Method and apparatus for communicating to vehicle occupants

• US 20020150262A1
• Filed: 03/29/2001
• Published: 10/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Carter, Jerome D.
• Application Number:
  US09/822,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20020150262A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/86
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages

Abstract

Briefly, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a system includes a detection mechanism that may inform the driver or occupant of a vehicle of the occurrence of a particular sound outside or external to the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

notifying an occupant of a vehicle of the occurrence of a detected sound outside of the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying the occupant of the vehicle that sound associated with an emergency vehicle has been detected.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the notifying the occupant includes broadcasting at least a portion of the sound associated with the emergency vehicle through at least a portion of a sound system in the vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein broadcasting at least a portion of the sound associated with the emergency vehicle includes broadcasting the sound through headphones.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising disabling a sound system in the vehicle, so that the detected sound may be heard in the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising disabling a portable communication device in the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting sound associated with an emergency vehicle to provide the detected sound.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein detecting sound includes filtering sound outside the vehicle such that sound having a desired frequency range is heard in the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein filtering sound includes processing the sound with a processing unit.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein processing the sound includes converting the sound to a digital representation.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the occupant includes broadcasting a prerecorded message.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein notifying the occupant includes enabling a warning indicator.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein detecting the occurrence of a particular sound includes:

capturing sound external to the vehicle with a microphone; and

determining if at least a portion of the sound external to the vehicle comprises a predetermined characteristic.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining if at least a portion of the sound external to the vehicle comprises a predetermined characteristic includes filtering the sound external to the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein determining if at least a portion of the sound external to the vehicle comprises a predetermined characteristic includes converting at least a portion of the sound external to the vehicle to a digital representation and determining if the digital representation includes the predetermined characteristic.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein informing an occupant of the vehicle of the occurrence of the particular sound includes broadcasting at least a portion of the particular sound in the vehicle.

13. A method comprising:

detecting the occurrence of a particular sound outside of a vehicle; and

informing an occupant of the vehicle of the occurrence of the particular sound.