Car audio equipment

• US 20050190935A1
• Filed: 11/24/2004
• Published: 09/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,160,267 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/302
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers for hearing aids H04R25/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/02 Spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers

Abstract

In order to enable a driver to obtain traffic jam information or to listen to navigation guidance voice from a car navigation system without interrupting reproducing of music when a passenger enjoys music reproduced by a CD player and the like through cabin loudspeakers, the present invention provides car audio equipment in which a pair of loudspeakers is disposed on both sides of a headrest of a driver seat. The equipment processes at a decoder thereof a sound signal from a radio tuner, a car navigation device, a mobile phone and the like selected by a selector using a change-over switch, and the sound signal is reproduced through the loudspeakers.

Claims

1. Car audio equipment comprising:

cabin loudspeakers which are attached to predetermined positions of a vehicle cabin and compose an output section of said car audio equipment;

personal-use loudspeakers attached to a headrest or to a seat back of a driver seat and/or a navigator seat; and

a switching unit which switches sources of sound signals supplied to said cabin loudspeakers and to said personal-use loudspeakers, wherein;

said personal-use loudspeakers are designed to reproduce a first sound signal other than a second sound signal reproduced by said cabin loudspeakers.

2. The car audio equipment according to claim 1, wherein said cabin loudspeakers are attached inside of doors of the vehicle.

3. The car audio equipment according to claim 1, wherein said personal-use loudspeakers are disposed at both sides of said headrest of the driver seat and/or navigator seat in pairs.

4. The car audio equipment according to claim 1, wherein said first sound signal reproduced by said personal-use loudspeakers is any one of a signal received by a radio tuner, a voice signal of guidance of a car navigation device and a voice signal received by a mobile phone.

5. The car audio equipment according to claim 1, further comprising operation means, wherein said operation means is operated so that said personal-use loudspeakers reproduce said first sound signal.

6. The car audio equipment according to claim 1, further comprising automatic discriminating means, wherein said personal-use loudspeaker reproduce said first sound signal according to discrimination by said automatic discriminating means.

7. The car audio equipment according to claim 6, wherein said personal-use loudspeaker reproduce a voice signal received by a mobile phone or a car telephone upon detection of a call receiving at said mobile phone or said car telephone by said automatic discriminating means.

8. The car audio equipment according to claim 7, wherein said cabin loudspeakers are attached inside of doors of the vehicle.

9. The car audio equipment according to claim 7, wherein said personal-use loudspeakers are disposed at both sides of said headrest of the driver seat and/or navigator seat in pairs.

10. The car audio equipment according to claim 7, wherein said first sound signal reproduced by said personal-use loudspeakers is any one of a signal received by a radio tuner, a voice signal of guidance of a car navigation device and a voice signal received by a mobile phone.