Vehicular apparatus

• US 8,885,847 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 11/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Neway, Samuel G
• Application Number:
  US13/614,228
• Publication Number:
  US 20130090932A1
• Time in Patent Office: 789 Days
• Field of Search: 381/86, 381/92
• US Class Current: 381/92
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/028 using properties of sound source
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface

Abstract

A hands-free conversation vehicular apparatus coupling with a communication terminal includes: a communication device; a sound output device; a sound input device inputting a transmission speech sound; a vehicle information acquisition device; a first sound extraction device setting a first direction for a directionality of the sound input device, and extracting a first sound along the first direction; a sound recognition device; a second sound extraction device specifying a second direction for the transmission speech sound recognized by the sound recognition device, and extracting a second sound along the second direction; a sound quality comparison unit comparing a sound quality of the first and second sounds; a changeover device for selecting one of the first and second sounds as the transmission speed sound; and a control device for allowing the changeover device to perform a changeover when a determination condition is fulfilled.

Claims

1. A vehicular apparatus having a hands-free conversation function for coupling with a communication terminal, which is connectable to a public line network, the vehicular apparatus comprising:

a communication device for communicating with the communication terminal;

a speech sound output device for outputting a received speech sound, which is received from the communication terminal via the communication device;

a speech sound input device having at least a first microphone and a second microphone, for inputting a transmission speech sound that is to be transmitted to the communication terminal;

a vehicle information acquisition device for acquiring vehicle information that relates to a vehicle, on which the speech sound input device is mounted;

a first speech sound extraction device for setting a first orientational direction, which provides a directionality of the speech sound input device, according to the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition device, and for extracting a first speech sound that is input from the first orientational direction;

a speech sound recognition device for signal-processing the transmission speech sound input via the speech sound input device so as to recognize the transmission speech sound;

a second speech sound extraction device for signal-processing the transmission speech sound input via the speech sound input device, for specifying a second orientational direction, which provides an input direction of the transmission speech sound recognized by the speech sound recognition device, based on a signal processing result while changing the directionality of the speech sound input device, and for extracting a second speech sound that is input from the second orientational direction;

a sound quality comparison unit for comparing a sound quality of the first speech sound extracted from the first speech sound extraction device with a sound quality of the second speech sound extracted from the second speech sound extraction device;

a changeover device for selecting one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound, which is higher in sound quality, according to the comparison result between the sound quality of the first speech sound and the sound quality of the second speech sound provided by the sound quality comparison unit, and for setting the transmission speech sound to the selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound; and

a control device for allowing the changeover device to perform the setting of the transmission speech sound to the selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound when a predetermined determination condition is fulfilled.

2. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control device determines that the determination condition is fulfilled when the vehicular apparatus does not utilize the hands-free conversation function.

3. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control device determines that the determination condition is fulfilled when the speech sound recognition device does not recognize the transmission speech sound.

4. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control device determines that the determination condition is fulfilled when the speech sound recognition device restarts to recognize the transmission speech sound after the speech sound recognition device temporarily suspends executing to recognize the transmission speech sound.

5. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control device determines that the determination condition is fulfilled when the sound quality comparison unit provides the comparison result such that a difference between the sound quality of the selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound set as the transmission speech sound and the sound quality of a not-selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound is higher than a predetermined sound quality reference value.

6. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the control device determines that the determination condition is fulfilled when a sound volume of the selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound set as the transmission speech sound is smaller than a predetermined sound volume reference value, and when a sound volume of a not-selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound is larger than the predetermined sound volume reference value.

7. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first speech sound extraction device is configured to execute a process of signal-processing the transmission speech sound input from the speech sound input device so as to change the directionality of the speech sound input device,

wherein, when the changeover device sets the second speech sound as the transmission speech sound, the first speech sound extraction device executes the process of signal-processing the transmission speech sound input from the speech sound input device, the first speech sound extraction device specifies the first orientational direction, which provides the input direction of the transmission speech sound recognized by the speech sound recognition device, based on a signal processing result while changing the directionality of the speech sound input device, and the first speech sound extraction device extracts the first speech sound that is input from the first orientational direction, and

wherein, when the changeover device sets the second speech sound as the transmission speech sound, the second speech sound extraction device stops executing to change the directionality of the speech sound input device, and the second speech sound extraction device extracts the second speech sound that is input from an orientational direction set prior to a stoppage of the changing the directionality.

8. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second speech sound extraction device executes a process for specifying the second orientational direction within a predetermined scanning range, which includes the first orientational direction.

9. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage device for storing learning information, which provides an orientational direction of a selected one of the first speech sound and the second speech sound after the changeover, when the changeover device performs the setting of the transmission speech sound, and

wherein the first speech sound extraction device sets the first orientational direction according to the learning information when the learning information is stored in the storage device.

10. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an operation input device for inputting an operation for selecting a selected orientational direction,

wherein the first speech sound extraction device sets the selected orientational direction as the first orientational direction when the operation for selecting the orientational direction is input from the operation input device.

11. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display device for displaying supplementary information, which provides a selected orientational direction and a speech sound that is input from the selected orientational direction.

12. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the storage device stores the learning information, which provides a relationship between a selected orientational direction after the changeover device sets the transmission speech sound, and the vehicle information when the changeover device sets the transmission speech sound.

13. The vehicular apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the control device determines that the determination condition is fulfilled when an operation for setting the transmission speech sound is input from the operation input device.