Devices and methods for conveying audio information in vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10070242-B2
Application number	US-201614991011-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 8, 2016
Priority date	Jun 27, 2012
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

Various methods and devices for vehicles are provided, wherein directional output of sound is used. In some embodiments, speech signals assigned to different speakers in a telephone conference are reproduced with different directional characteristics. In other embodiments, menu items of a menu are reproduced using different directions. In some embodiments, a loudspeaker arrangement may be provided at a dashboard or in a backrest of a seat of the vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
receiving different speech signals from mobile devices,
assigning the different speech signals to different speaking participants on the mobile devices based on frequencies of the different speech signals, and
reproducing the different speech signals of each of the different speaking participants to a passenger in a vehicle with direction characteristics depending on the respective speaking participant of the different speaker participants assigned to the respective speech signal of the different speech signals,
wherein the direction characteristics are different for each of the different speaking participants and are generated by beam forming using constructive interference between sound waves emitted from loudspeakers in a loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle to the passenger.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the different speech signals comprises receiving the different speech signals via a cellular network.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising assigning different virtual sound sources to the different speaking participants.

4. A device of a vehicle, comprising:
a loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle;
a processing system coupled to the loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle; and
a receiver that receives speech signals, wherein the processing system is configured to assign the received speech signals to speaking participants based on a frequency of the received speech signals and to cause the loudspeaker arrangement to reproduce the received speech signals to a passenger in the vehicle with direction characteristics depending on the speaking participants,
wherein the speech signals are reproduced with the direction characteristics by beam forming using interference between sound waves emitted from loudspeakers in the loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle.

5. The device of claim 4 , wherein the receiver comprises an interface to be coupled with a mobile phone.

6. The device of claim 4 , wherein the loudspeaker arrangement comprises at least one loudspeaker array, said at least one loudspeaker array comprising at least four loudspeakers wherein the at least one loudspeaker array is provided at a position selected from a group consisting of a position at a dashboard of the vehicle and a position at a backrest of a seat of the vehicle.

7. The device of claim 6 , wherein the at least four loudspeakers of the at least one loudspeaker array are arranged in an arc shape.

8. The device of claim 4 , wherein the direction characteristics comprise virtual sound source locations and each of the speaking participants is perceived to be audible from different virtual sound source locations.

9. A device of a vehicle comprising
a loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle and configured to output different virtual sound sources to a passenger in the vehicle, and
a processing system that produces the different virtual sound sources from different loudspeakers in the loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle,
wherein the processing system generates different audio from the different loudspeakers in the loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle so that the generated different audio is perceived by the passenger in the vehicle to be audible from the different virtual sound sources,
wherein the generated different audio is reproduced speech signals which are assigned to different speaking participants by the processing system based on a frequency of speech signals received by the processing system, and
wherein each of the different speaking participants is assigned to each of the different virtual sound sources.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the processing system generates the different audio that is perceived to be audible from the different virtual sound sources by beam forming using interference between sound waves originating from the different loudspeakers in the loudspeaker arrangement in the vehicle.

Assignees

• Volkswagen Ag
• Audi Ag

Inventors

• Rill Florian

Classifications

• H04S7/00 Primary

  Indicating arrangements; Control arrangements, e.g. balance control · CPC title

• H04R5/02

  Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R2203/12

  Beamforming aspects for stereophonic sound reproduction with loudspeaker arrays · CPC title

• H04R1/403

  loud-speakers · CPC title

• H04R2499/13

  Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles · CPC title