JP4494117B2 - Driving support system and navigation device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a driving support system having an information providing function for outputting information related to vehicle travel by voice and an audio function for outputting content including sound information, or a navigation device constituting such a driving support system, In particular, the present invention relates to a driving support system and a navigation device that improve ease of listening to guidance voice during music playback.

  Conventionally, a navigation device that registers a planned route of the host vehicle and performs route guidance by voice has been realized. In this navigation device, an intersection where the host vehicle makes a right or left turn is specified based on the planned route, map information, and current position, and the vehicle is driven according to the route set by notifying the driver in advance.

  At this time, a screen display and a voice output are used in combination for the driver's notification. However, since it is not preferable to watch the display while driving the vehicle, a voice notification is very important.

  On the other hand, an audio device, for example, a radio broadcast, a television broadcast, or a stream content is received, and a device that reads and outputs information such as music and video recorded on a recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or HD is installed in a vehicle. Has also been done conventionally.

  Therefore, in the vehicle, sound is output from the audio device and sound (guidance voice) is output from the navigation device. Here, if the output volume from the audio device is large, the occupant (especially the driver) may miss the guidance voice that is more important for vehicle travel.

  Therefore, conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, when listening to music or the like from audio, when outputting the sound of navigation, listening to the guidance voice is performed by reducing the volume of the music. I have tried to improve the ease.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-320195

  However, the ease of hearing the guidance voice does not simply depend on the output volume from the audio device. Specifically, if the audio device outputs sound information including sound (such as vocals), the occupant can hear the audio from the audio device mixed with the sound, and the audio Even if the output volume of the device is small, the ease of hearing the guidance voice is significantly reduced.

  That is, the ease of hearing of the guidance voice due to the output from the audio device (audio output) largely depends on the voice part included in the audio output. However, in the prior art, attempts have been made to improve the ease of listening to the guidance voice by reducing the volume of the audio output.

  For this reason, in order to sufficiently ensure the ease of listening to the guidance voice, it is necessary to make the volume very small, and there is a problem that the audio output cannot be enjoyed. In particular, since the guidance voice is necessary for the driver, the decrease in the audio output is felt to be a great discomfort for other passengers.

  On the other hand, if the guidance voice is output while securing the audio output, there is a problem that the ease of listening to the guidance voice is unavoidable.

  Therefore, the realization of a navigation system capable of improving the ease of listening to the guidance voice and ensuring the audio output at the same time has been a very big problem.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems caused by the prior art and to solve the problems. The driving support system and the navigation which can improve the ease of listening to the guidance voice and can ensure the audio output at the same time. An object is to provide a device and an audio device.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the driving support system according to claim 1 of the present application includes an information providing function for outputting information related to vehicle travel by voice and an audio function for outputting content including sound information. A surround function determination means for determining whether or not the audio function has a surround function when the information providing function provides information using voice, and the surround function If the audio function has a surround function in the judging means, the volume of the center output obtained by executing the surround function is reduced or deleted, and if the audio function does not have a surround function, a vocal off process is used. The common part of the right and left output sounds of stereo sound source data is regarded as the center output, And having a sound information adjustment means for reducing or erase the volume of the centers output.

  In the driving support system according to claim 1 of the present application, when the information providing function provides information using voice, if the audio function has a surround function, the information providing function corresponds to a voice part, in particular, obtained by executing the surround function. If the audio output function does not have a surround function while reducing or eliminating the volume of the likely center output, use the vocal off process to set the common part of the stereo sound source data's right output sound and left output sound as the center output. Considering that the volume of the center output is reduced or eliminated.

The driving support system according to claim 2 of the present application is the configuration according to claim 1 of the present application, wherein the sound information adjustment means reads multi-channel sound source data including center output data in which the audio function corresponds to the center output. The volume of the center output indicated in the multi-channel sound source data is reduced or deleted.

In the driving support system according to claim 2 of the present application, when the information providing function provides information using voice, the multi-channel sound source data including the center output data corresponding to the center output is read by the audio function. The volume of the center output indicated in the channel sound source data is reduced or deleted.

In the driving support system according to claim 3 of the present application, in the configuration according to claim 1 or 2, the sound information adjustment unit is configured to control the volume of the center output based on the type of the sound source read by the audio function . A process used for reduction or erasing is executed.

In the driving support system according to claim 3 of the present application, when the information providing function provides information using voice, the type of the sound source data read by the audio function is identified, and the process used for reducing or erasing the volume of the center output is performed. Select automatically.

Further, in the driving support system according to claim 4 of the present application, in the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3 of the present application, the sound information adjustment unit stops adding a special effect by the audio function. Features.

In the driving support system according to claim 4 of the present application, when the information providing function provides information using voice, the addition of the special effect by the audio function is stopped.

Further, in the driving support system according to claim 5 of the present application, in the configuration according to claim 4 of the present application, the sound information adjustment means outputs the stop of the addition of the special effect to at least one of the driver seat and the passenger seat. It is characterized by performing about.

In the driving support system according to claim 5 of the present application, when the information providing function provides information using voice, the addition of the special effect to the audio output to the driver seat or the passenger seat is stopped.

Further, the driving support system according to claim 6 of the present invention is the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sound information adjusting means reduces the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side. The sound information to be output to the other seats is corrected by adding the output corresponding to the center output reduction to the output of the other seats .

In the driving support system according to claim 6 of the present application, when the information providing function provides information using voice, when the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side is reduced, the output for the other seats is added to the output of the center output. The sound information to be output to the other seat is corrected by executing the control.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the navigation device includes a navigation unit that provides route guidance based on map information , an audio unit that outputs sound information from a recording medium and / or received broadcast, and the navigation unit. When providing audio route guidance, the surround function determining means for determining whether or not the audio unit has a surround function, and when the surround function determining means has the surround function, the surround function is used. When the volume of the center output of the sound information output from the audio unit is reduced or eliminated, and when there is no surround function, the right of the stereo sound source data of the sound information output by the audio unit is used by using a vocal off process. Select the common part between the output sound and the left output sound. Regarded as terpolymers output, and having a sound information adjustment means for reducing or erase the volume of the center output.

  In the navigation device according to claim 7 of the present invention, when performing route guidance by voice, if the audio unit has a surround function, the surround function is used to reduce the volume of the center output that is particularly likely to correspond to the voice portion. Alternatively, if the audio unit does not have a surround function, the common part of the stereo sound source data's right output sound and left output sound is regarded as the center output and the volume of the center output is reduced if the audio unit does not have a surround function. Or erase.

Further, in the navigation device according to claim 8 of the present application, in the configuration according to claim 7 of the present application, when the sound information adjusting means reduces the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side, the center output is reduced to the output to other seats. The sound information output to the other seats is corrected by adding the minutes .

  In the navigation device according to claim 8, when providing route guidance by voice through the navigation unit, when the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side is reduced, the center output reduction is added to the output for the other seats. Thus, the sound information output to the other seat is corrected.

  According to the driving support system of the present invention configured as described above, when the information providing function provides information using voice, if the audio function has a surround function, the surround function is obtained by executing the surround function. In particular, since the volume of the center output, which is highly likely to correspond to the audio part, is reduced or eliminated, the surround function is effectively used while selectively reducing or eliminating the audio part from the audio output while securing the audio output. As a result, it is possible to improve the ease of listening to the guidance voice.

  Furthermore, according to the driving support system of the present invention, when the information providing function provides information using voice, if the audio function does not have a surround function, the right output sound of the stereo sound source data is detected using the vocal off process. The common part with the left output sound is regarded as the center output, and the volume of the center output is reduced or eliminated. Therefore, the audio part suitable for the audio function is appropriately reduced or eliminated to improve the ease of hearing the guidance voice. There is an effect.

  According to the driving support system of the present invention, when the information providing function provides information using voice, when the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side is reduced, the center output is reduced to the output to other seats other than the driver's seat. By adding the minute, the sound information output to other seats is corrected, improving the ease of listening to the guidance voice at the driver's seat, and at other seats other than the driver's seat The effect is that audio output quality can be ensured.

According to the navigation device of the present invention configured as described above, when performing audio route guidance, if the audio unit has a surround function, the surround function is particularly likely to be used for the audio portion. Since the volume of the center output is reduced or eliminated, the audio output is secured and the audio part is selectively reduced or eliminated while the surround function is effectively used to improve the ease of hearing the guidance voice. There is an effect of letting.

  Furthermore, according to the navigation device of the present invention, when performing audio route guidance, if the audio unit does not have a surround function, the common part of the right output sound and the left output sound of stereo sound source data using vocal off processing Since the center output is reduced and the volume of the center output is reduced or erased, the sound part suitable for the audio function is appropriately reduced or eliminated to improve the ease of hearing the guidance voice.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, when providing the route guidance by voice, if the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side is to be reduced, the center output is added to the output for the seats other than the driver's seat. By correcting the sound information output to other seats, it is possible to improve the ease of listening to the guidance voice in the driver's seat and to ensure the audio output quality in seats other than the driver's seat There is an effect.

  Hereinafter, a navigation system, which is a preferred embodiment of a driving support system, a navigation device, and an audio device according to the present invention, will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the navigation system 1 includes a navigation unit 10, an audio unit 20, a music data adjustment unit 30, an output control unit 40, a display D1, and speakers SP1 to SP4.

  The navigation unit 2 is a unit that executes setting of a planned route of the host vehicle and route guidance, and includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) communication unit 11, a route setting unit 12, map data 13, and a guidance processing unit 14 therein. Have Here, the GPS communication unit 11, the route setting unit 12, and the guidance processing unit 14 may be configured by a microcomputer or the like, or may be configured by an electronic circuit. In addition, this configuration is classified according to each function, and the physical configuration may be integrated in whole or in part.

  The GPS communication unit 11 receives information from a GPS artificial satellite, acquires time information, and specifies position information of the host vehicle. In addition, the GPS communication unit 11 outputs the specified position of the own vehicle to the route setting unit 12 and the guidance processing unit 14.

  The route setting unit 12 is a processing unit that sets and stores a planned route of the host vehicle based on a user input from a driver or the like, a current position acquired from the GPS communication unit 11, or the like. The route setting unit 12 outputs the set route to the guidance processing unit 14.

  The map data 13 is map information data stored in an arbitrary recording medium such as a hard disk drive, CD, or DVD, and is used for the route setting unit 12 and the guidance processing unit 14. In addition, you may share the recording medium which records this map data 13 with the audio unit 20 and another vehicle equipment.

  The guidance processing unit 14 is a processing unit that performs route guidance based on the outputs of the GPS communication unit 11, the route setting unit 12, and the map data 13, and includes a guidance display creation unit 14a and a guidance voice creation unit 14b. It has.

  Specifically, the guidance processing unit 14 detects a place (for example, an intersection that makes a right or left turn) where guidance should be given to an occupant (especially a driver) based on the planned route and the position of the host vehicle. When a place where guidance is to be approached, guidance processing is executed using the guidance display creation unit 14a and guidance voice creation unit 14b.

  The guidance display creation unit 14a creates display data indicating the content notified to the driver by display, for example, a map near the intersection where the vehicle turns right and left, the direction of the right and left turn, and outputs the display data to the output control unit 40. In addition, the guidance voice creation unit 14b creates voice data indicating contents to be notified to the driver by voice, for example, the distance to the intersection where the vehicle turns right and left, the direction of the right and left turns, and the output control unit 40 and the music data adjustment unit 30 Output to.

  The audio unit 20 is a unit that provides passengers with various contents such as music and video, and includes a CD drive 21, a DVD drive 22, a radio tuner 23, a television tuner 24, and a main control unit 25 therein.

  The CD drive 21 and the DVD drive 22 read music information and video information from CD media and DVD media, respectively, and output them to the main control unit 25. The radio tuner 23 and the television tuner 24 receive radio broadcasts and television broadcasts, respectively, and output them to the main control unit 25.

  In addition, a configuration may be provided in which content is read from the hard disk or content such as stream content is received via a network such as the Internet.

  The main control unit 25 performs various processes on the content read or received by the CD drive 21, the DVD drive 22, the radio tuner 23, the television tuner 24, etc., and supplies the content to the output control unit 40. Specifically, the main control unit 25 includes therein a stereo sound source processing unit 25a, a 5.1ch sound source processing unit 25b, a special effect addition unit 25c, and a display control unit 25d.

  When the sound information of the content is a stereo sound source, the stereo sound source processing unit 25a is a processing unit that performs vocal off processing and surround processing on the sound information. This vocal-off process is a process of erasing a voice part (such as vocals) from music data or reducing the volume of the voice part.

  Stereo sound source data is created on the assumption that it will be output from the left and right speakers. The right output sound data is assumed to be output from the right speaker, and the left output sound is assumed to be output from the left speaker. Data. Then, by giving a difference between the left and right output sounds, the listener can feel a sense of direction and distance.

  Here, in the music data having the sound part including the lyrics and the performance part, the sound part is equally distributed to the right output sound and the left output sound so that the sound part can be heard from the center.

  Therefore, in the vocal-off process, the left and right output sound data are compared, and a process that suppresses or eliminates the common included part as an audio part is executed. Such a vocal-off process has been conventionally used as a karaoke function for letting the user hear only the performance part and providing it to the user's own singing.

  The surround processing is processing for calculating a virtual output in a desired direction such as a virtual center output from stereo sound source data and adjusting the output sound of each speaker so that sound can be heard from that direction.

  The 5.1ch sound source processing unit 25b is a processing unit that performs processing for reproducing the sound information when the sound information of the content is a 5.1ch sound source. 5.1ch sound source data is created on the assumption that it will be output from the front, right front, left front, right rear, left rear, and bass outputs of the listener. Have.

  Here, when a dedicated speaker cannot be provided in each direction, for example, when there is no center speaker provided in the front, the center output to be output from the center speaker is another speaker, a right front speaker on the right front, or a left front. Is assigned to the left front speaker and added as a center component to realize a virtual center output.

  Note that whether the read sound information is stereo sound source data or 5.1ch sound source data is automatically identified by the main control unit 20, and which of the stereo sound source processing unit 25a and the 5.1ch sound source processing unit 25b is used. Just decide.

  The special effect adding unit 25c is a processing unit that adds various special effects to the output sound to improve the sound quality (improving realism). Specifically, the special effect addition unit 25c executes an upward localization process, a bass adjustment process, a predetermined band enhancement process, a reverberation addition process, and the like.

  Here, the upper localization process is a process for adding an effect that the output sound can be heard from above compared to the speaker position, and the bass adjustment process is a process for emphasizing the output sound by correcting or synthesizing the low sound range. It is. Further, the enhancement processing of the predetermined band is so-called loudness processing for enhancing bass / treble. Furthermore, the reverberation adding process is a process of producing a reverberant sound by an acoustic process.

  The display control unit 25d creates, as display data, information about a song when the content includes video, and information about a song when the content is music information not including the video, and outputs the display data to the output control unit 40.

  The output control unit 40 synthesizes outputs of the navigation unit 10 and the audio unit 20 as necessary, determines output contents from the display D1 and the speakers SP1 to SP4, and performs control to execute output processing.

  When the navigation unit 10 outputs the guidance voice, the music data adjustment unit 30 performs a process of adjusting the content of the sound information output from the audio unit 20, thereby improving the ease of hearing the guidance voice.

  Specifically, the music data adjustment unit 30 includes a sound suppression processing unit 31, a special effect suppression unit 32, and a balance adjustment unit 33 therein.

  The sound suppression processing unit 31 executes a process of deleting or suppressing a sound part in the sound information output from the audio unit 20. That is, if the audio unit 20 outputs the guidance voice while outputting the music information, the voice part (vocals) from the audio device and the guidance voice are mixedly heard by the occupant, so the guidance voice can be heard accurately. It becomes difficult. Therefore, by erasing and suppressing only the voice portion from the output of the audio unit 20, it is possible to improve the ease of listening to the guidance voice while providing music information.

  Specifically, when the audio unit 20 is reading stereo sound source data, the sound suppression processing unit 31 executes voice off processing by the stereo sound source processing unit 25a, or erase / suppression of the sound part by stereo processing.

  Generally, when stereo processing is performed on sound information including an audio portion, the audio portion is assigned to the center output. Therefore, in order to delete / suppress the audio part by stereo processing, the calculated center output may be regarded as the audio part, and the volume of the center output may be reduced.

  Similarly, even with 5.1ch sound source data, the audio portion is generally assigned to the center output. Therefore, when the audio unit 20 is reading 5.1ch sound source data, the voice suppression processing unit 31 improves the ease of listening to the guidance voice by reducing the volume of the center output.

  Here, if there is a center output speaker (center speaker), the center output, that is, the audio portion can be erased / suppressed by lowering the volume of the center speaker. On the other hand, if there is no center speaker, the center component added to other speakers (right front speaker on the right front and left front speaker on the left front) is reduced or added in order to realize virtual center output. Eliminate and suppress audio parts by losing.

  The processing of the voice suppression processing unit 31 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, at the time t11 when the guidance voice G1 is turned on, the center component MC1 of the audio output is decreased, and the center component MC1 is recovered at the end of the output of the guidance voice G1 (time t12). Further, for the side component MS1 that can be heard from the lateral direction, a constant output is ensured regardless of whether the guidance voice G1 is on or off.

  Here, when the center component MC1 is reduced, the center component is set to zero (the voice part is deleted), so that the ease of hearing the guidance voice can be improved most. On the other hand, by leaving the center component (suppressing the voice part), the passenger can hear the voice part of the audio output while improving the ease of hearing the guidance voice. Whether to delete or suppress the voice part may be determined in advance or may be selectable by the user. Further, automatic selection may be made according to the contents of the audio output.

  Further, it can be arbitrarily selected whether the voice suppression process is realized by the vocal-off process or the surround process. For example, if the audio unit 20 has a function for performing surround processing (surround function), the voice suppression process is realized by the surround process, and if there is no surround function, the voice suppression process is realized by the vocal-off process. Also good.

  Furthermore, the surround function is generally capable of being turned on / off according to the user's specification. Therefore, if the surround function is turned off at the time of guidance voice output, the surround output may be forcibly turned on and the center output may be erased / suppressed.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing operation in the case of selecting a process used for sound suppression based on whether or not the audio unit 20 has a surround function. The processing flow shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly executed when the navigation system 1 is turned on.

  First, the voice suppression processing unit 31 checks whether or not a guidance voice output request has been received from the navigation unit 10 (step S101), and if there is no guidance voice output request (step S101, No), the process ends. .

  On the other hand, when there is a guidance voice output request (step S101, Yes), the voice suppression processing unit 31 determines whether or not the audio unit 20 has a surround function (step S102).

  As a result, if there is a surround function (step S102, Yes), the surround function of the audio unit 20 is turned on (step S103), and the addition of the center output to the front speaker is reduced (step S104). Thereafter, the output of the guidance voice is started (step S105). When the output of the guidance voice is finished (step S106, Yes), the surround function is turned off (step S107), and the processing is finished.

  On the other hand, when there is no surround function (No in step S102), the audio unit 20 starts outputting the guidance voice after starting the vocal-off process (step S111) (step S112), and when the output of the guidance voice ends ( In step S113, Yes), the vocal-off process is terminated (step S114), and the process flow is terminated.

  Further, if the audio unit 20 can execute both the surround process and the vocal off process, the sound suppression is realized by the surround process and the surround function is turned off when the surround function is turned on when the guidance voice is output. If so, voice suppression may be realized by vocal-off processing.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing operation in the case of selecting a process to be used for sound suppression based on on / off of the surround function. The processing flow shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed when the navigation system 1 is turned on.

  First, the voice suppression processing unit 31 confirms whether or not a guidance voice output request has been received from the navigation unit 10 (step S201). If there is no guidance voice output request (step S201, No), the process is terminated. .

  On the other hand, when there is a request for outputting guidance voice (step S201, Yes), the voice suppression processing unit 31 determines whether or not the surround function of the audio unit 20 is on (step S202).

  As a result, when the surround function is on (step S202, Yes), the addition of the center output to the front speaker is reduced (step S203) and the guidance voice is output (step S204). Is completed (step S205, Yes), the addition of the center output to the front is recovered (step S206), and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the surround function is off (No at Step S202), the audio unit 20 starts outputting the guidance voice after starting the vocal off process (Step S211) (Step S212), and the output of the guidance voice is finished. At the time (step S213, Yes), the vocal-off process is terminated (step S214), and the process flow is terminated.

  Next, when the navigation unit 10 outputs the guidance voice, the special effect suppression unit 32 executes a process of stopping the addition of the special effect by the special effect addition unit 25c, thereby improving the ease of hearing the guidance voice. To do.

  The processing of this special effect suppression unit 32 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, at time t21 when the guidance voice G2 is turned on, the special effect of the audio output is turned off, and the special effect is recovered at the end of output of the guidance voice G2 (time t22).

  Specifically, when the special effect adding unit 25c performs the upward localization process, the sound portion of the music information output from the audio unit 20 sounds as if it is in front of the passenger, so the consciousness goes to the guidance voice. It is difficult for passengers to miss the guidance voice. Therefore, the ease of listening to the guidance voice is improved by stopping the upper localization process during the output of the guidance voice.

  Further, when the special effect adding unit 25c performs the bass adjustment process, masking of a high frequency band sound occurs as compared with the emphasized band. If the guidance voice is output in the band where this masking occurs, the ease of hearing decreases. Therefore, the ease of hearing can be improved by stopping the bass adjustment processing during the output of the guidance voice.

  Further, even when the special effect adding unit 25c is performing enhancement processing of a predetermined band, masking occurs as in the case of the bass adjustment processing, so that the enhancement processing of the predetermined band is stopped during the output of the guidance voice. Can improve the ease of listening.

  In addition, even when the special effect adding unit 25c performs the reverberation adding process, it is difficult for the reverberant sound to be conscious of the guidance voice, and the occupant may miss the guidance voice. Thus, by stopping the reverberation adding process during the output of the guidance voice, the ease of listening to the guidance voice is improved.

  By the way, the guidance voice is the most important for the driver, and there are cases where other passengers are required to maintain the output of the audio unit 20, for example, the quality of music, rather than the ease of hearing the guidance voice.

  Therefore, suppression of special effects by the special effect suppression unit 32 is executed for output to the driver's seat, and by continuing to add special effects for output to other seats, the audio unit 20 for passengers of other seats Output quality can be maintained.

  Also, depending on the arrangement of the speakers in the passenger compartment, the speaker used for output to the driver's seat and the speaker used for output to the passenger's seat are shared (for example, the right speaker is used for the driver side door and the left speaker is used for the passenger side door When stereo output is performed with a speaker installed), if the special effect is suppressed for the output to the driver's seat and the special effect is added to the output to the passenger seat, the balance between the left and right sounds is lost.

  Therefore, in such a situation, it is desirable to suppress the addition of special effects to the output for the driver seat and the passenger seat.

  Next, processing of the balance adjustment unit 33 will be described. As described above, it is useful to adjust the audio output to the driver seat in order to improve the ease of listening to the guidance voice in the driver seat. Moreover, the ease of listening to the guidance voice can be further improved by executing the above-described processing while reducing the volume of the entire audio output to the driver's seat.

  However, if the audio output for the driver's seat or passenger's seat is adjusted or lowered, the audibility of the audio output will change for the passenger sitting in the rear seat. In particular, when output using surround processing is performed, the quality of the audio output at the rear seat (the volume feeling and the volume of the sound portion) is reduced by processing the audio output for the driver seat and the passenger seat.

  Therefore, when the audio output to the driver seat or the passenger seat is processed, the balance adjustment unit 33 corrects the output for the rear seat, thereby reducing the uncomfortable feeling for the passenger in the rear seat.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, if the audio output F1 from the front speaker is decreased at time t31 when the guidance voice G3 is turned on, the audio output R1 from the rear speaker is increased. Then, the audio output F1 from the front speaker and the audio output R1 from the rear speaker are recovered at the end of the output of the guidance voice G3 (time t32).

  Here, the case where the output volume from the front speaker is reduced as a whole has been described. However, when a specific part of the output from the front speaker, for example, the center component is reduced, the output from the rear speaker is used. On the other hand, correction is made by adding the center component.

  As described above, in the navigation system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the navigation unit 10 outputs the guidance voice, the music data adjustment unit 30 adjusts the sound information output from the audio unit 20 and the voice part Suppression, suppression of special effects, and correction of balance between seats improve the ease of listening to guidance voice while ensuring audio output.

  In this embodiment, the navigation system in which the navigation unit and the audio unit are integrally formed has been described as an example. However, the use of the present invention is not limited to this.

  For example, if the navigation device has the same function as the music data adjustment unit 30, the present invention can be implemented as a navigation device independent of the audio device. In this case, the navigation device sends a signal that specifically instructs the audio device to adjust the output sound.

  If the audio device has the same function as that of the music data adjustment unit 30, the present invention can be implemented as an audio device independent of the navigation device. In this case, the audio apparatus receives a voice guidance execution notification from the navigation apparatus and determines specific adjustment contents for the output sound in the audio apparatus.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the 5.1ch sound source data that is currently widely used as the sound source data having a plurality of channels has been described as an example. However, the same applies to sound source data having an arbitrary number of channels such as 7.1ch sound source data. Needless to say, the present invention is applicable.

  In the present embodiment, the navigation system is given as a specific example in the case where information is provided by voice and driving is supported, but the use of the present invention is not limited to this and is obtained by road-to-vehicle communication. The present invention is widely applicable to providing information to users by sound, such as when notifying information.

  As described above, the driving support system, the navigation device, and the in-vehicle audio device according to the present invention are useful for voice route guidance, and are particularly suitable for voice guidance in parallel with audio output.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the process of the audio | voice suppression process part shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the processing operation which selects the process used for audio | voice suppression based on the presence or absence of a surround function. It is explanatory drawing explaining the processing operation in the case of selecting the process used for audio | voice suppression based on on / off of a surround function. It is explanatory drawing explaining the process of the special effect suppression part shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the process of the balance adjustment part shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Navigation system 10 Navigation unit 11 GPS communication part 12 Route setting part 13 Map data 14 Guidance processing part 14a Guidance display creation part 14b Guidance voice creation part 20 Audio unit 21 CD drive 22 DVD drive 23 Radio tuner 24 Television tuner 25 Main control part 25a Stereo sound source processing unit 25b 5.1ch sound source processing unit 25c Special effect addition unit 25d Display control unit 30 Music data adjustment unit 31 Audio suppression processing unit 32 Special effect suppression unit 33 Balance adjustment unit 40 Output control unit D1 Display SP1 to SP4 Speaker

Claims (8)

A driving support system having an information providing function for outputting information related to vehicle travel by voice and an audio function for outputting content including sound information,
Surround function determination means for determining whether or not the audio function has a surround function when the information providing function provides information using voice;
If the audio function has a surround function in the surround function determination means, the volume of the center output obtained by executing the surround function is reduced or eliminated, and if the audio function does not have a surround function, vocal off A sound information adjusting means for considering a common part of the right output sound and the left output sound of the stereo sound source data as a center output using processing, and reducing or eliminating the volume of the center output. Driving support system. The sound information adjusting means is
When the audio function reads multi-channel sound source data including center output data corresponding to the center output , the volume of the center output indicated in the multi-channel sound source data is reduced or deleted. Item 2. The driving support system according to Item 1. The sound information adjusting means is
The driving support system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a process used for reducing or erasing the volume of the center output is executed based on a type of sound source read by the audio function. The sound information adjusting means is
The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein addition of a special effect by the audio function is stopped. The sound information adjusting means is
5. The driving support system according to claim 4, wherein the stop of the addition of the special effect is executed with respect to an output for at least one of a driver seat and a passenger seat. The sound information adjusting means is
When the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side is reduced, the sound information output to the other seats is corrected by executing addition of the center output reduction to the output to the other seats. The driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 . A navigation unit that provides route guidance based on map information;
An audio unit for outputting sound information from a recording medium and / or received broadcast;
Surround function determination means for determining whether or not the audio unit has a surround function when providing route guidance by voice through the navigation unit ;
When the surround function determining means has the surround function, the surround function is used to reduce or eliminate the volume of the center output of the sound information output from the audio unit, and when there is no surround function, Sound information adjustment to reduce or eliminate the volume of the center output, using the off process, considering the common part of the right output sound and the left output sound of the stereo sound source data of the sound information output by the audio unit as the center output navigation apparatus characterized by having a <br/> and means. The sound information adjusting means is
When the volume of the center output on the driver's seat side is reduced, the sound information output to the other seats is corrected by executing addition of the center output reduction to the output to the other seats. The navigation device according to claim 7 .

Images