Device for outputting an audio signal in a vehicle cabin

Abstract

Device (2) for outputting an audio signal in a vehicle cabin (4), comprising at least one audio output device (6) configured to output an audio signal (3) in a vehicle cabin (4), the audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice, in particular a singer's voice, and / or a musical instrument, at least one audio processing device (8) configured to process at least one audio signal (3) which can be output or is output by the at least one audio output device (6), the at least one audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice, in particular a singer's voice, and / or a musical instrument, in order to suppress, in a suppression mode, the at least one audio signal component containing a human voice, in particular a singer's voice, and / or a musical instrument in the at least one audio signal (3), at least one audio receiving device (9) configured to receive at least one acoustic human body signal, in particular a human voice signal, of at least one person in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4) while the at least one audio output device (6) outputs the audio signal (3) in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4), and at least one control device (12) configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) on the basis of at least one acoustic human body signal (10) received by the at least one audio receiving device (9).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for outputting an audio signal in a train carriage, the apparatus comprising at least one audio output device configured to output an audio signal including at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the train carriage; and at least one audio processing device configured to process at least one audio signal output by the at least one audio output device, the at least one audio signal including at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments, so as to suppress at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the at least one audio signal in a suppression mode. Background Technology

[0002] In the prior art, devices for outputting audio signals in a train car are generally known, and the audio signals typically include at least one audio signal component containing human voices (especially the voice of a singer) and / or musical instruments in the train car.

[0003] The corresponding device is usually configured to implement a so-called "karaoke" mode, in which the output audio signal component containing human voice (especially the singer's voice) is temporarily suppressed, allowing people in the carriage to sing along with or accompany the corresponding audio signal.

[0004] The drawback of these known devices is that they typically require manual interaction to control (e.g., enable or disable) the suppression of the corresponding audio signal components. Manual interaction may require pulling, pushing, or rotating manual control elements such as buttons, switches, sliders, etc. Therefore, control of the corresponding special operating modes of the device (i.e., especially activation), such as the aforementioned "karaoke" mode—especially for someone who wants to sing (only) at a specific time, for example, simultaneously outputting a piece of music during a chorus—is considered distracting and time-consuming. This is particularly true when the person is a driver in special traffic conditions, in which case he or she should keep his or her hands on the steering wheel of the vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a device for outputting audio signals in a train carriage, which allows for the implementation of improved, i.e. particularly easy and reliable special operating modes, such as a "karaoke" mode, especially without requiring manual interaction between the person and the device to control the operation of the device.

[0006] This objective is achieved by a device proposed in this invention for outputting audio signals in a train carriage. The invention also relates to possible embodiments of the device.

[0007] A first aspect of the invention relates to an apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "the apparatus") for outputting an audio signal in a vehicle compartment, the audio signal in particular representing a recorded musical work comprising human voices and / or musical instruments, for example, performed by one or more persons singing and / or speaking and / or playing at least one musical instrument, the musical work being, for example, a pop song, a rock song, a jazz song, a hip-hop song, a classical song, etc. The apparatus may be implemented as a vehicle audio system or form part of a vehicle audio system. The term "output" can generally be understood as the reproduction or playback of an audio signal.

[0008] The device is typically configured to output and / or reproduce audio signals in a carriage, i.e., in particular audio signals representing musical works including human voices and / or instruments, and therefore, the device includes at least one audio signal component containing (recorded) human voices (in particular the voice of a singer) and / or (recorded) musical instruments (in particular acoustic or electronic instruments).

[0009] The corresponding audio signal can be provided from any audio signal source. The corresponding audio signal source can be embodied in or include data carrier devices (e.g., from CDs, tapes, USB sticks, etc.), wireless devices (e.g., FM radios, network devices (e.g., web applications)), mobile electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops), etc. Therefore, the device can be connected to or linked to at least one audio signal source (e.g., at least one of the aforementioned audio signal sources).

[0010] The device includes at least one audio output device configured to output and / or reproduce at least one input audio signal (input audio signal) in the passenger compartment. The input audio signal includes at least one audio signal component containing (recorded) human voices (especially singer's voice) and / or (recorded) instrument sounds, especially acoustic instrument sounds and / or electronic instrument sounds. The at least one audio output device typically includes one or more audio output elements, such as speakers. Each audio output element can be assigned to a specific location or space, particularly a specific seat in the passenger compartment or passenger compartment of the vehicle equipped with the device. Therefore, the one or more audio output elements can be arranged or configured to output a corresponding audio signal in the passenger compartment or passenger compartment. For example, the one or more audio output elements can be arranged or configured at structural elements and / or inside the vehicle equipped with the device, such as dashboards, pillars, doors, ceilings, etc. It is noteworthy that the one or more audio output elements and the at least one audio output device can each be standard components of a vehicle audio system implemented by the device. Therefore, at least from a structural perspective, the at least one audio output device of the device can be a standard audio output device for a vehicle audio system.

[0011] The apparatus further includes at least one hardware and / or software-implemented audio processing device configured to process at least one audio signal output by the at least one audio output device, the at least one audio signal including at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments, so as to suppress the at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the at least one audio signal in a suppression mode. Therefore, the at least one audio processing device can operate in at least one suppression mode, wherein the at least one audio processing device (actively) suppresses at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the corresponding audio signal.

[0012] Therefore, the at least one audio processing device can also be considered or represented as a voice suppressor and / or an instrument sound suppressor. Thus, the corresponding audio signal can be modified by the at least one audio processing device. Modification of the corresponding audio signal can be achieved, in particular, by suppressing the at least one audio signal component containing human voices (especially singer's voice), and / or by suppressing the at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments. Therefore, the modified audio signal can be an audio signal that suppresses at least one (original) audio signal component containing human voices (especially singer's voice), and / or suppresses at least one (original) audio signal component containing musical instruments. In other words, the at least one audio processing device is configured to generate a modified audio signal that differs from the original audio signal by suppressing at least one audio signal component containing human voices (especially singer's voice) and / or by suppressing at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments. The at least one audio processing device can be implemented as or include one or more suitable hardware and / or software-implemented filtering devices configured to suppress corresponding audio signal components of the input audio signal.

[0013] The at least one audio processing device may be configured to suppress corresponding audio signal components containing human voices (especially singers' voices) and / or corresponding audio components containing musical instruments using predefined or predefined dynamic or static suppression levels. Therefore, a 0% suppression level means no suppression of the corresponding audio signal component, resulting in the output of the audio signal without suppression of the corresponding audio signal component, while a 100% suppression level means complete suppression of the audio signal component, resulting in the output of the audio signal with complete suppression of the corresponding audio signal component. In other words, suppression either reduces the energy level (i.e., especially the volume level) of the corresponding audio signal component by a certain amount or (completely) cancels the corresponding audio signal component.

[0014] Suppressing at least one corresponding audio signal component containing human voice and / or a corresponding audio signal component containing an instrument may require determining the at least one corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed in the (original) audio signal and / or extracting the at least one corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed from the (original) audio signal. Therefore, the at least one audio processing device may be configured to determine, respectively, the at least one corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed in the audio signal and / or extract the at least one corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed from the audio signal. This determination and / or extraction may be achieved by analyzing the acoustic characteristics (e.g., spectrum) of the audio signal, which relate to (specific) acoustic characteristics (e.g., a specific frequency range), which may be assigned to the audio signal component to be suppressed containing the corresponding human voice (e.g., a singer's voice) and / or the audio signal component to be suppressed containing the corresponding instrument. Alternatively or additionally, the determination and / or extraction can be achieved by analyzing the acoustic characteristics (e.g., spectrum) of the audio signal, which relate to (specific) acoustic characteristics (e.g., a specific frequency range), which can be distinguished from audio signal components that do not contain the corresponding human voice to be suppressed (e.g., contain musical instruments or other human voices), or from audio signal components that do not contain the corresponding musical instrument to be suppressed (e.g., contain human voices or other musical instruments).

[0015] The at least one audio processing device may be configured, in particular, to extract from the (raw) audio signal at least one audio signal component containing a human voice (especially a singer's voice) to be suppressed and / or at least one audio signal component containing an instrument to be suppressed, the audio processing device being output or de-output in the respective carriage, and separating the at least one extracted audio signal component containing the human voice (especially a singer's voice) to be suppressed and / or at least one extracted audio signal component containing the instrument to be suppressed from other audio signal components of the audio signal that do not contain the respective audio signal component to be suppressed. Once determined and / or extracted in the appropriate manner, the audio signal component to be suppressed can be suppressed as described above.

[0016] The at least one audio processing device may be configured, in particular, to extract the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed from the audio signal by decomposing the audio signal into a plurality of audio signal components. Thus, one or more audio signal components obtained by decomposing the audio signal into the plurality of audio signal components represent the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed. The decomposition of the audio signal may include analyzing the audio signal with respect to the corresponding audio signal component, which will be decomposed with other audio signal components that are not suppressed. The analysis of the audio signal may be performed based on predefined or predefined acoustic characteristics (e.g., amplitude and / or frequency) that include the audio signal component to be suppressed and the audio signal components not to be suppressed.

[0017] Additionally or alternatively, the at least one audio processing device, or a decomposition device implemented in hardware and / or software and assignable to the at least one audio processing device, may be configured to decompose the audio signal into a plurality of audio signal components to obtain at least one center signal component, a left signal component, and a right signal component. The center signal component represents the audio signal component perceived by hearing by a person located in a given position (e.g., the driver's position), and is output in the vehicle compartment from the center direction and / or center position of the at least one audio output device including a left audio output channel and a right audio output channel. The left signal component represents the audio signal component perceived by hearing by a person located in a given position (e.g., the driver's position), and is output in the vehicle compartment from the left direction and / or left position relative to the center direction and / or center position of the at least one audio output device including a left audio output channel and a right audio output channel. The right signal component represents the audio signal component perceived by a person in a given position (e.g., the driver's position) through hearing, and the right signal component is output in the cabin from the (more) right direction and / or right position relative to the center direction and / or center position of the at least one audio output device including the left audio output channel and the right audio output channel.

[0018] The corresponding decomposition of the audio signal into the respective center, left, and right signal components is based on the understanding that the center signal component typically contains human voices (especially singers' voices), while the left and / or right signal components typically contain instrumental sounds. Therefore, when the center signal component is obtained, an audio signal component containing human voices (especially singers' voices) is usually also obtained, and when the left and / or right signal components are obtained, an audio signal component containing at least one instrument is usually also obtained. For example, in some audio signals, the left signal component may be a harmonic instrument (such as a guitar, trumpet, etc.), and the right signal component may be a rhythm instrument (such as a drum), and vice versa.

[0019] The corresponding decomposition of the audio signal in the corresponding center signal component, left signal component, and right signal component is generally applicable to stereo audio signals that include left audio signal components and right audio signal components.

[0020] The apparatus further includes at least one audio receiving device configured to receive at least one acoustic human signal (e.g., acoustic human speech signal and / or acoustic human rhythm signal) of at least one person located in the carriage or car while the at least one audio output device outputs an audio signal in the carriage or car. The term "person" generally refers to any person in the respective carriage (e.g., driver or co-driver).

[0021] Therefore, the at least one audio receiving device allows for the reception of acoustic human signals, either locally or in real-time, within the respective carriage while audio signals are being output through the at least one audio output device. These acoustic human voice signals are derived from singing, humming, speaking, etc., by at least one person in the respective carriage, and / or rhythmic human signals are derived from one or more percussion actions by at least one person in the respective carriage, such as clapping, drumming, tapping, stomping, tapping, or rhythmic beatboxing. Thus, while audio signals are being output through the at least one audio output device within the carriage, corresponding acoustic human signals can be received within the carriage through the at least one audio receiving device.

[0022] The at least one audio receiving device typically includes one or more audio receiving elements, such as a microphone. Each audio receiving element can be assigned to a specific location or space, specifically to at least one particular seat in the passenger compartment of a vehicle equipped with the device. For example, the one or more audio receiving elements can be arranged or positioned on or within structural elements (e.g., dashboard, pillars, doors, ceiling, etc.) of the vehicle equipped with the device, so as to receive acoustic human body signals of at least one person located in the vehicle equipped with the device, while the at least one audio output device outputs the audio signal in the vehicle or the passenger compartment of the vehicle. It is worth noting that the one or more audio receiving elements and the at least one audio receiving device can each be standard components of a vehicle audio system implemented by the device. Therefore, at least from a structural perspective, the at least one audio receiving device of the device can be a standard audio receiving device for a vehicle audio system.

[0023] This method of simultaneously outputting audio signals in the carriage and receiving acoustic human body signals in the corresponding carriage can form the basis for implementing special operating modes of the device, such as a "karaoke" mode. As will become more apparent below, the one or more audio receiving elements can also be arranged to receive acoustically perceptible undesirable noise in the corresponding carriage, such as acoustic feedback.

[0024] The device further includes at least one hardware and / or software-implemented control device configured to control the operation of the audio processing device based on at least one acoustic human body signal received by the at least one audio receiving device. Therefore, the at least one control device can control the operation of the audio processing device, for example, enabling and disabling it, in accordance with a specific operating mode of the device (e.g., a "karaoke" mode), without requiring manual interaction between a person and the device, but based on at least one acoustic human body signal received by the at least one audio receiving device.

[0025] Therefore, the at least one control device can perform acoustic control operations on the at least one audio processing device, such as enabling or disabling it, based on at least one acoustic human signal received by the at least one audio receiving device, while implementing a corresponding special operating mode of the device (e.g., a "karaoke" mode). Thus, the at least one control device specifically simplifies the control of the corresponding special operating mode of the device, where it is necessary to suppress at least one audio signal component containing human voice and / or at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments, since the enabling, modification, or disabling of the corresponding suppression can be triggered by at least one acoustic human signal received by the at least one audio receiving device. Therefore, it is feasible to enable, modify, or disable the corresponding special operating mode more spontaneously and intermittently, in which at least one audio signal component containing human voice and / or at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments needs to be suppressed.

[0026] This in particular allows for automated or automatic control of the corresponding special operating modes of the device.

[0027] Therefore, an improved device for outputting audio signals in a carriage is provided, which allows for easy and reliable implementation of special operating modes, such as a "karaoke" mode, which in particular does not require manual interaction between a person and a device for controlling the operation of the device by a person located in the respective carriage.

[0028] As described above, the at least one control device specifically simplifies the control of a corresponding special operating mode of the device, in which the suppression of at least one audio signal component containing human voice and / or at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments is required, since the enabling, modification, or disabling of the corresponding suppression can be triggered by at least one acoustic human signal received by the at least one audio receiving device. Therefore, the at least one control device can be configured, in particular, to generate at least one control signal, especially an enable control command, which enables the suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device based on the at least one received acoustic human signal. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one control device can be configured to generate a control signal, especially a disable control command, which disables the suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device based on the at least one received acoustic human signal. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one control device can be configured to generate a control signal, especially a modify control command, which modifies the suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device based on the at least one received acoustic human signal.

[0029] The at least one control device may be configured to process the at least one received acoustic human body signal to determine whether, when the audio signal containing the corresponding audio signal component is output in the corresponding carriage, the person or at least one person located in the corresponding carriage performs (especially sings) along with or accompanied by an audio signal component containing a human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or an audio signal component containing an instrument output in the corresponding carriage. Therefore, the at least one control device may be configured to determine whether the received acoustic human body signal indicates that the at least one person located in the corresponding carriage is performing with or accompanied by an audio signal component containing a human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or an instrument. The determination may be based on determining one or more parameters, particularly acoustic parameters (e.g., the pitch or rhythm of a received acoustic human body signal), and comparing them with reference parameters to determine whether the corresponding acoustic human body parameters indicate that the person or at least one person located in the corresponding carriage is performing with or accompanied by an audio signal or a corresponding audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or a corresponding audio component containing an instrument.

[0030] The corresponding reference parameters can be corresponding parameters of the audio signal, and in particular, corresponding parameters of the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed or by the at least one audio processing device. For example, the at least one control device may be configured to determine, for example, whether the pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the received acoustic human body signal match the corresponding pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the audio signal output in the corresponding carriage or the corresponding audio signal component containing human voice (especially the singer's voice) and / or the corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments. If a general match is determined between the pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the received acoustic human body signal and the corresponding pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the corresponding audio signal output in the corresponding carriage or the corresponding audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or the corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments, the at least one control device may be configured to qualitatively and / or quantitatively determine the degree of match between the pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the received acoustic human body signal and the corresponding pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the audio signal output in the corresponding carriage or the corresponding audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or the corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments.

[0031] The at least one control device may be configured to process the or at least one received acoustic human body signal in order to determine whether the or at least one person located in the carriage or in the carriage (acoustively) expresses acoustic suppression mode control information, in particular acoustic suppression mode enable information (more particularly acoustic suppression mode enable command), or acoustic suppression mode disable information (more particularly acoustic suppression mode disable command), or acoustic suppression mode modification information (more particularly acoustic suppression mode modification command).

[0032] The corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information may be or include the human voice of the person or at least one person located in the corresponding carriage, such as "enable suppression" or similar, "disable suppression" or similar, "increase suppression" or similar, "decrease suppression" or similar. Similarly, the corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information may be or include more specific human voice sounds, such as "enable human voice suppression" or similar, "enable instrument suppression" or similar, "disable human voice suppression" or similar, "disable instrument suppression" or similar, "increase human voice suppression" or similar, "increase instrument suppression" or similar, "decrease human voice suppression" or similar, "decrease instrument suppression" or similar. Of course, the corresponding person may also specify at least one specific human voice or at least one specific instrument, and enable, disable or modify its suppression respectively; the corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information may be or include human voice pronunciation, such as "enable vocal suppression" or similar, "enable drum suppression" or similar, "disable vocal suppression" or similar, "disable drum suppression" or similar, "increase vocal suppression" or similar, "increase drum suppression" or similar, "decrease vocal suppression" or similar, "decrease drum suppression" or similar.

[0033] The corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information may additionally or alternatively be or include rhythmic vocalizations of at least one person in the corresponding carriage, such as clapping, snapping, stomping, etc. As an example only, a specific rhythmic sequence of clapping, snapping, stomping, etc., or clapping, snapping, stomping, etc., may be associated with specific acoustic compression mode control information.

[0034] Similarly, other acoustic compression mode control information based on other vocal expressions of at least one person in the respective carriage is conceivable. As an example only, a specific harmonic and / or rhythmic sequence of a whistle or whistling may be associated with specific acoustic compression mode control information.

[0035] As can be clearly seen from the above, the at least one control device can typically be configured to process at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal in order to determine at least one acoustic parameter of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal, wherein the at least one control device can be configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device, particularly the suppression level, based on the at least one determined acoustic parameter of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal.

[0036] The at least one control device may be configured, particularly in suppression mode, to statically or dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device. Static control of the operation of the at least one audio processing device, for example through a static suppression level, typically results in reduced processing power consumption; however, dynamic control of the operation of the at least one audio processing device, for example through a dynamic suppression level, can result in an enhanced user experience, making both variations have specific advantages.

[0037] The at least one control device, or an acoustic parameter determining device that can be assigned to the at least one control device, can be configured to process the at least one received acoustic human signal to determine at least one dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human signal, such as loudness. The at least one control device can be configured to dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device based on the at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human signal. Therefore, the at least one control device can be configured to process the at least one received acoustic human signal to determine the loudness of the at least one received acoustic human signal. Based on the determination of the loudness of the at least one received acoustic human signal, the at least one control device can control the operation of the at least one audio processing device to adjust and / or change the suppression level. Therefore, a relationship between the loudness of the at least one received acoustic human signal and the suppression level can be realized. For example, the high loudness of at least one received acoustic human body signal—applying a loudness threshold level—can be correlated with the low suppression level of the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed, and vice versa.

[0038] More specifically, the at least one control device may be configured to dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device based on at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human signal, particularly according to the dynamically increasing or decreasing acoustic parameter level, such as loudness level, of the at least one received acoustic human signal, by dynamically increasing or decreasing the suppression level applicable to or applied to the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed, which includes human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments. Therefore, the suppression level can be dynamically adjusted and / or changed based on at least one dynamically changing acoustic parameter (e.g., loudness) of the at least one received acoustic human signal.

[0039] The corresponding dynamic acoustic parameters of the at least one received acoustic human body signal can be loudness and / or pitch and / or rhythm. This applies to both acoustic speech signals generated by persons located in the respective carriage and acoustic rhythm signals generated by persons located in the respective carriage.

[0040] The at least one audio receiving device may be configured to receive the at least one acoustic human signal within a defined time period (e.g., a time period of 1-5 seconds), wherein the at least one control device may be configured to process the at least one received acoustic human signal to generate an average value of at least one acoustic parameter (e.g., loudness) of the at least one received acoustic human signal within the corresponding time period. Generating the corresponding average value can result in reduced processing power consumption and can also lead to an enhanced user experience due to balanced control of the suppression level. The time period is typically selected to be short enough that the at least one control device can react quickly enough when the at least one acoustic human signal is received.

[0041] The at least one control device, or a noise suppression device that can be assigned to or is assigned to the at least one control device, can be configured to suppress received unwanted noise signals present in the respective carriage. Therefore, unwanted noise signals present in the respective carriage can be suppressed, particularly acoustic feedback generated by receiving an audio signal output or output in the respective carriage via the at least one audio output device, or noise generated from an external noise source (i.e., a specific noise source outside the respective carriage). The unwanted noise signals can be suppressed using dynamic or static suppression levels ranging from 100% (complete suppression) to 0% (no suppression). Suppressing the unwanted noise signals may require separating the acoustic human body signal from the unwanted noise signal, and vice versa. In this regard, the above notes regarding the determination and / or extraction of specific audio signal components from the audio signal are applied in a similar manner. The at least one control device, or a noise suppression device that can be assigned to or is assigned to the at least one control device, can be implemented as or include one or more suitable hardware and / or software implemented filtering devices configured to suppress corresponding received unwanted noise signals present in the respective carriage.

[0042] The at least one audio receiving device can typically be configured as or include at least one static audio receiving element and / or at least one mobile audio receiving element. The corresponding mobile audio element can be implemented as a mobile, particularly handheld, microphone. The mobile microphone can be implemented as a wired microphone or a wireless microphone.

[0043] At least one mobile audio receiving element may be a seat that can be assigned or assigned to at least one person in the corresponding carriage. Therefore, the device can distinguish received acoustic human body signals based on assigning the corresponding audio receiving element to the carriage or the seat of the corresponding person in the carriage.

[0044] It is also conceivable that the at least one audio receiving device includes multiple mobile, particularly handheld, audio receiving elements, wherein the reception level of each respective mobile audio receiving element can be individually adjusted or modified. Thus, for example, signals representing at least one primary speech and signals representing at least one secondary speech can be implemented.

[0045] It is also conceivable that at least one audio receiving element equipped with a mobile electronic device, such as a smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, laptop, etc., belonging to at least one person in the corresponding carriage, can be used as a mobile audio receiving element. In this case, the corresponding mobile terminal needs to be connected to a device that can be connected via wired or wireless means. For example, a Bluetooth, NFC, or Wi-Fi connection can be established in the corresponding carriage.

[0046] A second aspect of the invention relates to a hardware and / or software-implemented control device for outputting audio signals in a carriage, the control device being configured to control the operation of an audio processing device, the audio processing device being configured to process at least one audio signal output by at least one audio output device, the at least one audio signal including at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments, so as to suppress, in a suppression mode, at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the at least one audio signal based on at least one acoustic human signal received by at least one audio receiving device.

[0047] All notes relating to the apparatus of the first aspect of the invention are adapted, with necessary modifications, to the control device of the second aspect of the invention.

[0048] A third aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle, particularly a passenger vehicle, such as an automobile, truck, van, etc., comprising a passenger compartment and a device according to a first aspect of the invention. The device is configured to output an audio signal within the passenger compartment or compartment of the vehicle.

[0049] All notes relating to the apparatus of the first aspect of the invention are applicable to the vehicle of the third aspect of the invention, with necessary modifications.

[0050] A fourth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for outputting and / or reproducing audio signals in a train carriage, the method comprising the steps of:

[0051] Outputting audio signals within the carriage, particularly via at least one audio output device, the audio signals comprising at least one audio signal component, the audio signal component including human voices (especially singer voices) and / or instrument sounds;

[0052] While outputting the audio signal in the carriage, at least one acoustic human body signal, especially a human voice signal, is received, in particular, via at least one audio receiving device, from the carriage or at least one person in the carriage.

[0053] Controlling the operation of at least one audio processing device, particularly via at least one control device, the audio processing device being configured to process at least one audio signal, the audio signal including at least one audio signal component that can be output or output in the carriage, the audio signal component containing human voice (especially the voice of a singer) and / or instrumental sounds, so as to suppress at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially the voice of a singer) and / or instrumental sounds in the at least one audio signal in a suppression mode, based on the at least one received acoustic human signal.

[0054] All comments relating to the apparatus of the first aspect of the invention are adapted to the method of the fourth aspect of the invention with the necessary modifications. Attached Figure Description

[0055] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the figures, wherein the only figure shows a schematic diagram of a vehicle including the apparatus according to the exemplary embodiments.

[0056] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a vehicle 1 including the device 2 according to an exemplary embodiment is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0057] like Figure 1 As shown, the device 2 is configured to output and / or reproduce the recorded audio signal 3, that is, in particular, the audio signal representing the recorded musical work including human voices and / or instruments, and therefore includes at least one audio signal component containing (recorded) human voices (in particular the voice of a singer) and / or (recorded) instruments (in particular acoustic instruments and / or electronic instruments in the carriage 4 of the vehicle 1).

[0058] The corresponding audio signal 3 can be provided from at least one audio signal source 5. The corresponding audio signal source 5 can be implemented as or include a data carrier device (e.g., a data carrier device from a CD, magnetic tape, USB stick, etc.), a wireless device (e.g., an FM radio), a network device (e.g., a web application), or a mobile electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, laptop, etc.). Therefore, the device 2 can be connected to or linked to the audio signal source 5, for example, at least one of the audio signal source examples described above.

[0059] Device 2 includes an audio output device 6 configured to output and / or reproduce an audio signal 3, the audio signal 3 including at least one audio signal component containing (recorded) human voices (especially singer's voice) and / or at least one (recorded) instrument sound in the passenger compartment. Audio output device 6 typically includes one or more audio output elements 7, such as speakers. Each audio output element 7 can be assigned to a specific location or space in the passenger compartment 4, i.e., especially a specific seat. Therefore, one or more audio output elements 7 can be arranged or configured to output a corresponding audio signal 3 in the passenger compartment 4. For example, one or more audio output elements 7 can be arranged or configured at and / or inside structural elements (e.g., dashboard, pillars, doors, ceiling, etc.) of vehicle 1. It is noteworthy that one or more audio output elements 7 and audio output device 6 can each be standard components of the vehicle audio system implemented by device 2. Therefore, at least from a structural perspective, the audio output device 6 of device 2 can be a standard audio output device for a vehicle audio system.

[0060] The apparatus 2 also includes a hardware and / or software-implemented audio processing device 8 configured to process a corresponding audio signal 3, the audio signal 3 including at least one audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments, output by the audio output device 6, so as to suppress at least one corresponding audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the audio signal 3 in a suppression mode. Therefore, the audio processing device 8 can operate in at least one suppression mode, wherein the audio processing device 8 (actively) suppresses at least one corresponding audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments in the corresponding audio signal 3.

[0061] Therefore, the audio processing device 8 can also be considered or represented as a voice suppressor and / or an instrument suppressor. Thus, the corresponding audio signal 3 can be modified by the audio processing device 8. Modification of the corresponding audio signal 3 can be achieved, in particular, by suppressing at least one audio signal component containing a human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or at least one audio signal component containing an instrument. Therefore, the modified audio signal can be an audio signal 3 containing at least one (original) audio signal component containing a human voice and / or suppressing at least one (original) audio signal component containing an instrument. In other words, the audio processing device 8 is configured to generate a modified audio signal that differs from the original audio signal by suppressing at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or suppressing at least one audio signal component containing an instrument. The audio processing device 8 can be implemented as or include one or more suitable hardware and / or software-implemented filtering devices configured to suppress the corresponding audio signal components of the input audio signal 3.

[0062] The audio processing device 8 can be configured to suppress corresponding audio signal components containing human voices and / or corresponding audio signal components containing musical instruments, having predefined or predefined dynamic or static suppression levels. Therefore, a 0% suppression level means no suppression of the corresponding audio signal component, resulting in the output of audio signal 3 without suppression; a 100% suppression level means complete suppression of the audio signal component, resulting in the output of audio signal 3 with complete suppression. In other words, suppression either reduces the energy level (especially the volume level) of the corresponding audio signal component by a certain amount or completely cancels the corresponding audio signal component.

[0063] Suppressing a corresponding audio signal component may require determining the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed in the (original) audio signal 3 and / or extracting the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed from the (original) audio signal 3. Therefore, the audio processing device 8 may be configured to determine at least one corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed in the audio signal 3 and / or extract at least one corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed from the audio signal 3. Determination and / or extraction can be achieved by analyzing the acoustic characteristics (e.g., spectrum) of the audio signal 3, which involve (specific) acoustic characteristics, such as a specific frequency range, that can be assigned to the audio signal component containing the corresponding human voice to be suppressed and / or the audio signal component containing the corresponding musical instrument to be suppressed.

[0064] Additionally or alternatively, the determination and / or extraction can be achieved by analyzing the acoustic characteristics (e.g., spectrum) of the audio signal 3 with respect to (specific) acoustic characteristics (e.g., specific frequency range), which can be distinguished from audio signal components that do not contain the corresponding human voice to be suppressed (e.g., contain musical instruments and other voices) or audio signal components that do not contain the corresponding musical instrument to be suppressed (e.g., contain human voices or other musical instruments).

[0065] The audio processing device 8 can be configured, in particular, to extract from the (raw) audio signal 3 that is output or output in the carriage 4 a corresponding audio signal component containing the human voice to be suppressed and / or a corresponding audio signal component containing the musical instrument to be suppressed, and to separate at least one extracted audio signal component containing the human voice to be suppressed and / or at least one extracted audio signal component containing the musical instrument to be suppressed from other audio signal components in the corresponding audio signal that do not contain the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed. Once determined and / or extracted in the appropriate manner, the audio signal component to be suppressed can be suppressed as described above.

[0066] The audio processing device 8 can be configured, in particular, to extract the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed from the audio signal 3 by decomposing the audio signal 3 into multiple audio signal components. Therefore, one or more audio signal components obtained by decomposing the audio signal 3 into multiple audio signal components represent the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed. The decomposition of the audio signal 3 may include analyzing the audio signal 3 with respect to the corresponding audio signal components, decomposing the audio signal components with other unsuppressed audio signal components. The analysis of the audio signal 3 may be performed based on predefined or predefined acoustic characteristics (e.g., amplitude and / or frequency) that include the audio signal components to be suppressed and the audio signal components not to be suppressed.

[0067] Therefore, the audio processing device 8, or a decomposition device (not explicitly shown) that can be allocated or assigned to the hardware and / or software implementation of the audio processing device 8, can be configured to decompose the audio signal into multiple audio signal components to obtain at least one center signal component, a left signal component, and a right signal component. The center signal component is the audio signal component that represents the location of the audio signal 3 in a given position (e.g., the driver's position) within the vehicle compartment 4, perceived by a person P. The center signal component is output from the center direction and / or center position of the audio output device 6, which includes a left audio output channel and a right audio output channel. The left signal component is the audio signal component that represents the location of the audio signal 3 in a given position (e.g., the driver's position) within the vehicle compartment 4, perceived by a person P. The left signal component is output from the (more) left direction and / or left position relative to the center direction and / or center position of the audio output device 6, which includes a left audio output channel and a right audio output channel. The right signal component is the audio signal component that is perceived by a person P at a given position (e.g., the driver's position) in the carriage 4. The right signal component is output from the (more) right direction and / or right position relative to the center direction and / or center position of the audio output device 6, which includes the left audio output channel and the right audio output channel.

[0068] The decomposition of audio signal 3 into corresponding center, left, and right signal components is based on the understanding that the center signal component typically contains vocals (especially a singer's voice), and the left and / or right signal components typically contain musical instruments. Therefore, when the center signal component is obtained, an audio signal component containing vocals (especially a singer's voice) is usually also obtained, and when the left and / or right signal components are obtained, an audio signal component containing at least one musical instrument is usually also obtained. For example, some audio signals have a left signal component that is a harmonic instrument (e.g., guitar, horn, etc.) and a right signal component that is a rhythm instrument (e.g., drums), and vice versa.

[0069] Decomposing the audio signal into corresponding center signal component, left signal component, and right signal component is generally applicable to stereo audio signals that include left and right audio signal components.

[0070] The device 2 also includes an audio receiving device 9, configured to receive at least one acoustic human body signal 10, such as an acoustic human voice signal and / or an acoustic human rhythm signal, from at least one person P located in the carriage 4, while the audio output device 6 outputs an audio signal 3 in the carriage 4. The term "person" generally refers to any person in the corresponding carriage 4, such as the driver or co-driver.

[0071] Therefore, the audio receiving device 9 allows for the real-time reception of acoustic human body signals 10, namely, acoustic human speech signals from at least one person P in the carriage 4, such as singing, humming, or speaking, and / or acoustic human rhythm signals from percussion actions, such as clapping, drumming, stomping, or rhythmic beatboxing, while the audio signal 3 is being output to the carriage 4 via the audio output device 6. Thus, while the audio signal 3 is being output to the carriage 4 via the audio output device 6, the corresponding acoustic human body signals 10 can be received in the carriage 4 via the audio receiving device 9.

[0072] The audio receiving device 9 includes one or more audio receiving elements 11, such as microphones. Each audio receiving element 11 can be assigned to a specific location or space, namely, at least one specific seat in the passenger compartment 4. For example, one or more audio receiving elements 11 can be arranged or positioned at and / or inside structural elements of the vehicle 1 (e.g., dashboard, pillars, doors, ceiling, etc.) to receive acoustic human body signals 10 of at least one person P located in the passenger compartment 4 while the audio output device 6 outputs audio signals 3 in the passenger compartment 4. It is worth noting that the one or more audio receiving elements 11 and the audio receiving device 9 can each be standard components of the vehicle audio system implemented by the device 2. Therefore, at least from a structural point of view, the audio receiving device 9 of the device 2 can be a standard audio receiving device for a vehicle audio system.

[0073] This method of simultaneously outputting audio signal 3 and receiving acoustic human body signal 10 in carriage 4 can form the basis for implementing special operating modes of device 2, such as a "karaoke" mode. As will become more apparent below, one or more audio receiving elements 11 can also be arranged or configured to receive unwanted noise that is audibly perceptible in carriage 4, such as acoustic feedback.

[0074] The device 2 also includes at least one hardware and / or software implemented control device 12, which is configured to control the operation of the audio processing device 8 based on at least one acoustic human body signal 10 received by the audio receiving device 9. Therefore, the control device 12 enables control of the operation of the audio processing device 8, such as enabling or disabling it, in accordance with a specific operating mode of the device 2 (e.g., a "karaoke" mode), without requiring manual interaction between the person P and the device 2, but based on at least one acoustic human body signal 10 received by the audio receiving device 9.

[0075] Therefore, the control device 12 is particularly capable of acoustically controlling the operation of the audio processing device 8 when at least one acoustic human body signal 10 received by the audio receiving device 9 enables a corresponding special operating mode of the device 2 (e.g., a "karaoke" mode). Thus, the control device 12 specifically simplifies the control of the corresponding special operating mode of the device 2, in which the suppression of at least one audio signal component containing human voice and / or at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments is required, since the enabling, modification, or disabling of the corresponding suppression can be triggered by at least one acoustic human body signal 10 received by the audio receiving device 9. Therefore, more spontaneous and intermittent enabling, modification, or disabling of the corresponding special operating mode is feasible, in which at least one audio signal component containing human voice and / or at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments is required.

[0076] This in particular allows for automated or automatic control of the corresponding special operating modes of device 2.

[0077] As described above, control device 12 specifically simplifies control of a particular operating mode of device 2, in which at least one audio signal component containing human voice and / or at least one audio signal component containing musical instruments needs to be suppressed, since the activation, modification, or disabling of the corresponding suppression can be triggered by at least one acoustic human signal 10 received by audio receiving device 9. Therefore, control device 12 is specifically configured to generate control signals, particularly enabling control commands, which enable the suppression mode of audio processing device 8 based on at least one received acoustic human signal 10. Additionally or alternatively, control device 12 is configured to generate control signals, particularly disabling control commands, which disable the suppression mode of audio processing device 8 based on at least one received acoustic human signal 10. Additionally or alternatively, control device 12 is configured to generate control signals, particularly modifying control commands, which modify the suppression mode of audio processing device 8 based on at least one received acoustic human signal 10.

[0078] The control device 12 may be configured to process at least one received acoustic human body signal 10 to determine whether at least one person P located in the carriage 4 performs together with or accompanies an audio signal component containing human voice (especially a singer's voice), particularly singing, when an audio signal 3 including a corresponding audio signal component is output in the carriage 4, and / or to determine whether at least one person P located in the carriage 4 performs together with or accompanies an audio signal component containing musical instruments, such as drumming, percussion, etc., when an audio signal 3 including a corresponding audio signal component is output in the carriage 4. Therefore, the control device 12 may be configured to determine whether the received acoustic human body signal 10 indicates that at least one person P located in the carriage 4 performs together with or accompanies at least one audio signal 3 containing human voice (especially a singer's voice) and / or musical instruments. The determination can be based on determining one or more parameters, especially acoustic parameters, such as the pitch or rhythm of the received acoustic human signal 10, and comparing them with reference parameters in order to determine whether the corresponding acoustic human signal 10 indicates that at least one person P located in the carriage 4 is performing with or accompanied by a corresponding audio signal component containing human voice and / or a corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments.

[0079] The corresponding reference parameters can be the corresponding parameters of the audio signal 3, and more specifically, the audio signal components to be suppressed or suppressed by the audio processing device 8. For example, the control device 12 can be configured to determine, for example, whether the pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the received acoustic human body signal 10 match the corresponding pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the audio signal 3 output in the carriage 4 or the corresponding audio signal component containing human voice and / or the corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments. If a general match is determined between the received acoustic human body signal 10 and the corresponding pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the audio signal 3 output in the carriage 4 or the corresponding audio signal component containing human voice and / or the corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments, the control device 12 can be configured to qualitatively and / or quantitatively determine the degree of match between the received acoustic human body signal 10 and the corresponding pitch and / or rhythm parameters of the audio signal 3 output in the carriage 4 or the corresponding audio signal component containing human voice and / or the corresponding audio signal component containing musical instruments.

[0080] The control device 12 can be configured to process the received acoustic human body signal 10 to determine whether at least one person P located in the carriage 4 has (acoustically) issued acoustic suppression mode control information, in particular acoustic suppression mode activation information (more particularly acoustic suppression mode activation command), or acoustic suppression mode disabling information (more particularly acoustic suppression mode disabling command), or acoustic suppression mode modification information (more particularly acoustic suppression mode modification command).

[0081] The corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information may be or include a human voice expression of at least one person P in carriage 4, such as "enable suppression" or similar, "disable suppression" or similar, "increase suppression" or similar, "decrease suppression" or similar. Similarly, the corresponding sound suppression mode control information may be or include a more specific human voice expression, such as "enable human voice suppression" or similar, "enable instrument suppression" or similar, "disable human voice suppression" or similar, "disable instrument suppression" or similar, "increase human voice suppression" or similar, "increase instrument suppression" or similar, "decrease human voice suppression" or similar, "decrease instrument suppression" or similar. Of course, the corresponding person P can also specify at least one specific person or at least one specific instrument, and enable, disable or modify their suppression respectively; the corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information can be or include voice expressions, such as "enable vocal suppression" or similar, "enable drum suppression" or similar, "disable vocal suppression" or similar, "disable drum suppression" or similar, "increase vocal suppression" or similar, "increase drum suppression" or similar, "decrease vocal suppression" or similar, "decrease drum suppression" or similar.

[0082] The corresponding acoustic suppression mode control information may additionally or alternatively be or include rhythmic vocalizations of person P in carriage 4, such as clapping, snapping, stomping, etc. As an example only, a specific rhythmic sequence of clapping, snapping, stomping, etc., or clapping, snapping, stomping, etc., may be associated with specific acoustic compression mode control information.

[0083] Similarly, other acoustic compression modes based on other vocal expression control information of person P in carriage 4 are conceivable. As an example only, a specific harmonic and / or rhythmic sequence of a whistle or whistling may be associated with specific acoustic compression mode control information.

[0084] As can be clearly seen from the above, the control device 12 can typically be configured to process at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10 in order to determine at least one acoustic parameter of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10, wherein the control device 12 can be configured to control the operation of the audio processing device 8, especially the suppression level, based on at least one determined acoustic parameter of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10.

[0085] The control device 12 can be configured, especially in suppression mode, to statically or dynamically control the operation of the audio processing device 8.

[0086] Control device 12, or optionally, acoustic parameter determining device 13, is configured to process at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10 to determine at least one dynamic acoustic parameter of the corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10, such as loudness. Thus, control device 12 can be configured to dynamically control the operation of audio processing device 8 based on at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10. Therefore, control device 12 can be configured to process at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10 to determine the loudness of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10. Based on the determination of the loudness of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10, control device 12 can control the operation of audio processing device 8 to adjust and / or change the suppression level. Therefore, a relationship between the loudness of the at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10 and the suppression level can be realized. For example, the high loudness of at least one corresponding received acoustic human body signal 10—applying a loudness threshold level—can be correlated with the low suppression level of the corresponding audio signal component to be suppressed, and vice versa.

[0087] More specifically, the control device 12 can be configured to dynamically control the operation of the audio processing device 8 based on at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of at least one corresponding received acoustic human signal 10, particularly according to the dynamically increasing or decreasing acoustic parameter level, such as loudness level, of at least one corresponding received acoustic human signal 10, by dynamically increasing or decreasing the suppression level applicable to or applied to the respective audio signal components to be suppressed, including human voices and / or musical instruments. Therefore, the suppression level can be dynamically adjusted and / or changed based on at least one dynamically changing acoustic parameter (e.g., loudness) of at least one received acoustic human signal 10.

[0088] The corresponding dynamic acoustic parameters of at least one received acoustic human signal 10 can be loudness and / or pitch and / or rhythm. This applies to both acoustic speech signals generated by a person P located in carriage 4 and sound rhythm signals generated by a person P located in carriage 4.

[0089] Audio receiving device 9 is configured to receive at least one acoustic human body signal 10 within a defined time period, wherein control device 12 is configured to process at least one received acoustic human body signal 10 to generate an average value of at least one acoustic parameter (e.g., loudness) of at least one received acoustic human body signal 10 within the corresponding time period. Generating the corresponding average value can result in reduced processing power consumption and can also lead to an enhanced user experience through balanced control of suppression levels. This time period is typically selected to be short enough that control device 12 can react quickly enough when at least one acoustic human body signal 10 is received.

[0090] The control device 12, or a noise suppression device 14 (optionally) to which the control device 12 is assigned, can be configured to suppress unwanted noise signals received in the carriage 4. Therefore, unwanted noise signals present in the carriage 4 can be suppressed, particularly acoustic feedback generated by receiving an audio signal 3 output or generated in the carriage 4 via the audio output device 6, or noise generated from external noise sources (i.e., noise sources outside the carriage 4). Undesired noise signals can be suppressed using dynamic or static suppression levels ranging from 100% (complete suppression) to 0% (no suppression). Suppressing the corresponding unwanted noise signals may require separating the received acoustic human body signal 10 from the unwanted noise signal, and vice versa. In this regard, the above notes regarding the determination and / or extraction of specific audio signal components from the audio signal 3 are applied in a similar manner. The control device 12, or a noise suppression device 14 (optionally) to which the control device 12 is assigned, can be implemented as or include one or more suitable hardware and / or software implemented filtering devices (not shown), configured to suppress the corresponding received unwanted noise signals present in the carriage 4.

[0091] In an optional embodiment, the following notes regarding the audio receiving device 9 apply:

[0092] The audio receiving device 9 may be configured to include at least one static audio receiving element 11 and / or at least one mobile audio receiving element 11. The corresponding mobile audio receiving element 11 may be implemented as a mobile, particularly handheld, microphone. The mobile microphone may be implemented as a wired microphone or a wireless microphone.

[0093] At least one mobile audio receiving element 11 can be assigned or distributed to the seat of at least one person in the carriage 4. Therefore, the device 2 can distinguish the received acoustic human body signal 10 based on the assignment of the corresponding audio receiving element 11 to the seat of the corresponding person in the carriage 4.

[0094] It is also conceivable that the audio receiving device 9 includes multiple mobile, especially handheld, audio receiving elements 11, wherein the reception level of each of the mobile audio receiving elements 11 can be individually adjusted or modified.

[0095] It is also conceivable that at least one audio receiving element equipped with an electronic device (e.g., a smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, laptop, etc.) can be used as a mobile audio receiving element 11. In this case, the corresponding mobile electronic device needs to be connected to a device 2 that can be achieved via a wired or wireless connection. For example, a Bluetooth, NFC, or WIFI connection can be established in the carriage 4.

[0096] Single, multiple, or all devices that can be assigned to or allocated to control device 12, such as acoustic parameter determination device 13 and / or suppression device 14, can be combined in one or more higher-level devices. Devices that can be assigned to or allocated to control device 12, such as acoustic parameter determination device 13 and / or suppression device 14, can also be implemented as functional modules of control device 12.

[0097] Device 2 allows for a method of outputting and / or reproducing audio signal 3 in carriage 4. This method includes the following steps:

[0098] The audio signal 3 is output in the carriage 4, particularly via at least one audio output device 6. The audio signal 3 includes at least one audio signal component, which contains human voice (especially the voice of a singer) and / or instrumental sounds.

[0099] While outputting audio signal 3 in carriage 4, at least one acoustic human body signal, especially human voice signal, is received from at least one person P located in carriage 4 via at least one audio receiving device 9.

[0100] The operation of at least one audio processing device 8 is controlled, particularly by at least one control device 12, the audio processing device 8 being configured to process at least one audio signal 3, the audio signal 3 including at least one audio signal component that can be output or output in the carriage 4, the audio signal component containing human voice (especially the voice of a singer) and / or instrumental sounds, so that, in a suppression mode, based on at least one received acoustic human body signal 10, at least one audio signal component in the at least one audio signal 3 containing human voice (especially the voice of a singer) and / or instrumental sounds is suppressed.

Claims

1. Apparatus (2) for outputting an audio signal in a vehicle cabin (4), the apparatus (2) comprising: at least one audio output device (6) configured to output an audio signal (3) in a vehicle cabin (4), the audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound; at least one audio processing device (8) configured to process at least one audio signal (3) capable of being output or output by the at least one audio output device (6), the at least one audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound, so as to suppress, in a suppression mode, the at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound in the at least one audio signal (3); at least one audio receiving device (9) configured to receive at least one acoustic human body signal of at least one person in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4) while the at least one audio output device (6) outputs the audio signal (3) in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4); and at least one control device (12) configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) on the basis of the at least one acoustic human body signal (10) received by the at least one audio receiving device (9); wherein the at least one control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) in order to determine whether the at least one person or at least one person (P) located in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4) performs with an audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound, the audio signal component being output in the vehicle cabin (4) at the time of output of the audio signal (3) comprising the respective audio signal component; wherein the determination is based on determining one or more parameters of the received acoustic human body signal and comparing them with corresponding reference parameters, thereby determining whether the respective acoustic human body signal indicates that the at least one person or at least one person located in the respective vehicle cabin performs or performs with an audio signal or a respective audio signal component containing a human voice and / or a respective audio component containing an instrument sound; wherein the one or more parameters are a pitch or a rhythm of the received acoustic human body signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The audio signal (3) comprises at least one audio signal component containing a singer's voice and / or an instrument sound.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one audio receiving device (9) is configured to receive at least one human voice signal of at least one person in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4) while the at least one audio output device (6) outputs the audio signal (3) in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to generate at least one control signal enabling a suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), and / or to generate a control signal disabling a suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), and / or to generate a control signal modifying a suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10).

5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) in order to determine at least one acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), whereby The at least one control device (12) is configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one determined acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10).

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) statically or dynamically.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) statically or dynamically in the suppression mode.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) in order to determine at least one dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), whereby The at least one control device (12) is configured to dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10).

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, The at least one dynamic acoustic parameter is loudness.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) by dynamically increasing or decreasing a suppression level applicable to or applied to a respective audio signal component containing human voice and / or instrument sound to be suppressed.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein, The suppression level applicable to or applied to a respective audio signal component containing human voice and / or instrument sound to be suppressed is dynamically increased or decreased depending on a dynamically increased or decreased acoustic parameter level of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10).

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein, The dynamically increased or decreased acoustic parameter level is a loudness level.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 8 or 10, wherein, The at least one dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) is loudness and / or pitch and / or rhythm.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one audio receiving device (9) is configured to receive the at least one acoustic human body signal (10) over a defined period of time, whereby The at least one control device (12) is configured to generate at least one control signal enabling a suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), and / or to generate a control signal disabling a suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), and / or to generate a control signal modifying a suppression mode of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10). The at least one control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) in order to determine at least one acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), whereby The at least one control device (12) is configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one determined acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10). The at least one control device (12) is configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) statically or dynamically. The at least one control device (12) is configured to control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) statically or dynamically in the suppression mode. The at least one control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) in order to determine at least one dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10), whereby The at least one control device (12) is configured to dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10). The at least one dynamic acoustic parameter is loudness. The at least one control device (12) is configured to dynamically control the operation of the at least one audio processing device (8) based on the at least one determined dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) by dynamically increasing or decreasing a suppression level applicable to or applied to a respective audio signal component containing human voice and / or instrument sound to be suppressed. The suppression level applicable to or applied to a respective audio signal component containing human voice and / or instrument sound to be suppressed is dynamically increased or decreased depending on a dynamically increased or decreased acoustic parameter level of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10). The dynamically increased or decreased acoustic parameter level is a loudness level. The at least one dynamic acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) is loudness and / or pitch and / or rhythm. The at least one audio receiving device (9) is configured to receive the at least one acoustic human body signal (10) over a defined period of time, whereby The at least one control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human signal in order to generate an average value of at least one acoustic parameter of the at least one received acoustic human signal over a respective time period.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, The at least one acoustic parameter is a loudness.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one control device (12) is configured to suppress a received undesired noise signal present in or in the vehicle cabin (4).

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one audio processing device (8) is configured to extract an audio signal component containing a human voice from an audio signal (3) which can be output or is output in or in the vehicle cabin (4).

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one audio receiving device (9) is built as or comprises at least one mobile audio receiving element.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The at least one mobile audio receiving element is a handheld audio receiving element.

20. Control device (12) for a device (2) for outputting at least one audio signal (3) in a vehicle cabin (4), the control device (12) being configured to control an operation of an audio processing device (8) which is configured to process at least one audio signal (3) which is output in a vehicle cabin (4) by at least one audio output device (6), the at least one audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound, in order to suppress, in a suppression mode, the at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound in the at least one audio signal (3) on the basis of at least one acoustic human signal (10) received by at least one audio receiving device (9); wherein, The control device (12) is configured to process the at least one received acoustic human signal (10) in order to determine whether the at least one person or at least one person (P) located in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4) performs with an audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound, the audio signal component being output in the vehicle cabin (4) when an audio signal (3) comprising the respective audio signal component is output; wherein the determination is based on determining one or more parameters of the received acoustic human signal and comparing them to respective reference parameters, thereby determining whether the respective acoustic human signal indicates that the at least one person or at least one person located in the respective vehicle cabin performs or performs with an audio signal or a respective audio signal component containing a human voice and / or a respective audio component containing an instrument sound; wherein the one or more parameters are a pitch or a rhythm of the received acoustic human signal.

21. The control device (12) according to claim 20, wherein The audio processing device (8) is configured to process at least one audio signal (3) output by at least one audio output device (6) in a vehicle cabin (4), the at least one audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a singer's voice and / or an instrument sound, so as to suppress, in a suppression mode, at least one audio signal component containing a singer's voice and / or an instrument sound in the at least one audio signal (3) based on at least one acoustic human body signal (10) received by at least one audio receiving device (9).

22. Method for outputting an audio signal (3) in a vehicle cabin (4), the method comprising the steps of: outputting an audio signal (3) in a vehicle cabin (4), the audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound; receiving, while outputting the audio signal (3) in the vehicle cabin (4), at least one acoustic human body signal of at least one person (P) located in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4); controlling the operation of at least one audio processing device (8) configured to process at least one audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound that can be or is output in the vehicle cabin (4), so as to suppress, in a suppression mode, at least one audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound in the at least one audio signal (3) based on the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10); wherein the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10) is processed to determine whether the at least one person or at least one person (P) located in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4) performs with an audio signal component containing a human voice and / or an instrument sound, the audio signal component being output in the vehicle cabin (4) when an audio signal (3) comprising the respective audio signal component is output; wherein the determination is based on determining one or more parameters of the received acoustic human body signal and comparing them to respective reference parameters, thereby determining whether the respective acoustic human body signal indicates that the at least one person or at least one person located in the respective vehicle cabin performs or performs with an audio signal or a respective audio signal component containing a human voice and / or a respective audio component containing an instrument sound; wherein the one or more parameters are a pitch or a rhythm of the received acoustic human body signal.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein, The method comprises the steps of: outputting an audio signal (3) in a vehicle cabin (4) via at least one audio output device (6), the audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component containing a singer's voice and / or an instrument sound; receiving, while outputting the audio signal (3) in the vehicle cabin (4) via at least one audio receiving device (9), at least one acoustic human body signal of at least one person (P) located in the vehicle cabin (4) or vehicle cabin (4); Controlling, by means of at least one control device (12), an operation of at least one audio processing device (8), the audio processing device (8) being configured to process at least one audio signal (3) comprising at least one audio signal component which can be output or is output in the vehicle cabin (4), the audio signal component containing a singer's voice and / or an instrument sound, in order to suppress, in a suppression mode, at least one audio signal component which contains a singer's voice and / or an instrument sound in the at least one audio signal (3) on the basis of the at least one received acoustic human body signal (10).

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