EP0790719B1 - Method and receiver for the reception and reproduction of digitally coded traffic messages - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for reproducing received digitally coded traffic reports with a receiver adapted to receive and output the digitally coded traffic announcements and traffic announcements in the form of audio signals, and to a receiver.

To inform motorists about congestion and other important events for motorists traffic broadcasts are regularly broadcast via radio stations. In order to be able to distinguish in the station selection station, which bring traffic announcements, from other stations to enable a loudspeaker of the receiver during the traffic announcements and to select the traffic reports by geographical areas, years ago a known traffic radio system was introduced, in which identification signals by modulation of a 57 kHz carrier.

With the newer Radio Data System (RDS) an additional and inaudible transmission of digital data in parallel to broadcast programs in a data channel is made possible. Specifications of the radio data system for VHF radio are inter alia in the publication Tech. 3244 - E, March 1984 of the European Union Broadcasting Union (EBU). Radio receivers with suitable RDS decoders can record and decode transmitted data in addition to broadcast reception with the same receiver. For data transmission, 32 groups of 104 bits each are provided, with each of the transmitted groups being assigned a specific service. Group 8a is currently for the transmission of digitally coded traffic announcements.

The structure and coding of these traffic reports are in CEN Draft pr. ENV / 278/4/1/0011, based on the standard ALERT C, November 1990, issued by the RDS ATT ALERT Consortium. The essential elements of a traffic report are the location of the event and the event. This information is cataloged, which means that every traffic-relevant location and every traffic-relevant event is assigned a unique code. The concatenation of places in the place table along existing roads reflects the course. In addition to the usual facilities of a receiver with an RDS decoder facilities for decoding, storage, processing and output of the traffic reports are required to use the traffic message channel TMC (Traffic Message Channel).

The dissemination of these digitally coded traffic reports has various advantages over traffic announcements, for example, the digitally coded traffic reports can be digitally processed in a processor of the receiver, in particular different languages visually and / or acoustically output. Even if forecasts show that in the long term the TMC system is displaced in the previous traffic, is to expect a longer transitional period. During this transition period, both digitally coded traffic announcements and traffic announcements are transmitted.

The car radio provided for the transitional period will therefore be able to use both sources of information, that is to receive, to decode and output as necessary. Such a receiver has become known by U.S. Patent 4,862,513. With simultaneous reception of spoken, ie transmitted as audio signals traffic announcements, and a digitally coded traffic message, the output of the traffic announcement has priority. The digitally coded traffic reports are buffered and then output.

This method has the disadvantage that the driver must first listen to all traffic announcements, since a selection - apart from the selection of relatively large geographical areas - is not possible, and then still has to record the digitally coded traffic reports. In unfavorable cases, the time for the traffic announcements and announcements, despite a possible selection of the digitally coded traffic reports, can be extended extremely. The advantage of the TMC system, the traffic reports to select so that only the interesting traffic information for the driver are issued and thus the flood of messages is reduced, is lost.

In particular, in radio receivers with multiple receiving parts, which are adjustable for the reception of a radio program to a different station than for the reception of traffic information, the traffic announcements of the traffic reports with respect Completeness, content, language and timeliness differ, which makes the driver rather insecure than useful to him.

The invention has for its object to be able to fully exploit the advantages of the TMC system despite continuing existing traffic system.

This object is achieved in that upon receipt of a characteristic signal, which denotes a traffic announcement, the reproduction of each received audio signals suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is played.

The method according to the invention has the advantage that the motorist only receives information that he would like to receive or receive due to his driving route or a previously set selection. A number of other advantages result from the TMC system, such as the timeliness and security mentioned above, an output in the form of text and / or language, or an output in a selectable language.

In the method according to the invention it can be provided that the identification signal is transmitted by modulation of the 57 kHz carrier at 125 Hz or in the radio data signal by setting the bits TA and TP to "1".

In the method according to the invention, as generally known in traffic information, it is possible to suppress not only a reproduction of the received audio signals but also a reproduction of stored audio signals (tape cassette, compact disc). In order to avoid any irritation by directly successive playback of parts of a traffic announcement and a traffic report is in a development of the invention provided that the playback of each received signals is suppressed until both the received traffic announcement and the playback of the stored traffic message are completed.

In the TMC system, the type of messages is limited, so that messages can exist that can not be encoded or decoded in the radio receiver. These messages include, for example, travel calls such as "Mr. Mustermann, traveling in northern Germany, please call his sister" or personal danger warnings such as "the driver of the car with the license plate YY-XX 00 would like to start a workshop immediately ...". Such messages are too different in content to be coded with an event list. Also messages about places that are not included in a place database in the radio receiver, can not be encoded or decoded. Such messages will also have to be broadcast in the future in spoken form.

In addition, it is advantageous to transmit extremely urgent messages, for example about ghost drivers, despite transmission in the TMC system as a spoken message, since the analog voice transmission in poor reception conditions is less susceptible to interference than the digital channel of the radio data system.

However, the spoken announcements can not be heard or overheard despite the TMC system being activated, for example, when the user hears music from a cassette or quietens the radio receiver.

In order to prevent the reproduction of such traffic announcements not by the inventive method, it is provided in a development of the method according to the invention that upon receipt of a predetermined signal in Radio data signal indicative of a traffic announcement in the form of audio signals, the receiver is set to playback of this traffic announcement. On the transmission side, then the transmission of the predetermined signal in the radio data signal is required when such a traffic announcement is sent.

The above-mentioned disadvantages of the reproduction of traffic reports and traffic announcements also occurs in receivers that are not specially set up for the conventional traffic, since the traffic announcements are audible at noisy announcement with a correspondingly set receiver. To avoid these disadvantages, in a first inventive receiver for receiving and reproducing digitally coded traffic information with a receiving section, a LF section, an RDS decoder, facilities for the evaluation, storage and output of the digitally coded traffic information and a switch, the Input of the LF part either to the output of the receiving part or to the output of the device for outputting traffic reports sets, provided that the switch from the device for evaluating the digitally coded traffic messages is controllable such that upon receipt of a Kennsignals that a traffic announcement denotes the playback of each received audio signals suppressed and instead a current stored traffic message is played.

In another receiver according to the invention with a traffic radio decoder is provided that the switch from the traffic decoder is controllable such that upon receipt of a Kennsignals which denotes a traffic announcement, the playback of each received audio signals suppressed and instead a current stored traffic message is reproduced.

The invention can be applied in a particularly advantageous manner in a receiver with two receiving parts. In such a development, which also includes two RDS decoder, it is provided that the means for the evaluation, storage and output of the digitally coded traffic messages are connected to the output of the second receiving part via the first RDS decoder, that at the output of the first Receiving part further, the second RDS decoder is connected and that the switch from the second RDS decoder is controllable such that upon receipt of a characteristic signal, which designates a traffic announcement, the playback of each received audio signals suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is displayed ,

Another inventive receiver is designed such that the means for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally coded traffic messages are connected to the output of the second receiving part via the RDS decoder that also the traffic radio decoder is connected to the output of the first receiving part and the switch is controllable by the traffic radio decoder such that, upon receipt of an identification signal designating a traffic announcement, the reproduction of the respective received audio signals is suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is reproduced.

Fig. 1

ein Blockschaltbild eines ersten erfindungsgemäßen Empfängers,

Fig. 2

ein Blockschaltbild eines zweiten erfindungsgemäßen Empfängers,

Fig. 3

ein Flußdiagramm zur Erläuterung des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens,

Fig. 4

und Fig. 5 Blockschaltbilder weiterer erfindungsgemäßer Empfänger.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawing with reference to several figures and explained in more detail in the following description. It shows:

Fig. 1

a block diagram of a first inventive receiver,

Fig. 2

a block diagram of a second inventive receiver,

Fig. 3

a flow chart for explaining the method according to the invention,

Fig. 4

and FIG. 5 shows block diagrams of further receivers according to the invention.

Identical parts are provided in the figures with the same reference numerals.

In the receivers according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the respectively set transmitter is received with the aid of an antenna 1 and a receiving part 2 (tuner). The received and demodulated audio signal is fed via a switch 4 and a low-frequency amplifier 5 to a speaker 6. This signal is called in the following broadcast signal in order to distinguish it from the output signal of an output unit 7, with the help of which the traffic messages temporarily stored in a memory 8 are output.

To the receiving part 2, an RDS decoder 9 is further connected, which decodes the radio data signals contained in the received and demodulated signal. An evaluation of the digitally encoded traffic messages contained in the decoded radio data signals takes place in an evaluation unit 10 whose output is connected to an input of the memory 8. In the evaluation unit, a selection of the traffic messages to be stored or output as a function of inputs by the driver or of the route provided in each case also takes place optionally. Since this selection, as well as the evaluation and management of the traffic information in detail for the understanding of the invention are not required, is of a more detailed explanation of these functions apart.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the switch 4 is controlled by a also connected to the output of the receiving part 2 traffic radio decoder 11. During normal radio reception, the switch 4 is in the upper position, so that the broadcast signal passes through the low-frequency amplifier 5 to the speaker 6. If the traffic radio decoder 11 an announcement in the form of a modulation of the 57 kHz carrier at 125 Hz, the switch 4 is brought into the lower position and causes the output unit 7 to output the latest in the memory 8 cached traffic reports.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the switch 4 is controlled by the evaluation unit 10 as a function of the bits TP and TA of the radio-data signal explained below.

In the RDS standard (DIN EN 50 067, February 1993, page 27) are provided in the radio data signal traffic information TP and a traffic announcement TA, the meaning of which is given in the following table. TP TA importance 0 0 this program does not broadcast traffic announcements, nor does it refer, via EON, to programs broadcasting traffic announcements, 0 1 this program transmits EON information via another program with traffic announcements, 1 0 this program transmits traffic announcements, but at the moment none are sent, 1 1 This program is currently broadcasting a traffic announcement.

EON means Enhanced Other Network. Information about this is available in the so-called EON group of the radio data signal. The evaluation of the two bits TP and TA takes place in the evaluation unit 10.

The flowchart shown in Fig. 3 shows the essential parts of a program for controlling the switch 4 by means of the evaluation unit 10 or the traffic decoder 11. The program starts at 21 in a state in which the switch 4 is in the upper position that is, switched to radio mode and in which the TMC system is activated. Thereafter, the program branches at 22 depending on whether the beginning of a traffic announcement D has been detected. If this is not the case, the program shown is terminated at 23, that is, the provided for this program microprocessor performs other tasks until it returns to the program shown in Fig. 3 at 21.

However, if the beginning of a traffic announcement D is detected at 22, a branch occurs at 24 depending on whether an end of the traffic announcement is detected. If this is not the case, the switch 4 (FIGS. 1, 2) is brought into the lower position at 25, whereupon the output of the currently stored traffic messages takes place at 26.

However, if an end of traffic announcement D is detected at 24, at 27, the traffic announcement or traffic information selected for output is outputted to the end, and at 28, the change-over switch is returned to the upper position.

Figures 4 and 5 show receivers with two receiving parts 2, 2 '. In this case, the receiver of Fig. 4 in the rest as the receiver of FIG. 1 is constructed. The audio signal of the receiving part 2 is fed to the LF amplifier 5 as in the receiver of FIG. 1 via the switch 4. The traffic signal contained in the output signal of the receiving part 2 is supplied to the traffic radio decoder 11. However, the RDS signal is taken from the second receiving part 2 'and fed to the RDS decoder 9. Thereby, reproduction of a traffic message received and stored with the second receiving part 2 'can be reproduced by an announcement ID of another transmitter which is received by the first receiving part 2.

In the receiver of Fig. 5, a second RDS decoder 9 'is provided, which receives the RDS signals from the first receiving part 2. The second RDS decoder 9 'controls the switch 4 and the readout of the stored traffic message from the memory 7 as a function of the bits TP and TA of the received radio signal from the first receiving part 2.

Claims (9)

1. Method for reproducing received digitally encoded traffic messages with a receiver which is set up to receive and output the digitally encoded traffic messages and traffic announcements in the form of audio signals, characterized in that upon receipt of an identification signal which denotes a traffic announcement the reproduction of the respectively received audio signals is suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is reproduced.
2. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the identification signal is transmitted by modulating the 57-kHz carrier at 125 Hz.
3. Method according to either of Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the identification signal is transmitted in the radio data signal by setting the TA and TP bits to "1".
4. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the reproduction of the respectively received signals is suppressed until both the received traffic announcement and the reproduction of the stored traffic message have ended.
5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that upon receipt of a prescribed signal in the radio data signal which indicates a traffic announcement in the form of audio signals the receiver is set to reproduction of this traffic announcement.
6. Receiver for receiving and reproducing digitally encoded traffic messages with a reception part, an AF part, an RDS decoder, devices for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally encoded traffic messages and a changeover switch which connects the input of the AF part either to the output of the reception part or to the output of the device for outputting traffic messages, characterized in that the changeover switch (4) can be controlled by the device (10) for evaluating the digitally encoded traffic messages such that upon receipt of an identification signal which denotes a traffic announcement the reproduction of the respectively received audio signals is suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is reproduced (Figure 2).
7. Receiver for receiving and reproducing digitally encoded traffic messages with a reception part, an AF part, a traffic radio decoder, an RDS decoder, devices for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally encoded traffic messages and a changeover switch which connects the input of the AF part either to the output of the reception part or to the output of the device for outputting traffic messages, characterized in that the changeover switch (4) can be controlled by the traffic radio decoder (11) such that upon receipt of an identification signal which denotes a traffic announcement the reproduction of the respectively received audio signals is suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is reproduced (Figure 1).
8. Receiver for receiving and reproducing digitally encoded traffic messages with a first and a second reception part, an AF part, a first and a second RDS decoder, devices for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally encoded traffic messages and a changeover switch which connects the input of the AF part either to the output of the first reception part or to the output of the device for outputting traffic messages, characterized in that the output of the second reception part (2') has the devices (10, 8, 7) for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally encoded traffic messages connected to it via the first RDS decoder (9), in that the output of the first reception part (2) also has the second RDS decoder (9') connected to it, and in that the changeover switch (4) can be controlled by the second RDS decoder (9') such that upon receipt of an identification signal which denotes a traffic announcement the reproduction of the respectively received audio signals is suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is reproduced (Figure 5).
9. Receiver for receiving and reproducing digitally encoded traffic messages with a first and a second reception part, an AF part, a traffic radio decoder, an RDS decoder, devices for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally encoded traffic messages and a changeover switch which connects the input of the AF part either to the output of the first reception part or to the output of the device for outputting traffic messages, characterized in that the output of the second reception part (2') has the devices (10, 8, 7) for evaluating, storing and outputting the digitally encoded traffic messages connected to it via the RDS decoder (9), in that the output of the first reception part (2) also has the traffic radio decoder (11) connected to it, and in that the changeover switch (4) can be controlled by the traffic radio decoder (11) such that upon receipt of an identification signal which denotes a traffic announcement the reproduction of the respectively received audio signals is suppressed and instead at least one current stored traffic message is reproduced (Figure 4).

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