Entertainment system for a vehicle

• US 20030053638A1
• Filed: 09/13/2002
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yasuhara, Toshiyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,190,798 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/205 with control bus for exchanging commands between units
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers for hearing aids H04R25/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/03 Connection circuits to selectively connect loudspeakers or headphones to amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S

Abstract

An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle comprises a plurality of audio sources. The entertainment system further comprises a head unit provided in the front seat area and a rear controller provided in the rear seat area. The head unit includes a control switch for switching between front control and rear control. The front control selects a front audio source to be played in the front seat area and controls the selected front audio source. The rear control selects a rear audio source to be played in the rear seat area and controls the selected rear audio source. Thus, a front user can operate the rear audio source. The head unit further includes an enabling switch for switching between an enabled state in which operation of the rear controller is enabled and a disabled state in which operation of the rear controller is disabled. Thus, audio operation by a rear user can be restricted. The entertainment system switches between connection and disconnection of the rear speakers according to whether the front audio source is the same as the rear audio source.

Claims

1. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources; and

a head unit provided in a front seat area of the vehicle,

wherein the head unit comprises a control switch for switching between front control and rear control,

wherein, in the front control, the head unit selects a front audio source to be played in the front seat area from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected front audio source,

wherein, in the rear control, the head unit selects a rear audio source to be played in a rear seat area of the vehicle from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected rear audio source.

2. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises an audio source control button,

wherein, when the front control is selected by the control switch, the audio source control button allows the front audio source to be selected and controlled,

wherein, when the rear control is selected by the control switch, the audio source control button allows the rear audio source to be selected and controlled.

3. The entertainment system of claim 1, further comprising a returning means for switching from the rear control to the front control if the head unit is not operated for a predetermined period after the rear control is selected by the control switch.

4. The entertainment system of claim 1, further comprising a control means for selecting the front control when the entertainment system is turned on.

5. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises an indicator for indicating which of the front control or the rear control is selected.

6. The entertainment system of claim 1, further comprising a rear controller provided in the rear seat area,

wherein the rear controller selects the rear audio source to be played in the rear seat area from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected rear audio source,

wherein the head unit further comprises an enabling switch for switching between an enabled state in which operation of the rear controller is enabled and a disabled state in which operation of the rear controller is disabled.

7. The entertainment system of claim 6, wherein a rear control switch is provided between the head unit and the rear controller,

wherein the rear control switch is turned on to connect between the head unit and the rear controller if the enabled state is selected by the enabling switch,

wherein the rear control switch is turned off to disconnect between the head unit and the rear controller if the disabled state is selected by the enabling switch.

8. The entertainment system of claim 6, further comprising a control means for disabling a signal issued by the rear controller if the disabled state is selected by the enabling switch.

9. The entertainment system of claim 6, wherein the enabling switch is integrated with the control switch.

10. The entertainment system of claim 6, wherein the switching between the front control and the rear control is implemented by turning the control switch to the left or the right,

wherein the switching between the enabled state and the disabled state is implemented by pressing the control switch.

11. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the front control is selected by turning the control switch to one of the left and the right by more than a predetermined angle from a neutral position,

wherein the rear control is selected by turning the control switch to the other of the left and the right by more than a predetermined angle from the neutral position,

wherein the control switch is structured to return to the neutral position if a user'"'"'s hand is moved off the control switch after the control switch is turned to the left or the right.

12. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises a rear power switch for turning on a rear controller,

wherein the rear controller selects the rear audio source to be played in the rear seat area from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected rear audio source.

13. The entertainment system of claim 12, wherein the rear controller is turned off if the entertainment is turned off by a main switch provided on the head unit.

14. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises a twin display including a front display part and a rear display part,

wherein the rear display part shows an operating state of the front audio source and a rear display shows an operating state of the rear audio source.

15. The entertainment system of claim 6, wherein the head unit further comprises a twin display including a front display part and a rear display part,

wherein the rear display part shows an operating state of the front audio source and a rear display part shows an operating state of the rear audio source,

wherein an indication showing the disabled state is displayed in the rear display part if the disabled state is selected by the enabling switch.

16. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the entertainment system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources;

at least one front speaker provided in a front seat area of the vehicle;

at least one rear speaker provided in a rear seat area of the vehicle;

a headphone provided in the rear seat area;

a head unit provided in the front seat area, the head unit selecting a front audio source connected to the rear speaker and the front speaker from the plurality of audio sources;

a rear controller provided in the rear seat area, the rear controller selecting a rear audio source connected to the headphone from the plurality of audio sources,

wherein the rear speaker is connected to the front audio source so that sound comes out of the rear speaker and front speaker if the rear controller is on and the selected rear audio source is the same as the selected front audio source,

wherein the rear speaker is disconnected from the front audio source so that sound does not come out of the rear speaker if the rear controller is on and the selected rear sound is different from the selected front audio source.

17. The entertainment system of claim 16, further comprising:

a speaker switch provided between the rear speaker and the front audio source;

a control means for switching the speaker switch between on and off to switch between connection and disconnection of the rear speaker to and from the front audio source.

18. The entertainment system of claim 16, wherein the rear speaker is connected to the selected front audio source when the rear controller is off.

19. The entertainment system of claim 16, wherein sound from the rear audio source comes out of the headphone if the rear controller is turned on.

20. The entertainment system of claim 16, wherein the head unit further comprises a rear display part for showing an operating state of the rear audio source,

wherein the rear display part shows an indication showing the disconnection of the rear speaker if the rear speaker is disconnected from the front audio source.

21. The entertainment system of claim 16, the switching between the front audio source and the rear audio source is performed if a medium for one of the plurality of audio sources is inserted into a player corresponding to the audio source, or if the medium is ejected from the player.

22. The entertainment system of claim 16, further comprising a manual speaker switch for manually switching between connection and disconnection between the front audio source and the rear speaker.

23. The entertainment system of claim 22, wherein the head unit further comprises a rear power switch for turning on the rear controller,

wherein the manual speaker switch is integrated with the rear power switch.