JP2006262147A - Acoustic control unit for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an acoustic control unit for a vehicle having a function for confirming sound around the vehicle according to the travel situation of the vehicle at low costs. <P>SOLUTION: The acoustic control unit comprises a position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle; a microphone for detecting the sound around the vehicle; a detection area setting means for setting a detection area for detecting the sound around the vehicle; a position determination means for determining whether the current position of the vehicle is included in the detection area; a sound source sending means for sending a prescribed sound source into the vehicle; and a sound source sending control means for sending sound detected by the microphone to the sound source sending means as the sound source, when it is determined that the current position of the vehicle is included in the detection area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular acoustic control device having a function of automatically controlling a sound volume according to a running state of a vehicle.

  As the vehicle travels, the current position is detected by GPS (Global Positioning System), etc., and the current position is displayed on the display device together with the road map, and an appropriate route from the current position to the destination is displayed. A vehicle navigation device that is set and guided by a display device, an audio output device, or the like contributes to the efficient and safe driving of the user.

  However, comfort devices such as an audio device and an air conditioner have been generalized, including a vehicle navigation device, and it is becoming difficult to grasp the situation around the vehicle by sound. For this reason, even if an emergency vehicle such as a police car, an ambulance, a fire engine, etc. approaches, it is late to notice and it is difficult to take appropriate measures as soon as possible.

  Therefore, an alarm sound detection circuit that detects traffic alarm sounds such as sirens and railroad crossing alarm sounds for emergency vehicles, and an alarm sound level that outputs an alarm sound detection signal when the detected alarm sound level exceeds a preset reference level Equipped with a judgment circuit and a mute circuit that reduces the level of the audio signal being played by the warning sound detection signal, so that the time until the user recognizes an emergency vehicle approaching or a railroad crossing warning sound is significantly reduced. Therefore, an in-vehicle audio device has been devised that provides a margin for risk avoidance behavior (see Patent Document 1).

  Further, an in-vehicle alarm device has been devised that can notify the user of the situation around the vehicle by sound (see Patent Document 2). Since this on-vehicle alarm device is configured to detect the sound outside the vehicle, obtain the sound source and direction of arrival, and display the result in a concise manner, it is possible to accurately determine that the vehicle is important for driving. That is, when an emergency vehicle such as a police car, an ambulance, or a fire engine approaches, or when another vehicle sounds an alarm, an appropriate measure can be taken immediately.

  In addition, a plurality of directional microphones are installed outside the vehicle, and the sound of the surroundings of the vehicle input from the microphone is used to generate the sound of other vehicles 'horns and emergency vehicles' sirens. An in-vehicle warning device has been devised that recognizes the sound by comparing it with the sound stored in the storage medium, recognizes the direction from the ratio of the sound levels of a plurality of microphones, and notifies the user (Patent Document 3). reference).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-211418 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-328980 JP 2000-127796 A

  The examples of Patent Documents 1 to 3 all have a device for detecting a specific sound such as a siren sound of an emergency vehicle, and when a specific sound is detected, the external sound is flown into the vehicle compartment or a warning is given. It is a premise that the specific sound is generated externally, and there is a problem that it cannot be operated when “I want to check whether the sound is sounding externally”. In addition, a device or a control program for recognizing these specific sounds is required, and in order to improve the recognition accuracy, the size of the device increases, which causes an increase in the cost of the device.

  Against the background of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle acoustic control device having a function of confirming sounds around the vehicle according to the traveling state of the vehicle at a low cost.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  The present invention provides a vehicle acoustic control apparatus for solving the above-described problems. That is, according to claim 1, position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, a microphone for detecting sound around the vehicle, and detection area setting means for setting a detection area for detecting sound around the vehicle; A position determination means for determining whether the current position of the vehicle is included in the detection area, a sound source sending means for transmitting a predetermined sound source into the vehicle, and a case where it is determined that the current position of the vehicle is included in the detection area And a sound source transmission control means for sending the sound detected by the microphone as a sound source to the sound source transmission means.

  In the present invention, for example, an area or a point where it is desired to check whether an external sound is generated, such as an intersection with a poor visibility, a railroad crossing, or the vicinity of a home, is set in advance, and the vehicle automatically travels through the area or the point when traveling. It is possible to listen to the sound outside the car. With the above configuration, it is possible to automatically and reliably hear the outside situation in an area or a point where an external sound is desired to be heard, and it is possible to grasp the approach of an emergency vehicle or the like. In addition, it is possible to detect the danger in advance and take avoidance action with a margin. Furthermore, a device or a control program for recognizing a specific sound is unnecessary, and the configuration of the present invention can be realized at a low cost by utilizing a vehicle navigation device or an in-vehicle audio device.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the sound source transmission control means in the vehicle acoustic control apparatus of the present invention uses a sound source to be transmitted to the sound source transmission means as a sound around the vehicle detected by the microphone from the sound source being transmitted by the sound source transmission means. The structure which switches to can be taken. With this configuration, it is possible to automatically hear the sound outside the vehicle without increasing the operation load of the user when traveling in an area or point where it is desired to check whether or not sound is being generated outside.

  According to claim 3, the sound source transmission control means in the vehicle acoustic control apparatus of the present invention makes the volume of the sound source being transmitted by the sound source transmission means smaller than the volume of the sound around the vehicle detected by the microphone. Configuration can be taken. Even with this configuration, it is possible to automatically hear the sound outside the vehicle without increasing the operation load of the user when traveling in an area or point where it is desired to check whether or not sound is being generated outside.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle acoustic control apparatus of the present invention can be configured to have detection area storage means for storing the set detection area. According to this configuration, it is possible to automatically listen to the sound outside the vehicle when traveling in the area or point without setting the area or the point where it is desired to confirm whether or not sound is being generated outside each time. Moreover, since there is no setting each time, the user's operation load regarding the setting can be reduced.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined sound source in the vehicle acoustic control device of the present invention can be configured to include a guidance voice regarding the operation status or operation method of the vehicle acoustic control device. With this configuration, it is possible to automatically listen to the sound outside the vehicle when traveling in an area or point where it is desired to check whether or not sound is being generated outside, even while the guidance sound is being transmitted.

  According to the sixth aspect, the vehicle acoustic control apparatus according to the present invention has a connection unit for connecting the mobile communication terminal, and the predetermined sound source can be configured to include sound acquired from the mobile communication terminal. With this configuration, even when a voice is being transmitted from a mobile communication terminal, for example, during a call using a mobile phone using a hands-free device, it is automatically performed when driving in an area or point where you want to check if an external sound is sounding. It is possible to listen to the sound outside the vehicle.

  According to the seventh aspect, the predetermined sound source in the vehicle acoustic control apparatus of the present invention can be configured to include audio data recorded on an audio recording medium. With this configuration, even when a sound recording medium such as a compact disc for music is being played, for example, it is possible to automatically hear the sound outside the vehicle when traveling in an area or point where it is desired to check whether or not sound is sounding outside.

  The purpose of providing an acoustic control device for a vehicle having a function of confirming a sound around the vehicle according to the vehicle traveling condition at a low cost is to set whether the vehicle is preset or not. It was realized by a configuration that automatically listened to the sound outside the vehicle when traveling in an area or point.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to examples shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle acoustic control apparatus according to the present invention. The vehicle acoustic control device 200 includes a vehicle navigation device 100 and an audio device 40.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle navigation apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as a navigation apparatus) 100. The navigation device 100 includes a position detector 1, a map data input device 6, an operation switch group 7, a remote control (hereinafter referred to as remote control) sensor 11, a voice synthesis circuit 24 for performing voice guidance, a speaker 15, a nonvolatile memory 9, a display A device 10, a hard disk device (HDD) 21, a control circuit 8 connected thereto, and a remote control terminal 12 are provided.

  A position detector 1 as position detection means of the present invention includes a known geomagnetic sensor 2, a gyroscope 3, a distance sensor 4, and a GPS receiver 5 for GPS that detects the position of a vehicle based on radio waves from a satellite. have. Since these sensors 2, 3, 4, and 5 have errors of different properties, they are configured to be used while being complemented by a plurality of sensors. Depending on the accuracy, a part of the sensors described above may be used, and further, a steering rotation sensor, a wheel sensor of each rolling wheel, that is, a vehicle speed sensor 23 may be used.

  As the operation switch group 7, for example, a touch panel 22 integrated with the display device 10 or a mechanical switch is used. The touch panel 22 is pressed when an electric circuit is wired on the screen of the display device 10 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction through a gap called a spacer on a glass substrate and a transparent film, and the user touches the film. Since the voltage value changes due to short-circuiting of the wiring of the part, a so-called resistive film method is widely used in which this is detected as a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y). In addition, an infrared sensor that is finely arranged vertically and horizontally, a panel portion that converts contact of a finger or the like detected by the infrared sensor into an electrical signal, a signal processing circuit for sending the electrical signal to an external device, and a controller that controls these It is comprised including. For example, when the infrared ray is blocked with a finger or a touch pen, a method in which the blocked position is detected as a two-dimensional coordinate value (X, Y) may be used. Alternatively, a so-called capacitance method may be used in which a substance that receives an electrical signal is applied to a glass surface of a transparent conductive substrate, and a change in capacitance is detected by a sensor as an electrical signal when a finger is brought close to the glass surface. Good.

  In addition to the mechanical switch and the touch panel, a pointing device such as a mouse or a cursor may be used. It is also possible to input various instructions using the in-vehicle microphone 31 and the voice recognition unit 30. This is to input a voice from the in-vehicle microphone 31 connected to the voice recognition unit 30, to perform a voice recognition process using a known voice recognition technique, and convert the voice signal into an operation command according to the result. is there. The speech recognition unit 30 performs an A / D conversion on the amplified speech signal with an amplifier that amplifies the speech signal input from the in-vehicle microphone 31 to an appropriate level, and then performs speech using a known speech recognition algorithm such as a hidden Markov model. A signal processing apparatus (DSP: Digital Signal Processor) for identifying the sound, a memory in which reference data for identifying the sound is stored, and the like. And then sent to the control circuit 8. Various instructions can be input by the operation switch group 7 including the touch panel 22 which is the detection area setting means of the present invention, the remote control terminal 12, and the in-vehicle microphone 31.

  The transceiver 13 is a device for receiving road traffic information from, for example, a VICS (Vehicle Information and Communication System) center 14.

  In addition, by communicating with an ETC (Automatic Toll Collection System, ETC: Electronic Toll Collection) vehicle-mounted device 16, fee information received by the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 from the ETC road device can be taken into the navigation device 100. Further, the ETC vehicle-mounted device 16 may be connected to an external network and communicate with the VICS center 14.

  The control circuit 8 which is a position determination means of the present invention is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU 81, ROM 82, RAM 83, I / O 84 which is an input / output circuit, and a bus line 85 which connects these configurations. ing. The CPU 81 controls the navigation program 21p and data stored in the HDD 21. The CPU 81 controls the reading / writing of data to / from the HDD 21. The A / D conversion unit 86 includes a well-known A / D (analog / digital) conversion circuit, and converts analog data input from the position detector 1 or the like to the control circuit 8 into digital data that can be calculated by the CPU 81, for example. It is.

  In addition to the navigation program 21p, the HDD 21 stores so-called map matching data for improving the accuracy of position detection, and map data 21m including road data representing road connections. The map data 21m stores predetermined map image information for display and road network information including link information and node information. The link information is predetermined section information constituting each road, and includes position coordinates, distance, required time, road width, number of lanes, speed limit, and the like. The node information is information that defines an intersection (branch road) and the like, and includes position coordinates, the number of right / left turn lanes, a connection destination road link, and the like. In addition, data indicating whether or not traffic is possible is set in the inter-link connection information.

  Further, auxiliary information for route guidance, entertainment information, and other data can be written by the user in the HDD 21 and stored as user data 21u. These user data 21 u can be rewritten by operating the operation switch group 7 including the touch panel 22 and the remote control terminal 12 or by inputting voice from the in-vehicle microphone 31.

  The map data 21m and user data 21u can be added / updated from the storage medium 20 via the map data input device 6. The storage medium 20 is generally a CD-ROM or DVD based on the amount of data, but may be another medium such as a memory card.

  The non-volatile memory 9 is constituted by a rewritable semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable & Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory, and information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100. Is remembered. The nonvolatile memory 9 is configured to retain the stored contents even when the accessory switch of the vehicle is turned off (that is, the navigation device 100 is turned off).

  Further, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored in the HDD 21 instead of the nonvolatile memory 9. Furthermore, information and data necessary for the operation of the navigation device 100 may be stored separately in the nonvolatile memory 9 and the HDD 21. In this case, since the access speed to the nonvolatile memory 9 is faster than that of the HDD 21, it is preferable to store data having a relatively high frequency of reading and writing in the nonvolatile memory 9 and to store data having a relatively low frequency of reading and writing in the HDD 21. The content stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 may be backed up and saved in the HDD 21.

  The display device 10 is a known color liquid crystal display, and includes, for example, a dot matrix LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a driver circuit for performing LCD display control. The driver circuit uses, for example, an active matrix driving method in which a transistor is attached to each pixel so that the target pixel can be reliably turned on and off, and is based on display instructions and display screen data sent from the control circuit 8. To display.

  The speaker 15 is connected to a known voice synthesis circuit 24 connected to the I / O 34 of the control circuit 8, and the digital voice data stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 or the HDD 21 is converted into an analog voice by the voice synthesis circuit 24 according to a command from the navigation program 21 p. The one converted to is sent. In addition, the speech synthesis method stores the speech waveform as it is or after encoding it, recording and editing methods that connect them as necessary, and analyzes the speech waveform and stores it in the form converted into parameters. There are a parameter editing system for generating speech by connecting speech synthesis circuits by connecting them, a rule synthesis system for generating speech from character strings or phoneme symbol strings based on phonetic and linguistic rules, and the like.

  The vehicle speed sensor 23 includes a rotation detection unit such as a known rotary encoder. For example, the vehicle speed sensor 23 is installed in the vicinity of the wheel mounting unit to detect the rotation of the wheel and send it to the control circuit 8 as a pulse signal. The control circuit 8 converts the rotation speed of the wheel into the speed of the vehicle, calculates the expected arrival time from the current position of the vehicle to a predetermined location, and calculates the average vehicle speed for each travel section of the vehicle.

The external device connection device 26 includes an input / output circuit and a connector for connecting to external devices such as sensors and other control devices so as to be able to transmit data. It has a configuration capable of realizing one or at least two of the following functions.
(1) Connection with audio device 40 (2) In-vehicle LAN (Local Area Network) communication interface circuit (3) External network connection via mobile phone 17 (4) Data backup device connection

  In addition, data acquisition from the vehicle speed sensor 23 or connection to the TC on-vehicle device 16 may be performed via the external device connection device 26.

  With this configuration, when the navigation program 21 p is activated by the CPU 81 of the control circuit 8, the navigation device 100 is operated by the user operating the operation switch group 7 or the remote control terminal 12 or inputting voice from the in-vehicle microphone 31. When the route guidance process for displaying the destination route on the display device 10 is selected from the menu displayed on the display device 10, the following processing is performed.

  That is, when a user selects a point from a given point on the map or facility search, address search, or a registered place set by the user and sets it as a destination, it is based on satellite data obtained from the GPS receiver 5. A current position of the vehicle is obtained, and a process for obtaining an optimum guide route from the current position to the destination is performed. Then, the guidance route is displayed on the road map on the display device 10 so as to guide the user to the appropriate route. As a method for automatically setting an optimum guide route, a method such as the Dijkstra method is known. In addition, at least one of the display device 10 and the speaker 15 provides a notification according to the guidance during operation or the operation state.

  In Dijkstra's method, link evaluation information (route calculation cost) from the current location to each node is calculated using link information, node information, and link connection information, and all route evaluation values to the destination are calculated. At the stage of completion, a link to the smallest total evaluation value is connected and a route to the destination is set. The evaluation value in this case is set according to the road length, road type, road width, number of lanes, right / left turn at the intersection, presence / absence of traffic lights, and the like. For example, the evaluation value is lower as the road width is wider, and the evaluation value is lower as the number of lanes is larger.

  The calculation of the route calculation cost at each link is performed using, for example, the following equation. Route calculation cost = link length × road width coefficient × road type coefficient × congestion level. Here, the road width coefficient is a coefficient set according to the road width, and the road type coefficient is a coefficient set according to the road type such as a toll road. The congestion level is a coefficient set according to the congestion level of the road.

  When the optimum guide route is obtained, the control circuit 8 sets a guide target point such as an intersection that turns right or left on the guide route or a building that serves as a guide mark. Then, a guidance execution point is determined as a point to be guided by voice when the vehicle approaches a certain distance with respect to the set guidance target point. For example, when the guidance target point is an intersection, a plurality of guidance execution points can be set such as 700 m before, 300 m before, 100 m before on a general road, 2 km, 1 km, 500 m before on an expressway.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the audio device 40. The audio device 40 includes an external device connecting device 41, a microphone 42 outside the vehicle, a speaker 43, a reproducing unit 45, a tuner unit 46, an audio memory 47, a connection circuit 48, an operation unit 50, a display unit 51, and an audio control circuit connected to them. 49 is comprised.

  The external device connection device 41 is a device for communicably connecting to the navigation device 100, and the configuration is the same as that of the external device connection device 26 of the navigation device 100.

  The outside microphone 42 which is the microphone of the present invention is attached to the inside of the front grill of the vehicle, for example, and collects sound outside the vehicle. If the sound outside the vehicle can be collected, there is no restriction on the mounting position.

  The reproduction unit 45 is composed of a drive device for reading data from a recording medium on which an audio signal such as music is recorded. As the recording medium, for example, a compact disc (CD), a mini disc (MD), a cassette tape, or the like is used. When the user operates the operation unit 50, selection, reproduction, stop, and the like of the recording medium by the drive device are performed.

  The tuner unit 46 receives radio waves from FM / AM radio or television and reproduces the audio signal or video signal.

  The audio memory 47 includes a semiconductor memory, and records audio signals such as music or operation guidance messages for the audio device 40.

  The connection circuit 48 is an interface circuit for connecting a mobile phone 44 such as a hands-free unit, for example. The connection circuit 48 takes in the voice received by the mobile phone 44 and sends it out from the speaker 43.

  The playback unit 45, the tuner unit 46, the audio memory 47, and the mobile phone 44 correspond to an in-vehicle sound source.

  As the operation unit 50, a mechanical switch, a touch panel integrated with the display unit 51, or a remote controller is used. The display unit 51 is a color liquid crystal display. The display device 10 of the navigation device 100 or the operation switch group 7 may be shared. The operation unit 50 performs operations such as sound source selection and volume adjustment.

  The sound control circuit 49, which is a sound source sending means and sound source sending control means of the present invention, includes a CPU 49a, ROM 49b, RAM 49c, DSP (Digital Signal Processor) 49d, D / A converter DAC 49e, amplifier AMP 49f, and electronic volume VOL 49g. , A switching circuit 49h. In the audio device 40, the CPU 49a reproduces an audio signal using programs and data stored in the ROM 49b and the RAM 49c.

  When any sound source of the reproduction unit 45, the tuner unit 46, the audio memory 47, and the mobile phone 44 is selected by the operation of the operation unit 50, the audio signal of the sound source is transmitted to the DSP via the switching circuit 49h. Further, the signal is transmitted from the DSP 49d to the AMP 49f through the DAC 49e, and output from the AMP 49f to the speaker 43. The volume of the VOL 49g is set based on a command from the CPU 49a, and adjusts the amplification degree of the AMP 49f so that the volume is sent from the speaker 43 at the set volume.

  Note that the switching circuit 49h includes a known analog switch, and inputs of five systems of the external microphone 42, the reproduction unit 45, the tuner unit 46, the voice memory 47, the connection circuit 48, that is, the mobile phone 44, according to a command from the CPU 49a. Select one of them to output.

  The sound source transmission control process of the present invention will be described. In the navigation apparatus 100, this process is included in the navigation program 21p executed by the CPU 81, and is repeatedly executed together with other processes of the navigation program 21p. Further, in the audio device 40, it is included in the sound control program executed by the CPU 49a, and is repeatedly executed together with other processes.

  First, the navigation apparatus 100 registers a point to be subjected to the sound source transmission control process. The target point is registered in advance in the map data 21m or the database 21d. Target points include road intersections, railroad crossings, and temporary stops where the width is below a certain value.

  When the user registers a point to be subjected to the sound source transmission control process, it is performed as follows. From the menu displayed on the display device 10 by the operation of the operation switch group 7 including the touch panel 22 or the remote control terminal 12 or the voice input from the in-vehicle microphone 31, for example, the target of the sound source transmission control process as shown in FIG. A screen for registering a point or area to be displayed is displayed.

  When the “Yes” button is pressed in FIG. 5A, “Point setting” and “Range setting” buttons are displayed. On the other hand, when the “No” button is pressed in FIG. 5A, the sound source transmission control process is executed with the contents registered in the map data 21m or the database 21d. It is also possible to set not to perform the sound source transmission control process.

  When the “point setting” button is pressed in FIG. 5A, a point to be subjected to the sound source transmission control process is input. The input method is the same as the method of searching for a destination, and a point is searched and selected by a method such as a Japanese syllabary search, a place name search, a facility name search, a telephone number search, etc., and is registered.

  When the “range setting” button is pressed in FIG. 5A, a range designation screen as shown in FIG. 5B is displayed. Enter the location and range here. The point input method is the same as the “point setting” described above. Enter the range after entering the point. For example, when the range is set to 100 m, a 100 m square area centered on the point is an area to be subjected to sound source transmission control processing. Further, a range setting method of “radius OOm centered on a point” may be used.

  It is also possible to check the setting contents. For example, when the “Confirm” button is pressed on the display screen of FIG. 5A, the setting content is displayed on the screen of the display device 10 as shown in FIG.

  The flowchart of FIG. 4 will be described. By operating the operation unit 50 of the audio device 40, a sound source to be transmitted from the speaker 43, for example, a CD, that is, an in-vehicle sound source is selected (S1).

  When the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector is within a predetermined distance from a registration point, for example within 50 m, or within the registration area (S2: Yes), the navigation device 100 is connected to an external device. The information is sent to the audio device 40 by the devices 26 and 41. Further, in the navigation device 100, the voice synthesis circuit 24 and the speaker 15 stop sending voice messages.

  Upon receiving the information, the audio device 40 sends a command from the CPU 49a to the switching circuit 49h. For example, if the CD is being played, the playback of the CD is paused, and the sound source is switched from the playback unit 45, that is, the in-vehicle sound source to the outside microphone 42. The sound from the outside microphone 42, that is, the outside sound is transmitted from the speaker 43. At this time, the sound source information before switching is stored in the in-vehicle sound source storage area secured in the RAM 49c.

  When the sound from the microphone 42 outside the vehicle is transmitted from the speaker 43, if the current position of the vehicle is outside a predetermined distance from the registration point, or if it is outside the registration area (S4: Yes), the navigation device 100 Sends the information to the audio device 40 by the external device connection devices 26 and 41. In the navigation apparatus 100, the voice message is restarted to be transmitted by the voice synthesis circuit 24 and the speaker 15.

  The audio device 40 receiving the information sends a command from the CPU 49a to the switching circuit 49h, refers to the in-vehicle sound source storage area of the RAM 49c, and returns the sound source from the outside microphone 42 to the in-vehicle sound source (S5). In the above example, since the in-vehicle sound source is the reproducing unit 45, the reproduction of the CD in the paused state is resumed.

  In the above example, the in-vehicle sound source such as the playback unit 45 is temporarily stopped. However, a method of reducing the volume of the in-vehicle sound source may be used when the sound source is switched to the outside microphone 42. In this case, the switching circuit 49h is an analog switch that selects and outputs one of the four systems of the reproduction unit 45, the tuner unit 46, the audio memory 47, and the connection circuit 48, that is, the cellular phone 44, according to a command from the CPU 49a. And an analog switch for sending / stopping the audio signal from the outside microphone 42 to the DSP 49d. Also, there are two audio signal paths from the switching circuit 49h to the AMP 49f: an in-vehicle sound source system and an out-of-vehicle microphone 42 system. Further, the VOL 49g has two systems, one for adjusting the volume of the in-vehicle sound source system and the other for adjusting the volume of the 42-side microphone.

  When it is within a predetermined distance from the registration point or within the registration area, the switching circuit 49h switches the analog switch in addition to the currently output in-vehicle sound source according to the command of the CPU 49a, and the audio signal from the outside microphone 42 Is sent to the DSP 49d.

  The CPU 49a sends a command to the VOL 49g to reduce the volume of the in-vehicle sound source to zero, that is, the mute state, or to a volume at which the sound signal from the outside microphone 42 can be heard. In addition, a command is sent to set the volume of the audio signal from the outside microphone 42 to a volume that can be heard by the user. The VOL 49g adjusts the amplification degree of the AMP 49f in accordance with the sent command. Also in the navigation device 100, the volume of the guidance message or the like is reduced to a mute state or a volume at which the audio signal from the outside microphone 42 can be heard.

  While listening to the audio signal from the outside microphone 42, it may be displayed on the display device 10 as shown in FIG. When the user sufficiently grasps the situation outside the vehicle, the user may press the “in-vehicle sound source” button shown in FIG. 6 to return the sound source from the outside microphone 42 to the in-vehicle sound source.

  The audio device 40 may be configured to transmit the voice message of the navigation device 100. In this case, the voice message data stored in the nonvolatile memory 9 of the navigation device 100 is included in the voice memory 9. Then, the audio device 40 transmits the voice message stored in the voice memory 9 from the speaker 43 based on the voice message transmission command from the navigation device 100. The navigation device 100 may send a voice message transmission command and a voice message to be transmitted to the audio device 40.

  A configuration in which the navigation device 100 and the audio device 40 are integrated may be used. In this configuration, for example, a voice control unit including a switching circuit 49h, DSP 49d, DAC 49e, and AMP 49f is provided in the navigation device, and switching between the in-vehicle sound source including the guidance message of the navigation device and the outside microphone 42 is performed. In this configuration, the CPU 49a, the ROM 49B, the RAM 49C, the external device connection device 41, the operation unit 50, and the display unit 51 in the audio device 40 are not required, and the manufacturing cost of the vehicle acoustic control device can be reduced.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the knowledge of those skilled in the art can be used without departing from the spirit of the claims. Various modifications based on this are possible.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the acoustic control apparatus for vehicles. The block diagram which shows the structure of the navigation apparatus for vehicles. The block diagram which shows the structure of an audio apparatus. The flowchart for demonstrating sound source transmission control processing. The example of a screen display at the time of setting the target point of sound source transmission control. The example of a screen display at the time of confirming the object point of sound source transmission control. Screen display example during sound source transmission control.

Explanation of symbols

1 Position detector (position detection means)
7 Operation switch group (Detection area setting means)
8 Control circuit (Position judging means)
9 Non-volatile memory (detection area storage means)
10 Display device 12 Remote control terminal (detection area setting means)
20 Storage medium 21 Hard disk device 26 External information input / output device 31 Microphone in vehicle (detection area setting means)
40 Audio device 42 Outside microphone (microphone)
49 Voice control circuit (sound source sending means, sound source sending control means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Vehicle navigation apparatus 200 Vehicle acoustic control apparatus

Claims (7)

Position detecting means for detecting the current position of the vehicle;
A microphone for detecting sounds around the vehicle;
Detection area setting means for setting a detection area for detecting sounds around the vehicle;
Position determination means for determining whether or not the current position of the vehicle is included in the detection area;
Sound source sending means for sending a predetermined sound source into the vehicle;
Sound source transmission control means for causing the sound source transmission means to send the sound detected by the microphone as a sound source when it is determined that the current position of the vehicle is included in the detection area;
A vehicle acoustic control apparatus comprising:   2. The vehicle sound according to claim 1, wherein the sound source transmission control unit switches a sound source to be transmitted to the sound source transmission unit from a sound source being transmitted by the sound source transmission unit to a sound around the vehicle detected by the microphone. Control device.   2. The vehicle acoustic control device according to claim 1, wherein the sound source transmission control unit makes a volume of a sound source being transmitted by the sound source transmission unit smaller than a volume of a sound around the vehicle detected by the microphone.   The vehicle acoustic control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising detection area storage means for storing the set detection area.   5. The vehicle acoustic control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined sound source includes a guidance sound about an operation state or an operation method of the vehicle acoustic control device. 6.   The vehicle acoustic control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a connection unit that connects a mobile communication terminal, wherein the predetermined sound source includes sound acquired from the mobile communication terminal. The vehicle acoustic control device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined sound source includes audio data recorded on an audio recording medium.

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