Car audio equipment

• US 8,160,267 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2004
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakamoto, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): FAULK, DEVONA E
• Application Number:
  US10/995,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20050190935A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,701 Days
• Field of Search: 381/86, 381/301, 381/302, 381/309, 381/389, 297/217.3, 297/217.4, 455/345
• US Class Current: 381/86
• 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 a navigation guidance voice from a car navigation system without interrupting the reproduction 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'"'"'s 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 changeover 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;

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 independent of a second sound signal reproduced by said cabin loudspeakers;

wherein a first sound signal is produced from one of a first plurality of sound sources;

wherein a second sound signal is produced from one of a second plurality of sound sources;

a first selector for transmitting said first sound signal to said personal-use loudspeakers via a first decoder;

a second selector for transmitting said second sound signal to said personal-use loudspeakers and cabin loudspeakers via second decoder and an A/D converter;

and an operation unit, wherein said operation unit is operated so that said personal-use loudspeakers independently reproduce said first sound signal in response to an input from the driver and/or navigator while said cabin loudspeakers continue to reproduce said second sound signal.

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 the 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. 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;

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 independent of a second sound signal reproduced by said cabin loudspeakers;

wherein a first sound signal is produced from one of a first plurality of sound sources;

wherein a second sound signal is produced from one of a second plurality of sound sources;

a first selector for transmitting said first sound signal to said personal-use loudspeakers via a first decoder;

a second selector for transmitting said second sound signal to said personal-use loudspeakers and cabin loudspeakers via second decoder and an A/D converter;

and automatic discriminating unit, wherein said personal-use loudspeaker independently reproduces said first sound signal according to discrimination by said automatic discriminating unit and reproduces a voice signal received by a mobile phone or a car telephone upon detection of a call received at said mobile phone or said car telephone by said automatic discriminating unit.

6. The car audio equipment according to claim 5, wherein said cabin loudspeakers are attached inside of doors of the vehicle.

7. The car audio equipment according to claim 5, wherein said personal-use loudspeakers are disposed at both sides of said headrest of the driver seat and/or the navigator seat in pairs.

8. The car audio equipment according to claim 5, 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.