Driving support device

• US 9,613,637 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Issued: 04/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Electronics Corporation (DENSO Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Nakayama, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): AZAD, ABUL K
• Application Number:
  US14/429,423
• Publication Number:
  US 20150248897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• Field of Search: 704270-278
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/305 Source positioning in a soundscape, e.g. instrument positioning on a virtual soundstage, stereo panning or related delay or reverberation changes; Changing the stereo width of a musical source
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/48 specially adapted for particular use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/00 Details of transducers, loudspeakers or microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2217/03 Parametric transducers where sound is generated or captured by the acoustic demodulation of amplitude modulated ultrasonic waves
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 1/00 Two-channel systems H04S5/00, H04S7/00 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 5/00 Pseudo-stereo systems, e.g. in which additional channel signals are derived from monophonic signals by means of phase shifting, time delay or reverberation
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/30 Control circuits for electronic adaptation of the sound field

Abstract

A driving support device for a vehicle uses a right speaker and a left speaker for providing audio information useful for driving to the right ear and left ear of a driver. Among the audio information useful for driving, speech guidance with the use of a voice is provided exclusively from the right speaker to the right ear of the driver.

Claims

1. A driving support device providing audio information useful for driving to a driver of a vehicle according to speech guidance by using voice and a warning sound,

wherein the driving support device provides the audio information useful for driving to a left ear and a right ear of the driver by using a right speaker and a left speaker to generate the speech guidance and the warning sound;

wherein the right speaker is an ultrasound generation device for a right ear parametric speaker that generates a reproduced sound at the right ear by irradiating ultrasound toward a right ear position of the driver sitting on a driver seat of the vehicle;

wherein the left speaker is an ultrasound generation device for a left ear parametric speaker that generates the reproduced sound at the left ear by irradiating ultrasound toward a left ear position of the driver sitting on the driver seat; and

wherein the speech guidance among the audio information useful for driving is provided directly to the right ear of the driver exclusively from the right speaker.

2. The driving support device according to claim 1,

wherein the speech guidance is made in rhythm.

3. The driving support device according to claim 1,

wherein the audio information provided to the driver includes subliminal audio information.

4. The driver support device according to claim 1,

wherein the speech guidance with different content is individually in combination in accordance with a different warning sound.

5. The driver support device according to claim 1,

wherein the warning sound is continuously provided from the left speaker to the left ear of the driver during the providing of the speech guidance from the right speaker to the right ear of the driver.

6. The driver support device according to claim 1,

wherein the left speaker is muted during the providing of the speech guidance from the right speaker to the right ear of the driver.

7. A driving support device providing audio information useful for driving to a driver of a vehicle according to speech guidance by using voice and a warning sound, comprising:

a right ear parametric speaker that generates the speech guidance provided to a right ear of the driver; and

a left ear parametric speaker that generates the warning sound to a left ear of the driver,

wherein the right ear parametric speaker includes a right speaker and an ultrasound generation device that generates a reproduced sound at the right ear by driving the right speaker to irradiate ultrasound toward a right ear position of the driver sitting on a driver seat of the vehicle;

wherein the left ear parametric speaker includes a left speaker and an ultrasound generation device that generates the reproduced sound at the left ear by driving the left speaker to irradiate ultrasound toward a left ear position of the driver sitting on the driver seat; and

wherein the speech guidance is provided directly to the right ear of the driver exclusively from the right speaker.

8. A driving support device providing audio information useful for driving to a driver of a vehicle according to speech guidance by using voice and a warning sound, comprising:

an audio information generating unit configured to generate audio signals including speech guidance information useful for driving and warning sounds other than speech guidance;

a right ear parametric speaker irradiating an ultrasound toward a right ear position of a driver sitting on a driver seat of the vehicle;

the right ear parametric speaker comprising a right speaker driven by a right amplifier and an ultrasound generation device, the right ultrasound generation device receiving the audio signals from the audio information generating unit and modulating the received audio signals to an ultrasonic frequency constituting the ultrasound, and the right amplifier driving the right speaker according to the ultrasound;

a left ear parametric speaker irradiating an ultrasound toward a left ear position of a driver sitting on a driver seat of the vehicle;

the left ear parametric speaker comprising a left speaker driven by a left amplifier and an ultrasound generation device, the left ultrasound generation device receiving the audio signals from the audio information generating unit and modulating the received audio signals to an ultrasonic frequency constituting the ultrasound, and the left amplifier driving the left speaker according to the ultrasound,

wherein the speech guidance among the audio information useful for driving is provided directly to the right ear of the driver exclusively from the right speaker.