JP7395234B2 - sound system - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sound system capable of outputting sound into a vehicle interior space, and particularly relates to switching of sound output during a hands-free call.

Multifunctional mobile terminals such as smartphones have become widespread, and opportunities for drivers to talk on the phone in the car are increasing. When making calls in the car, hands-free calls are used for safety reasons. Patent Document 1 discloses a hands-free communication device that masks the voice of a conversation to a passenger in order to prevent the voice from the other party of the conversation from being heard by a passenger in a passenger seat. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a hands-free communication device that adjusts the phase of a sound signal output from a speaker so that only the driver can easily hear the sound.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-96664 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-112528

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a space inside a car where hands-free calls can be made. Speakers dedicated to each seat are installed in the headrests 10A, 12A, 14A, etc. of each seat 10, 12, 14, 16, and passengers seated in the seats listen to the audio output from the speakers to themselves. be able to. Furthermore, when the driver makes a hands-free call, it is possible to simultaneously output audio from the speakers in each seat.

The driver can use hands-free calling to make a call at any time inside the vehicle, but if there is a passenger, he or she may not want to make a call to anyone at any time, depending on who the passenger is. For example, depending on the situation, such as when you are the only person in the car, if your husband and wife are in the car, if you are riding with friends, or if children are in the car, you may want to discuss the content with the other party. No, I don't want to hear it, there are things I don't want to hear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems and provide a sound system that can selectively switch audio output in a vehicle interior depending on the passenger's situation.

The sound system according to the present invention is capable of outputting sound within a car interior, and includes a communication means equipped with a wireless call function, an identification means for identifying a fellow passenger and the seat position of the fellow passenger, and a sound system capable of outputting sound within a car interior. a first attribute identification means for identifying the attributes of the other party to the hands-free call using the communication means as seen from the person making the call; and a second attribute identification means for identifying the attributes of the fellow passenger as seen from the person making the call; an audio output means capable of outputting audio to the interior space of the vehicle; and when a hands-free phone call is made, selectively outputs audio in the interior space of the vehicle by the audio output means based on the relationship between the attributes of the other party and the attributes of the fellow passenger; and switching means for switching to.

In one embodiment, the switching means is configured to output audio to the seat space of the person making the call and not to output the sound to the seat space of the fellow passenger when the attributes of the other party and the fellow passenger are different. Switch output. In one embodiment, the switching means switches the audio output so that when the attributes of the other party and the fellow passenger are the same, the audio is output to the seat space of the person making the call and the fellow passenger. In one embodiment, the switching means does not switch the audio output when there is no passenger other than the person making the call. In one embodiment, the attributes are defined by a plurality of categories that are prepared in advance and indicate relationships with the person. In some implementations, the person making the call is the driver. In one embodiment, the sound system further includes registration means for registering attribute information of a plurality of persons, and the first attribute identification means and the second attribute identification means refer to the attribute information of the registration means. identify the attributes of the other party and the passenger. In one embodiment, the communication means includes a storage means for storing attribute information of a plurality of persons, and the registration means acquires the attribute information from the storage means and registers it.

According to the present invention, when a hands-free phone call is made, the audio output in the interior space of the car is selectively switched based on the relationship between the attributes of the other party and the attributes of the passenger. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a comfortable in-vehicle space and improve the quality of audio output in the in-vehicle space.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an interior space in a car where hands-free calling is possible. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a sound system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an on-vehicle device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a table showing an example of registration information of a telephone directory according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a sound control program according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of switching audio output during a hands-free call according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of switching audio output in a normal mode and in a zone mode according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of audio output switching in the zone mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The sound system according to the present invention is capable of outputting sound to a selected area of a vehicle interior space or a seat space. For example, when making a hands-free call using a mobile device such as a smartphone, the audio output of the hands-free call is automatically switched selectively depending on the situation of the passenger, so that the passenger does not hear the content of the call that the passenger does not want to hear. Try not to sound like that. Passengers don't have to listen to phone calls they don't want to hear either. This provides a comfortable interior space.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a sound system in a car interior according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the sound system 100 of this embodiment includes an in-vehicle device 200 and a communication module 300 connected to the in-vehicle device 200 via a connecting means 400. The communication module 300 is, for example, a telematics control unit (TCU) that includes a high-performance mobile terminal such as a smartphone and a plurality of communication units. The TCU can receive GPS signals, connect to a public wireless telephone network such as 3G/4G/5G, or connect to a wireless network such as WiFi.

The communication module 300 can be wirelessly connected to the public telephone line 310 and the network communication 320, and the driver can not only make voice calls using the public telephone line 310 but also make Internet calls (IP phone calls) via the network communication 320. ) can be used. For example, LINE (registered trademark)/Skype (registered trademark)/KaKaoTalk (registered trademark) are known as applications for IP telephones. When using an IP phone, the IP phone application software is installed on a smartphone, etc.

The in-vehicle device 200 is generally a computer device or an electronic device mounted on a vehicle, and is equipped with, for example, an audio/video function, a navigation function, a hands-free calling function, and the like. When a hands-free call is made, the call voice is input from the microphone 212 and the call voice is output from the speaker 262. Microphone 212 and speaker 262 can be installed in each seat space to enable selective audio input or output within the vehicle interior space.

The connection means 400 connects the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300 by wire or wirelessly, and enables two-way communication of data and control signals between the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300. The connection means 400 connects the two using, for example, Bluetooth, LAN, WiFi, USB, etc., although the connection method is not particularly limited. Furthermore, the connection means 400 includes a connection based on a BT HFT profile that enables hands-free communication between the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300, as will be described later. Note that in the sound system 100 shown in FIG. 2, an example is shown in which the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300 are connected by the connection means 400, but this is just an example, and the in-vehicle device 200 has the communication module 300 built-in. There may be. The connection means 400 in this case may be wiring or the like that connects both electrically or functionally.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle device of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the in-vehicle device 200 includes an input section 210, an AVN (audio video navigation) section 220, a connection section 230, an imaging camera 240, a seat sensor 250, an audio output section 260, a display section 270, and a storage section. 280 and a control section 290. The configuration shown here is an example; for example, the in-vehicle device 200 can also be provided with a function of receiving television and radio broadcasts.

The input unit 210 includes an input key device, a microphone 212 for voice input, a touch panel, etc., and signals input through these devices are provided to the control unit 290. The microphone 212 can be individually provided at each seat so that the voices of each passenger can be input individually. The AVN unit 220 plays audio signals and video signals, provides route guidance to a destination, and the like. The connection unit 230 establishes a connection means 400 between the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300, as shown in FIG.

The imaging camera 240 images the interior of the vehicle and provides the captured image information to the control unit 290. This image information is used to identify the passenger. Seat sensor 250 detects the presence or absence of a passenger in the seat, and provides the detection result to control unit 290. Seat sensor 250 is, for example, a gravity sensor attached to the seat. Note that the seat sensor 250 is not essential, and if the imaging camera 240 can capture an image of the passenger seated in the seat, the seat position where the passenger is seated can be identified from the captured image information. Good too.

The audio output unit 260 receives the audio signal reproduced by the AVN unit 220 and the audio signal used when making a hands-free call via the communication module 300, converts it into audible sound, and outputs it to the interior of the vehicle. The audio output unit 260 can operate in a normal mode or a zone mode under the control of audio output switching by the control unit 290. In the normal mode, the audio output unit 260 outputs audio to the entire interior space of the vehicle without switching the audio output. When in zone mode, the audio output is switched so that the audio is output to a specific seat space.

In one embodiment, the audio output unit 260 includes a plurality of directional speakers 262, each speaker 262 outputting audio toward a corresponding seating space. In normal mode, the audio output unit 260 outputs audio from all speakers, and in zone mode, outputs audio from selected speakers and does not output audio from non-selected speakers. In another embodiment, the audio output unit 260 includes a plurality of speakers 262 mounted near the headrest of each seat. In normal mode, the audio output unit 260 outputs audio from all speakers, and in zone mode, outputs audio from selected speakers and does not output audio from non-selected speakers.

The display section 270 displays the video signal reproduced by the AVN section 220 and the video signal transferred from the communication module 300. The storage unit 280 stores data from the AVN unit 220 and application software for making IP telephone calls. Furthermore, the storage unit 280 registers a telephone directory as shown in FIG. The information in the telephone directory may be directly input by the user via the input unit 210, or such a telephone directory may be acquired from a smartphone (communication module 300) and registered.

If the in-vehicle device 200 has a function of identifying a driver, phone books of a plurality of users are registered, and when a driver is identified, a phone book of a user corresponding to the driver is selected. The telephone directory includes, for example, telephone numbers, names, ID information (including ID and account information required for IP telephone calls), attributes, biometric information, etc. regarding the person to be registered. An attribute is information that represents a relationship with a person. In one embodiment, the attributes are defined by a plurality of categories that are prepared in advance and indicate relationships with the person. For example, the plurality of categories includes friends, family members (spouse), family members (children), relatives, business associates, etc., and the category that corresponds to the person to be registered is selected. In the illustrated example, person A is a friend, person B is a family member (spouse), person C is a family member (child), and person D is a business associate.

The telephone directory also stores biometric information related to the registered person. The biometric information is used to identify the passenger, as described below. When the passenger is identified by facial recognition, information about the passenger's face is stored, and when the passenger is identified by fingerprint, retina, veins, etc., biometric information is stored. In the example of FIG. 4, the biometric information storage address is linked.

The control section 290 controls the operation of each section of the in-vehicle device 200. In one embodiment, the control unit 290 includes a microprocessor or microcontroller with ROM/RAM, etc., and the ROM stores a program for controlling each unit. The control unit 290 executes a sound control program for controlling audio output during hands-free calling, and details of the control at that time will be described here.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the sound control program according to this embodiment. The sound control program 500 includes an HF connection detection section 510, a seat position identification section 520, a passenger identification section 530, a calling party identification section 540, a mode determination section 550, and an audio output switching section 560.

The HF connection detection unit 510 detects that the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300 are in a state where hands-free communication is possible via the connection means 400. For example, it is detected that the BT HFT profiles of the in-vehicle device 200 and the communication module 300 are connected.

When the HF connection is detected, the seat position identification unit 520 identifies the passenger's seat position based on the detection result of the seat sensor 250. This identification result is provided to the passenger identification section 520. The passenger identification unit 530 searches the telephone directory shown in FIG. 4 for a person whose biometric information matches the image information captured by the imaging camera 240. This identifies the passenger and extracts the passenger's attributes.

The passenger identification unit 530 identifies fellow passengers other than the driver when the driver is fixed, and identifies the driver and fellow passengers when the driver is unspecified. For driver identification, the passenger sitting in the driver's seat is regarded as the driver. When the driver has been identified, the passenger identification unit 530 selects a phone book corresponding to the driver from among a plurality of phone books, identifies the passenger by referring to the selected phone book, and Extract the person's attributes. These identification results are provided to mode determination section 550 and audio output switching section 560.

The calling party identification unit 540 identifies the calling party when a hands-free call is made. For example, it is performed when there is an incoming call or an outgoing call. If the call is a voice call using the public telephone network 310, the call party identification unit 540 searches the telephone directory for a matching telephone number, identifies the person concerned, and extracts the attributes of the person. If the call is via an IP phone, the phone book is searched for matching ID information, the corresponding person is identified, and the person's attributes are extracted. The extracted attributes are provided to mode determination section 550 and audio output switching section 560.

The mode determination unit 550 determines whether the audio output unit 260 is operated in the normal mode or the zone mode based on the presence or absence of a passenger or the relationship between the attributes of the passenger and the attributes of the other party. If only the driver is on board, the mode determining unit 550 determines that the mode is normal mode and does not switch the audio output. In other words, the audio is output in the default state. On the other hand, if there is a fellow passenger in addition to the driver, the normal mode or zone mode is determined depending on the relationship between the attributes of the other party and the fellow passenger. In one example, if the attributes of the other party on the phone and the attributes of the fellow passenger are different, the mode is determined to be zone mode, and when the attributes of the other party on the phone and the attributes of the fellow passenger match, the mode is determined to be normal mode. For example, if the passenger is a family member and the person on the other end of the line is a business associate, the passenger is a friend and the person on the other end is a business associate, or the passenger is a family member and the person on the other end is a family member or friend. In such cases, it is assumed that there will be a situation in which the user does not want to hear the contents of the call or hear the contents of the call, so it is determined that the call is in Thorn mode. In addition, if the passenger is a family member (spouse) and the other party is a family member (child), or if the passenger is a business associate and the other party is a business associate, you may want to share the content of the call. Since this is expected, it is determined that the mode is normal mode. It is desirable to define in advance what relationship exists between the attributes of the fellow passenger and the attributes of the person on the other end of the conversation when the mode should be set to Thorn mode or Normal mode.

The audio output switching unit 560 switches the seat space or area where the audio of the hands-free call is output based on the determination result of the mode determining unit 550. The method of switching the audio output is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, stopping (muting) the audio signal to a speaker that is directional to the seat space whose audio output is to be suppressed or a speaker attached to the seat, or The amplifier connected to such a speaker may be deactivated, or the audio may be made difficult to hear by outputting audio with the phase reversed. When it is determined that the mode is normal mode, the audio output switching unit 560 outputs audio to the entire interior space of the vehicle in a default state without switching the audio output. On the other hand, when it is determined that the mode is the zone mode, the audio output switching unit 560 switches the audio output so that the audio is output to a specific seat space. Specifically, audio is output only to the driver's seat space, or audio is output only to the seat space of a passenger who shares the same attributes as the other party, and the driver's seat space. To prevent audio from being output to the seat space of a different passenger.

Next, the operation of sound control during a hands-free call according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6. Here, it is assumed that the person making the hands-free call is the driver. First, when the driver brings a smartphone into the vehicle, the smartphone is paired with the in-vehicle device 200, and thereby the HF connection detection unit 510 detects a connection state that allows hands-free calling (S100). Next, the seat position identifying section 520 identifies the seat position of the fellow passenger (S110), the passenger identifying section 530 identifies the passenger, and the attributes of the identified passenger are extracted (S120). The mode determining unit 550 determines whether there is a fellow passenger other than the driver based on the relationship between the seat position and the passenger (S130), and if there is no fellow passenger, it determines that the mode is normal mode (S140). When a hands-free call is performed, the audio output switching unit 560 outputs audio to the entire interior space of the vehicle based on the determination result of the mode determining unit 550 (S150).

On the other hand, if there is a fellow passenger, when a hands-free call is made, the other party is identified by the other party identification unit 540, and the attributes of the other party are extracted (S160). The mode determination unit 550 determines whether the mode is normal mode or zone mode based on the relationship between the attributes of the fellow passenger and the attributes of the other party (S170). If it is determined that the zone mode is selected, the audio output switching unit 560 outputs the audio to the seat space of the driver's seat or to the seat space of a fellow passenger whose attribute is common to the driver's seat space and the attribute of the other party. The audio output is switched (S180), whereby the audio of the hands-free call is output from the specific seat space (S190).

FIG. 7A shows an example of audio output of a hands-free call when only the driver is on board. Since there is no passenger other than the driver, the mode determining unit 550 determines that the mode is normal mode, and the audio output switching unit 560 does not switch the audio output. As shown in the figure, speakers SP1, SP2, SP3, and SP4 are attached to the headrests of each seat ST1, ST2, ST3, and ST4, respectively, and each speaker SP1 to SP4 outputs audio to the respective seat space. Output. Since this is the normal mode, audio is output from all speakers SP1, SP2, SP3, and SP4 regardless of the attributes of the other party.

FIG. 7(B) shows an example of audio output of a hands-free call when a fellow passenger is present. Since the attribute of the other party is a work-related person and the attribute of the fellow passenger is a family member, the mode determining unit 550 determines that the mode is zone mode, and the audio output switching unit 560 outputs audio to the driver's seat space Z1. Thus, the speaker SP1 outputs the audio, and the other speakers SP2 to SP4 do not output the audio.

FIG. 8(A) shows an example of audio output of a hands-free call when there is a passenger who has the same attributes as the other party. The attribute of the other party is friend group A, and the attributes of the three fellow passengers are friend group A, friend group B, and family, respectively. The mode determining unit 550 determines that the mode is zone mode because there is a passenger with an attribute different from that of the other party, and the audio output switching unit 560 determines that the mode is the zone mode. The audio output is switched so that the audio is output only to the seat space Z2 of ST2 and not to the seats ST3 and ST4.

FIG. 8(B) shows an example of another zone mode. The attribute of the other party is family, and the attributes of the three fellow passengers are friend group A, friend group B, and family, respectively. The mode determining unit 550 determines that the mode is zone mode because there is a passenger with an attribute different from that of the other party, and the audio output switching unit 560 selects the zone mode between the driver's seat ST1 and the passenger's seat ST3 with the family attribute. The audio output is switched so that the audio is output only to the seat space Z3 and not to the seats ST2 and ST4.

In this way, according to this embodiment, when there is a passenger other than the driver, the audio output for hands-free calls is selectively switched depending on the situation, so the person can also make calls without hesitation. This makes it possible to provide a comfortable interior space without making other passengers feel uncomfortable.

In the above embodiment, the seat sensor is used to detect the passenger's seat position, and the image information captured by the imaging camera is used to identify the passenger. However, these are just examples, and other The seat position and the passenger may be identified by a method. Furthermore, although several categories have been illustrated as attributes of passengers and call parties, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to specific embodiments, and various modifications and variations can be made within the scope of the gist of the invention described in the claims. Changes are possible.

100: Sound system 200: In-vehicle device 212: Microphone 262: Speaker 300: Communication module 310: Public telephone line network 320: Network communication 400: Connection means 500: Sound control program

Claims (7)

A sound system capable of outputting audio within a car interior,
A communication means equipped with a wireless calling function,
Identification means for identifying a fellow passenger and the seat position of the fellow passenger;
Stores a telephone directory that includes telephone numbers for hands-free calls of multiple persons or ID information for IP phones, attribute information representing the relationship with the person making the call, and biometric information for identifying the persons. storage means,
When a hands-free call is made by the communication means, a first attribute identifying means searches for a matching telephone number or ID information from the telephone directory, identifies a calling party, and identifies an attribute of the calling party; ,
second attribute identification means for identifying attributes of the fellow passenger based on biometric information in the telephone directory when the fellow passenger is identified by the identification means;
an audio output means capable of outputting audio into the interior of the vehicle;
When a hands-free phone call is made, a switching unit selectively switches the audio output in the vehicle interior space by the audio output unit based on the relationship between the attributes of the other party and the passenger;
Sound system with. The switching means switches the audio output so that when the attributes of the other party and the fellow passenger are different, the audio is output to the seat space of the person making the call and not to the seat space of the fellow passenger. The sound system according to item 1. The sound according to claim 1, wherein the switching means switches the audio output so that when the attributes of the other party and the fellow passenger are the same, the audio output is output to the seat space of the person making the call and the fellow passenger. system. 2. The sound system according to claim 1, wherein the switching means does not switch the audio output when there is no passenger other than the person making the call. 2. The sound system according to claim 1, wherein the attributes are defined by a plurality of categories that are prepared in advance and indicate a relationship with the person. The sound system according to claim 1, wherein the person making the call is a driver. The surround system further includes an image capturing means for capturing an image of a fellow passenger in the vehicle, and the second attribute identifying means searches a telephone directory for biometric information that matches the image information captured by the image capturing means. 2. The sound system of claim 1, wherein the sound system identifies attributes of.

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