by the GPS function using the GPS function, transmits the position information to the audio device, and displays the position information of the mobile phone by display means of the audio device. At the same time, the audio device may reproduce the audio signal of the audio source from the mobile phone.

The main invention related to the external adapter is an external adapter that is connected to an audio device and supplies a signal from a mobile phone to the audio device.
It has a mobile phone control microcomputer for controlling the mobile phone, and the mobile phone control microcomputer switches the mobile phone to a hands-free mode so that a call can be made via the audio device. It relates to the external adapter.

  Here, in the hands-free mode, a call may be made via a microphone and a speaker connected to the audio device. Signals may be exchanged via the mobile phone and short-range wireless communication means. The short-range wireless communication means may be Bluetooth wireless communication.

  A preferred embodiment of the present invention is a portable device that can be connected / controlled with a mobile phone and can be connected to an audio device using a general-purpose terminal. The present invention provides a user with a device that can use the hands-free function of a mobile phone wherever the phone is located.

  According to such an aspect, it is not necessary for the user to move to a place where the mobile phone is located when the mobile phone is received, and no matter where the mobile phone is, the user can operate the phone in the position where the audio device is viewing. Can be performed. In addition, the user can use the hands-free function of the mobile phone using only the audio device and the external adapter without using a new device. When the user uses the hands-free function, the user can operate the audio device as if operating the audio device.

  The main invention of the present application is an audio device that supplies an audio signal to a speaker to reproduce sound, an external adapter connected to the audio device, and an external adapter connected via a short-range wireless communication means. A mobile phone, and the audio signal of the audio source from the mobile phone is played back on the audio device via the external adapter, and the hands-free function of the mobile phone is provided via the operating means provided in the audio device. Is controlled so that the user can talk in hands-free mode.

  Therefore, according to such an audio apparatus, when the mobile phone receives an incoming call while the audio source of the mobile phone is being played on the audio device via the external adapter, the operation means provided on the audio device is The hands-free function of the mobile phone is controlled to enter the hands-free mode, so that a call can be made in the hands-free mode via the audio device without directly operating the mobile phone.

  An invention relating to an external adapter includes a mobile phone control microcomputer for controlling a mobile phone in an external adapter connected to an audio device and supplying a signal from the mobile phone to the audio device, the mobile phone control microcomputer Thus, the mobile phone is switched to the hands-free mode so that a call can be made via the audio device.

  Therefore, according to such an external adapter, it becomes possible to connect the mobile phone to the audio device, thereby supplying the audio source of the mobile phone to the audio device. Further, when an incoming call is received by the mobile phone during playback of the audio source of the mobile phone, a call can be made via the audio device by switching the mobile phone to the hands-free mode via this adapter.

The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
1. System Configuration FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of an audio apparatus according to this embodiment. This audio apparatus includes an audio device 10 as a central device. The audio device 10 may be an audio device configured around a disc player that reproduces an optical disc such as a CD or a DVD. On the front panel side, a plurality of operation buttons 11 and left and right volume knobs 12 are provided. The audio device 10 is connected to a TV monitor including a liquid crystal display 14 and includes left and right speaker boxes 15. Each speaker box 15 incorporates a plurality of speakers and is in charge of different sound ranges. Accordingly, the left and right speaker boxes 15 each constitute a speaker system.

  A connector 18 is connected to the audio device 10, and an external adapter 20 is connected to the audio device 10 through a signal cable 19 via the connector 18. The external adapter 20 transmits and receives signals to and from the mobile phone 21 by short-range wireless communication, for example, Bluetooth wireless communication. That is, here, the mobile phone 21 is a mobile phone provided with a Bluetooth module. A plurality of operation buttons 22 and a small display 23 are provided on the surface of the mobile phone 10.

  Next, the system configuration of the audio device 10 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the audio device 10 includes a control microcomputer 27. The control microcomputer 27 includes a disc player 28 for playing back a DVD or CD, a radio tuner 29, an external audio input / output unit 30, and the like. Connected. In addition, an audio output selector / amplifier 31 is connected to the control microcomputer 27. A microphone 32 is connected to the audio output selector / amplifier 31, and the audio output selector / amplifier is connected to the speaker 15.

The control microcomputer 27 is connected to a connector including an external adapter terminal 18, and is connected to the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the mobile phone external adapter 20 via the connector 18. As described above, the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 transmits and receives signals to and from the mobile phone 21 by the Bluetooth wireless communication system. The mobile phone 21 is wirelessly connected to the audio device 10 and the external adapter 20. It is a system to send and receive signals through the.
2. Overview of Overall Operation The present system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a system in which the cellular phone 21 can be operated by an operation from the audio device 10. A description will be given of an example in which an audio source composed of music content written in a recording means such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk of the cellular phone 21 is reproduced. An external adapter 20 is connected to the audio device 10. When the playback button 11 that is an input device of the audio device 10 is pressed while the mobile phone 21 is connected to the external adapter 20 by short-range wireless communication, the information is used as input data for the microcomputer for controlling the audio device 10. 27. At this time, if the audio device 10 has an external adapter function, the control microcomputer 27 transmits reproduction control data to the external adapter 20.

  The mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20 that has received the playback control data from the audio device 10 converts the playback control data from the audio device 10 into the playback control data of the mobile phone 21, and the mobile phone 21. Is transmitted by wireless communication using the Bluetooth technology. Then, the cellular phone 21 that has received the signal starts to reproduce the audio signal and informs the cellular phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20 of this. The mobile phone control microcomputer 35 informs the control microcomputer 27 of the audio device 10 that the mobile phone 21 has started playback. Audio data received from the mobile phone 21 by wireless communication is also transferred to the audio device 10. The audio device 10 switches the audio output selector / amplifier 31 to the mobile phone connection portion and outputs the audio signal of the audio source from the mobile phone 21 and adjusts the volume with the audio output amplifier. . Further, the reproduction information from the mobile phone 21 is displayed on the display device 14 as display data.

Further, the audio device 10 is provided with a microphone 32, and the sound input by the microphone 32 is superimposed on the sound signal reproduced by, for example, the disc player 28 by the sound output selector / amplifier 31, and the microphone mixing is performed. Done. That is, the audio device 10 can realize the karaoke function by using the microphone mixing function of the microphone 32. The audio input from here can be output to the external adapter 20 through the external adapter terminal 18 and is also used for the hands-free function of the mobile phone.
3. Processing during an incoming call When the mobile phone 21 receives an incoming call, the mobile phone 21 notifies the external adapter 20 by Bluetooth wireless communication as control data that the incoming call is being received. When the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20 receives the incoming call notification, it notifies the audio device 10 of a function change request. When receiving the function change request, the audio device 10 changes the function to a function for the external adapter. Through this series of processing, the ring tone of the mobile phone 21 can be output from the speaker 15 of the audio device 10, and the user can recognize that the mobile phone 21 is receiving a call.
4). Operation for receiving a call When an incoming call is received by the mobile phone 21 and the user receives a call, the external adapter 20 presses the operation button 11 of the audio device 10 used for receiving the call. . As an example, a case will be described where the external adapter 20 uses the “PLAY” button for the function of receiving a call. By pressing the “PLAY” button of the audio device 10 during the above “3. Processing during incoming call”, the audio device 10 notifies the external adapter 20 of the “PLAY” button being pressed. When the external adapter 20 receives a notification of pressing the “PLAY” button during an incoming call, the external adapter 20 transmits control data for receiving a call to the mobile phone 21 by wireless communication. When the Bluetooth module of the mobile phone 21 receives this, it can receive a call.

This operation is the operation of the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20, and is shown in the flowchart shown in FIG. When the notification of pressing the “PLAY” button is received, the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 determines whether or not the mobile phone 21 is receiving a call. Do. On the other hand, when an incoming call is received, control data for receiving a call is transmitted to the mobile phone 21. If there is a response from the mobile phone, the process is terminated as if it was switched to the call mode. When there is no response from the mobile phone, the control data is repeatedly transmitted to the mobile phone 21. If there is still no response after repeating the predetermined number of times, it is determined that the telephone call has failed, and the process ends.
5). Processing during a call When a user makes a call after receiving a call in the operation of “4. Receiving a call”, the user does not need to perform any operation. The user's voice is transmitted to the external adapter 20 through the microphone 32 of the audio device 10. The data is transmitted from the external adapter 20 to the mobile phone 21 by wireless communication. Therefore, the cellular phone 21 transmits the signal to the other party's cellular phone via the cellular phone network through the base station. On the other hand, the audio signal received by the mobile phone 21 is input from the external adapter 20 through the external adapter terminal of the audio device 10 and is output from the speaker 15 through the audio output selector / amplifier 31.

Therefore, the user can make a call through the mobile phone 21 by the hands-free function using the microphone 32 and the speaker 15 without performing any special operation in a posture as viewed by the audio device 10. It becomes possible.
6). Disconnecting the phone When the user hangs up, the external adapter 20 presses the button of the audio device 10 used for the function to hang up the phone. As an example, a case will be described where the external adapter 20 uses the “STOP” button for the function of hanging up the telephone. By pressing the “STOP” button of the audio device 10 during the operations of “3. Processing during incoming call” and “5. Processing during a call”, the “STOP” button is sent from the audio device 10 to the external adapter 20. Notification of pressing is performed. The external adapter 20 notifies the mobile phone 21 of control data for hanging up by wireless communication by receiving a notification of pressing the “STOP” button during an incoming call or during a call. When the mobile phone 21 receives this, the telephone can be disconnected.

This operation is achieved as shown in FIG. 4 as the operation of the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20. When the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20 receives a notification that the “STOP” button has been pressed, the mobile phone 21 determines whether or not the mobile phone 21 is busy. When the telephone call is not in progress, a process of playing back music content on the mobile phone is performed. On the other hand, when a call is in progress, control data for hanging up the phone is transmitted to the mobile phone 21. If there is a response to this from the mobile phone 21, the process ends as if communication was interrupted. When there is no response from the mobile phone 21, the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 repeatedly transmits control data, and when there is still no response after the predetermined number of times, it is determined that the telephone call has failed. To finish the process.
7). Display of the location where the mobile phone is present Further, this system allows the location of the mobile phone 21 connected to the external adapter 20 via the Bluetooth short-range wireless communication means to be displayed on the monitor comprising the liquid crystal display 14. As a result, the user can immediately be notified of the location of the mobile phone 21. This operation is performed as shown in FIG. 5 as the operation of the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20.

The mobile phone control microcomputer 35 performs wireless communication connection with the mobile phone 21 via Bluetooth. When the connection is established, the position information obtained by using the GPS function of the mobile phone 21 is acquired from the mobile phone 21. Then, this position information is transmitted from the external adapter 20 to the control microcomputer 27 of the audio device 10, and the current position information is output as a video by the display device 14. Therefore, the user can know where the mobile phone 21 is located by the display device 14. If the Bluetooth connection cannot be established, a retry is performed and it is determined whether or not the number of retries has reached a predetermined upper limit. Output by video.
8). Display of the location where the mobile phone is present and playback of music Furthermore, this system continues to display the location where the mobile phone 21 is present as shown in FIG. The operation to supply to is performed. This operation is performed as an operation of the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 of the external adapter 20.

  The mobile phone control microcomputer 35 establishes wireless communication with the mobile phone via Bluetooth. Thereafter, the position information obtained using the GPS information is acquired from the mobile phone 21, the position information is transmitted to the audio device 10, and is displayed by the display device 14. Further thereafter, the mobile phone control microcomputer 35 transmits a command for playing back sound to the mobile phone 21, and in response to this, it is determined whether or not the mobile phone 21 has played back sound. If the audio has been reproduced, the process ends here.

  On the other hand, even if the connection by Bluetooth cannot be made and the wireless communication connection cannot be made even after retrying a predetermined number of times, or when the mobile phone 21 does not play back, it is still played even after a predetermined number of retries. If not, the message is output on the display device 14 as a video on the assumption that the process has failed, and the process ends.

  Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the illustrated embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. For example, as the short-range wireless communication means between the external adapter 20 and the mobile phone 21 in the above embodiment, it is not always necessary to use the Bluetooth system, and other wireless communication means can be used.

  The present invention can be applied to an audio apparatus capable of reproducing an audio source stored in a mobile phone that also functions as a portable music player.

It is a block diagram which shows the connection of various apparatuses. It is a circuit diagram which shows the connection of an external adapter and audio equipment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which receives a telephone call. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which hangs up a telephone. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which displays the position of a mobile telephone. It is a flowchart which shows the display of a certain position of a mobile telephone, and the start operation | movement of audio | voice reproduction | regeneration.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Audio equipment, 11 ... Operation button, 12 ... Volume knob, 14 ... Liquid crystal display, 15 ... Speaker box, 18 ... Connector, 19 ... Signal cable, 20 ... External adapter, 21 ... Mobile phone, 22 ... Operation button, 23 Display, 27 ... Control microcomputer, 28 ... Disc player, 29 ... Radio tuner, 30 ... External audio input / output unit, 31 ... Audio output selector / amplifier, 32 ... Microphone, 35 ... Mobile phone control microcomputer

Claims (18)

An audio device that supplies audio signals to the speakers and reproduces the audio;
An external adapter connected to the audio device;
A mobile phone connected to the external adapter via a short-range wireless communication means;
An audio source audio signal from the mobile phone is played on the audio device via the external adapter,
In addition, an audio device characterized in that a call can be made in a hands-free mode by controlling a hands-free function of the mobile phone via an operating means provided in the audio device.   The audio apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the audio device includes a disc player and reproduces an audio signal recorded on a disc-shaped recording medium.   2. The audio device according to claim 1, wherein the audio device includes a control microcomputer, and the audio device is controlled to be switched between a playback mode and a hands-free mode of the audio source of the mobile phone by the control microcomputer. Audio device.   2. The audio according to claim 1, wherein the external adapter includes a mobile phone control microcomputer, and the mobile phone control microcomputer switches and controls the mobile phone between an audio source playback mode and a call mode. apparatus.   5. The audio apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the short-range wireless communication means is Bluetooth wireless communication.   5. The audio apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the audio source of the mobile phone is an audio signal relating to a sound taken in from outside and recorded in a storage means.   5. The audio apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the mobile phone is switched to a call mode by a mobile phone control microcomputer of the external adapter in conjunction with an operation of a predetermined operation button of the audio device.   8. The audio apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the predetermined operation button is a PLAY button.   5. The audio mode according to claim 4, wherein a call mode of the mobile phone is blocked by a mobile phone control microcomputer of the external adapter in conjunction with an operation of another predetermined operation button of the audio device. apparatus.   The audio device according to claim 9, wherein the another operation button is a STOP button.   2. In hands-free mode, audio input by a microphone of the audio device is transmitted by the mobile phone, and an audio signal received by the mobile phone is reproduced by a speaker of the audio device. The audio device described in 1.   The mobile phone is switched to the hands-free mode in conjunction with the operation of a predetermined operation button of the audio device, and in the hands-free mode, the voice input by the microphone of the audio device is transmitted by the mobile phone, The audio apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an audio signal received by the mobile phone is reproduced by a speaker of the audio device.   The external adapter acquires position information detected using the GPS function from the mobile phone, transmits the position information to the audio device, and displays the position information of the mobile phone by display means of the audio device. The audio apparatus according to claim 1.   The external adapter acquires position information detected using the GPS function from the mobile phone, transmits the position information to the audio device, and displays the position information of the mobile phone by display means of the audio device. The audio apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the audio device reproduces an audio signal of an audio source from the mobile phone. In an external adapter connected to an audio device and supplying a signal from the mobile phone to the audio device,
It has a mobile phone control microcomputer for controlling the mobile phone, and the mobile phone control microcomputer switches the mobile phone to a hands-free mode so that a call can be made via the audio device. External adapter.   16. The external adapter according to claim 15, wherein in the hands-free mode, a call is performed via a microphone and a speaker connected to the audio device.   16. The external adapter according to claim 15, wherein signals are transmitted and received through the mobile phone and short-range wireless communication means.   The external adapter according to claim 17, wherein the short-range wireless communication means is a Bluetooth wireless communication.

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