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EP-4740489-A1 - ELECTRONIC AUDIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM INSIDE A MOTOR VEHICLE

EP4740489A1EP 4740489 A1EP4740489 A1EP 4740489A1EP-4740489-A1

Abstract

The invention consists of an electronic audio system for communicating inside a vehicle, wherein said electronic system comprises a control unit and a plurality of pairs of loudspeakers and microphones, wherein each pair is positioned in proximity to seats of said motor vehicle, and wherein each one of said pairs of loudspeakers and microphones is so positioned that the pick-up direction of the microphone is substantially perpendicular to the sound emission direction of the respective loudspeaker, and wherein the control unit is configured for inhibiting the pairs of loudspeakers and microphones located in proximity to at least one seat of the motor vehicle when safety devices comprised in the motor vehicle generate a presence signal indicating that said at least one seat is not being occupied by a passenger.

Inventors

  • JAMES, ROBERT

Assignees

  • Patmos Unipessoal Lda

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20230706

Claims (13)

  1. 1. Electronic audio system (S) for communicating inside a motor vehicle (A) , comprising - a control unit (1) comprising audio output means (12) , audio input means (13) , and processing means (11) in communication with said audio output means (12) and said audio input means (13) , - a plurality of pairs of loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) and microphones (31,32,33,34) , wherein each pair is adapted to be positioned in proximity to seats (Pl, P2, P3, P4) of said motor vehicle (A) , wherein said loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) are in communication with said audio output means (12) , and said microphones (31,32,33,34) are in communication with said audio input means (13) , wherein the processing means (11) of the control unit are configured for - detecting, through at least one of said microphones (31,32,33,34) , that a first passenger in the motor vehicle is beginning a speak, - acquiring, through said audio input means (13) , a first signal representing a voice of said first passenger, - processing said first signal, thereby generating a second signal , - reproducing, through at least one of said loudspeakers, said second signal, wherein said at least one of said loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) is in a position closer to a second passenger, who is also sitting in the motor vehicle (A) , than to said first passenger, wherein each one of said pairs of loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) and microphones (31,32,33,34) is so positioned that the pick-up direction of the microphone is substantially perpendicular to the sound emission direction of the respective loudspeaker, and wherein the processing means (11) of the control unit (1) are also configured for - inhibiting the pairs of loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) and microphones (31,32,33,34) located in proximity to at least one seat of the motor vehicle when safety devices comprised in the motor vehicle (A) generate a presence signal indicating that said at least one seat is not being occupied by a passenger .
  2. 2. Electronic system (S) according to claim 1, wherein the processing means (11) of the control unit (1) are also configured for - inhibiting those microphones which are not proximal to said first passenger, - inhibiting that loudspeaker which is proximal to said first passenger .
  3. 3. Electronic system (S) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the processing means (11) of the control unit (1) are also configured for - determining at least one range of critical frequencies that might produce an echo effect, and - generating, on the basis of said at least one determined range of frequencies, an attenuation and/or cancellation of any components of the second signal that fall within said range of critical frequencies, thus preventing the echo effect .
  4. 4. Electronic system (S) according to claim 3, wherein the processing means (11) are configured for determining at least one range of critical frequencies that might produce an echo effect on the basis of a spatial disposition of the pairs of loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) and microphones (31,32,33,34) inside the motor vehicle (A) .
  5. 5. Electronic system (S) according to claim 3, wherein the processing means (11) are also configured for - generating an audio excitation signal with energy concentrated in at least one frequency range, - emitting, through at least one of said loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) , said audio signal with concentrated energy, - acquiring, through at least one of said microphones (31,32,33,34) , a feedback audio signal, - determining said at least one range of critical frequencies that might produce an echo effect on the basis of said feedback signal.
  6. 6. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the processing means (11) of the control unit (1) are also configured for cyclically executing the steps of determining at least one range of critical frequencies and generating an attenuation and/or cancellation of those components of the audio output signal which fall within said range of critical frequencies.
  7. 7. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each loudspeaker (21,22,23,24) of a loudspeaker (21,22,23,24) and microphone (31,32,33,34) pair is positioned at a different height than the associated microphone of said pair (31,32,33,34) .
  8. 8. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processing means (11) are configured for cyclically generating said second signal by shifting the frequency of said first signal.
  9. 9. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said processing means (11) are configured for detecting the ambient noise surrounding one of said microphones (31,32,33,34) and applying a noise cancellation algorithm to said first signal representing said voice of said first passenger .
  10. 10. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said processing means (11) are configured for detecting a high voice, crying noise, scream noise, or a high- pitched noise originated from one of said microphones (31,32,33,34) and to inhibit said reproduction of the same through said at least one of said loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) .
  11. 11. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein said processing means (11) are configured for receiving an input parameter through interface means (14) for setting the sensibility level of said detection of said microphones (31,32,33,34) and/or for setting the energy level of said reproduction level of said second signal through said at least one of said loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) .
  12. 12. Electronic system (S) according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein said processing means (11) are configured for receiving an input parameter through said interface means (14) for setting at least one subgroup across predetermined passenger positions to activate and/or deactivate at least one of said microphones (31,32,33,34) and/or at least one of said loudspeakers (21,22,23,24) .
  13. 13. A vehicle equipped with one of said electronic systems (S) according to one of the claims 1 to 12.

Description

TITLE : ELECTRONIC AUDIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM INS IDE A MOTOR VEHICLE DESCRIPTION : The present invention relates to an electronic audio system for communicating inside a motor vehicle . It is known that passengers sitting in the rear seats of a car often have di f ficulty in hearing, and being heard by, passengers sitting in the front seats , especially when music or speech is being played . In particular, sometimes the driver, in order to be heard by the rear seat passengers , will have to turn back his/her head, with adverse ef fects on drive safety . Another problem that needs to be tackled when designing a vehicular electronic audio communication system is to avoid the so-called "Larsen ef fect" , i . e . , that phenomenon which occurs when a microphone and a loudspeaker are set too close to each other, thus triggering a sound ampli fication cycle resulting in ampli fication stage instability and annoying noise . In fact , when the sound produced by a loudspeaker is picked up by a microphone , ampli fied, and then reproduced again by the loudspeaker, a feedback cycle will be generated in which the sound will be continuously ampli fied and reproduced . This cycle will cause the sound intensity to progressively increase and undesirably produce a whistle or shrill noise . The present invention aims at solving these and other problems by providing an electronic audio system for communicating inside a vehicle as set forth in the appended claim 1 . The basic idea of the present invention is to employ pairs of loudspeakers and microphones , wherein each pair is positioned in proximity to a passenger seat and is so oriented that the loudspeaker and the associated microphone have their axes substantially perpendicular to each other, and wherein the loudspeaker and microphone pairs are inhibited on the basis of information about the passengers actually sitting in a motor vehicle . Furthermore , all microphones that are not proximal to the passenger who is currently speaking will also be inhibited, along with the loudspeaker located near that passenger, which will be referred to herein as first passenger . In order to further prevent the risk of producing an echo ef fect ( Larsen ef fect ) , at least one frequency range that might produce said echo ef fect is determined, preferably on a periodical basis ( e . g . , whenever a passenger gets in or out of the vehicle ) . It is clear that the presence of an electronic audio communication in a motor vehicle facilitates conversation between front seat passengers and rear seat passengers , while also improving drive safety . At the same time , the Larsen ef fect can be prevented through the adoption of innovative measures as to the spatial and geometrical positioning of microphones and loudspeakers , and through the analysis of the frequencies that might generate possible echoes . Further advantageous features of the present invention are set out in the appended claims , which are an integral part of the present description . These features as well as further advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the light of the following description of some preferred embodiments thereof , one of which is shown in the annexed drawings , which are provided herein merely by way of non-limiting example , wherein : - Fig . 1 shows a block diagram of an electronic audio communication system inside a motor vehicle according to the invention; - Fig . 2 shows a schemati zed plan view of a motor vehicle equipped with the electronic system of Fig . 1 . In this description, any reference to "an embodiment" will indicate that a particular configuration, structure or feature is comprised in at least one embodiment of the invention . Therefore , expressions such as " in an embodiment" and the like , which may be found in di f ferent parts of this description, will not necessarily refer to the same embodiment . Moreover, any particular configuration, structure or feature may be combined as deemed appropriate in one or more embodiments . The references below are therefore used only for simplicity' s sake , and shall not limit the protection scope or extension of the various embodiments . With reference to Figure 1 , the following will describe an electronic system S for audio communication inside a motor vehicle according to the invention; said electronic audio system S comprises a control unit 1 ( i . e . , an electronic circuit included in the electronic communication system) that comprises a central unit 11 for processing the signals and controlling the functionality of the entire electronic audio communication system . Although not shown in the figure , memory means are also included which are necessary for the operation of said central unit . Numeral 12 designates audio output ( interface ) means connected to at least 4 loudspeakers , designated by reference numerals 21 to 24 . Numeral 13 designates audio input ( interface ) means connected to at least 4 microphone