Systems and methods for vehicle audio source input channels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10841701-B2
Application number	US-201916537288-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2019
Priority date	Aug 10, 2018
Publication date	Nov 17, 2020
Grant date	Nov 17, 2020

Abstract

Generating sounds in a vehicle, including generating turn indicator/hazard warning lights (TI/HWL) sounds via a first channel, and generating additional sounds via a second channel, where the second channel is different than the first channel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for generating sounds in a vehicle, comprising:
generating turn indicator/hazard warning lights (TI/HWL) sounds via a first channel, wherein the first channel is only for generating the TI/HWL sounds; and
generating remaining additional sounds via a second channel, where the second channel is different than the first channel, and wherein the remaining additional sounds include other warning sounds.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the TI/HWL sounds are only generated via a first subset of speakers of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the remaining additional sounds are only generated via a second subset of the speakers of the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first subset of speakers is front speakers, and wherein the second subset of speakers is rear speakers.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the TI/HWL sounds are generated via the first channel and the remaining additional sounds are generated via the second channel responsive to receiving a request for the sounds to be generated concurrently with the remaining additional sounds.

6. The method of claim 3 , further comprising, responsive to only the remaining additional sounds being requested and the TI/HWL sounds not being requested, generating the remaining additional sounds by any of the first subset of speakers and the second subset of speakers.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the remaining additional sounds further include any one or combination of media, navigation, and telephone sounds.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the TI/HWL sounds are generated at a fixed gain, the fixed gain being a predetermined gain that is stored in memory of one or more computing systems of the vehicle.

9. A sound system of a vehicle, comprising:
a first subset of speakers;
a second subset of speakers; and
a controller including instructions stored in non-transitory memory that are executable by a processor for:
responsive to receiving a request for a first sound at a same time that a second sound is requested, generating the first sound at a predetermined fixed gain with the first subset of speakers via a first channel, and generating the second sound with the second subset of speakers via a second channel based on application of mixing logic,
wherein the fixed gain is set via a different system than a system that carries out the application of the mixing logic.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first subset of speakers is front speakers.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the second subset of speakers is rear speakers.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further include, responsive to only the second sound being requested and the first sound not being requested, generating the second sound by any of the first subset of speakers and the second subset of speakers.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first sound is a turn indicator/hazard warning lights (TI/HWL) sound.

14. A method for generating sounds in a vehicle, comprising:
responsive to receiving a request for a first sound at a same time that a second sound is already requested,
generating a first sound at a predetermined fixed gain via a first channel while simultaneously generating a second sound via a second channel,
wherein the second channel is different than the first channel,
wherein the first sound is a turn indicator/hazard warning lights (TI/HWL) sound,
wherein the first channel is only for generating the TI/HWL sound, and
wherein the fixed gain is set via a different system than a system that carries out application of mixing logic, and wherein the system that carries out the application of the mixing logic is an in-vehicle computing system.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first channel is a first subset of speakers, and wherein the second channel is a second subset of speakers that is different than the first subset of speakers.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first subset of speakers includes at least one speaker positioned in a front region of the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the predetermined fixed gain is a fixed volume stored in memory of one or more computing systems of the vehicle, and wherein the fixed volume at which the first sound is being generated is overridden to adjust a volume at which the first sound is generated responsive to receiving a user request.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the fixed volume is only overridden responsive to the user request being received while the first sound is being generated.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein adjusting the fixed volume of the first sound includes muting the first sound.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the second sound is an additional sound that is different than the TI/HWL sound.

Assignees

• Harman Int Ind

Inventors

• Wu Hongjun

Classifications

• H04R2499/13

  Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles · CPC title

• B60Q1/52

  for indicating emergencies · CPC title

• H04R5/02

  Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers · CPC title

• H04R3/00 Primary

  Circuits for transducers (arrangements for producing a reverberation or echo sound G10K15/08; amplifiers H03F) · CPC title

• H04R2430/01

  Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems · CPC title