Audio control system and control method thereof

• US 9,639,323 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2015
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Foxconn Interconnect Technology Limited (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Cheng, Chia-Chieh, Ko, Chung-Nan
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US14/821,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20160306606A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00985 Control systems or circuits characterised by display or indicating devices, e.g. voice simulators characterised by the input of sound using a voice synthesizer B60H1/00757; B60H1/00978 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback

Abstract

An audio control method includes as follows. Control a vehicle to switch to an audio playing mode in response to input operations applied on a touch input unit of a vehicle. Recognize a gesture in response to input signals. Compare the gesture with a plurality of predefined gestures stored in a storage unit of the vehicle to determine whether the gesture is same as one of the plurality of predefined gestures. Obtain a control order corresponding to the one of the plurality of predefined gestures when the gesture matches the one of the plurality of predefined gestures. Control a volume of an audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order.

Claims

1. An audio control system mounted within a vehicle, the audio control system comprising:

at least one processing unit;

a plurality of touch input units coupled to the at least one processing unit, each touch input unit being adjacent to one vehicle window of the vehicle, and further mounted on an inner vehicle door of the vehicle adjacent to the vehicle window; and

a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the at least one processing unit and configured to store instructions for execution by the at least one processing unit, the instructions causing the at least one processing unit to;

control the vehicle to switch to an audio playing mode in response to input operations applied on one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

recognize a gesture in response to input signals, wherein the input signal is generated by the one of the plurality of touch input units in response to input operations applied thereon;

compare the gesture with a plurality of predefined gestures stored in a storage unit of the vehicle;

determine whether the gesture is the same as one of the plurality of predefined gestures;

obtain a control order corresponding to the one of the plurality of predefined gestures when the gesture matches the one of the plurality of predefined gestures, wherein when the gesture is recognized to be a touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a first direction, the control order generated is one that controls a volume of an audio player of the vehicle to increase, and when the gesture is recognized to be a touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a second direction opposite to the first direction, the control order generated is one that controls the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to decrease; and

control the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order.

2. The audio control system of claim 1, wherein when the gesture is recognized to be a slide gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a third direction, the control order generated is one that controls the audio player to play next song, when the gesture is recognized to be a slide gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a fourth direction, the control order generated is one that controls the audio player to play previous song, and the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the audio player of the vehicle to play the next song or the previous song according to the control order.

3. The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase following the sliding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction, and decrease following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction, and further stop to increase or decrease when the sliding gesture stops.

4. The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the vehicle to switch to an air conditioning mode in response to the input operations applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

wherein when the vehicle is in the air conditioning mode and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the first direction, the control order generated is one that controls a temperature of an air conditioner of the vehicle to increase;

wherein when the vehicle is in the air conditioning mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the second direction, the control order generated is one that controls the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to decrease; and

wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order.

5. The audio control system of claim 4, wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to increase following the siding gesture applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction, and decrease following the siding gesture applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction, and further stop to increase or decrease when the slide gesture stops.

6. The audio control system of claim 1, wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the vehicle to switch to a window adjusting mode in response to input operations applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

wherein when the vehicle is in the window adjusting mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the first direction, the control order generated is one that controls one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to rise;

wherein when the vehicle is in the window adjusting mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the second direction, the control order generated is one that controls the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to go down; and

wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to rise or go down according to the control order.

7. The audio control system of claim 6, wherein the instructions cause the at least one processing unit to control the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to rise following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction, and go down following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction, and further stop to rise or go down when the slide gesture is stopped.

8. An audio control method comprising:

controlling a vehicle to switch to an audio playing mode in response to input operations applied on one of a plurality of touch input units of a vehicle, wherein each touch input unit is adjacent to one vehicle window of the vehicle, and further mounted on an inner vehicle door of the vehicle adjacent to the vehicle window;

recognizing a gesture in response to input signals, wherein the input signal is generated by the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle in response to input operations applied thereon;

comparing the gesture with a plurality of predefined gestures stored in a storage unit of the vehicle;

determining whether the gesture is same as one of the plurality of predefined gestures;

obtaining a control order corresponding to the one of the plurality of predefined gestures when the gesture matches the one of the plurality of predefined gestures, wherein when the gesture is recognized to be a touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a first direction, the control order generated is one that controls a volume of an audio player of the vehicle to increase, when the gesture is recognized to be a touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a second direction opposite to the first direction, the control order generated is one that controls the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to decrease; and

controlling the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order.

9. The audio control method of claim 8, wherein after controlling the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

when the gesture is recognized to be a slide gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a third direction, controlling the audio player to play next song; and

when the gesture is recognized to be a slide gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a fourth direction, controlling the audio player to play previous song.

10. The control method of claim 8, wherein after controlling the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

the volume of the audio player of the vehicle rising following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction;

the volume of the audio player of the vehicle going down following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction; and

the volume of the audio player of the vehicle stopping to rise or go down when the slide gesture is stopped.

11. The audio control method of claim 8, wherein the audio control method further comprises:

controlling the vehicle to switch to an air conditioning mode in response to the input operations applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

when the vehicle is in the air conditioning mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the first direction, controlling a temperature of an air conditioner of the vehicle to increase; and

when the vehicle is in the air conditioning mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the second direction, controlling the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to decrease.

12. The audio control method of claim 11, wherein after controlling the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle rising following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction;

the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle going down following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction; and

the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle stopping to rise or go down when the slide gesture is stopped.

13. The audio control method of claim 8, wherein the audio control method further comprises:

controlling the vehicle to switch to a window adjusting mode in response to the input operations applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

when the vehicle is in the window adjusting mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the first direction, controlling one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to rise; and

when the vehicle is in the window adjusting mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the second direction, controlling the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to go down.

14. The audio control method of claim 13, wherein after controlling the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to rise or go down according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle rising following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction;

the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle going down following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction; and

the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle stopping to rise or go down when the slide gesture is stopped.

15. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed by at least one processing unit of a vehicle, causes the least one processor to execute instructions of an audio control method, the audio control method comprising:

controlling the vehicle to switch to an audio playing mode in response to input operations applied on one of a plurality of touch input units of a vehicle, wherein each touch input unit is adjacent to one vehicle window of the vehicle, and further mounted on an inner vehicle door of the vehicle adjacent to the vehicle window;

recognizing a gesture in response to input signals, wherein the input signal is generated by the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle in response to input operations applied thereon;

comparing the gesture with a plurality of predefined gestures stored in a storage unit of the vehicle;

determining whether the gesture is same as one of the plurality of predefined gestures;

obtaining a control order corresponding to the one of the plurality of predefined gestures when the gesture matches the one of the plurality of predefined gestures, wherein when the gesture is recognized to be a touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a first direction, the control order generated is one that controls a volume of an audio player of the vehicle to increase, when the gesture is recognized to be a touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a second direction opposite to the first direction, the control order generated is one that controls the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to decrease; and

controlling the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order.

16. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 15, wherein after controlling the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

when the gesture is recognized to be a slide gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a third direction, controlling the audio player to play next song; and

when the gesture is recognized to be a slide gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards a fourth direction, controlling the audio player to play previous song.

17. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 15, wherein after controlling the volume of the audio player of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

the volume of the audio player of the vehicle rising following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction;

the volume of the audio player of the vehicle going down following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction; and

the volume of the audio player of the vehicle stopping to rise or go down when the slide gesture is stopped.

18. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 15, wherein the audio control method further comprises:

controlling the vehicle to switch to an air conditioning mode in response to the input operations applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

when the vehicle is in the air conditioning mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the first direction, controlling a temperature of an air conditioner of the vehicle to increase; and

when the vehicle is in the air conditioning mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the second direction, controlling the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to decrease.

19. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 18, wherein after controlling the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle to increase or decrease according to the control order, the audio control method further comprises:

the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle rising following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the first direction;

the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle going down following the siding gesture which is applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units and sliding towards the second direction; and

the temperature of the air conditioner of the vehicle stopping to increase or decrease when the slide gesture is stopped.

20. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 15, wherein the audio control method further comprises:

controlling the vehicle to switch to a window adjusting mode in response to the input operations applied on the one of the plurality of touch input units of the vehicle;

when the vehicle is in the window adjusting mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the one of the plurality of touch input units towards the first direction, controlling one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to rise; and

when the vehicle is in the window adjusting mode, and the gesture is recognized to be the touch gesture sliding in the touch input unit towards the second direction, controlling the one or more vehicle windows of the vehicle to go down.