Vehicle multi-passenger phone mode

• US 10,291,996 B1
• Filed: 01/12/2018
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Shaffer, Christian Edward, Sikorski, Ryan Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Jerez Lora, William A
• Application Number:
  US15/870,150
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 381 714, 381 86, 381302, 381365, 381389
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/24 Cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2210/40 Force or pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2230/20 Wireless data transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/223 Execution procedure of a spoken command
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6083 by interfacing with the vehicle audio system
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72484 wherein functions are triggered by incoming communication events
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/406 microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/00 Monitoring arrangements; Testing arrangements for hearing aids H04R25/30; detection of loudspeaker connection H04R5/04; sound-field adaptation dependent on speaker detection H04S7/308
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/005 Microphone arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A vehicle includes one or more microphones that are each configured to selectively provide sound signals from one or more seating positions in the vehicle. A controller is programmed to receive an input indicative of a request to enter a group conversation mode upon initiation of a call, and, responsive to receiving the input, enable the microphones to selectively provide sound signals from all of the seating positions.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

one or more microphones, each configured to selectively provide voice inputs from one or more of a plurality of seating positions; and

a controller programmed to, responsive to receiving an input indicative of a request to enter a group conversation mode upon initiation of a call, change from using only microphone inputs associated with a driver position to combining microphone inputs associated with all seating positions as voice output for the call.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a user interface configured to, upon initiation of the call, provide an operator with a selection for entering the group conversation mode, and provide the input according to the selection.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a switch for initiating a call, and the request to enter the group conversation mode is responsive to the switch being pressed for a time exceeding a predetermined time.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of occupancy sensors associated with each of the seating positions, and the request to enter the group conversation mode is responsive to more than one of the occupancy sensors being indicative of an occupant in a corresponding seating position.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the controller is further programmed to recognize voice commands and the request to enter the group conversation mode is responsive to receiving sound signals indicative of a command to enter the group conversation mode.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the controller is further programmed to, responsive to not receiving the request, enable only microphone inputs that are associated with the driver seating position.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the microphones are unidirectional microphones that are associated with each of the seating positions.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the microphones include at least one omnidirectional microphone that is configured to selectively provide voice inputs from one or more of the seating positions.

9. A vehicle communication system comprising:

a plurality of microphones installed in a vehicle and configured to provide sound signals from one of a plurality of seating positions; and

a controller programmed to, responsive to a switch press, for initiating a call, exceeding a predetermined duration, change from enabling only one of the microphones associated with a driver position to enabling microphones associated with all seating positions for the call.

10. The vehicle communication system of claim 9 wherein the microphones include a unidirectional microphone that is associated with the driver position.

11. The vehicle communication system of claim 9 wherein the microphones include an omnidirectional microphone that is associated with seating positions other that the driver position.

12. The vehicle communication system of claim 9 wherein the controller is further programmed to, responsive to a second switch press, for changing a call mode, change from enabling microphones associated with all seating positions to enabling only one of the microphones associated with the driver position.

13. The vehicle communication system of claim 9 further comprising an occupancy sensor for each of the seating positions, and wherein the controller is further programmed to enable the microphones only for the seating positions in which the occupancy sensor indicates an occupant.

14. The vehicle communication system of claim 9 wherein the controller is further programmed to recognize voice commands and, responsive to receiving sound signals indicative of a command to enable microphones associated with all seating positions, change from enabling only one of the microphones associated with the driver position to enabling microphones associated with all seating positions.

15. The vehicle communication system of claim 9 further comprising a user interface in the vehicle configured to, upon initiating the call, provide an operator with a selection for enabling microphones associated with all seating positions, and, responsive to the operator choosing the selection, change from enabling only one of the microphones associated with the driver position to enabling microphones associated with all seating positions.

16. A method comprising:

enabling, by a controller, a driver-position microphone associated with a driver position of a vehicle responsive to a switch press;

receiving, by the controller, a voice command from the driver-position microphone and interpreting the voice command; and

enabling, by the controller, microphones associated with seating positions other than the driver position responsive to the voice command being a request to initiate an outgoing call in a group mode.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising enabling microphones associated with other seating positions responsive to a switch, for receiving an incoming call, being pressed for a duration exceeding a predetermined duration.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising enabling microphones associated with other seating positions responsive to a switch, for initiating the outgoing call, being pressed for a duration exceeding a predetermined duration.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving, by the controller, occupancy sensor data associated with each of the seating positions and enabling microphones associated with seating positions at which the occupancy sensor data is indicative of an occupant.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising receiving, by the controller, an input, from a user interface, indicative of a request to enter the group mode and enabling microphones associated with other seating positions responsive to the input.