Radio receiver, in particular a vehicle radio receiver

• US 6,647,251 B1
• Filed: 06/20/1997
• Issued: 11/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Braegas, Peter, Siegle, Gert, Suchowerskyj, Wadym, Kaesser, Jürgen
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, NGUYEN THANH
• Application Number:
  US08/879,998
• Time in Patent Office: 2,335 Days
• Field of Search: 455/185.1, 455/186.1, 455/228, 455/345, 455/344, 455/67, 455/70, 455/156, 455/166, 455/226, 455/575, 455/90, 455/550, 455/556, 455/558, 340/988, 340/990, 340/905, 364/434-444, 364/436, 364/449, 381/41, 381/51, 395/2.79, 395/2.86
• US Class Current: 455/186.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/093 Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/094 Hardware aspects; Signal processing or signal properties, e.g. frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/16 Circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/55 for traffic information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/13 radio data system/radio broadcast data system [RDS/RBDS]

Abstract

A radio receiver, in particular a vehicle radio receiver, is proposed, which is able to display or output acoustically, traffic news which is contained in digital signals. At least the data memory for the decoding of the digital traffic news and of the display or the output in the correct language is contained on a chip card, which can be inserted into the radio receiver. This makes it possible that, on the one hand, a linguistically adapted output of traffic news is possible, and, on the other hand, in the event of changes in the road network, a simple adaptation without modification of the radio receiver is made possible. Finally, it facilitates the use of the radio receiver worldwide, since the chip card allows regionally specific or country specific local codes to be taken into account.

Claims

1. A set of a plurality of solid-state chip cards adapted to be removably inserted into and read by a receiver of a traffic information system which includes an RDS decoder and utilizes a code for providing to a user traffic bulletins pertaining to one locality from among a plurality of geographic localities within an area to which the code applies and in one language from among a plurality of languages selectable by the user and to which the code applies, the set of chip cards comprising:

a local code memory in each of the chip cards in which is stored local information usable for converting the code to geographical data regarding traffic information pertaining to one locality from among the plurality of geographic localities within the area to which the code applies; and

a speech stock memory in each of the chip cards in which is stored speech data usable for forming a traffic bulletin by converting the code to speech in a language selected by the user from among the plurality of languages;

wherein when one of the plurality of chip cards which includes an electrical contact is inserted into the receiver, the electrical contact is directly coupled to the RDS decoder of the receiver, and

wherein chip cards in the set of chip cards differ from each other by at least one of (i) the locality to which the local information stored in the local code memory pertains and (ii) the language of the speech data stored in the speech stock memory.

2. A method for fabricating a set of a plurality of solid-state chip cards adapted to be removably inserted into and read by a receiver of a traffic information system which includes an RDS decoder and utilizes a code for providing to a user traffic bulletins pertaining to one locality from among a plurality of geographic localities within an area to which the code applies and in one language from among a plurality of languages selectable by the user and to which the code applies, the method comprising the steps of:

storing into a local code memory in each of the chip cards local information usable for converting the code to geographical data regarding traffic information pertaining to one locality from among the plurality of geographic localities within the area to which the code applies;

storing into a speech stock memory in each of the chip cards speech data usable for forming a traffic bulletin by converting the code to speech in a language selected by the user from among the plurality of languages; and

wherein when one of the plurality of chip cards which includes an electrical contact is inserted into the receiver, the electrical contact is directly coupled to the RDS decoder of the receiver, and

wherein the steps of storing local information and storing speech data are such that the chip cards in the set of chip cards differ from each other by at least one of (i) the locality to which the local information stored in the local code memory pertains and (ii) the language of the speech data stored in the speech stock memory.

3. A set of a plurality of solid-state readily exchangeable chip cards adapted to be removably inserted into and read by a receiver of a traffic information system which includes an RDS decoder and utilizes a code for providing to a user traffic bulletins pertaining to one locality from among a plurality of geographic localities within an area to which the code applies and in one language from among a plurality of languages selectable by the user and to which the code applies, the set of chip cards comprising:

a local code memory in each of the readily exchangeable chip cards in which is stored local information usable for converting at least part of the code to geographical data regarding traffic information pertaining to one locality from among the plurality of geographic localities within the area to which the code applies; and

a speech stock memory in each of the readily exchangeable chip cards in which is stored language data usable for forming a traffic bulletin by converting the geographical data to a language selected by the user from among the plurality of languages;

wherein when one of the plurality of readily exchangeable chip cards which includes an electrical contact is inserted into the receiver, the electrical contact is directly coupled to the RDS decoder of the receiver; and

wherein chip cards in the set of readily exchangeable chip cards differ from each other by at least one of (i) the local information stored in the local code memory with respect to the locality to which such local information pertains and (ii) the language data stored in the speech stock memory with respect to the language from among the plurality of languages.

4. A method for fabricating a set of a plurality of readily exchangeable solid-state chip cards adapted to be removably inserted into and read by a receiver of a traffic information system which includes an RDS decoder and utilizes a code for providing to a user traffic bulletins pertaining to one locality from among a plurality of geographic localities within an area to which the code applies and in one language from among a plurality of languages selectable by the user and to which the code applies, the method comprising the steps of:

storing into a local code memory in each of the readily exchangeable chip cards local information usable for converting at least part of the code to a geographical data regarding traffic information pertaining to one locality from among the plurality of geographic localities within the area to which the code applies;

storing into a speech stock memory in each of the readily exchangeable chip cards data usable for forming a traffic bulletin by converting the geographical data to a language selected by the user from among the plurality of languages; and

wherein when one of the plurality of readily exchangeable chip cards which includes an electrical contact is inserted into the receiver, the electrical contact is directly coupled to the RDS decoder of the receiver, and

wherein the steps of storing local information and storing language data are such that the chip cards in the set of readily exchangeable chip cards differ from each other by at least one of (i) the local information stored in the local code memory with respect to the locality to which such local information pertains and (ii) the language data stored in the speech stock memory with respect to the language from among the plurality of languages.