FR2716056A1 - Low bit rate radio signal receiving and reproducing apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The apparatus includes a number of units consisting of electronic circuits which are preferably mounted on a PCB in a single box (9) in the vehicle. The units are independent of the radio receiver (1) and are connected to the aerial (2), loudspeakers (3) and battery (4). A receiver and decoder unit (5) includes a high frequency demodulator (10) with reception frequency controlled by a PLL (11) in the processing and control unit (8). The processing and control unit receives logic signals from the decoder circuit (12) after selective filtering. A conversion and recovery unit (6) uses a conversion circuit (14) to produce a digital speech signal. The digital speech signal is input to a D/A convertor (15) and is then amplified (16) before being output to the loudspeakers.

Description

DESCRIPTION
The present invention relates to the wireless transmission of data and / or information in particular to a plurality of receivers, and relates to a device for receiving and restoring information and / or data transmitted at low speed via of a sub-carrier of a radio hertzian signal, as well as a method implementing said device.

 It is already known at present to transmit data or information at low speed from a broadcasting transmitter center in frequency modulation to a plurality, a limited number or a single receiver (s), which can be mobile or fixed, depending in particular on the nature and content of said data or information.

 Thus, various practical applications have been developed, in particular within the framework of the European standard RDS EN 50067.

 However, given the low speed of the transmission (approximately 30 to 40 bytes per second), the restitution of information and / or data in series, transmitted in the form of messages, is carried out by display, which requires monopolizing the attention of the user for taking these messages into account and limits the length of the messages that can be transmitted and displayed, and therefore their clarity and precision, in particular in the case of mobile receivers having screens of small dimensions.

 Thus, miniature portable radio paging receivers, integrating a power supply and a screen, have been developed and marketed.

 Similarly, there are radio receivers mounted in vehicles (car radios) integrating additional electronic functions allowing the reception and the restitution of data and information transmitted by the RDS system and authorizing. for example. automatic change of reception frequency when moving the vehicle, and display of the station name, traffic information or alert messages on the radio receiver.

 In order to try to avoid distracting the attention of the motorist for taking into account the information and / or data transmitted which may be useful for him, it has recently been developed car radios integrating RDS reception systems and containing memories for storing typical voice messages or end of specific voice messages or words. The transmitted RDS data is then made up of sequences of digital codes each corresponding to a message or to a given piece of message, and the message reconstituted after reception and decoding is broadcast by the vehicle's speakers.

 However, it is necessary, in the latter case, that the motorist or the user purchases such a car radio and installs it in place of his old car radio.

 In addition, due to the limited storage capacity and the reduced flexibility of the method described above, the variety, conciseness and adaptability of the messages that can be delivered to the motorist are very limited and do not allow efficient operation in radio messaging.

 The present invention aims in particular to overcome all of the aforementioned drawbacks.

 To this end it has for its object, a device for receiving and restoring information and / or data transmitted at low speed by means of a sub-carrier of a radio radio signal, characterized in that it is essentially in the form of a set of units made up of electronic circuits, intended to be installed on board a vehicle and to restore the aforementioned digital information or data in voice form, said set being independent of the radio receiver of said vehicle and connected to the antenna, the speaker (s) and the latter's battery.

 The subject of the invention is also a method of transmitting information and / or data at low speed by means of a subcarrier of a radio hertzian signal using the above-mentioned device, characterized in that it consists in conditioning, on transmission, the information and / or data in the form of a series or digital ordered sequence of phonetic codes and / or prosody codes, each corresponding to a phonetically coded voice message, and in restoring, upon receipt, at each vehicle equipped with a device, said information and / or data in intelligible voice form for the driver and possible passengers of said vehicle.

 The invention will be better understood from the following description, which relates to a preferred embodiment, given by way of nonlimiting example, and explained with reference to the appended schematic drawing, the single figure of which represents a block diagram of a device according to the invention.

 As shown in said figure, the reception and restitution device according to the invention is essentially in the form of a set of units 5 to 8 made up of electronic circuits intended to be taken on board a vehicle and to be restored the aforementioned digital information or data in voice form, said assembly being independent of the radio receiver station 1 of said vehicle and connected to the antenna 2, to the speaker (s) 3 and to the battery 4 thereof.

 Thus, the device according to the invention is structurally and functionally completely separate from the radio receiver 1, and the two can be the subject of a completely separate implementation.

 It should be noted that the reception and restitution device advantageously uses elements generally existing in motor vehicles, namely, the antenna 2 for reception (high sensitivity because external antenna), the loudspeaker (s) 3 for vocal reproduction and the battery 4 for its power supply (which gives it a very long autonomy), thus making it possible to minimize the constituent elements of said device, and therefore its cost, and to authorize an installation without additional circuit.

 According to a first characteristic of the invention, represented in the figure of the appended drawing, The above-mentioned set of units mainly comprises a unit 5 for receiving and decoding the subcarrier with digital coding of the radio signal picked up by the antenna 2, a unit 6 for converting and restoring information or data extracted from said radio signal in the form of an analog signal, a unit 7 for managing and distributing electrical energy and, finally, a unit 8 for processing and controlling the other units 5 to 7 above, said units 5 to 8 being preferably integrated in a single housing 9 and, if necessary, mounted on a printed circuit board.

 The energy management and distribution unit 7 makes it possible, under the control of the microprocessor type unit 8, to selectively supply the various other units of the device and, thus, to optimize the electrical consumption as a function of the different operating phases of the latter.

 As shown in the figure of the appended drawings, the reception and decoding unit 5 is composed, on the one hand, of a high-frequency demodulator circuit 10, the reception frequency of which is controlled by the processing unit 8 and control by means of a servo control 11 by phase locked loop, and, on the other hand, a decoder circuit 12 which, after selective filtering, extracts, from the aforementioned demodulated signal, the coded information signals and / or data transmitted by the subcarrier considered and delivers to the processing and control unit 8 the corresponding logic signals.

 The filter included in the decoder circuit is advantageously a selective filter at 57 KHz.

 Advantageously, the reception and decoding unit 5 is suitable for use in frequency modulation and for information or data transmitted in a form defined by the European standard CENELEC EN50067.

 However, it can also be envisaged to transmit the information and / or data by amplified modulated radio (AM) by adapting the reception and decoding unit 5 accordingly.

 In addition, the reception and decoding unit 5 is provided, upstream, with a high frequency coupling circuit 13 directly connected to the antenna 2 and ensuring a sharing of the signals delivered by the latter and a transmission to said unit 5 for receiving and decoding or to the radio receiver I of the vehicle.

 Said coupling circuit 13 may be located in the housing 9 containing the various units 5 to 8 or be arranged outside of it.

In accordance with another characteristic of the invention,
The conversion and restitution unit 6 is composed, on the one hand, of a conversion circuit 14 transforming the information or data signals decoded by the reception and decoding unit 5, into digital speech signals , on the other hand, of a digital / analog converter 15 and, finally, of an amplifier circuit 16 connected to the speaker (s) 3 of the vehicle, the unit 6 constituting a speech synthesis unit phonetic-based with this or these.

 The aforementioned unit 6 comprises, integrated or connected to the conversion circuit 14, a storage memory (not shown) containing, in digital form, the phonetic elements of speech (for example phonemes or pairs of phonemes) and the prosody elements of the spoken language, which can be reproduced in vocal form, by constituting spoken messages, after a digital / analog conversion, according to phonetic codes and prosody codes, in the form of logic signals, transmitted in the form of digital series, by the sub -carrier of the radio radio signal and extracted by the unit 5 for reception and decoding.

 Thus, a transmission of messages by means of series of phonetic codes or prosody codes allows the dissemination of any type of sentence or words, without limitation in the variety, complexity or length of the messages, and without suffering from low speed. transmission at the level of message reproduction.

 In addition, this provision allows the intelligible transmission and reproduction of voice messages in different languages.

In order to authorize the sound diffusion in the vehicle of the radio broadcasts and of the digital information and data transmitted and to be able to share the use of the loudspeakers between the radio set I and the device according to the invention, the latter comprises one or more switching circuits 17, arranged downstream of the conversion and restitution unit 6, making it possible to selectively connect the output of the latter or that of the radio receiver
I from the vehicle to the speaker (s) 3, the switching state of the switching circuit (s) 17 being controlled by the processing and control unit 8 and the priority of broadcasting being reserved for informative messages digital transmitted by the radio carrier sub-carrier of the radio signal
In accordance with an additional characteristic of the invention, also shown in the appended drawing, the reception and restitution device may also include a remote control member 18 for the user, in the form of a keyboard for example, making it possible to configure, interrogate and to dialogue with the processing and control unit 8.

 The connection between the keyboard 18 and the device can be carried out with or without wire and the responses of the device can advantageously be formulated and communicated by voice using the speakers 3.

 The molding of the device according to the invention could, moreover, possibly be provided, on the one hand, with memories for storing information or data received over the air for their subsequent restitution by voice and, on the other hand, connection interfaces with other means of restoring the aforementioned information or data, in particular of the display type, and / or with other computer devices on board the vehicle in question.

 The subject of the invention is also a method of transmitting information and data using the aforementioned device and consisting in conditioning, on transmission, the information and / or data in the form of a series or digital ordered sequence of phonetic codes and / or prosody codes, each corresponding to a phonetically coded voice message, and to restore, on reception, at the level of each vehicle equipped with a device, said information and / or data in intelligible voice form for the driver and any passengers of said vehicle.

 As a practical example of implementation, the mode of transmission could be of the type known under the name RDS by a person skilled in the art, as specified in particular in the European standard CENELEC EN 50067.

 An example of practical application of the invention may consist, for example, in the transmission and reception of meteorological information in phonetic form, by using the RDS channel of a local radio station.

 Weather information can be stored in a database, or entered regularly by an operator. These existing data in the "text" form are first converted into a series of phonemes or phonetic entities, using an appropriate device (grapheme-phoneme translator or equivalent).

 The phonetic entities are then processed by a processing device making it possible to convey this phonetic information through the RDS channel in accordance with standard EN50067.

 The phonetic information thus transmitted is received by the reception device object of the invention (thanks to the antenna 2), which thanks to its processing unit 8, and the digital speech elements contained in its memory, reconstitutes in the form of say the original information. Finally, the reconstituted speech is transformed into an electrical signal sufficiently amplified to control the speaker (s) 3 existing in the vehicle.

 The meteorological information thus received can also be stored in phonetic form in an internal memory of the device. The driver can, thanks to the control device 18, interrogate this memory in order to be able to listen when he wishes, to the last weather flash received and stored. This possibility brings interactivity in terms of information.

 Of course, the scope of applications is not restricted to meteorology, but can extend to the dissemination of information contained in databases (avoids the data entry operator), such as, stock market information, results sports, especially racing, digital and alphanumeric radio messaging or the like.

 Thanks to the invention, it is therefore possible to design and produce an on-board device for receiving information and data transmitted by means of a radio hertzian signal and for rendering their content in voice form in vehicles which are equipped with it, said device having a minimum number of constituent elements formed of electronic circuits known to those skilled in the art and which can be installed, subsequently and separately, in a vehicle already equipped with a car radio, in parallel on this last, without any particular provision and without interfering with the use of said car radio.

 In addition, the transmission of information and data in the form of digital phonetic codes and prosody does not set any limit on the nature, content, genre or diversity of the informative messages transmitted, unlike solutions based on message parts or pre-recorded words, and allows a fluid restitution of messages, whatever their length, due to the economy obtained in bit rate to be transmitted by this codification of information and / or data, despite the low performance of said transmission .

 The device according to the invention is therefore particularly suitable for voice mail radio intended for individuals or professionals on the move, for the transmission of informative messages on the fringes of the main program of the transmitting radio station and relating, for example, to specific local information or the reception of alert messages intended for mobiles, without distracting the driver.

 Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown in the accompanying drawing. Modifications remain possible, in particular from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements, or by substitution of technical equivalents, without thereby departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims (11)

 l. Device for receiving and restoring information and / or data transmitted at low speed by means of a subcarrier of a radio hertzian signal, characterized in that it is essentially in the form of a set of units (5 to 8) consisting of electronic circuits intended to be carried on board a vehicle and to restore the aforementioned digital information or data in voice form, said set being independent of the radio receiver (1) of said vehicle and connected to the antenna (2), to the speaker (s) (3) and to the battery (4) of the latter.  2. Device according to claim l, characterized in that said assembly comprises a unit (5) for receiving and decoding the subcarrier with digital coding of the radio signal picked up by the antenna (2), a unit (6) for converting and restoring, in the form of an analog signal, information or data extracted from said radio signal, a unit (7) for managing and distributing electrical energy and, finally, a unit (8) for processing and controlling others aforementioned units (5 to 7), said units (5 to 8) being preferably integrated in a single housing (9) and, where appropriate, mounted on a printed circuit board.  3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the unit (5) for reception and decoding is composed, on the one hand, of a high frequency demodulator circuit (10), the reception frequency of which is controlled by the processing and control unit (8) by means of a phase locked loop control (11) and, on the other hand, a decoder circuit (12) which, after selective filtering, extracts of the aforementioned demodulated signal, the coded information and / or data signals transmitted by the subcarrier in question and delivers the corresponding logic signals to the processing and control unit (8).  4. Device according to any one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the unit (5) for reception and decoding is suitable for use in frequency modulation, for example for information or data transmitted in a form defined by European standard CENELEC EN50067.  5. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 4; characterized in that the reception and decoding unit (5) is provided, upstream, with a high frequency coupling circuit (13) connected directly to the antenna (2) and ensuring sharing of the signals delivered by this last and a transmission to said unit (5) for reception and decoding or to the radio receiver (1) of the vehicle.  6. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the unit (6) for conversion and restitution is composed, on the one hand, of a conversion circuit (14) transforming the signals d information or data decoded by the unit (5) for receiving and decoding, into digital speech signals, on the other hand, from a digital / analog converter (15) and, finally, from an amplifier circuit ( 16) connected to the speaker (s) (3) of the vehicle, the unit (6) constituting a speech synthesis unit based on phonetics with this or these latter.  7. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the unit (6) for conversion and restitution comprises a storage memory containing, in digital form, the phonetic elements of speech and the elements of prosody spoken language, which can be reproduced in vocal form, by constituting spoken messages, after a digital / analog conversion, according to phonetic codes and prosody codes, in the form of logic signals, transmitted in the form of digital series, by subcarrier of the radio radio signal and extracted by the reception and decoding unit (5).  8. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that it comprises one or more switching circuits (I 7), arranged (s) downstream of the unit (6) for conversion and restitution, making it possible to selectively connect the output of the latter or that of the radio receiver (1) of the vehicle to the speaker (s) (3), the switching state of the switching circuit (s) (17) being controlled by the processing and control unit (8).  9. Device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, characterized in that it comprises a remote control member (18) for the user, in the form of a keyboard for example, making it possible to configure, interrogate and dialogue with the processing and control unit (8) and in that it is possibly provided, on the one hand, with memories for storing information or data received over the air for their subsequent restitution by voice and, on the other hand, connection interfaces with other means of restoring the aforementioned information or data, in particular of the display type, and / or with other computer devices on board the vehicle in question.  10. A method of transmitting information and / or data at low speed by means of a sub-carrier of a radio radio signal, using the device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that it consists in conditioning, on transmission, the information and / or data in the form of a series or digital ordered sequence of phonetic codes and / or prosody codes, each corresponding to a phonetically coded voice message, and to restore, upon reception, at each vehicle equipped with a device, said information and / or data in intelligible voice form for the driver and possible passengers of said vehicle.  11. Method according to claim 10, characterized in that the transmission mode corresponds to that specified in the European standard CENELEC EN 50067.