JPH01289732A - Audio controller for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an ordinal conversation performable between inside and outside a vehicle without reducing sound volume of an audio unit manually by reducing the sound volume of the audio unit automatically when detecting a fact that a windowpane is opened as far as more than the specified one at the time of stoppage of the vehicle. CONSTITUTION:An audio controller 30 is provided with a car speed sensor 32 detecting a car stop on the basis of car speed, and a timer means 31 detecting opening of a window on the basis of operation of a power window motor 21 at the side of a driver's seat, and these elements are connected to a central processing unit 33 controlling each sound volume. When a car is in a state of being stopped, the window is opened, and sound volume of an audio unit, being inputted from a preamplifier 15 is large enough, this sound volume is reduced. In addition, the sound volume before it is reduced is stored in a memory 34, while it is reset to the sound volume stored with closure or the like of the window. In addition, according to a wish of a driver or the like, operation of the audio controller 30 is released by a cancel switch 35.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a vehicle audio control device that controls the volume of vehicle audio according to the running state of the vehicle and the open/close state of an opening/closing body of the vehicle. It is something.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, vehicles such as passenger cars have been equipped with vehicle audio devices as standard or as an option. Vehicle audio devices have unique needs because they are used under the unique conditions of being inside a car, and various improvements have been made to meet these needs. For example, in order to effectively utilize the space near the driver's seat,
Japanese Patent No. 240542 discloses a car audio device in which an equalizer circuit and an analyzer circuit are arranged separately from an operation/display section. These highly functional and highly operable audio devices make it easy to operate the audio and allow you to enjoy radio or tape music while safely driving your car.

By the way, while listening to tape music by turning on these audio devices, we often find ourselves wanting to talk to someone inside the car and someone outside the car. For example, the user may be asked about the amount of the toll at a toll booth, or the user may be asked about directions. In such cases, the person in the car must manually turn down the volume on their audio device to ensure they can hear the person on the other end.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in such cases, it is very troublesome for the person in the car to have to reach over to the location where the audio device is installed and turn the volume knob to lower the volume each time. Further, it is not very desirable to be distracted by operating the audio device in this way when driving a car.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the vehicle audio control device according to the present invention includes an opening detection means for detecting the open/closed state of the opening/closing body of the vehicle, and a stop detection means for detecting the stop of the vehicle. , when the opening detecting means obtains a signal that the opening/closing member is opened by a certain amount or more, and the stop detecting means obtains a signal indicating that the vehicle has stopped, the volume of the vehicle audio device is adjusted by a certain amount. The device is characterized in that it is equipped with a volume control means for lowering the volume to a level below.

[For production]

When a person inside the vehicle and a person outside the vehicle communicate with each other, the vehicle is inevitably stopped and the opening/closing body of the vehicle (mainly the window of the driver's seat) is opened. The vehicle audio control device of the present invention detects such a state using the opening degree detection means and the stoppage detection means, respectively, and when these two states overlap, the person inside the car can talk to the person outside the car. It is determined that the audio signal is being exchanged, and the volume of the vehicle audio device is lowered to a certain level or less. This not only makes it possible to interrupt the conversation of the other person, but also prevents people in the car from turning the volume knob of the audio device with their own hands to a lower volume (but it is also a good idea to do so). Therefore, the passenger can enjoy a comfortable ride without being distracted by the operation of the audio device.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

The vehicle audio device is, for example, a six-speaker system mounted on a vehicle with a sunroof, as shown in FIG. 4, with each pair of front speakers 2, 2,
Door speakers 3, 3 and rear speakers 4, 4 are attached to the instrument panel 5, doors 6, 6, and rear parcel shelf 7, respectively, and the audio device main body 8 is attached to the center of the instrument panel 5. It is being

As shown in FIG. 1, the audio device main body 8 is equipped with an AM tuner 10, an FM tuner 11, a cassette deck 12, etc., and output signals from these are sent to an AM/FM changeover switch 13 or a radio/tape deck. The signal is sent to a preamplifier 15 via a changeover switch 14. The preamplifier 15 has sound (1M volume 16, TRE controller 17, BASS
A controller 18 and the like are connected thereto, as well as a CPU 33 and a memory 34 of a vehicle audio control device 30, which will be described later. Further, a power amplifier 19 is connected to the preamplifier 15, and the aforementioned front speaker 2, door speaker 3, and rear speaker 4 are connected to this power amplifier 19.

Further, each door 6 including the driver's side door 6 is equipped with a power window system 20, as shown in FIG. The power window system 20 includes a power window motor 21 and a power window switch 22.
(Power window main switch 22' on the driver's side)
, and a power window regulator 24 and guide 25 for raising and lowering the window (opening/closing body) 23. And the above power window motor 21
..., those on the driver's seat side are directly connected, and the others are connected to the power window main switch 22' via the power window switch 22 (as shown in FIG. 1). Furthermore, this power window main switch 22'
is the CPU via the power window time lag relay 27.
26. The CPU 26 and the power window time lag relay 27 are configured so that the power windows can be operated for a certain period of time even after the ignition key 28 is turned off.

Now, the vehicle audio control bag y130 of the present invention is connected to a vehicle speed sensor (stop detection means) 32 for detecting the running speed of the vehicle 1 and a power window motor 21 on the driver's seat side. It is equipped with a timer means (opening degree detection means) 31 for detecting the amount of opening of the window 23 by detecting each of the ascending and descending motions, and the timer means 31 and the vehicle speed sensor 32.
is connected to the CPU 33. This CPU 33 also has a volume control means, and the timer means 3
1, a signal is obtained that the window 23 on the driver's seat side is opened by a certain amount or more, and a signal is obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 32 that the vehicle 1 has stopped (the traveling speed is Q ko+ / h), and When the preamplifier 15 receives a signal indicating that the volume of the audio device is above a predetermined amount, at least control is performed to reduce the volume of the audio device to a certain amount or less.

Further, the vehicle audio control device 30 is provided with a memory 34. This memory 34 is connected to the CPU 33 and preamplifier 15, and stores the volume before lowering the volume of the audio device below a certain level, and provides this volume information to the CPU 33 as necessary. ing. This allows the volume control means (
For example, after the volume is lowered by the CPU 33),
3. When the door is closed by a certain amount or more, the volume of the audio device can be restored to the volume before the reduction. In addition, the CPU 33 has a cancel switch 35.
is connected so that the operation of the vehicle audio control device 30 can be canceled at the passenger's request.

In the vehicle audio control device 30, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, it is first determined whether the radio or tape is in operation in the audio device (
Sl), if it is not operating, the process returns to step 1, while if it is operating, it is determined whether the vehicle is stopped (S2), and this determination is made by the CPU 33 based on the output of the vehicle speed sensor 32. do.

Once it is determined that the vehicle is stopped, it is then determined whether the window 23 on the driver's seat side is opened by a certain amount or more.

This judgment is made based on the output of the timer means 31.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the power window main switch 22' (P/W-M
-SW) is turned on in the open direction (S19), and
If it is determined that the timer has been turned off, the timer is set for a certain period of time (520), and then it is determined whether the timer is turned off (521), and when this timer is turned off, the power window main switch 22' is If it continues to be turned on in the open direction, it is determined that the window 23 has been opened by a certain amount or more.

If it is determined in step 3 that the window 23 is open by a certain amount or more, the volume of the audio device is then detected (S4), and it is determined whether this volume is greater than a predetermined amount (S5). If it is determined that the volume is above a predetermined amount, it starts a volume reduction operation (S6), detects the volume (S7), and further determines whether the volume has decreased below a predetermined amount (S8). When the volume drops below a certain level, the volume reduction operation is stopped and the process returns (S10).
.

In this way, the volume of tape music etc. from an audio device decreases, so when you are asked about the amount of a toll at a toll booth or the like, or when you are asked for directions etc.
You will be able to clearly hear what the other person is saying. Moreover, the person in the car does not have to turn the volume knob of the audio device to a low volume by hand, and the passenger is no longer distracted by the operation of the audio device. will be able to enjoy comfortable driving. Note that if the volume is below the predetermined level in step 5, there is no problem in hearing what the other party is saying, so the volume reduction operation is not performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 2 that the vehicle is in a running state, the process proceeds to step 11, where it is determined whether the window 23 is opened by a certain amount or more. This determination can be made, for example, in step 19 described above.
This is done in 22 steps. If it is determined in step 11 that the window 23 is open by a certain amount or more, the process moves to step 12, in which the volume of the audio device is detected, and whether or not this volume is less than a predetermined amount is determined. It is determined whether (S13). If it is determined that the volume is below a predetermined amount, an operation to increase the volume is started (S14), the volume is detected (515), and it is further determined whether the volume has increased to a predetermined amount or more (316).
. When the volume increases above a certain level, the volume increase operation is stopped and the process returns (318).

Steps 11 to 18 above show volume control when the vehicle 1 is in a running state and the window 23 is open. In such a state, the sound flowing from the speakers 2, 3, and 4 of the audio device tends to leak outside the vehicle and the sound pressure level decreases. However, according to the volume control in steps 11 to 18 above, the audio Since the volume of the device is increased, it is possible to keep the sound pressure level of the sound flowing inside the car almost constant.

In this embodiment, only the opening/closing state of the window 23 on the driver's seat side is detected, but this is not limited to detecting the open/closed state of the window 23 on the driver's seat side. - It is also possible to detect the open/closed state of the device itself. Further, a timer means 31 is used as an opening detection means.
However, instead of this, a counter means for counting the operation time of the power window motor 21, or a counter means for counting the operating time of the power window motor 21, or a counter means for counting the operating time of the power window motor 21, or a
It is also possible to provide a switch means that operates at 10 FF. Furthermore, the volume control of the steering knobs 11 to 18 may be controlled so that the sound pressure level of especially low sounds remains constant inside the vehicle. According to such control, the opening and closing of the opening/closing body Regardless of the condition,
You can always enjoy sound effects with deep bass.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the vehicle audio control device according to the present invention includes an opening detection means for detecting the open/closed state of the opening/closing body of the vehicle, a stop detection means for detecting the stop of the vehicle,
When the first opening detection means obtains a signal that the opening/closing body is opened by a certain amount or more, and the stop detection means obtains a signal that the vehicle has stopped, the volume of the vehicle audio device is adjusted by a certain amount. This configuration includes a volume control means for lowering the volume to below.

Therefore, when the audio device is activated and you want to exchange a conversation between someone inside the car and someone outside the car, the volume of the audio device will automatically decrease to ensure that the other person is speaking. Not only will the person in the car be able to hear the sound, but the person in the car will no longer have to manually turn the volume knob on the audio device to a lower volume, and will no longer be distracted by operating the audio device. This has the effect that the rider can enjoy a comfortable ride.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram showing a vehicle audio control device, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing volume control,
Figure 3 is a flowchart for determining whether the window is opened a certain amount or more, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the arrangement of the audio device main body and speakers, and Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the power window system. be. 1 is the vehicle, 2, 3, and 4 are the speakers, 8 is the audio device body, 15 is the preamplifier, 20 is the power window system, 22' is the power window main switch, 23 is the window (opening/closing body), 30 is the vehicle audio Control device,
31 is a timer means (opening detection means), 32 is a vehicle speed sensor (stop detection means), and 33 is a CPU (volume control means).
, 34 is a memory, and 35 is a cancel switch.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Opening degree detection means for detecting the open/closed state of the opening/closing body of the vehicle; Stop detection means for detecting the stop of the vehicle;
When the opening detecting means obtains a signal indicating that the opening/closing body is opened by a certain amount or more, and the stop detecting means obtains a signal indicating that the vehicle has stopped, the volume of the vehicle audio device is set to a certain amount or less. 1. A vehicle audio control device comprising: a volume control means for lowering the volume to .