JP3298265B2 - Volume control circuit for audio equipment for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a volume control circuit for audio equipment mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is common today to mount high-performance audio equipment, such as audio equipment and television sets, in automobiles. In general, the volume of such audio equipment is generally adjusted manually by the driver or passengers. However, a technology that automatically adjusts the volume in response to noise from the external environment. For example, an invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-41014 for automatically controlling the volume of audio equipment by detecting the noise level in the interior of an automobile has been developed and put to practical use.

[0003]

However, such a conventional technique is comfortable for the driver and passengers by adjusting the volume of the audio equipment according to the level of noise or the open / closed state of the window. It is intended to provide a comfortable acoustic space. By the way, in recent years, various safety measures have been demanded for automobiles. From such a viewpoint, for example, increasing the volume of the audio device against noise during high-speed running has various problems. It is well known that abnormal noise usually accompanies various failures in an automobile. For example, if there is a failure in the engine, an unusual engine sound is produced, and if there is an abnormality in the tire, an unusual running noise is produced. However, when sound equipment is used, particularly when, for example, control is performed to increase the volume during high-speed running according to the running speed, the abnormal noise caused by the occurrence of the above-described malfunction is generated. There is a problem that it is difficult for passengers and passengers to sense. Needless to say, there is a failure that does not involve abnormal noise, such as a failure in which lights are not turned on.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and when a failure occurs, the volume of the audio equipment is automatically reduced to allow the driver or passenger to recognize the occurrence of the failure by itself. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sound volume control circuit for an on-vehicle audio device which can make it easier for a driver and a passenger to detect abnormal noise caused by a failure and contribute to improvement of safety.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sound volume control circuit for an on-vehicle audio device mounted on a vehicle controlled by a plurality of control units for detecting a failure and outputting a failure occurrence signal when a failure occurs. When at least one of the plurality of control units outputs a failure detection signal, a failure content analysis unit that receives the failure detection signal and analyzes the content of the failure, and controls a volume of the audio device according to each of the content of the plurality of failures Volume control information storage means for storing information for performing the operation in advance, and a determination means for determining which of the information stored in the volume control information storage means corresponds to the analysis result by the failure content analysis means. Volume control signal output means for outputting a volume control signal for controlling the volume of the audio device in accordance with the information determined by the determination means.

Further, in the sound volume control circuit for an on-vehicle audio device according to the present invention, the above-mentioned judging means may provide a sound volume control signal when the content of the fault analyzed by the fault content analyzing means is a fault that does not require volume control. The output means is configured not to output the volume control output.

[0007]

In the sound volume control circuit of the on-vehicle audio equipment according to the present invention, when at least one of the plurality of control units outputs a failure detection signal, the failure detection means receives the failure detection signal and analyzes the content of the failure. The determination means determines which of the information stored in the volume control information storage means corresponds according to the analysis result by the failure content analysis means, and outputs a sound from the volume control signal output means in accordance with the information determined by the determination means. A volume control signal for controlling the volume of the device is output to control the volume of the audio device.

In the sound volume control circuit for a vehicle-mounted audio device according to the present invention, the sound volume control signal output means does not output the sound volume control signal when the judgment means judges that the malfunction requires no sound volume control.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a volume control circuit of a vehicle-mounted audio device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle-mounted audio controller as an audio device. As an example, a cassette tape recorder 3, a tuner 4, a CD player 5, etc. are connected, and a speaker 6 is connected. Have been. Reference numeral 2 denotes an automobile meter unit, which receives a failure signal from a plurality of control units 31, 32,. The meter unit 2 includes a communication IC 21 as hardware, a microprocessor (μ-P) 22,
It is composed of a ROM 23 and an output transistor 24.

In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to an automobile provided with a control unit such as an engine control unit 31, a suspension control unit 32, a lighting control unit 33, a brake control unit 34, a cooler control unit 35, etc. Is shown. The engine control unit 31 is a unit that controls fuel injection, ignition timing, and the like by electronic control, for example, and generates a failure signal E1 when any failure occurs. Suspension control unit
Reference numeral 32 denotes a unit for changing the setting of the damper to switch the setting of the suspension between software and hardware, or for controlling the active suspension when the suspension is provided. Generate signal E2.

The lighting control unit 33 controls whether each lamp is on or off.
This unit controls turning off and turning on and off of a turning light, and generates a failure signal E3 when any failure occurs. The brake control unit 34 is an ABS (Anti-Lock Br)
ake System) and a unit that controls the brake system, and generates a failure signal E4 when any failure occurs. The cooler control unit 35 is a unit that controls the cooler, and generates a failure signal E5 when any failure occurs.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the meter unit 2. As described above, the meter unit 2 is composed of the communication IC 21, the microprocessor (μ-P) 22, the ROM 23, and the output transistor 24 as hardware, and the communication IC 21 is functionally the communication interface. As a face, the microprocessor 22 is a failure content analysis unit.
221, a determination unit 222 and a volume control signal output unit 223
M23 each functions as a volume control information storage unit.

The communication interface (IC) 21 receives the failure signals E1, E2,... Output from the control units 31, 32,. Here, a signal transmitted from each of the control units 31, 32,... To the meter unit 2 via the multiplex transmission line 20 will be described with reference to a schematic diagram of FIG.

The failure signals E1, E2,... Output from the control units 31, 32,... Are, in order from the beginning of the frame 200, a start-of-data (SOD) 201 indicating the start of data, It is composed of a failure unit number code (EUN) 202 that specifies the units 31, 32 ..., a failure code (ECODE) 203 that specifies the type of failure, and an end of data (EOD) 204 that indicates the end of data. .

[0016] The faulty unit number code (EUN) 202 is, for example, "the engine control unit 31 shown in FIG.
01 ”, the suspension control unit 32 has“ 02 ”,
"03" is set for the lamp control unit 33, "04" is set for the brake control unit 34, and "0" is set for the cooler control unit 35.
For example, with respect to the brake control unit 34, the failure code (ECODE) 203 is assigned, for example, when a wheel speed sensor that detects the number of rotations of the wheel is disconnected. Is “01” but AB
"02" when the S pressurizing motor is locked, and "03" when the solenoid for depressurizing the brake oil is disconnected.
However, they are allocated in hexadecimal, for example.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 221 denotes a failure content analysis unit which analyzes the unit in which the failure has occurred and the content of the failure from the content of the frame received from the multiplex transmission line 20 via the communication interface 21. . The analysis result by the failure content analysis unit 221 is given to the determination unit 222. The determination section 222 is connected to a volume control information storage section (ROM) 23 composed of, for example, a ROM. Volume control information storage unit (R
OM) 23 previously stores information indicating whether or not control is performed to reduce the volume of the audio device for each of the faults that can be detected by each of the control units 31, 32,. Therefore,
When the result of the analysis by the failure content analysis unit 221, that is, what failure has occurred in which unit, the determination unit 222 stores the corresponding volume control information in the volume control information storage unit (ROM) 23. It is determined according to the information.
The result of the determination by the determination unit 222 is
Given to 3.

The volume control signal output unit 223 outputs a volume control signal for controlling the volume of the audio equipment to the audio controller 1 in accordance with the result of the determination by the determination unit 222.
As described above, the failure content analysis unit 221, the determination unit 222,
The volume control signal output section 223 is constituted by the microprocessor 22 as hardware.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the audio controller 1. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 11 denotes a volume (volume) setting device for adjusting the volume by manual operation, 12 denotes a CPU as control means, 13 denotes an electronic volume IC as volume control means, and 14 denotes a selector. , 15 indicate an amplifier circuit, and 16 indicates an input transistor for inputting a volume control signal output from the meter unit 2. A signal for changing the volume by manually operating a switch (not shown) is output from the volume setting unit 11.
To the CPU 12. The CPU 12 receives a volume control signal from the meter unit 2 via the input transistor 16.

The selector 14 selects an audio signal output from any one of the above-described cassette tape recorder 3, tuner 4, and CD player 5 and supplies it to the amplifier circuit 15. CPU
Reference numeral 12 outputs a signal for controlling the electronic volume IC 13 in accordance with signals input from the volume setting device 11 and the meter unit 2. The electronic volume IC 13 controls the volume of the sound generated from the speaker 6 by controlling the amplification gain of the amplification circuit 15 according to the signal given from the CPU 12. Specifically, the audio signal selected by the selector 14 is once input from the amplifier circuit 15 to the electronic volume IC 13 and the amplification gain is controlled, and then input again to the amplifier circuit 15 and output to the speaker 6.

Hereinafter, the operation of the audio controller 1 will be described more specifically. Volume data of a digital value corresponding to the set volume is output from the volume setting unit 11 and written into an internal memory (not shown) of the CPU 12. For example, the setting is made as follows: “000000” = − ∞ dB “000001” = − 63 dB “100000” = − 32 dB “111111” = 0 dB. When the volume control signal is supplied from the meter unit 2 to the CPU 12, in other words, any failure has occurred in any of the control units 31, 32, and the failure reduces the volume of the audio device. In the case of a failure of a type that can be detected by the driver or a passenger with abnormal noise, the CPU 12 subtracts “000110” from the volume data written in the internal memory. However, when the volume data is equal to or less than "000110", it is set to "000000" to prevent underflow. Alternatively, the volume data written in the internal memory may be shifted by one bit to the lower side. In any case, the volume control signal from the meter unit 2 is sent to the CPU
In the case where it is given to 12, the control may be performed so that the volume of the audio device is reduced.

The CPU 12 sends the corrected data to the electronic volume IC 13. As a result, the resistance value inside the electronic volume IC 13 is set to a value corresponding to the data given from the CPU 12, and the gain of the amplifier circuit 15 also becomes a corresponding value, thereby lowering the volume of the audio device.

[0023]

As described above in detail, according to the sound volume control circuit for a vehicle-mounted audio device according to the present invention, when a failure occurs in any of the control units of an automobile on which the device is mounted, Automatically lowers the volume of the audio equipment,
The driver or passenger can recognize that a failure has occurred due to a decrease in the volume of the audio device without being operated by the driver, and the driver or a passenger has a decrease in the volume of the audio device, thereby causing the failure. It becomes easy to detect abnormal noise.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sound volume control circuit of an in-vehicle audio device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a meter unit of a volume control circuit of the vehicle-mounted audio device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a frame format of a signal transmitted by a volume control circuit of the on-vehicle audio device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an audio controller of the on-vehicle audio device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Audio controller 2 Meter unit 12 CPU 13 Electronic volume IC 22 Microprocessor 23 ROM 31 Engine control unit 32 Suspension control unit 33 Lights control unit 34 Brake control unit 35 Cooler control unit 221 Failure analysis part 222 Judgment part 223 Volume control signal Output section

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ identification code FI H04B 1/16 H04B 1/16 Z (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H03G 5/16 B60K 28 / 14 B60R 11/02 H03G 3/20 H04B 1/16 G08B 21/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A volume control circuit for an on-vehicle audio device mounted on a vehicle that is controlled by a plurality of control units that detect a failure and output a failure occurrence signal when a failure occurs, wherein at least one of the plurality of control units is provided. When one outputs a failure detection signal, failure content analysis means for receiving the failure detection signal and analyzing the content of the failure, and pre-stores information for controlling the volume of the audio device in accordance with each of the plurality of failure contents. Volume control information storage means, a determination means for determining which of the information stored in the volume control information storage means corresponds to the analysis result by the failure content analysis means, and a determination by the determination means Sound volume control signal output means for outputting a volume control signal for controlling the volume of the audio device according to the received information. Volume control circuit. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit is configured not to output the volume control signal to the volume control signal output unit when the content of the failure analyzed by the failure content analysis unit is a failure that does not require volume control. 2. The volume control circuit for an on-vehicle audio device according to claim 1, wherein: