On-vehicle guidance apparatus

• US 8,140,255 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2008
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nexgen Control Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Furumoto, Yuki, Suzuki, Tadashi, Sato, Fumitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): MARC-COLEMAN, MARTHE Y
• Application Number:
  US12/740,961
• Publication Number:
  US 20100280749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,217 Days
• Field of Search: 701/201, 701/211, 701/200, 455/404.2, 381/57, 381/71.4, 381/86, 381/92, 704/226, 704/233, 181/175, 181/176, 340/425.5
• US Class Current: 701/201
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3629 Guidance using speech or audio output, e.g. text-to-speech text to speech systems per se G10L13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

An on-vehicle guidance apparatus is characterized in including an output sound control means for acquiring a sound volume setting of onboard equipment, a sound volume determining means for determining whether or not the sound volume setting is smaller than a predetermined threshold, and a guidance output control means for issuing a command for carrying out voice guidance in response to a determination signal from the sound volume determining means at a time when the sound volume setting becomes smaller than the above-mentioned threshold.

Claims

1. An on-vehicle guidance apparatus that provides required information for a passenger, said on-vehicle guidance apparatus comprising:

a controller comprising;

an output sound controller configured to acquire a sound volume setting of onboard equipment;

a sound volume determining unit configured to determine whether or not said sound volume setting is smaller than a predetermined threshold; and

a guidance output controller configured to issue a command for carrying out voice guidance in response to a determination signal from said sound volume determining unit at a time when said sound volume setting becomes smaller than said predetermined threshold.

2. An on-vehicle guidance apparatus that provides required information for a passenger, said on-vehicle guidance apparatus comprising:

a vehicle velocity acquiring device configured to acquire a velocity of a vehicle;

a sound input device configured to acquire an environmental sound in a cabin;

a controller configured to;

determine a sound volume of a conversation in the cabin on a basis of a noise sound volume corresponding to the velocity of the vehicle acquired by said vehicle velocity acquiring device, and a sound volume of the environmental sound in the cabin acquired by said sound input device to determine whether or not said conversation sound volume is smaller than a predetermined threshold, and

issue a command for carrying out voice guidance in response to a determination that said conversation sound volume becomes smaller than said predetermined threshold.

3. The on-vehicle guidance apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said controller is further configured to:

acquire an elapsed time to determine whether or not the elapsed time is longer than a predetermined time when said conversation sound volume is determined to be smaller than said predetermined threshold, and

issue a command for outputting a jingle when said acquired elapsed time is longer than said predetermined time.

4. The on-vehicle guidance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the conversation is not broken off even after the jingle is outputted, said controller issues a command for outputting a different jingle.