JPH0983278A - On board acoustic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent noise from being continued by providing an acoustic signal system to control the sound volume of an acoustic signal and to provide an output and a detection section detecting the presence/absence of passengers in an automobile so as to decrease an output sound volume of the acoustic signal system in the case of detecting absence of the passenger. SOLUTION: When a passenger has got off an automobile, an infrared ray A from an infrared ray transmitter 2a of one door 1a is received by an infrared ray receiver 2b of the other door 1b. A detection signal B is given to a microcomputer 3, a MUTE circuit 6 is active by a mute control signal E to decrease a sound output of a speaker 7. When a passenger rides the automobile, the infrared ray A is interrupted and the detection signal B from the infrared ray receiver 2b is not outputted and a sound signal from a sound source 4 via a variable resistor 5 is outputted from the speaker 7 as it is. Thus, the continued noise is prevented and the operation for sound volume control at riding/getting off is not required.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a volume control technique used in an on-vehicle audio equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When sound is being output by a vehicle-mounted audio device, the volume of the sound output is lowered when an occupant in the vehicle gets out of the vehicle. Before going down, the sound output is stopped manually by turning the volume control knob to lower the output volume or turning off the power. After that, when the passenger came back to the car, the manual operation of raising the volume of the sound output or turning on the power was necessary in order to listen to music and the like as before.

[0003]

The trouble of manually raising and lowering the output volume each time the vehicle gets in and out of the vehicle is troublesome and annoying. Therefore, if the user gets out of the car without lowering the output volume and leaves the car, there is a problem that noise continues to be emitted and the battery is exhausted. In addition, I intended to leave the car for a short time, but it took longer than I expected, and the sound output continued to ring as noise, and the battery was exhausted. An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle audio device having a function of controlling an output volume, to prevent noise from continuing, to prevent battery consumption,
Another object is to improve operability.

[0004]

The on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention detects the presence / absence of an occupant in an automobile, and an acoustic signal system for volume-controlling and outputting an acoustic signal input from an acoustic signal source. A detection unit, and a control unit for controlling the acoustic output of the acoustic signal system based on the detection signal from the detection unit,
When the detection unit detects that the occupant is absent, the control unit lowers the output volume of the acoustic signal system. Further, in the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention, when the detection unit detects that an occupant is present, the output volume of the audio signal system lowered by the control unit is restored. Further, the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention comprises a time measuring unit for measuring the absence duration time from when the detecting unit detects that the occupant is absent, and a time setting unit, and the set time set by the time setting unit. After a lapse of time, the control unit turns off the power of the acoustic signal system.
Further, the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention comprises an audio signal system for volume-controlling and outputting an audio signal input from an audio signal source, a detection unit for detecting the presence / absence of an occupant in a vehicle, and a detection unit. The control unit controls the acoustic output of the acoustic signal system based on the detection signal of 1., and when the detecting unit detects the absence of an occupant, the control unit turns off the power of the acoustic signal system. Further, the in-vehicle audio device according to the present invention,
When the detection unit detects that an occupant is present, the control unit turns on the power of the acoustic signal system that has been turned off, and the acoustic signal system outputs the sound.

[0005]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of an on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention. An acoustic signal is output from an acoustic source 4 such as a CD, a cassette tape, a tuner, the volume of which is amplified by a volume 5 of an acoustic signal system 22 and output from a speaker 7 (acoustic signal system 22). The sound source 4 and the volume 5 are connected to the microcomputer 3 and controlled by control signals C and D, respectively. (Acoustic equipment system 21) Doors 1 on both sides of the front or rear of the automobile
Infrared transmitter 2a and infrared receiver 2 on the passenger compartment side of a and 1b
b is attached, and the presence / absence of an occupant is detected by the light receiving state of the infrared ray A output from the infrared ray transmitter 2a at the infrared ray receiver 2b. (Detection unit 20)

When an occupant gets out of the vehicle and is not in the vehicle, an infrared transmitter 2 mounted on one door 1a
Infrared light A transmitted from a is the other door! It is received by the infrared receiver 2b attached to b. Upon receipt,
The detection signal B is output from the infrared receiver 2b and input to the microcomputer 3. The audio equipment system 21 is controlled by the microcomputer 3. The microcomputer 3 outputs a MUTE control signal E for turning on the mute circuit 6 connected between the volume 5 and the speaker 7, the mute circuit 6 is turned on and works, and the acoustic output of the speaker 7 is lowered.

When an occupant is in an automobile, the infrared ray A emitted from the infrared transmitter 2a attached to one door 1a is blocked by the occupant and the infrared receiver 2b attached to the other door 1b. Not received by. Therefore, the detection signal B is not output from the infrared receiver 2b, the microcomputer 3 does not operate the mute circuit 6 and remains in the signal path (passage), and the sound signal from the sound source 4 through the volume 5 remains at the same volume. Is output.

Once it is detected that the passenger is not in the vehicle, the mute circuit 6 is turned on and the sound output is lowered, and when the passenger returns and gets in the vehicle,
The infrared ray A emitted from the infrared ray transmitter 2a attached to one door 1a is blocked by the passenger, and the other door 1
It is not received by the infrared receiver 2b attached to b.
Therefore, the detection signal B is not output from the infrared receiver 2b, the microcomputer 3 detects it as 0, and the MUTE control signal E for turning off the mute circuit 6 is output from the microcomputer 3 and the mute operation of the mute circuit 6 is performed. The signal is turned off, remains in the signal path (passage), and is output from the speaker 7 at the original volume.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention. With no occupant in the automobile, the detection signal B detected by the detection unit 20 of FIG. 1 is output to the microcomputer 3. When the mute circuit 6 is turned on and the sound output is lowered, the elapsed time from that time is counted by the time measuring unit (timer) 9 provided inside the on-vehicle audio device and set and stored by the time setting unit 8. When the elapsed time reaches or exceeds the set value in comparison with the set value corresponding to time, the microcomputer 3 outputs a signal for turning off the power switch 10 of the audio signal system 22, and the sound source 4, The sound signal system 22 including the volume 5, the mute circuit 6, and the speaker 7 is turned off, and no sound is output.
(Waiting for input) Here, the power switch is a main power switch (not shown) for turning on / off the power of the entire apparatus, and the sound signal system 22 from the microcomputer 3.
And a power switch 10 for turning on / off the power of the.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention. The presence / absence of an occupant is detected by the detection unit 20 shown in FIG. 1, and the detected signal B is input to the microcomputer 3. When the absence of an occupant is detected, the microcomputer 3 outputs the signal F for turning off the power switch 10 of the acoustic signal system 23, and the power of the acoustic signal system 23 including the acoustic source 4, the volume 5, and the speaker 7 is turned off. Then, no sound is output, and the microcomputer 3 enters a standby state (waiting for input). Here, the power switch is a main power switch (not shown) that turns on / off the power of the entire device.
And a power switch 10 for turning on / off the power of the audio signal system 23 from the microcomputer 3.

When it is detected that the passenger is not in the vehicle, the power switch 10 is turned off and the sound output is stopped, and the passenger returns and gets in the vehicle, the detection unit 20 causes When the presence of an occupant is detected, the detection signal B is not output and the microcomputer 3 detects it, and the power switch 10 of the acoustic signal system 23 is turned on by the control signal F from the microcomputer 3 and is output at the original volume. .

In this embodiment, an infrared transmitter and an infrared receiver provided in the door portion are used as the detecting portion for detecting the presence / absence of an occupant in an automobile. The section is not limited to the above configuration, and may be any configuration capable of detecting the presence / absence of an occupant in a vehicle.
The infrared transmitter and the infrared receiver can be appropriately provided in a vehicle compartment other than the door section to detect the presence / absence of an occupant.

Further, a pressure-sensitive sensor is provided on the surface of the seat on which the occupant sits and hits to detect the presence / absence of the occupant. With only one pressure sensor, it is possible to detect the presence of an occupant even when there is no occupant such as when luggage is placed. Therefore, multiple seats (including the backrest) can be seated on the seat. The reliability can be improved by providing a pressure-sensitive sensor and detecting that the occupant is present when there are a plurality of outputs from the pressure-sensitive sensors. Further, the presence / absence of the occupant can be detected by combining the detection result of the pressure-sensitive sensor provided on the surface of the seat on which the occupant sits and hits with the detection result of the infrared ray.

[0014]

According to the present invention, when an occupant of an automobile gets off and leaves, the volume of sound output from the vehicle-mounted audio equipment is lowered, so that it is possible to prevent the noise from continuing due to the acoustic output. Further, according to the present invention, when the occupant of the automobile returns and gets on the vehicle, the acoustic output of the vehicle-mounted audio device is restored to the original state, so that the vehicle-mounted audio can be restored to the original state without any operation. You can get the output of the device. Further, according to the present invention, when the occupant of the vehicle gets off and the sound volume output from the vehicle-mounted audio device is kept low, the power is turned off. The power consumption can be suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an in-vehicle audio device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Infrared Transmitter 2 Infrared Receiver 3 Microcomputer 4 Sound Source 5 Volume 6 Mute Circuit 7 Speaker 8 Time Setting Section 9 Time Measuring Section 10 Power Switch 20 Detecting Section 21 Acoustic Equipment System 22 Acoustic Signal System 23 Acoustic Signal System

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An audio signal system for controlling and outputting an audio signal from an audio signal source, a detector for detecting the presence / absence of an occupant in an automobile, and the sound based on the detection signal from the detector. An in-vehicle audio device, comprising: a control unit that controls a sound output of a signal system, wherein the control unit lowers an output volume of the sound signal system when the detection unit detects the absence of an occupant. 2. The on-vehicle audio equipment according to claim 1,
When the detection unit detects that an occupant is present, the output audio volume of the acoustic signal system lowered by the control unit is returned to the original level, and the vehicle-mounted acoustic device is characterized. 3. The on-vehicle audio equipment according to claim 1, wherein:
The detection unit includes a time measuring unit that measures an absence duration time from when the presence of an occupant is detected, and a time setting unit, and the control unit controls the acoustic signal system after a set time set by the time setting unit has elapsed. Vehicle-mounted audio equipment characterized by turning off the power of the. 4. A sound signal system for controlling the volume of a sound signal from a sound signal source and outputting the sound signal, a detection unit for detecting the presence / absence of an occupant in a vehicle, and the sound based on the detection signal from the detection unit. An in-vehicle audio device, comprising: a control unit that controls a sound output of a signal system, wherein the control unit turns off the power of the sound signal system when the detection unit detects the absence of an occupant. 5. The on-vehicle audio equipment according to claim 4,
The in-vehicle acoustic device, wherein when the detection unit detects that an occupant is present, the control unit turns on the power of the acoustic signal system that is turned off, and the acoustic signal system outputs the sound.