Multimedia entertainment unit for use in a vehicle

• US 6,678,892 B1
• Filed: 10/27/2000
• Issued: 01/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: VOXX International Corporation
• Original Assignee: VOXX International Corporation
• Inventors: Tranchina, James R., Malone, Thomas C., Lavelle, Patrick M., Schedevy, George C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kostak, Victor R.
• Application Number:
  US09/698,916
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 455/66, 455/95, 455/129, 455/569, 455/90, 455/550, 455/575, 381/14, 381/74, 345/204, 340/825.24, 340/825.69, 340/901, 340/905, 725/75, 725/76, 725/77, 348/552
• US Class Current: 725/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0026 Windows, e.g. windscreen
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2011/0056 using suction cups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/38 Transmitter circuitry for the transmission of television signals according to analogue transmission standards H04N5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

There is provided an entertainment unit for a vehicle. The unit includes an assembly housing adapted to mount against an interior surface of the vehicle. A bus is adapted to couple at least one of video and audio signals from each of a plurality of input devices. At least one display device, houseable in the assembly and operatively coupled to the bus, is adapted to reproduce the video signals. At least one wireless transmitter operatively coupled to the bus, is adapted to wirelessly and simultaneously transmit a plurality of audio programs to a plurality of wireless headphone sets. The at least one wireless transmitter includes at least one multiplexor adapted to select a specific input device whose audio output is to be wirelessly transmitted to a given one of the plurality of wireless headphone sets.

Claims

1. An entertainment unit for a vehicle, comprising:

an assembly housing adapted to mount against an interior surface of the vehicle;

a bus adapted to couple at least one of video and audio signals from each of a plurality of input devices, wherein said bus comprises a video bus and an audio bus;

at least one display device, houseable in said assembly and operatively coupled to said bus, adapted to reproduce the video signals; and

at least one wireless transmitter operatively coupled to said audio bus, adapted to wirelessly and simultaneously transmit a plurality of audio programs from each of the plurality of input devices to a plurality of wireless headphones.

2. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein the wireless signals are at least one of radio frequency and infrared signals.

3. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of input devices comprise at least one of a television tuner, a video cassette player (VCP), a compact disk (CD) player, a digital video disk (DVD) player, an AM/FM radio, and a video game player.

4. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of input devices comprises an external audio/video signal processor adapted to input at least one of the audio signals and the video signals from an external source.

5. The entertainment unit according to claim 4, wherein the external source is a portable media device.

6. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, further comprising signal processing facilities adapted to perform at least one of signal processing and signal conversion, with respect to at least one of the audio signals and the video signals.

7. The entertainment unit according to claim 6, wherein said signal processing facilities are adapted to perform at least one of digital signal processing, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, compressing, decompressing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), and error correction.

8. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one display device is mounted in said entertainment unit in one of a non-fixed configuration and a fixed configuration.

9. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one display device employs one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting diodes (LEDs), and a gas plasma.

10. The entertainment unit according to claim 9, wherein said liquid crystal display is based upon one of active matrix technology and passive matrix technology.

11. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one display device employs touch screen technology.

12. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one display device includes one of picture-in-picture and split screen capability.

13. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter comprises at least one multiplexor adapted to select a specific input device whose audio output is to be wirelessly transmitted to a given one of the plurality of wireless headphone sets.

14. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter is adapted to wirelessly transmit the plurality of audio programs to each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets as a left audio channel and a right audio channel.

15. The entertainment unit according to claim 14, wherein the left audio channel and the right audio channel correspond to different frequencies.

16. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter is adapted to wirelessly transmit the plurality of audio programs to each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets as a left audio channel and a right audio channel, each of the channels having a different frequency for each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets.

17. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter comprises an optical transmitting device and at least some of said plurality of wireless headphone sets comprise a photosensitive device.

18. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter and at least some of said plurality of wireless headphone sets comprise an antenna.

19. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said plurality of wireless headphone sets comprise a digital-to-analog converter.

20. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter is adapted to transmit the plurality of audio programs based on Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology.

21. The entertainment unit according to claim 20, further comprising signal processing facilities, and wherein at least some CDMA operations are performed by said signal processing facilities.

22. The entertainment unit according to claim 20, wherein left audio channels and right audio channels of the plurality of audio programs are coded separately.

23. The entertainment unit according to claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets comprises a selector for selecting one of the plurality of audio programs for audio reproduction.

24. The entertainment unit according to claim 20, wherein each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets comprises at least one of a Walsh code generator and pseudo random number (PN) sequence generator for decoding the plurality of audio programs.

25. An entertainment unit for a vehicle, comprising:

an assembly housing adapted to mount against an interior surface of the vehicle;

a video bus adapted to couple video signals from at least some of a plurality of input devices;

an audio bus adapted to couple audio signals from at least some of the plurality of input devices;

at least one display device, houseable in said assembly and operatively coupled to said video bus, adapted to reproduce the video signals; and

a wireless transmitter operatively coupled to said audio bus, adapted to wirelessly and simultaneously transmit a plurality of audio programs from at least some of the plurality of input devices to a plurality of wireless headphone sets.

26. An entertainment unit for a vehicle, comprising:

an assembly housing adapted to mount against an interior surface of the vehicle;

an audio bus adapted to couple audio signals from at least two input devices; and

a wireless transmitter operatively coupled to said audio bus, adapted to wirelessly and simultaneously transmit the audio signals from the at least two input devices to at least two wireless headphone sets, so that each wireless headphone set receives an audio signal from a different one of the at least two input devices.