JP3410244B2 - Automotive sound system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-vehicle acoustic system which allows an occupant to arbitrarily select from a plurality of acoustic sources for listening.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing a conventional vehicle-mounted acoustic system, wherein FIG. 5A is a system configuration diagram and FIG. 5B is a speaker layout diagram. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a sound source unit composed of a plurality of sound sources, such as a compact disc player (CD) 11, a cassette tape player 12, a radio 13, a television 14, a voice guide device 15 for providing voice guidance in a navigation device, a car phone, etc. 16
And so on. Reference numeral 25 is a selector for selecting one sound source from a plurality of sound sources. Reference numerals 35a and 35b are equalizers that adjust the level of signals in a specific frequency band to control the sound quality, 45a and 45b are volume adjusters that adjust the left and right volume, and 55a and 55b are output amplifiers that amplify the left and right audio signals. Reference numerals 65a and 65b are speakers that reproduce left and right audio signals as audio. 6a, 6b, 6c, 6
d indicates the heads of the A seat, B seat, C seat, and D seat, respectively. The output system is shown as an example of front and rear (front and rear) systems.

Next, the operation will be described. The plurality of sound sources are input to the selector 25, and the listener operates the selector 25 so as to select one sound source (for example, CD11) desired to be heard from the listener. Then, the signal of the selected sound source is output from the selector 25, and the sound quality is adjusted by the equalizers 35a and 35b.
The left and right volumes are adjusted by 5a and 45b, and the sound is reproduced by the left and right speakers 65a and 65b.

[0004]

In the conventional sound system, even if there are a plurality of sound sources, all the occupants can only hear the sound of one same sound source selected by the selector. Further, even if the four speakers are exclusively used for each occupant and the listener can select and listen independently, there is a problem that it is not possible to listen well due to the leakage sound from the adjacent speakers in the surrounding seats. . In addition, it is necessary to block from the speaker the contents that the other passengers do not want to hear, such as the conversation of the hands-free car phone.

According to the present invention, each occupant can arbitrarily select from a plurality of acoustic sources and listen without disturbing the voice from the other-seat speaker. Also, confidential contents such as telephones can be heard by others. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle acoustic system that can be prevented from being heard.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a speaker provided near the heads of a plurality of seats in a vehicle compartment for each seat, and a plurality of acoustic signals outputting acoustic signals. Source and an acoustic input switching means for supplying an acoustic signal to the speaker of each seat by selecting an arbitrary one from the plurality of acoustic sources for each of the speakers of each seat, and a bass. Bass reproduction means for converting a signal into sound satisfactorily and one of a plurality of sound sources selected by the sound input switching means are selected to reproduce only the bass signal of the selected sound source. And a bass addition selecting means for supplying the means.

Further, the plurality of sound sources are provided in advance with a priority order for bass reproduction, and when the plurality of sound sources are selected by the sound input switching means, the bass addition selecting means is The bass signal of the sound source having the highest priority is supplied to the bass reproduction means. In addition, a speaker provided near the heads of a plurality of seats in the vehicle compartment, a plurality of sound sources for outputting acoustic signals, and a plurality of sound sources for each of the speakers of the respective seats. Any one from the source
Sound input switching means for supplying a sound signal to the speaker of each seat, a hands-free telephone for an automobile, and a telephone output limitation for outputting a sound signal from the telephone from the speaker of a specific seat. Means and are provided.

[0008]

[0009]

[Function] Since the speaker is installed near the head of the seat exclusively for each seat, its sound source is very close to the ear,
The sound source of the adjacent seat is not only blocked by the seat but also has a long distance (ratio of distances) and a great damping effect. As a result, the S / N ratio becomes very good, and even if each person selects another sound source from the plurality of sound sources by the sound input switching means, the sound in the adjacent seat does not interfere. Further, since it is difficult to reproduce the low-pitched sound portion with the speaker at the head of the seat, a speaker dedicated to the low-pitched sound is separately installed, and only the low-pitched sound portion in the acoustic signal is reproduced by the low-tone sound addition selecting means. However, since the bass speaker has a small sound attenuation effect, one of a plurality of acoustic sources is selected and supplied to the bass speaker.

In addition, when adding a bass sound by the bass addition selecting means, one sound source is automatically selected from a plurality of sound sources according to a predetermined priority order, for example, a order in which the bass effect is large, The bass effect can be further exerted. Further, since the telephone output limiting means outputs the sound source from the hands-free telephone for the automobile only from the speaker of the specific seat, the voice of the telephone is not heard by other passengers.

[0011]

[0012]

1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a speaker layout diagram of the vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Less than,
It will be described with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a sound source unit composed of a plurality of sound source devices, such as a CD 11 and a cassette tape player 1.
2, a radio 13, a television 14, a voice guide device 15 for providing voice guidance in a navigation device, a car phone 16 and the like. Reference numeral 21 denotes a matrix section that distributes output signals from a plurality of acoustic sources (hereinafter referred to as acoustic source signals) to a plurality of output sections (combination is arbitrary), and is composed of a switching circuit or the like. Reference numerals 31a to 31d are equalizers that adjust the level of a signal in a specific frequency band to control the sound quality, and 41a to 41d are volume adjusters that adjust the volume.
51a to 51d are output amplifiers for amplifying audio signals, 61
Reference numerals a to 61d are speakers that output a voice signal as voice.

Reference numeral 81 is a selector for selecting one of the sound sources selected by a plurality of occupants for which the low-pitched sound should be reproduced well, and is composed of a switching circuit or the like. 82 is a mixing circuit for mixing the sounds of the left and right channels,
Reference numeral 83 is a low-pass filter that passes a low-frequency signal in order to effectively reproduce only the low-pitched sound portion, 52 is an output amplifying portion that amplifies a sound signal, and 62 is a woofer speaker having excellent low-pitched sound reproduction characteristics. It is installed on the rear tray etc. at the rear of the car.

Incidentally, 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d are respectively A
The heads of the seats, B seats, C seats, and D seats are shown. Also,
In this embodiment, there are four output systems, and the speakers 61a to 6a are provided.
1d are seat heads 6a to 6 corresponding to seats A to D, respectively.
It is installed in d and is near the left and right ears of the occupant. Next, the operation will be described. Acoustic signals from a plurality of acoustic sources are input to the matrix section 21. The plurality of listeners (A to D) freely select the sound source signal (eg, CD11) that they want to hear from among them. The sound source signal selected for each seat is equalizer 31a-31.
The sound quality is adjusted by d, the volume is adjusted by the volumes 41a-41d, and the sound is converted by the speakers 61a-61d.

In order for a plurality of occupants to select independently, for example, when the occupant in the A seat selects CD11 as the sound source and the occupant in the B seat selects the cassette tape player 12 as the sound source, the A seat. The reproduced signal of the CD 11 is reproduced for the passengers of No. 2 and the reproduced signal of the cassette tape player 12 is reproduced for the passengers of the B seat. At this time, for the passenger in the A seat, the CD 1 reproduced by the speaker 61a
Not only the sound source signal of No. 1 but also the sound source of the cassette tape player 12 selected by the passenger in the B seat and reproduced by the speaker 61b propagates through the space (similarly for other seats).

However, the speaker 61a is very close to the occupant's ear in the A seat, the speaker 61b in the B seat is far from the ear, and the diameter of the speaker 61a is relatively small, so that the directivity is high. Since the main component is the band component, the sound is greatly attenuated due to the effect of the pillows of the seats 6a to 6d, and the acoustic output of the speaker at the B seat is hardly disturbed by the passenger at the A seat. Further, similarly, the sound from the speakers of the C seat and the D seat is also effectively attenuated.

Speakers 61a installed on the head of the seat
In 61d, it is difficult to reproduce the low-pitched sound due to the dimensional limitation of the speaker, and it is necessary to add the sound of the low-pitched sound separately in order to improve the acoustic effect. However, the sound in the low-pitched part has a weak directivity, has a small shielding effect and a damping effect, and it is difficult to prevent sound leakage from the adjacent seat. Therefore, it is counterproductive in terms of sound leakage to install a plurality of bass reproduction speakers and reproduce them separately. In this example, the sound source that reproduces the low-pitched sound is limited to one of the sound source signals for which the sound quality is of the highest importance, and is supplied only to one woofer speaker 62 installed in the rear tray or the like. If CD 11> cassette tape player 12> radio 13> television 14 is set in order of priority of the sound quality of the acoustic medium as the priority, when only the cassette tape player 12 is selected by the occupant, the selector 81 causes the cassette tape player 12 to be selected. Is selected, the bass portion of the acoustic wave signal from the cassette tape player 12 is reproduced by the woofer speaker 62.

The cassette tape player 1 is operated by the selector 81.
When 2 is selected and the bass portion of the audio source signal of the cassette tape player 12 is being reproduced by the woofer speaker 62,
When the CD 11 is selected by another occupant, the selector 81
Selects the CD11 with the highest priority, and the woofer speaker 6
In 2, the low-pitched part of the sound source signal of the CD 11 is reproduced. However, even if another occupant selects the radio 13 in this state, the selector 81 can select the CD 11 having the higher priority.
It is not possible to switch to the radio 13 while keeping the selection.

In this embodiment, one channel (monaural) common to the left and right has been described, but in the case of stereo, the matrix section 21, the volumes 41a to 41d, the output amplifying sections 51a to 51d, and the speakers 61a to 61d are arranged on the left and right. With the configuration in which two systems are provided, each system performs the same operation.
As described above, in the present embodiment, by installing a speaker dedicated to each person near the ear of the seat head, it is possible to enjoy music and the like without being disturbed by the reproduced sound of the sound source selected by another seat. . Further, by limiting the number of sound source signals for reproducing the bass portion to one, and by prioritizing the sound sources, the bass portion of the sound source having the largest acoustic effect can be automatically reproduced by the bass reproduction. .

FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram of a call system of the vehicle-mounted audio system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the drawings. Usually, when passengers have a conversation in a vehicle, it is very difficult to hear the conversation from the passenger in the front seat (especially the driver's seat) to the passenger in the rear seat. This is because the occupant in the front seat speaks forward and the distance to the ears of the occupant in the rear seat is long. This example is a device that helps conversation in such a case.

The sound source unit 1, the matrix unit 21, the equalizers 31a to 31d, the volumes 41a to 41d, the output amplifying units 51a to 51d, and the speakers 61a to 61d have exactly the same names, functions and operations as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, one channel (monaural) common to the left and right has been described, but in the case of stereo, the matrix section 21, the volumes 41a to 41d, the output amplifying sections 51a to 51d, and the left and right systems of the speakers 61a to 61d are provided. Each system performs the same operation with the configured configuration.

Reference numeral 91 denotes a passenger in the front seat (in this example, a passenger in the A seat).
The sound of the passenger in the A seat picked up by the microphone 91 is detected by the microphone installed near the steering wheel (microphone).
It is amplified by 2. 93 is a mixing circuit 9 for the output of the microphone 91.
4 is a switch section for switching whether or not to input to 4, and is configured by a manual switch 93a operated by an occupant in the A seat or a gate circuit 93b that is automatically turned on when a predetermined sound level or higher is detected. 94 is a passenger in the rear seat (in this example, C
This is a mixing circuit that mixes the sound source signal selected by the passenger) and the input of the microphone 91.

Next, the operation will be described. The plurality of acoustic source signals are input to the matrix section 21. A plurality of listeners want to hear the sound source signal (for example, C
D11) is freely selected. The sound source signals selected for the respective seats are subjected to sound quality adjustment by the equalizers 31a to 31d in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the volumes 41a to 4a are adjusted.
The volume of the sound is adjusted for 1d, and the sound is output from the speakers 61a to 61d.

In this state, when the passenger in the A seat has a conversation with the passenger in the C seat, the microphone 91 picks up the voice and the voice is amplified by the microphone amplifier 92. Here, the occupant in the A seat is switched to the switch 93.
When a is turned on, the audio signal from the microphone 91 is input to the mixing circuit 94. Then, the voice of the passenger in the A seat is reproduced by the speaker 61c in the C seat together with the sound source signal selected by the matrix section 21. At this time, the switch unit 9
If the gate circuit 91b is provided as 1, if the passenger in the A seat speaks into the microphone 91 without operating the switch, the voice level is detected, and if it is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the automatic operation is performed. Then, the gate circuit 91b is turned on, and the microphone signal is input to the mixing circuit 94.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the front seat passenger and the rear seat passenger have a conversation, the voice of the front seat passenger is clearly transmitted to the rear seat passenger through the speaker. FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to the drawings. Voice guidance device 15 for providing voice guidance for navigation, traffic information, etc.
With a specific sound source signal such as a car phone 16 or the like, information (sound source signal) that is not necessary for general occupants other than the driver, or a partner side via a speaker like a hands-free car phone When listening to what is said, there are times when you do not want other passengers to hear the conversation. The present embodiment deals with such a case, and makes it possible for only a specific occupant to hear a specific acoustic source signal.

The sound source unit 1, the matrix unit 21, the equalizers 31a to 31d, the volumes 41a to 41d, the output amplifying units 51a to 51d, and the speakers 61a to 61d have exactly the same names, functions and operations as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given and description thereof will be omitted. Further, in this embodiment, one channel (monaural) common to the left and right has been described, but in the case of stereo, the matrix section 21, the volumes 41a to 41d, the output amplifying sections 51a to 51d, and the left and right systems of the speakers 61a to 61d are provided. Each system performs the same operation with the configured configuration.

Reference numeral 22 is a selector for selecting one sound source signal from a plurality of sound source signals, and in this example, it is provided for seat A. Further, of the sound source signals, the signals output from the voice guide device 15 and the car telephone 16 are not input to the matrix section 21 but are directly input to the selector 22. Next, the operation will be described. The plurality of sound source inputs are input to the matrix unit 21. Multiple listeners may want to hear the sound source input (eg CD1
Select 1) freely. The sound source signal selected for each seat is equalizer 3 as in the first embodiment.
The sound quality is adjusted by 1a to 31d, and the volumes 41a to 41d are adjusted.
The volume is adjusted, and the sound is output from the speakers 61a to 61d as sound. In this case, the voice guide device 15 and the telephone 16 cannot be selected from the seats B to D.

The occupant in the A seat can select the sound source signal from the matrix section 21 as usual and listen to it through the speaker 61a. At this time, when the voice guide device 15 outputs a voice or the car telephone 16 receives a voice, the selector 22
Automatically switches to the voice guide device 15 or the car telephone 16, and the voice signal from the voice guide device 15 or the car telephone 16 is output from the speaker 61a. When the voice output of the voice guide device 15 or the call of the car telephone 16 is completed, the original selected sound source is automatically switched.

As described above, in this embodiment, unnecessary information for other occupants and conversations that should not be heard by other occupants are not reproduced from the speakers in the seats of the other occupants, so that confidentiality is kept.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, each occupant can arbitrarily select from a plurality of sound sources to listen to, and music or the like can be played in a good state without being disturbed by sound reproduction of other seats. You can enjoy

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a speaker layout diagram of the vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram of a vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional vehicle-mounted acoustic system, (a)
Is a system configuration diagram, and (b) is a speaker layout diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Sound source part 62 ... Woofer speaker 21 ... Matrix part 82, 94.
..Mixing circuits 22, 81 ... Selector 83 ... Low-pass filters 31a-31d ... Equalizer 91 ... Microphones 41a-41d ... Volume 92 ... Microphone amplifiers 51a-51d ... Output amplification Section 93 ... switch sections 61a to 61d ... speaker

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Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A speaker dedicated to each seat in the vicinity of the heads of a plurality of seats in a vehicle compartment, a plurality of acoustic sources for outputting acoustic signals, and a speaker for each seat. An acoustic input switching unit that selects an arbitrary one from a plurality of acoustic sources and supplies an acoustic signal to the speaker of each seat; a low-pitched sound reproducing unit that satisfactorily converts a low-pitched sound signal into a sound; Bass addition selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of sound sources selected by the input switching means and supplying only the bass signal of the selected sound source to the bass reproducing means. Characteristic in-vehicle acoustic system. 2. A priority order for low-pitched sound reproduction is provided in advance for the plurality of sound sources, and when the plurality of sound sources are selected by the sound input switching means, the bass addition selection means is The vehicle-mounted acoustic system according to claim 1, wherein the bass signal of the acoustic source having the highest priority is supplied to the bass reproduction means. 3. A speaker provided exclusively for each seat in the vicinity of the heads of a plurality of seats in a vehicle compartment, a plurality of acoustic sources for outputting acoustic signals, and a speaker for each of the seats. An arbitrary one of a plurality of acoustic sources is selected to supply an acoustic signal to the speaker of each seat, an acoustic input switching means, a hands-free telephone for an automobile, and an audio signal from the telephone are specified. An in-vehicle acoustic system, comprising: a telephone output limiting means for outputting from the speaker of the seat.