Method for performing announcements in a means of transport

• US 9,473,260 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2013
• Issued: 10/18/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lufthansa Systems AG (Deutsche Lufthansa AG)
• Original Assignee: Lufthansa Systems AG (Deutsche Lufthansa AG)
• Inventors: Hommel, Peter, Liebe, Jrg
• Primary Examiner(s): Edun, Muhammad N
• Application Number:
  US14/378,463
• Publication Number:
  US 20150023522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/59 for emergency or urgency
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/62 for transportation systems, e.g. in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/13 Arrangements for device control affected by the broadcast information

Abstract

Method for performing announcements in a means of transport that has an announcement device having at least one loudspeaker and an entertainment device, having the following steps: an announcement start signal is sent from the announcement device to the entertainment device at the beginning of an announcement; an interruption to the reproduction of the reproduction appliance is prompted by the entertainment device when the announcement start signal is received; the announcement is reproduced as an audible announcement signal via the announcement loudspeaker; continuation of the reproduction of the reproduction appliance is prompted by the entertainment device when an announcement end signal is received or at the end of reception of the announcement start signal, characterized by detection of an audio signal that is output by the announcement loudspeaker by the entertainment device, wherein the reproduction of the reproduction appliance is automatically interrupted after the audio signal is detected.

Claims

1. A method for performing announcements in a means of transport that has an announcement device having at least one loudspeaker and an entertainment device having at least one playback device, having the following steps:

a) an announcement start signal is sent from the announcement device to the entertainment device at the beginning of an announcement,

b) an interruption to the playback of the playback device is prompted by the entertainment device when the announcement start signal is received,

c) the announcement is played back as an audible announcement signal via the announcement loudspeaker,

d) continuation of the playback of the playback device is prompted by the entertainment device when an announcement end signal is received or at the end of reception of the announcement start signal from the announcement device, characterized by detection of an audio signal that is output by the announcement loudspeaker by the entertainment device, wherein the playback of the playback device is automatically interrupted after the audio signal is detected.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio signal is the announcement signal and is detected by an audio signal analyzer and is differentiated from other noises, the playback being continued at the end of the audio signal reception.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the audio signal analyzer analyses the carrier frequency of the announcement signal generated by the announcement loudspeaker.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the audio signal analyzer detects the total distortion of the acoustic harmonic of the announcement signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the entertainment device detects the audio signal via a microphone of a playback device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the audio signal is a pre-signal sent via the announcement loudspeaker before the beginning of the announcement, wherein, after the end of the reproduction, the announcement loudspeaker emits a post-signal that is detected by the entertainment device and prompts the playback device to continue playback.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the announcement device comprises an announcement memory with stored announcements and/or a microphone for recording an announcement spoken by a person.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the video/audio data are transmitted from a data server of the entertainment device to a router which transmits a video/audio data wirelessly to the playback devices.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein after step a), the reception of the audio signal by the playback device also prompts the same to indicate a visual indication on an indicator that an announcement is in progress.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback device is provided with speech recognition that converts the announcement signal into a text displayed on a display of the playback device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the playback device outputs a detected announcement signal as an acoustic signal.