JP4942515B2 - In-vehicle audio apparatus and audio system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle audio apparatus and an audio system configured to connect a portable navigation apparatus so that an image thereof can be viewed on a display of an audio apparatus, and particularly relates to an improvement in display quality of image data related to the audio apparatus. It is.

  In-car audio device or in-vehicle AV (Audio and Video) device for enjoying music content on CD media and audio terminals in the car and video content such as DVD media (these are collectively referred to as in-vehicle audio devices in this document) Is widely spread. In addition, in recent years, navigation devices that search for and guide a route to a destination are also widely used. Conventionally, in this type of navigation device, in addition to the in-vehicle type installed in the vehicle console together with the audio device, the portable navigation device configured to be connected to the audio device so that the user can carry it. There is a device or PND (Portable Navigation Device).

  In an audio device compatible with a portable navigation device, the housing is accommodated so that a navigation image can be displayed on the display of the audio device via a connection interface. That is, on the display of this type of audio device, display of video data related to the audio device generated by an OSD (On Screen Display) controller such as a song title list and navigation video from the portable navigation device are selectively displayed. Will be displayed.

  However, an audio device that can be connected to this type of portable navigation device has the following problems in displaying these images. That is, generally, video data relating to an audio device such as OSD video is generated by utilizing an OSD controller in the device and an allocated area (hereinafter referred to as a display memory) in a memory space for holding the video data. However, since the target data is limited to characters and relatively simple icon data, the drawing performance and memory capacity are relatively low and small capacity is sufficient. On the other hand, in a vehicle-mounted navigation device, it is necessary to process a two-dimensional or three-dimensional image in real time, and a display provided therein is larger than that of an audio device. A drawing controller having processing performance and a display memory area having a relatively large capacity are provided, and the quality of the displayed video is higher than that of the video data displayed on the audio device. As a result, when these videos are displayed on the same display, there is a problem that the difference in display quality between the two videos appears significantly.

  In relation to the present invention, a technology for enabling an external display device having a resolution larger than the display resolution of the internal display device to be connected to the information processing device and displaying the display data on the external display device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. Is disclosed. However, in the technique disclosed in this document, although the distortion of data displayed on the internal display is reduced by the connected external display, the processing of the display data is performed through the same CPU and memory. However, the resolution and definition of the character itself are not improved, and the conventional problem cannot be solved.

  Further, in relation to the present invention, a technique for comparing and examining graphic performances of a plurality of electronic devices in a network system and allocating devices having relatively high graphic performances to predetermined GUI data processing is disclosed in Patent Document 2. Is disclosed. However, in this technology, the graphic performance of each device is investigated, compared, and a central control device for controlling this is required in the network system. This technology is used to solve the above problems. To use it, a CPU or controller with high processing capability is required in the audio device, which raises the production cost of the device.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-95732 JP 2001-184188 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to display an image related to the audio device with a display quality comparable to the navigation image when the navigation device is connected without increasing the drawing performance and the required memory capacity in the audio device. There is to do.

  The present invention is an in-vehicle audio device that is connectable with a portable navigation device, and includes a display, video data generating means for generating video data related to the audio device, and output of video data related to the audio device. A video data output requesting unit for requesting the portable navigation device, audio video data generated by the video data generating unit, or audio video data output from the portable navigation device is selected on the display And a video display means for displaying automatically.

  Preferably, the video display means has a composite display function for combining the audio video data generated by the video data generation means and the audio video data output by the portable navigation device to display on the display. Prepare.

  Preferably, the video data generation means includes an OSD controller, and the video data related to the audio device is a video related to OSD.

  Preferably, the apparatus further includes an interface with the portable navigation device, including a serial communication path for requesting output of the audio / video data. In this case, preferably, the interface further comprises connection detection means for detecting that the portable navigation device is connected to the interface, and the video data output requesting means is connected to the portable navigation device by the connection detection means. Is determined to be connected to the interface, the video data output of the audio device is requested.

  The present invention is also an audio system including a portable navigation device having a video data processing function and the in-vehicle audio device, wherein the portable navigation device receives video data from the audio device. Video data output means for outputting the video data in response to the output request.

  8. The audio system according to claim 7, wherein the portable navigation device comprises a memory area for holding video data relating to the audio device. Preferably, the portable navigation device includes video data generation means for generating the video data in response to a video data output request from the audio device.

  According to the present invention, in a portable navigation device having a relatively high processing capacity and a wide video memory area, video data relating to the audio device is output, so that audio video data corresponding to the navigation video data can be obtained. Thus, there is an effect that there is no difference in display quality of the display, and image data that requires advanced video processing can be displayed on the display.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In this embodiment, as a preferred example, an audio system in which a portable navigation device is connected to an audio device having audio and visual playback functions is used. The audio device can search and play back audio data stored in various portable media via an adapter. The portable medium is connected by, for example, USB connection, IEEE 1394, Bluetooth, or other standards, and is a semiconductor memory, a disk drive device such as a CD or a DVD, a hard disk drive device, or other storage media. The audio data stored in the portable medium only needs to be reproducible on the audio device, and the audio data storage format may be compressed in a format such as MP3 or WMA.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an audio system according to the present embodiment. The audio system 10 includes an audio device 20 and a portable navigation device 30. The portable navigation device 30 is connected via the interface 50 provided in the audio device 20 and can exchange data with each other. Although not shown here, the interface 50 can exchange data with an adapter connected to a portable medium. The audio apparatus 20 includes a digital / analog converter (DAC) 52 that converts a digital audio signal obtained from the portable media and the portable navigation apparatus 30 into an analog audio signal via an interface 50, and an amplifier that amplifies the analog audio signal. 54, a speaker 56 that converts the amplified audio signal into an audible sound, an input unit 58 that receives input from the user by a touch panel, a remote controller, or the like, and a microcontroller 60 that controls each unit. The audio apparatus 20 also includes a display 62, a display controller 64 that controls display of video data on the display 62, attribute information according to audio data such as a song title and album name, and various controls as components related to video display. An OSD controller 66 for generating buttons and the like as video data to be displayed on the display 62, and a display memory 68 for holding the video data are included. The display memory 68 may be a physical memory dedicated to video data related to the OSD controller 66 or may be a predetermined allocated memory area in the general-purpose memory on the audio device 20.

  The display controller 64 is wired so that two types of video data, that is, video data generated by the OSD controller 66 and video data output from the portable navigation device 30 via the interface 50 are input. According to the selection signal from the microcontroller 60, any video data is output to the display 62 as display data. The display controller 64 has a composite display function for combining and outputting these two types of videos. Depending on the situation, the microcontroller 60 controls the display controller 64 so that the combined image becomes an output signal to the display 62. This usage mode will be described later.

  Although not shown here, the interface 50 includes a connector that mechanically and electrically connects the portable navigation device 30 to the audio device 20 side. The portable navigation device 30 connected to this connector can exchange data with the microcontroller 60 via the interface 50 via the interface 50. As will be described later, this serial communication path 70 detects a video data output request from the microcontroller 60 to the portable navigation device 30 and detects that the portable navigation device 30 is connected to the connector. Used to send and receive signals. The audio device 20 and the portable navigation device 30 are configured to detect when the portable navigation device 30 is connected to the interface 50 of the audio device 20. As this detection method, a method of constantly sending and detecting a polling signal from the microcontroller 60 of the audio device 20 to the interface 50, a method of sending and detecting a signal from the portable navigation device 30 side, a microswitch around the connector, etc. There is a method of detecting the output signal by providing a physical switch.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the portable navigation device 30 used in this embodiment. In the figure, the portable navigation device 30 is connected via an interface 80 connected to the interface 50 of the audio device 20, a GPS receiver 82 that receives radio waves from GPS satellites and measures the current position and current direction, and an antenna 84. VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication) / FM multiplex receiver 86 for receiving current road traffic information around the user, user input interface 88 including operation buttons and touch panel, storage device 90 having a large-capacity hard disk, and sound output from speaker 92 A display control unit 98 for displaying an image on the display 96, a program memory 100 for storing a program, a data memory 102 for temporarily storing data, and a control unit 104.

  The storage device 90 stores a program for executing various navigation functions and a database such as map data and facility data, and in association with the present invention, attribute information of content to be reproduced by the audio device 20, for example, a song title Information such as album name, artist, and album jacket image can be stored as a database. The program memory 100 loads various programs stored in the storage device 90 in response to a user request, and cooperates with the control unit 104 to perform basic functions as a navigation system, that is, own vehicle position detection, route search, and surroundings. Realize facility display. The data memory 102 temporarily stores various information and map data that are read when these programs are executed.

  In the portable navigation device 30, a microcontroller that realizes the control unit 104 is generally a high-performance microcontroller that is used for the microcontroller 60 provided in the audio device 20 because of the need for real-time processing of images. The The storage medium on the portable navigation device 30 such as the storage device 90, the program memory 100, and the data memory 102 is a display memory provided in the audio device 20 because a large amount of data related to navigation is required to be displayed. A large-capacity memory is used for the memory including 68. Thus, high-quality data that cannot be prepared on the audio device 20 side can be recorded or generated on the portable navigation device 30 side regarding the attribute information of the content data reproduced on the audio device 20. For example, when a list of character strings such as a song title list is displayed by OSD, high-resolution character data can be prepared on the portable navigation device 30 side, and graphic image data such as album jacket video can be prepared. be able to.

  The portable navigation device 30 can exchange data with the audio device 20 when connected to the audio device 20 via the interface 80. That is, the portable navigation device 30 receives various request signals from the microcontroller 60 through the serial communication path 70 of the audio device 20, generates necessary video data, and outputs it to the display controller 64 on the audio device 20 side. In relation to this case, when the audio playback is performed by the audio device 20, if the microcontroller 60 requests the attribute information of the target content, the portable navigation device 30 stores the target attribute information in the storage device 90. The data is retrieved from the database in the data memory 102, read into the data memory 102, subjected to necessary processing, and output to the audio device 20 side.

  Next, an operation procedure in the case where content reproduction information is displayed on the display 62 in the audio system 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing video data display control when a user requests to reproduce content such as music. When the user issues a playback request for content such as music via the input unit 58, the display processing 110 according to this flowchart is started in parallel with the content playback operation.

  At the beginning of the process, the microcontroller 60 of the audio device 20 confirms whether the portable navigation device (PND) 30 is connected to the interface 50 (step S112). If it is determined that the portable navigation device 30 is connected, the process proceeds to step S114, and the microcontroller 60 sends the video data of the target content to the portable navigation device 30 via the serial communication path 70. Request output. The process waits for a response signal to this request (step S 116), and when there is output of video data from the portable navigation device 30, the display controller 64 is controlled so that this video data is displayed on the display 62. (Step S118). In accordance with this instruction, the display controller 64 displays the video data from the portable navigation device 30 on the display 62 (step S120).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S112 that the portable navigation device 30 is not connected to the interface 50, and if no response signal is obtained from the portable navigation device 30 in step S116, the video of the playback content The data output is requested to the OSD controller 66 in the audio device 20 (step S122). Then, the display controller 64 is controlled so that the video data is displayed on the display 62 (step S124). In accordance with this instruction, the display controller 64 displays the video data from the OSD controller 66 on the display 62 (step S120). Through the processing as described above, when the portable navigation device 30 is connected to the interface 50, the audio device 20 displays high-quality video data therefrom on the display 62, When the portable navigation device 30 is not connected, the video data generated by the internal OSD controller 66 is displayed.

  FIG. 4 shows a display example of the display of the audio device. The display example of the content data when the portable navigation device is not connected (FIG. 4A) and the display example when it is connected (FIG. b)). As shown in FIG. 6A, in the state where the portable navigation device 30 is not connected, only information on the total number of songs and the total playback time in the portable medium is displayed on the display 62 due to the capacity limitation of the display memory 68. Is displayed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, in a state where the portable navigation device 30 is connected, a song title list, icons, album jacket images, and the like are displayed with high-definition characters.

  If display processing requiring high-speed drawing processing, such as scroll display of a song name list, is required, if this is performed on the portable navigation device 30 side, the time required for serial communication increases, and drawing speed is increased. In addition, the operation response may become slow. In such a case, for those requiring a high-speed response such as the display of the song name list in FIG. 5B, this is generated on the OSD controller side of the audio device 20, and other graphics such as an album jacket image are generated. The display can be generated on the portable navigation device 30 side, and these can be combined and displayed.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the attribute information of the content data to be reproduced by the audio device 20 is held in advance on the portable navigation device 30 side and output to the audio device side. The mobile navigation device 30 can be configured to generate such data in response to the request of the user, and the mobile navigation device 30 can sequentially acquire the attribute information of the content data through the wireless communication line. It can also be configured to output.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments according to the present invention, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Deformation / change is possible.

  The present invention is used in an in-vehicle audio device and an audio system to which a portable navigation device can be connected.

It is a block diagram which shows the audio system which concerns on a present Example. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the portable navigation apparatus used by a present Example. It is a flowchart which shows display control of the video data when the reproduction | regeneration request | requirement of content is made. The display example of the display of an audio device is shown, and the display example of the content data when the portable navigation device is not connected (FIG. (A)), the display example when connected (FIG. (B)) respectively. Show.

Explanation of symbols

10: Audio system 20: Audio device 30: Portable navigation device 50: Interface 52: DAC 54: Amplifier 56: Speaker 58: Input unit 60: Microcontroller 62: Display 64: Display controller 66: ODS controller 68: Display memory 70 : Serial communication path 80: Interface 82: GPS receiver 84: Antenna 86: VICS / FM multiplex receiver 88: User input interface 90: Storage device 92: Speaker 94: Audio output unit 96: Display 98: Display control unit 100: Program Memory 102: Data memory 104: Control unit

Claims (8)

An in-vehicle audio device that can be connected to a portable navigation device,
Display,
Video data generating means for generating first video data to be displayed on the display ;
Video data output request means for requesting the portable navigation device to output second video data to be displayed on the display ;
Video display means for selectively displaying the first video data generated by the video data generation means or the second video data output from the portable navigation device on the display;
An in-vehicle audio apparatus comprising: A composite display function in which the video display means combines the first video data generated by the video data generation means and the second video data output by the portable navigation device, and displays them on the display. comprises, car audio system according to claim 1. The video data generating means includes an OSD controller, the OSD controller generates a first image data, vehicle audio apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Car audio system further comprises an interface with the portable navigation device, the interface includes a serial communication channel for the output request of the second video data, any one claims 1 to 3 The vehicle-mounted audio apparatus described in 1. Car audio system further comprises a connection detecting means for detecting that it is connected to pre-Symbol portable navigation device to the interface,
The image data output request unit, when the portable navigation device by the connection detection means is determined to be connected to said interface, and requests the output of the second video data, according to claim 4 In-vehicle audio system. An audio system comprising a portable navigation device having a second video data processing function and the in-vehicle audio device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The portable navigation device, in accordance with the output request of the second video data from the audio device includes an image data output means for outputting the second image data, the audio system. The audio system according to claim 6 , wherein the portable navigation device includes a memory area for holding second video data. The portable navigation device, in accordance with the output request of the second video data from the audio device comprises an image data generation means for generating a second video data, the audio system according to claim 6 or 7.

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