Entertainment system for a vehicle

• US 7,190,798 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2002
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yasuhara, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Mei; Xu
• Application Number:
  US10/243,591
• Publication Number:
  US 20030053638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,642 Days
• Field of Search: 381/86, 381/302, 381/123, 381/307, 701/36, 307/10.1
• US Class Current: 381/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/205 with control bus for exchanging commands between units
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/01 Input selection or mixing for amplifiers or loudspeakers for hearing aids H04R25/43
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/03 Connection circuits to selectively connect loudspeakers or headphones to amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2499/13 Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/04 Circuit arrangements, e.g. for selective connection of amplifier inputs/outputs to loudspeakers, for loudspeaker detection, or for adaptation of settings to personal preferences or hearing impairments combinations of amplifiers H03F3/68; stereophonic systems H04S

Abstract

An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle comprises a plurality of audio sources. The entertainment system further comprises a head unit provided in the front seat area and a rear controller provided in the rear seat area. The head unit includes a control switch for switching between front control and rear control. The front control selects a front audio source to be played in the front seat area and controls the selected front audio source. The rear control selects a rear audio source to be played in the rear seat area and controls the selected rear audio source. Thus, a front user can operate the rear audio source. The head unit further includes an enabling switch for switching between an enabled state in which operation of the rear controller is enabled and a disabled state in which operation of the rear controller is disabled. Thus, audio operation by a rear user can be restricted. The entertainment system switches between connection and disconnection of the rear speakers according to whether the front audio source is the same as the rear audio source.

Claims

1. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources; and

a head unit provided in a front seat area of the vehicle,

a rear controller provided in a rear seat area of the vehicle,

wherein the head unit comprises;

a control switch for switching between front control and rear control,

at least one audio source control button shared between the front control and the rear control, the audio source control button enabling a user to select one of the plurality of audio sources and operate the selected audio source;

a controller for causing a user operation on the audio source control button to be reflected in a front audio source played in the front seat area independently from a rear audio source when the front control is selected by the control switch and to be reflected in the rear audio source played in a rear seat area of the vehicle independently from the front audio source when the rear control is selected by the control switch; and

an enabling switch for switching between an enabled state in which user operation on the rear controller is enabled and a disabled state in which user operation on the rear controller is disabled,

wherein the rear controller comprises a rear audio source control button for enabling a user to select the rear audio source from the plurality of audio sources and operate the selected rear audio source if the rear controller is in the enabled state.

2. The entertainment system of claim 1,

wherein the audio source control button includes at least one audio selection button for enabling a user to select one of the plurality of audio sources and at least one audio operating button for enabling a user to operate the selected audio source.

3. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the controller further selects the front control when the entertainment system is turned on.

4. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises an indicator for indicating which of the front control or the rear control is selected.

5. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein a rear control switch is provided between the head unit and the rear controller,

wherein the rear control switch is turned on to connect between the head unit and the rear controller if the enabled state is selected by the enabling switch,

wherein the rear control switch is turned off to disconnect between the head unit and the rear controller if the disabled state is selected by the enabling switch.

6. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the controller further disables a signal issued by the rear controller if the disabled state is selected by the enabling switch.

7. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the enabling switch is integrated with the control switch.

8. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the switching between the front control and the rear control is implemented by turning the control switch to the left or the right,

wherein the switching between the enabled state and the disabled state is implemented by pressing the control switch.

9. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises a rear power switch for turning on a rear controller.

10. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the rear controller is turned off if the entertainment is turned off by a main switch provided on the head unit.

11. The entertainment system of claim 1, wherein the head unit further comprises a twin display including a front display part and a rear display part,

wherein the front display part shows an operating state of the front audio source and the rear display part shows an operating state of the rear audio source, wherein an indication showing the disabled state is displayed in the rear display part if the disabled state is selected by the enabling switch.

12. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources;

a head unit provided in a front seat area of the vehicle; and

returning means for switching from the rear control to the front control if the head unit is not operated for a predetermined period after the rear control is selected by the control switch,

wherein the head unit comprises a control switch for switching between front control and rear control,

wherein, in the front control, the head unit selects a front audio source to be played in the front seat area from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected front audio source,

wherein, in the rear control, the head unit selects a rear audio source to be played in a rear seat area of the vehicle from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected rear audio source.

13. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources; and

a head unit provided in a front seat area of the vehicle,

wherein the head unit comprises a control switch for switching between front control and rear control,

wherein, in the front control, the head unit selects a front audio source to be played in the front seat area from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected front audio source,

wherein, in the rear control, the head unit selects a rear audio source to be played in a rear seat area of the vehicle from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected rear audio source,

wherein the front control is selected by turning the control switch to one of the left and the right by more than a predetermined angle from a neutral position,

wherein the rear control is selected by turning the control switch to the other of the left and the right by more than a predetermined angle from the neutral position, wherein the control switch is structured to return to the neutral position if a user'"'"'s hand is moved off the control switch after the control switch is turned to the left or the right.

14. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources; and

a head unit provided in a front seat area of the vehicle,

wherein the head unit comprises a control switch for switching between front control and rear control,

wherein, in the front control, the head unit selects a front audio source to be played in the front seat area from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected front audio source,

wherein, in the rear control, the head unit selects a rear audio source to be played in a rear seat area of the vehicle from the plurality of audio sources and controls the selected rear audio source,

wherein the head unit further comprises a twin display including a front display part and a rear display part,

wherein the front display part shows an operating state of the front audio source and the rear display part shows an operating state of the rear audio source.

15. An entertainment system mounted on a vehicle, the entertainment system comprising:

a plurality of audio sources;

at least one front speaker provided in a front seat area of the vehicle;

at least one rear speaker provided in a rear seat area of the vehicle;

a headphone provided in the rear seat area;

a head unit provided in the front seat area, the head unit comprising a first audio source control button for selecting a front audio source connected to the rear speaker and the front speaker from the plurality of audio sources;

a rear controller provided in the rear seat area, the rear controller comprising a second audio source control button for selecting a rear audio source connected to the headphone from the plurality of audio sources,

wherein the head unit further comprises;

a front audio source switch for switching the front audio source in accordance with operation on the first audio source control button;

a rear audio source switch for switching the rear audio source in accordance with operation on the second audio source control button; and

a controller for comparing the front audio source and rear audio source each time the front audio source or the rear audio source is switched, the controller connecting the rear speaker to the front audio source so that sound comes out of the rear speaker and front speaker if the rear controller is on and the selected rear audio source is the same as the selected front audio source, and the controller disconnecting the rear speaker from the front audio source so that sound does not come out of the rear speaker if the rear controller is on and the selected rear audio source is different from the selected front audio source.

16. The entertainment system of claim 15, further comprising:

a speaker switch provided between the rear speaker and the front audio source;

wherein the controller switches the speaker switch between on and off to switch between connection and disconnection of the rear speaker to and from the front audio source.

17. The entertainment system of claim 15, wherein the rear speaker is connected to the selected front audio source when the rear controller is off.

18. The entertainment system of claim 15, wherein sound from the rear audio source comes out of the headphone if the rear controller is turned on.

19. The entertainment system of claim 15, wherein the head unit further comprises a rear display part for showing an operating state of the rear audio source,

wherein the rear display part shows an indication showing the disconnection of the rear speaker if the rear speaker is disconnected from the front audio source.

20. The entertainment system of claim 15, the front audio source or the rear audio source is switched if a medium for one of the plurality of audio sources is inserted into a player corresponding to the audio source, or if the medium is ejected from the player.

21. The entertainment system of claim 15, further comprising a manual speaker switch for manually switching between connection and disconnection between the front audio source and the rear speaker.

22. The entertainment system of claim 21, wherein the head unit further comprises a rear power switch for turning on the rear controller,

wherein the manual speaker switch is integrated with the rear power switch.