JP2001119780A - On-vehicle microphone system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an on-vehicle microphone system that has excellent performance and characteristics and realizes simplicity or the like in the configuration effectively. SOLUTION: The on-vehicle microphone system is provided with a microphone 1 that collects sound and a sound reflection means that reflects the sound from a sound source M toward the microphone 1. The sound reflection means in the front cover 11 of a speed meter 10 placed in front of the sound source M. The microphone 1 collects the sound reflected on the front cover 11. The microphone is placed at a position matching the directivity of the sound reflection means and placed in the inside of a cluster 13 surrounding the speed meter 10. Since the microphone can pick up only sound required for voice recognition without noise, the voice recognition rate can be remarkably enhanced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle microphone device used for a hands-free telephone or a voice recognition device in a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to improve the safety of a vehicle when traveling, a car navigation system operable by a hands-free telephone or voice is becoming widespread. Such a hands-free phone or car navigation system requires a microphone for voice input, but such a microphone is usually mounted in an appropriate place such as a sun visor or a column cover.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-108284 describes an example of a microphone that is mounted on a pillar that is diagonally forward of a driver of a vehicle. That is, as shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a base 101 fixed to a mounting position (front pillar) in the vehicle, an arm 102 having one end attached to the base 101, and a microphone 103 attached to a tip of the arm 102. It consists of.

When the microphone device 100 is not used, the microphone unit 10 is not used as shown by a solid line in FIG.
3 are stored so as to face upward. In addition, the arm portion 102 can be brought into a use state by rotating the arm portion 102 by approximately 90 ° as shown by a two-dot chain line and pulling it out from the stored state. In this use, the arm unit 102 projects from the front pillar in a substantially upright direction, and the microphone unit 103 is arranged at a position close to the mouth of the user sitting on the driver's seat. Then, the user of the microphone can input sound through the microphone unit 103 while sitting in the driver's seat.

[0005]

However, in the above-described microphone device 100, the microphone unit 103 is arranged as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 12 when the microphone device 100 is used. ,
Noise inside and outside the vehicle can be easily picked up at the same time, and as a result, the voice recognition rate decreases. In addition to such performance characteristics, the wiring of the microphone unit 103 is routed through the inside of the front pillar to a voice recognition device installed inside the instrument panel or the like. For this reason, assembling work of the apparatus and the like are troublesome and time-consuming.

Further, as shown in the example of FIG. 12, the microphone may be obstructive to the user depending on the mounting position of the microphone, may obstruct the front view, and may be installed so as to be exposed from an interior member such as a front pillar. Had the problem of spoiling the interior appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle microphone device having excellent performance characteristics and effectively realizing a simplified configuration.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided an on-vehicle microphone device comprising: a microphone for collecting sound; and sound reflecting means for reflecting sound from a sound source and directing the sound to the microphone. The sound reflected by the reflection means is collected by the microphone.

Further, in the microphone device for vehicle according to the present invention, the sound reflecting means is a front cover of a speedometer located in front of the sound source.

Further, in the vehicle-mounted microphone device according to the present invention, the microphone is arranged at a position matching the directional direction of the sound reflected by the sound reflecting means. Further, in the vehicle-mounted microphone device according to the present invention, the microphone is provided inside a cluster surrounding the speedometer. Further, in the vehicle-mounted microphone device according to the present invention, the microphone is provided inside an instrument panel in which the speedometer is installed.

[0011] In the microphone device for mounting on a vehicle according to the present invention, a cluster or an instrument panel in which the microphone is arranged has a slit-shaped or mesh-shaped sound collecting hole.

According to the present invention, a microphone device includes a microphone for collecting sound, and sound reflecting means for reflecting sound from a sound source and directing the sound to the microphone. As this sound reflection means, for example, a sound source, that is, a front cover of a speedometer located in front of the mouth of the user is effectively used, and a sound emitted by the user is reflected on a curved surface of the front cover to match the direction of the sound. The sound is directed to the microphone located at the position.

If the microphone is provided inside the cluster surrounding the speedometer, only the voice necessary for voice recognition and the like can be picked up without noise, so that the voice recognition rate by the voice recognition device is greatly improved. As a result, a good interior appearance can be ensured without the microphone being exposed from the interior member. Further, since the microphone is disposed at a position very close to the speedometer, the lead wire of the microphone and the harness of the speedometer can be integrally routed, and wiring can be extremely easily and simplified.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a vehicle-mounted microphone device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a main part of a microphone device according to this embodiment. This microphone device is mounted for inputting voice to a voice recognition device for performing voice input of a hands-free telephone or operating a car navigation system, etc., and includes a microphone 1 for collecting voice and a sound source. (A mouth or mouth M of a driver who is a user) and a sound reflecting means for reflecting the sound and directing the sound to the microphone 1.

The sound reflecting means is constituted by a front cover (transparent panel) 11 of a speedometer 10 located in front of the sound source, as will be described later.
The sound reflected by the microphone 1 is collected by the microphone 1. The front cover 11 is made of a transparent resin, and is mounted so as to cover the front part (driver's seat side) of the housing 12 of the speedometer 10, and in this example, the concave gentle curved surface is arranged to face upward. Have been.

The microphone 1 is arranged at a position that matches the direction of the sound of the front cover 11, which is sound reflecting means, for the sound. That is, it is installed at a position where the sound reflected by the front cover 11 is most easily picked up in relation to the inclination and the curved shape of the front cover 11. 1 to 7
In the example, the speedometer 10 is provided inside the cluster 13 surrounding the speedometer 10. Note that a handle 14 is disposed in front of the speedometer 10.

As shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, the cluster 13 has an instrument panel 1 in front of the driver's seat.
It is arranged in the form protruding from 5 to the driver's seat side. In this example, the front cover 11 has a tunnel shape or a dome shape, and is installed so as to completely wrap the front cover 11 in the back. In addition, as shown in FIG.
It is fixed to the instrument panel 15 side by screws 16a to 16d. The cluster 13 is connected to the instrument panel 1 by screws 17a and 17b.
Fixed to the 5 side.

Here, the microphone 1 is a directional microphone, for example, has a box shape as shown in FIG. 4, and has mounting brackets 1a on both sides thereof. A screw hole 1b is formed in each bracket 1a. An arrow A in FIG. 4 indicates a sound collection (directivity) direction of the microphone 1, and mainly picks up a sound or a voice from the arrow A direction. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the microphone 1 has a hollow interior 13b at the center of the upper portion 13a of the cluster 13.
Are arranged with the sound collecting side surface 1c facing down. The microphone 1 is fixed to the cluster 13 by the screw 3.
As shown in FIG. 7, a through hole 4 for inserting each screw 3 is formed on the lower surface of the upper part 13a of the cluster 13.

The microphone 1 can be fixed to the cluster 13 with an appropriate adhesive or the like. In this case, since the screws 3 and the through holes 4 become unnecessary, the configuration can be simplified.

The cluster 13 is formed so as to surround the periphery of the front cover 11 of the speedometer 10, and an upper portion 13 a on which the microphone 1 is mounted projects greatly in a flange shape. The microphone 1 is located at the upper part 13 of the cluster 13
Because it is installed inside the hollow of a, outside (particularly the driver's seat side)
You can't see it at all. That is, it does not appear in the exterior of the body interior.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a slit-shaped sound collecting hole 5 is formed in the upper portion 13a of the cluster 13 where the microphone 1 is arranged as described above. Since the sound collecting hole 5 has a slit shape, a proper sound collecting function is guaranteed, and the microphone 1 disposed at the back can be prevented from being exposed to the outside. Furthermore, since it has a slit shape, reflection on the front cover 11 is also prevented. Note that the sound collecting hole 5 can be formed in a mesh shape or the like in addition to the slit shape.

In the above case, as shown in FIG. 1, the lead wire 2 connected to the microphone 1 can be routed integrally with the harness 18 of the speedometer 10.

The microphone device of this embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below.
First, here, the front cover 11 of the speedometer 10
Has an inclination angle as described above and is curved, so that only the black portion of the inner surface 13a of the cluster 13 is reflected, and the surrounding interior members and the like are not reflected. This ensures good visibility of the speedometer 10 from the driver's seat. This action means that the light incident on the speedometer 10 is reflected on the inner surface 13c of the cluster 13 when the light direction is considered in reverse.

Now, since the mouth M of the user or the driver is located at a position close to the eyes, the sound emitted from the mouth M has substantially the same reflection as the light path to the front cover 11 as shown by the arrow in FIG. The light is reflected by the front cover 11 along the path, and then reaches the inner surface 13 c of the cluster 13.
That is, the microphone 1 is connected via the front cover 11.
Is formed.

That is, the sound from the mouth M can be reflected and directed to the microphone 1 by utilizing the inclination angle and the curved shape of the front cover 11 of the speedometer 10. As described above, since the microphone 1 is arranged at a position matching the directional direction of the front cover 11 with respect to the sound, the sound can be accurately picked up. In this case, since the cluster 13 surrounds the front cover 11 in a shape such as a tunnel, unnecessary noise inside and outside the vehicle is prevented from entering, so that only the voice necessary for voice recognition and conversation can be obtained without noise. Since it can be picked up, the speech recognition rate can be greatly improved.

Even if such noise is picked up, the input direction of the noise can be specified by the shape or form of the cluster 13. Thus, the noise source can be limited, so that it is easy to implement a noise removal measure using a filter or the like, and the speech recognition rate is also improved in this respect.

As described above, since the microphone 1 is provided in the hollow interior 13b of the cluster 13 surrounding the speedometer 10, the microphone 1 guarantees a good interior appearance without being seen from the outside, and has no effect on the field of view from the driver's seat. Absent.
Also, the lead wire 2 of the microphone 1 is housed in the cluster 13 and is bundled and routed integrally with the harness 18 of the speedometer 10, thereby making the wiring extremely easy and simple, and the interior and exterior appearance accompanying the wiring. There is no need to worry about spoiling.

In the above configuration, the microphone device can be mounted while maintaining and assuring the existing structure and function around the speedometer 10, and the appearance of the interior is no different from the case where the microphone device is not provided.
Therefore, a microphone device having excellent performance characteristics can be realized with a simple configuration.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same reference numerals are used for members that are substantially the same as or correspond to those in the first embodiment. FIG.
3 shows an example of a configuration of a main part of a microphone device according to the embodiment. In this example, the microphone 1 is provided in a hollow portion 15b of an instrument panel 15 where the speedometer 10 is installed. In this case, speedometer 1
A front cover (transparent panel) 11 having a curved surface facing downward is attached to 0. The microphone 1 is arranged at a position that matches the direction of the sound of the front cover 11 as in the first embodiment. Other configurations are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, the sound emitted from the mouth M is reflected by the front cover 11 and then reaches the upper surface 15a of the hollow portion 15b of the instrument panel 15, as shown by the arrow in FIG. I do. Also in this example, the sound from the mouth M can be reflected and directed to the microphone 1 using the inclination angle and the curved shape of the front cover 11 of the speedometer 10. Similarly, since the microphone 1 is arranged at a position that matches the directional direction of the front cover 11 with respect to the sound, the sound can be accurately picked up.

Therefore, also in the case of the second embodiment, the voice recognition rate can be improved, and the wiring and assembly work can be performed efficiently without the need for labor. In addition,
In the example of FIG. 8, the microphone 1 is arranged in the hollow portion 15b of the instrument panel 15, but may be arranged in the hollow portion below the cluster 13 (for example, a portion 13b 'in FIG. 1).

Here, an example in which the microphone device of the above embodiment is applied to a vehicle-mounted unit control system will be described.
FIG. 2 shows an arrangement state of the in-vehicle unit control system in an automobile, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, in the vehicle unit control system according to the present embodiment, the center control unit 2 having a car navigation function is provided.
0, optional units such as a CD unit 50 and a cassette integrated AM / FM radio unit 60 are connected via a communication bus or the like.

The center control unit 20 has a voice recognition function in addition to a car navigation function, and has a key operation unit 20a provided with a plurality of controls, a map display based on the car navigation function, the state of each optional unit, and the like. Is provided, and a speaker 30 is built-in. The speaker 30
This is for performing the repeat output of the sound input from the microphone 1 and the output accompanying the operation of the units 50 and 60 (the output of music by the CD reproduction operation in the CD unit 50, the output of the radio unit 60, and the like). .

This center control unit 20
The CD unit 50, the radio unit 60, and the navigation function can be operated by operating the key operation unit 20a, and can also be operated by inputting an operation keyword corresponding to a desired operation from the microphone 1 by the user. Is possible. Note that the microphone 1 is used for voice input of an operation keyword and the like, and also used for voice input when a conversation is performed by a hands-free phone.

Inside the center control unit 20, a controller 21 for controlling the operation of each unit of the unit is provided. This controller 21 is, for example, a CP
U, a microcomputer system including a ROM and a RAM. The CPU executes a predetermined processing program stored in the ROM in advance, so that a voice recognition processing unit 22, a voice synthesis processing unit 23, a voice output processing unit 24, A configuration including an operation control processing unit 25 and a key input processing unit 26 is realized.

The voice recognition processing section 22 recognizes the operation keyword input by voice from the microphone 1 and converts this into text data. For example, when a voice “CD start” is input from the microphone, the voice is recognized by the voice recognition processing unit 22 as an operation keyword. When the operation control processing unit 25 recognizes that the operation keyword “current location display” or “CD start” is input from the microphone 1 based on the recognition result of the voice recognition processing unit 22, the operation control processing unit 25 generates a control command corresponding to the operation keyword. Then, this is given to the driver 29. The driver 29 drives the navigation unit 28 or the CD unit 50 according to a control command from the operation control processing unit 25. As a result, a map is displayed on the monitor 27 based on the navigation function, and the CD playback operation in the CD unit 50 is started.

When a key for instructing the start of the navigation operation or the start of the CD reproduction operation is operated by the key operation unit 20a, this operation state is detected by the key input processing unit 26. The operation control processing unit 25 generates a control command corresponding to the detection result of the key input processing unit 26 and gives the control command to the driver 29. Thereby, the corresponding navigation display, CD reproduction, and the like are performed.

The voice synthesizing processing unit 23 includes the voice recognition processing unit 2
In addition to the repeat output of the voice recognized in 2, a process for outputting various messages and the like from the speaker 30 via the voice output processing unit 24 is executed.

Note that the car navigation function is not integrated with the center control unit 20;
The present invention may be applied to a microphone device configured by a separate car navigation unit 40 as shown by a dashed-dotted line in FIG.

By applying the present invention to the above-mentioned on-vehicle unit control system, the voice recognition rate in the voice recognition processing section 22 is improved, and a conversation with little noise can be performed on a hands-free telephone.

Although the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various other modifications can be made without departing from the essence of the present invention. For example, the microphone 1 described in the above embodiment is not limited to a single microphone, and a plurality of microphones 1 may be arranged in an array. In this case, it is preferable to arrange them in the left-right direction when viewed from the driver's seat. By arranging the microphones 1 in an array as described above, a high sound collecting effect can be obtained.

When the microphone 1 is arranged as shown in FIG. 10 (A), a second sound pickup hole 6 is provided on the upper end 13a of the cluster 13 on the front end side facing the driver's seat. The microphone 1 may be configured so that sound can be collected through the sound collecting hole 6. In this case, the sound collecting hole 5 described in the above embodiment may be provided as it is, or may not be provided.
The second sound collecting hole 6 may be formed in a slit shape as shown in FIG. 10B, or may be formed in a mesh shape, so that a good appearance can be maintained.

By providing the second sound collecting hole 6 in this manner, the sound emitted from the mouth M can be transmitted to the microphone 1.
Can be collected directly. When the sound collecting hole 5 is provided, the sound reflected by the front cover 11 is collected by the sound collecting hole 5 in addition to the second sound collecting hole 6 as described in the above embodiment. can do.

As shown in FIG. 11, the microphone 1 may be configured so that sound can be directly collected only from the sound collection hole 6 provided in the upper part 13a of the cluster 13. In this case, a high sound collecting effect can be obtained by forming the sound collecting hole 6 into a slit shape or a mesh shape and reflecting the sound at the portion to collect the sound to the microphone 1. Further, the microphone 1 may be entirely or partially exposed from the sound collecting hole 6.

Further, as can be seen from FIG. 1, the sound emitted from the mouth M passes through the handle 14 and is directed to the front cover 11 or the cluster 13. By utilizing this fact, the microphone may be arranged near the center of the handle 14 so that the sound can be picked up, and the sound may be directly collected by the microphone.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the sound is reflected by the sound reflecting means and the sound is collected by the microphone, it is possible to pick up only the sound necessary for speech recognition and the like without noise. It is possible to dispose it in a position where it is not possible to obstruct the front view of the user or to impair the appearance of the interior. Therefore, the voice recognition rate can be greatly improved, and a good view can be ensured and the interior appearance can be guaranteed.

Further, when the front cover of the speedometer located in front of the mouth of the user is effectively used, that is, when the sound generated by the user is reflected on the curved surface of the front cover, the existing interior is not used. Since the members can be maintained as they are and the wiring can be extremely easily and simplified, there are advantages that the cost can be substantially reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a microphone device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the periphery of an instrument panel on which the microphone device of the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an assembling structure of a speedometer and a cluster according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the microphone device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an assembly structure in a cluster of the microphone device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of a microphone device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an in-vehicle unit control system.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an arrangement configuration around a microphone.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of the arrangement configuration around the microphone in the microphone device of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an interior perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a conventional microphone device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microphone 1a Mounting bracket 1b Screw hole 2 Lead wire 3 Screw 4 Through hole 5 Sound collecting hole 6 Second sound collecting hole 10 Speedometer 11 Front cover 12 Housing 13 Cluster 14 Handle 15 Instrument panel 18 Harness 20 Center Control unit 21 Controller 22 Voice recognition processing unit 23 Voice synthesis processing unit 24 Voice output processing unit 25 Operation control processing unit 26 Key input processing unit 27 Monitor 29 Driver 50 CD unit 60 Cassette type AM / FM radio unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A microphone for collecting sound,
And a sound reflecting means for reflecting sound from a sound source and directing the sound to the microphone, wherein the sound reflected by the sound reflecting means is collected by the microphone. 2. The in-vehicle microphone device according to claim 1, wherein the sound reflection unit is a front cover of a speedometer located in front of the sound source. 3. The on-vehicle microphone device according to claim 1, wherein the microphone is arranged at a position that matches a directional direction of the sound reflected by the sound reflecting unit. 4. The on-vehicle microphone device according to claim 2, wherein the microphone is provided inside a cluster surrounding the speedometer. 5. The in-vehicle microphone device according to claim 2, wherein the microphone is provided inside an instrument panel on which the speedometer is installed. 6. The in-vehicle microphone device according to claim 4, wherein the cluster or the instrument panel on which the microphone is arranged has a slit-shaped or mesh-shaped sound collecting hole.