Method for controlling the play of communication between a hands-free device and a user in a motor vehicle and hands-free device

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for controlling a communication play-out between a hands-free device and a user in a motor vehicle, wherein for the communication play-out at least one loudspeaker electronically coupled to the hands-free device and / or at least one sound signal emitted from the at least one loudspeaker is controlled and / or at least partially changed by a control device electronically coupled to the hands-free device, wherein the following method steps are provided: - detecting parameters for determining a vehicle usage situation by at least one first detection device electronically coupled to the hands-free device; - detecting a person in the environment of the motor vehicle by at least one second detection device electronically coupled to the hands-free device depending on the parameters of the vehicle usage situation; - detecting a position of the person relative to the motor vehicle; and - changing the volume and / or the quality of speech intelligibility of the sound signal emitted from the at least one loudspeaker and at least partially directed at the position of the person by the control device depending on the detected position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a method for controlling communication playback between a hands-free device and a user in a motor vehicle, according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to such a hands-free device. Background Technology

[0002] Hands-free devices in motor vehicles provide the possibility of making communication or having conversations without using a mobile terminal or mobile phone. In particular, this should help avoid accidents that could occur due to the driver's inattention while holding a mobile phone. In this case, measures are provided to protect the communication playback, such as through the use of secure connections, noise reduction functions, and the placement of the various components of the hands-free device.

[0003] US 2015 / 0137998 A1 discloses a motor vehicle audio system including an audio detector for detecting ambient noise outside the vehicle and an audio processing module for processing the ambient noise and identifying events outside the vehicle. Based on the events, warnings are provided to the occupants.

[0004] GB 2565518 A also discloses a noteworthy in-vehicle privacy system.

[0005] However, there is a problem that when the hands-free device is in operation, noise suppression from inside the vehicle to the vehicle environment is insufficient to prevent third parties from eavesdropping in the environment adjacent to the vehicle. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and a hands-free device by which the hands-free device is designed to suppress noise from inside the motor vehicle to the motor vehicle environment in a particularly effective manner.

[0007] This objective is achieved by the method according to the invention, having the features of claim 1, and the hands-free device according to the invention. An advantageous design of the method according to the invention is considered an advantageous embodiment of the hands-free device according to the invention, wherein the hands-free device particularly includes means for performing the method steps. Advantageous improvements of the invention are described by way of the dependent claims, the following description, and the accompanying drawings.

[0008] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for controlling communication playback between a hands-free device and a user in a motor vehicle, wherein, for communication playback, at least one speaker, particularly multiple speakers, electronically coupled to the hands-free device is controlled by a control device electronically coupled to the hands-free device. It is proposed that corresponding sound signals emitted from the respective speakers for communication playback be altered.

[0009] In order to achieve the objectives of the present invention, a method is provided that is particularly effective in designing noise suppression of hands-free devices from inside a motor vehicle to the motor vehicle environment. According to the present invention, a number of method steps described below are provided.

[0010] The first method step proposes detecting parameters for determining the vehicle's usage context via at least one first detection device electronically coupled to the hands-free device. Therefore, during a telephone call via the hands-free device of a motor vehicle, the vehicle's usage context is determined for this purpose by the detection device installed in the motor vehicle, such as driving on a highway, waiting at a red light, parking in front of an outdoor swimming pool, or with the sunroof or side window open. For example, the vehicle's speed and geographical location are also detected when answering or making a telephone call. If the vehicle is driving at high speed in a sparsely populated area, it can be assumed that the telephone call will not be heard by random bystanders, as they can only see and hear the vehicle for a short period. On the other hand, if the vehicle is driving slowly or stationary near an outdoor swimming pool or market with the sunroof open, it can be assumed that there are many random bystanders who can listen to the call for an extended period.

[0011] In the second method step, based on parameters of the vehicle context, at least one second detection device electronically coupled to the hands-free device detects people in the environment surrounding the motor vehicle, particularly in the immediate vicinity. Therefore, in addition to the vehicle usage context, potential eavesdropping scenarios are identified. These eavesdropping scenarios can depend particularly on the expected density of people at a specific location, and especially on time, day of the week, weather, etc. These eavesdropping scenarios can be determined by the second detection device installed in the vehicle.

[0012] The third method step proposes detecting the position of a person relative to the motor vehicle. Therefore, in addition to potential eavesdropping situations, the second detection device can also detect people and their positions in the immediate vicinity of the motor vehicle.

[0013] The fourth method step proposes that a control device, based on the detected position, alters the volume and / or speech intelligibility / clarity quality / adjustment of a sound signal emitted from at least one speaker and at least partially directed towards the person's position. For example, a second detection device detects the position of a person standing in a motor vehicle environment and transmits the position data to the control device. The control device is then configured to control the corresponding speakers whose sound signals are at least partially directed towards that position, such that the volume of these sound signals is at least partially reduced. Through these measures, the sound signal is reduced so that a person in the vehicle environment is essentially unable to hear the communication playback, because directional noise reduction is performed based on the person's position.

[0014] Therefore, the tone quality and volume of the sound signal produced by the speaker will be altered. A good speech intelligibility system should provide clear, concise, and easily audible speech output, but it is proposed here that this speech output be altered precisely according to the person's position so that the person can hear the speech output emitted through the speaker as little as possible or as inaccurately as possible. For this purpose, the direction of the sound signal toward the person is at least partially altered. Thus, in particular, sound can be played particularly strongly in certain areas of the interior space of a motor vehicle, while sound can be played particularly weakly in other areas of the interior space. Therefore, the hands-free device has the possibility of spatial adjustment, through which audio quality and comfort are improved during calls and therefore during communication playback, especially in a way that adapts it to the acoustic conditions of the interior space.

[0015] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, a first detection device is provided as an optical detection device, and / or a second detection device is provided as an optical detection device. Therefore, specifically, the first detection device can be configured as an internal camera, and the second detection device can be configured as an external camera, whereby corresponding images from the interior space and images from the surrounding environment are detected and transmitted to a control device for analysis. The control device, for example, is configured as an electronic computing device and analyzes the images using software or algorithms to detect corresponding parameters or positions of persons in the vehicle environment. Based on the detected data and parameters, the control device can perform further noise reduction measures. For example, the vehicle's external camera captures an image of a person located on the sidewalk to the right of a parked motor vehicle. The image data is evaluated in the electronic computing device or the vehicle's control unit and, for example, assigned to an object category with pixel accuracy using computer-aided vision (CV) methods. Thus, people in the images can be identified and located.

[0016] In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the first detection device is provided as a sensor device, and / or the second detection device is provided as a sensor device. For example, both detection devices can be configured as a microphone, an ADAS signal receiver, or a sensor device with a motion sensor that detects the position of windows and sunroofs, vehicle speed, and people in the environment.

[0017] In another advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is proposed that a trajectory be detected from changes in the position of a person in the environment of a motor vehicle using a second detection device. Except in potential eavesdropping situations, a second detection device, such as a sensor device configured to have external sensors of the motor vehicle, can be used to detect a person in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle, particularly by using components further arranged for more efficient detection parameters and positions, such as cameras, lidar, radar, ultrasound, etc. Therefore, it is proposed to detect people and trajectories from changes in position, thereby determining the person's position at any given time, particularly their position relative to the vehicle orientation in the immediate vicinity of the motor vehicle. Thus, a control device can continuously perform noise reduction control based on the moving person. In the case where an optical detection device is used as the second detection device, the person's motion relative to the motor vehicle, i.e., motion relative to the camera orientation, which is fixed relative to the vehicle orientation, can be determined from a sequence of images / camera images captured continuously in time.

[0018] One design of the invention has also proven advantageous, wherein the control device is wirelessly coupled to a data center. Thus, in addition to vehicle usage scenarios, potential eavesdropping scenarios can be identified, for example, acquiring expected density data of people at a specific location, as well as data such as time, day of the week, and weather. In this case, the eavesdropping scenario can be transmitted from the central data center to the vehicle via a wireless data communication device. Therefore, for example, it can be determined that the weather is fine due to sunshine and high temperatures, and that it is Sunday, which defines a particularly high pedestrian flow and requires particularly strong noise reduction.

[0019] One embodiment of the invention has also proven advantageous, wherein another quality of volume and / or speech intelligibility in the environment of a motor vehicle is detected by a third detection device. Here, the third detection device is, for example, configured as an external microphone or having multiple external microphones. The external microphones on the motor vehicle can detect sound radiated from the inside out, and the resulting sound pressure level and speech intelligibility can be recorded or determined by a scattering / diffusion device or an electronic computing device. For example, speech intelligibility can be measured using a subthreshold / extra-threshold STIPA test signal (“Speech Transmission Index for Public Address systems”) by performing amplitude modulation of noise in a frequency range, for example, 125 Hz–10 kHz, and inferring or quantifying the reduced speech intelligibility based on the loss of modulation depth in the recorded external microphone signal.

[0020] Furthermore, an advantageous design of the invention has been proven in that the control device at least partially alters the sound signal based on another volume and / or another quality of speech intelligibility detected in the environment of the motor vehicle. In particular, adjustments for the hands-free device can also be performed. In this case, the adjustment depends on various factors, such as the type of motor vehicle, the hands-free device, and the user's personal preferences. Thus, although the control device, acting as a volume and / or quality adjuster, is controlled by the user, for example via a steering wheel, a third detection device detects the volume and / or speech intelligibility quality reaching the outside and sends at least one signal to the control device to at least partially reduce the volume and / or at least partially alter the quality of speech intelligibility based on the detected position or trajectory of the person in the environment. In particular, the frequency can also be adjusted by an equalizer, such that the sound reaching the environment is at least partially reduced. For example, the frequency of a frequency band can be selectively increased or decreased.

[0021] Also advantageous is the design of the invention, in which an individual user is detected via a fourth detection device. Individual users of a vehicle can be identified or detected by various methods, such as through image recording from a fourth detection device configured as an internal camera. Other common methods include, for example, facial recognition via machine vision (computer vision), through a personalized vehicle key serving as the fourth detection device, or through a personal PIN code, allowing recorded user or passenger data to be explicitly matched to an individual. Therefore, physiological and driving-specific characteristics / data of the vehicle detected by the fourth detection device installed in the motor vehicle can be processed and matched to an individual. For example, possible variations in voice clarity may depend on the user inside, where the frequency of changes differs between younger and older users.

[0022] Finally, in another advantageous embodiment of the invention, the voice signal is at least partially controlled by a control device based on detected data of the individual user. By using information about the user, driver, or passenger, for example through a fourth detection device configured as an internal sensor system, a user profile can be determined or expanded to perform user-related changes to the voice signal, thereby protecting privacy. For example, the user's age or voice characteristics can be approximated from the user profile or from images taken by an interior space camera, and settings for assistive devices can be controlled.

[0023] The second aspect relates to a hands-free device for a motor vehicle, comprising an electronically coupled control device for controlling the playback of communication between the hands-free device and a user. The control device is further configured to at least partially control a plurality of speakers electronically coupled to the hands-free device and corresponding volumes of sound signals emitted from the respective speakers for the playback of communication. It is proposed that at least one first detection device electronically coupled to the hands-free device can detect parameters for determining the vehicle usage context, and at least one second detection device electronically coupled to the hands-free device and based on the parameters of the vehicle context can detect a person in the environment of the motor vehicle and their position relative to the motor vehicle. The control device can reduce the volume of the sound signals emitted from the speakers and at least partially directed towards the person's position based on the position. For example, the first detection device is configured as an optical detection device and / or the second detection device is configured as an optical detection device. Optionally, the first detection device is configured as a sensor device and / or the second detection device is configured as a sensor device. The second detection device can detect trajectories from changes in the position of a person in the environment of the motor vehicle. The control device can also be wirelessly coupled to a data center, particularly for acquiring environmental data. The third detection device can detect the volume in the environment of the motor vehicle, thereby enabling at least partial control of the sound signal via a control device based on the detected volume in the environment of the motor vehicle. The fourth detection device can detect individual users, thereby enabling at least partial control of the sound signal via a control device based on the data of the detected individual users.

[0024] In other words, by means of the described method and the hands-free device described in the vehicle, external eavesdropping on conversations conducted via the hands-free device in the vehicle can be prevented, or at least the speech intelligibility outside the vehicle can be reduced, making it quite difficult to eavesdrop on conversations in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. Therefore, the subject matter of the invention allows for increased privacy for the driver and passengers, thereby enhancing the sense of luxury in the vehicle through digital means (“digital luxury”). Attached Figure Description

[0025] Further advantages, features, and details of the present invention are derived from the following description of preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Without departing from the scope of the invention, the features and combinations thereof mentioned in the specification, and the features and combinations thereof mentioned and / or shown individually in the accompanying drawings, may be used not only in their respective combinations, but also in other combinations or individually.

[0026] in:

[0027] Figure 1 A first image diagram is shown illustrating a first design scheme for a method of controlling communication playback between a hands-free device and a user in a motor vehicle using a data network.

[0028] Figure 2 A second image diagram is shown to illustrate a second design scheme for the method, wherein the position or trajectory of a person is detected;

[0029] Figure 3 A third image diagram illustrating a third design scheme for using a microphone is shown;

[0030] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a possible process of this method is shown; and

[0031] Figure 5 Another flowchart illustrating a possible alternative process for this method is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0032] In the accompanying drawings, identical and functionally equivalent elements have the same reference numerals.

[0033] Figure 1 A first image diagram illustrating a first design scheme for controlling communication playback between a hands-free device 12 and a user 14 in a motor vehicle 10 is shown. It is proposed that a control device 16 electronically coupled to the hands-free device 12 at least partially controls and / or alters the volume and / or speech clarity quality of a plurality of speakers 18 electronically coupled to the hands-free device 12 and the corresponding sound signals 20 emitted from the respective speakers 18 for communication playback.

[0034] In the first method step S1, parameters for determining the vehicle usage context are detected by at least one first detection device 22 electronically coupled to the hands-free device 12. Therefore, during use of the hands-free device 12 of the motor vehicle 10, the vehicle usage context is determined via the first detection device 22 installed in the motor vehicle 10 and / or via another second detection device 30 arranged on the motor vehicle 10. Parameters such as those for an outdoor swimming pool, a market, or an open sunroof in a forest can also be recorded. In another second method step S2, based on the parameters of the vehicle usage context, at least one second detection device 30 electronically coupled to the hands-free device 12 detects people 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10, particularly in the immediate vicinity of the environment 26. Therefore, in addition to the vehicle usage context, potential eavesdropping scenarios are also determined. This eavesdropping scenario can depend particularly on the expected density of people 24 at a particular location, and particularly on time, day of the week, weather, etc. In the third method step S3, it is proposed that the position of the person 24 relative to the motor vehicle 10 be detected. Therefore, in addition to the potential eavesdropping situation, the second detection device 30 can also detect the person 24 and their position 32 in the environment 26 of the vehicle 10. In the fourth method step S4, based on the position 32, the control device 16 implements a change in the sound signal 20 emitted from the speaker 18 and at least partially directed towards the position 32 of the person 24, specifically a reduction in volume and a change in the quality of speech intelligibility. For example, the second detection device 30 detects the position 32 of the person 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10 and transmits the resulting position data to the control device 16. The control device 16 is then configured to control the corresponding speaker 18 whose sound signal 20 is at least partially directed towards the direction of the position 32, such that the volume and speech intelligibility quality of these sound signals 20 are at least partially reduced. Through these measures, the sound signal 20 can be altered so that the person 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10 is essentially unable to eavesdrop on the communication playback, because the method performs directional noise alteration and / or noise reduction and / or quality alteration based on the position 32 of the person 24.

[0035] Therefore, in particular, Figure 1A motor vehicle 10 is shown, wherein a first detection device 22 is provided as an optical detection device and / or a second detection device 30 is provided as an optical detection device, thereby detecting a camera image of the user / driver 14 using the first detection device 22 configured as an internal camera. Furthermore, the environment 26 is detected by the second detection device 30 configured as an external camera. The images are transmitted to a control device 16 for evaluation, wherein the control device may be configured as an electronic computing device, or electronically coupled to such a device, or have such a device. Thus, the control device 16 detects the vehicle usage context and potential eavesdropping scenarios, and identifies a person 24 in the adjacent environment 26 and the person's position 32 relative to the vehicle. Furthermore, the control device 16 receives information from an internal microphone 22a and an external microphone 30a to enable possible adjustments for noise reduction and / or quality variations, which will be discussed in more detail in further figures.

[0036] In this configuration, the control device 16 is wirelessly coupled to the data center 34. Thus, in addition to determining the vehicle's usage scenario, potential eavesdropping scenarios can also be identified; for example, data on the expected density of people 24 at a specific location, as well as data such as time, day of the week, and weather, can be acquired. In this case, the eavesdropping scenario can be transmitted from the central data center 34 to the vehicle 10 via the wireless data communication device 33.

[0037] Figure 2 A second image diagram illustrating a second design scheme for the method is shown, in which the position or trajectory of a person 24 is detected. In this case, the position of the person 24 or the trajectory of the change in position of the person 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10 is detected by a second detection device 30, particularly by using other arranged components for more efficient detection of parameters and position 32, such as cameras, lidar, radar, ultrasound, etc. Therefore, it is proposed to detect the person 24 and the trajectory of the position or change in position, thereby determining the person's position 32 at any time, particularly the position 32 relative to the vehicle orientation in the immediate vicinity of the motor vehicle 10. Thus, the control device 16 can continuously perform sound change control based on whether the person 24 is stationary or moving. Therefore, when an optical detection device is used as the second detection device 30, the movement of the person 24 relative to the motor vehicle 10, i.e., the movement relative to the camera orientation, which is fixed relative to the vehicle orientation, can be determined from a sequence of images / camera images captured continuously in time. Figure 2 In the case shown, the driver's side speaker 18a is controlled to be louder than other speakers 18b located near the person 24, and in this case, compared to speakers located on the passenger side and in the middle area of ​​the vehicle 10.

[0038] Figure 3A third image is shown illustrating a third design scheme for the method using a microphone. Specifically, the first detection device 22 and / or the second detection device 30 are provided as corresponding sensor devices, each having its own microphone. In particular, the control device 16 thus receives information from the internal microphone 22a and the external microphone 30a to enable possible adjustments to the noise reduction. Thus, a motor vehicle 10 is shown, in which a speaker 18 plays voice messages or telephone calls, and an audio signal 20 is recorded outside the vehicle via the external microphone 30a and transmitted to the control device 16 for evaluation, thereby enabling an adjustment loop. The control device 16 can perform targeted noise reduction using the audio signal A recorded in addition to the nominal values.

[0039] Specifically, voice messages or telephone conversations played by the internal speaker 18 are recorded and analyzed or quantified by the control device 16. Thus, for example, the quality of automatic transcription can be quantified at the time of creation, for example, through statistics on the exact probability of recognition for each individual word. This gives a value Q1 for the quantified speech intelligibility within the vehicle. Simultaneously, speech intelligibility outside the vehicle Q2 is determined by the external microphone 30a. The values ​​of Q1 and Q2, or the values ​​determined therefrom, such as the ratio of Q1 to Q2, are transmitted to the control device 16, which then alters the manipulation of the speaker, i.e., changes the resulting audio signal or sound signal A, such that the dialogue can be recognized to the maximum extent inside the vehicle 10, and to the minimum extent in the external area of ​​the vehicle, i.e., in the environment 26; for this purpose, the quotient Q1 / Q2 can be maximized.

[0040] Figure 4A flowchart illustrating a possible flow of the method is shown, which presents a first query 38 after start 36, inquiring whether a dialogue should be played through the speaker 18 of the motor vehicle 10. In the case of "No" (N), and thus in the case of the first query 38 being denied, the method stops by a stop command 40 and provides a restart 36 via a first loop 42. In the case of "Yes" (J), and thus in the case of confirming the first query 38, three exemplary commands 46, 48, and 50 are executed in a first control device 44, specifically designed as an electronic computing device, wherein, by the first command 46, parameters dependent on the vehicle usage context are determined based on data detected by a first detection device 22, for example, configured as a sensor device. By the second command 48, a potential eavesdropping situation is determined by the second detection device 30, configured as, for example, an external sensor, detecting environmental parameters such as weather data. Information may also be received from a data center 34 wirelessly coupled to the first control device 44 and considered together for noise reduction and / or quality modification. The third command 50 should identify the person 24 by means of, for example, a second detection device 30 configured as an external sensor detecting the position 32 of the person 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10. Through a combination of data and / or information and / or parameters, a control device 44 configured as an electronic computing device can send a fourth command 52 to the second control device 54 to perform control 56 on the speaker 18 in a manner relevant to the vehicle's usage context. These measures reduce the sound signal 20 so that the person 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10 is essentially unable to hear the communication playback, as directional noise reduction and / or quality alteration is performed based on the position 32 of the person 24. Then, through a second loop 58, the method restarts from the beginning 36.

[0041] Figure 5 Another flowchart illustrating a possible alternative process of the method is shown, wherein another command 60 is issued in a first control device 44 configured as an electronic computing device, wherein the determination is as follows: Figure 3 The quantization of the speech content recognition is described, and for this purpose, data is detected by the internal and external microphones 22a, 30a of the corresponding detection devices 14, 30. Therefore, further manipulation 62 of the speaker 18 is performed by the second control device 54 to reduce the quality, volume, and overall quality of the sound signal 20 entering the external environment 26. However, in the motor vehicle 10, the quality of the sound signal 20 should be maintained or improved. Next is another query 64, in which the question is asked whether the session should be ended, thereby terminating the communication playback.

[0042] In the case of "No" (N), and therefore in the case of further inquiry 64 being denied, the first control device 44, configured as an electronic computing device, is again entrusted to acquire data and / or information and / or parameters via loop 66 so as to be able to repeatedly reduce the noise in the environment 26 at predetermined time intervals. In the case of "Yes" (J), and therefore in the case of further inquiry 64 being confirmed, the method restarts from the beginning 36 via the second loop 58.

[0043] Specifically, to operate this method, the hands-free device 12 for the motor vehicle 10 is provided with an electronically coupled control device 16 for controlling the communication playback between the hands-free device 12 and the user 14. This control device 16 is configured to at least partially control the volume of a plurality of speakers 18 electronically coupled to the hands-free device 10 and the corresponding volume of the sound signals 20 emitted from the respective speakers 18 for communication playback. Here, parameters for determining the vehicle usage context can be detected by a first detection device 22 at least electronically coupled to the hands-free device 12, and the person 24 in the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10 and the position 32 of the person 24 relative to the motor vehicle 10 can be detected by a second detection device 30 at least electronically coupled to the hands-free device 12 and based on the parameters of the vehicle usage context. Also by controlling the device 16 and based on the position 32, the volume of the sound signal 20 emitted from the speakers 18 and at least partially directed towards the position 32 of the person 24 can be reduced, making it possible to reduce noise entering the environment 26.

[0044] In other words, in Figures 1 to 5 The document specifically describes three technical implementations for preventing or at least reducing the speech clarity outside the vehicle 10, which make it quite difficult to eavesdrop on the conversation of the user 14, and these technical implementations can be implemented individually or in combination.

[0045] In this scenario, in the first embodiment, telephone calls made via the hands-free device 12 can be played back in a context-sensitive manner through the built-in audio system in the vehicle 10, thereby increasing the privacy of the user 14 without significantly degrading the quality of the voice playback. For this purpose, as... Figure 2 neutralization Figure 4 As shown in the flowchart, the speaker 18 is manipulated in a context-dependent manner during voice playback.

[0046] Therefore, for example, when person 24 is located on the right side of vehicle 10, left speaker 18 can be responsible for playback. If person 24 moves from the right rear to the left front, the control of speaker 18 can be gradually performed in vehicle 10 from the left front to the right rear, in coordination with the trajectory of person 24. This effect can be enhanced by using a special 3D audio playback format. Furthermore, when person 24 is directly next to vehicle 10, the volume of sound signal 20 or audio signal and the resulting overradiation / scattering are also affected. It can be temporarily reduced.

[0047] In the second embodiment, the frequency-dependent sound insulation characteristics of the vehicle 10—which can vary between vehicle types and equipment characteristics—can be utilized to reduce the quality of speech signals in the environment 26 of the vehicle 10 by “pitch adjustment” (uniform variation across all frequencies) or “pitch correction” (various frequency-dependent variations) of the sound signal 20 or audio signal, or by filtering the sound signal 20 or audio signal 20 by alternatively or additionally using an equalizer (a combination of high-pass and low-pass filters).

[0048] Specifically, as the low frequencies of the sound signal 20 or audio signal increase, a competition arises between two different cancellation effects. On the one hand, the fact that generally higher frequencies are damped more extensively by the internal damping of the vehicle 10 than lower frequencies can be utilized, allowing a uniform increase in these frequencies to result in a relative increase in sound insulation. However, on the other hand, depending on the acoustic characteristics of the sound signal 20 or speech signal, low resonant frequencies may emerge, which are typically perceived subtly and become noticeably louder after an increase in frequency. Therefore, the increased lower resonant frequencies will particularly disadvantageously increase the perceived speech intelligibility outside the vehicle 10.

[0049] Therefore, in the absence of corresponding sound characteristics with low resonant frequencies of sound signal 20 or speech signal, for the young user 14, the low frequencies of sound signal 20 or audio signal can be increased, thereby actively improving the sound insulation of vehicle 10 without significantly reducing perceived speech intelligibility. Furthermore, it can be identified from the user profile, either by wearing a hearing aid or based on hearing tests conducted in vehicle 10, that the increase in low frequencies is only possible within a specific frequency range without unduly reducing the user's speech intelligibility.

[0050] Optionally, in order to improve speech clarity, changes and / or distortions in voice features, such as in the case of dialects or accents, can be compensated for by a special codec that can adjust pitch and modify speech in such a way that the original voice features are preserved or additionally harmonized.

[0051] In the alternative of reducing the low frequencies of the sound signal 20 or audio signal alone, the speech intelligibility inside the vehicle 10 is reduced only slightly because the high-frequency audio signal components can be well perceived, and it is these high-frequency sound signal components or audio signal components that are attenuated in the environment 26 adjacent to the vehicle 10 by the sound insulation of the vehicle 10.

[0052] The adjustment strategy for “pitch adjustment” or “pitch correction” depends accordingly on the frequency-dependent sound insulation characteristics of the vehicle 10—which vary relative to the audio system within the vehicle's interior space and relative to the measurement location of the vehicle 10—and on the acoustic characteristics of the regenerated speech signal from a telephone call. The frequency and direction-dependent sound insulation characteristics can be acoustically measured during the development of the vehicle 10, and the acoustic characteristics can be determined in real time from the speech signal through digital audio signal processing.

[0053] In the third embodiment, by using an external microphone 30a on the vehicle 10, the sound signal 20 or audio signal can be modified such that the sound signal 20 or audio signal, particularly speech, is perceived with the best possible speech intelligibility within the vehicle's interior space, but with reduced speech intelligibility in the environment 26 of the vehicle 10. For this purpose, a subthreshold STIPA test signal or natural language processing (NLP) methods, such as automatically converting speech content into text, can be used.

[0054] If no test signal is used, the general quality difference dG of speech intelligibility between the interior space and the environment 26 of the motor vehicle 10 can be determined by measuring / determining / quantifying the quality GI of speech intelligibility inside and the quality GA of speech intelligibility outside, and determining the ratio of the two values, in particular the quotient dG = GA / GI.

[0055] If the same method used to determine speech intelligibility quality is applied to the sound signal 20 or audio signal played in the vehicle 10 and the sound signal 20 or audio signal recorded in the environment 26 of the vehicle 10, or audio information recorded simultaneously by internal and external microphones 22a, 30a, the corresponding quality of speech intelligibility can be determined / quantified and compared.

[0056] For example, the quality of speech intelligibility can be determined from the automatic transcription of a dialogue using NLP methods. Therefore, it can be said that, in this case, speech playback in vehicle 10 can be improved in such a way that the transcription in the environment is the worst and the transcription in the interior is the best, or a weighted average between the two extremes can be achieved. Thus, for example, the intelligibility GI of the dialogue in the interior might be weighted more heavily than the poorer intelligibility GA in the environment, e.g., dG = GA / GI^alpha, etc.

[0057] The quality of automatic transcription can be quantified, for example, by creating statistics on the explicit recognition probability of each word. This yields a value GI for the quantified speech intelligibility inside the vehicle 10. Simultaneously, the speech intelligibility GA outside the vehicle 10 is determined via an external microphone 30a. The values ​​of GI and GA, or values ​​determined therefrom, such as the ratio of GI to GA, are transmitted to a control device 16, which then modifies the speaker operation, i.e., alters the generated sound signal 20 or audio signal, to maximize the recognition of dialogue content inside the vehicle 10 and minimize the recognition of dialogue content in the environment 26 of the vehicle 10. For this purpose, the ratio GA / GI can be minimized using optimization methods known in the art, such as... Figure 3 As shown.

[0058] Motor vehicle 10 can generally be any vehicle on land, water, or in the air. Therefore, motor vehicle 10 can be a (road) motor vehicle 10, such as a passenger car, truck, or bus, but can also be an aircraft, vessel, emergency vehicle 10, construction machinery, agricultural, or military vehicle 10. In particular, it can also be a rail vehicle, such as a train, maglev train, or a cabin that slides on an air cushion or floats magnetically in a tube that is essentially airless. User 14 can be any person in motor vehicle 10, i.e., a driver, passenger, or other person in a vehicle used for transporting people.

[0059] Furthermore, the automatic enhancement of the aforementioned sound signal 20 or audio signal may additionally depend on the vehicle use and listening context, as well as the person 24 identified in the environment 26 of the vehicle 10. For this purpose, as... Figure 5 As shown in the flowchart, multiple microphones located at different positions outside the vehicle 10 are used to reduce the recognition quality of the dialogue content through changes in the audio signal of the external microphone 30a closest to the person 24.

[0060] A relatively valuable-looking luxury car is stopped at a red light, and the driver is engaged in a business conversation that may contain confidential or secret information. The current vehicle usage environment (stationary vehicle 10) and the potential eavesdropping scenario (a densely populated urban area) determine a greater need to modify the playback of the telephone conversation via a loudspeaker installed in vehicle 10 to best protect the privacy of user 14. To this end, the low frequencies of the sound signal 20, or audio signal, are first reduced. Because user 14 of vehicle 10 is identified as relatively young based on a stored user profile and / or images from an internal camera evaluated using computer-aided visual methods, his speech intelligibility inside vehicle 10 is only slightly or not reduced, as the high-frequency audio signal components are still well perceived by user 14.

[0061] Furthermore, the characteristics of audio signal playback are optimized by comparing internal and external speech intelligibility based on internal and external microphone recordings and quantification of speech intelligibility quality. This ensures that the sound signal 20, or audio signal, particularly speech, is perceived with optimal possible speech intelligibility within the vehicle's interior space, but with reduced speech intelligibility in the environment of vehicle 10. The optimal values ​​for the playback parameters may depend, for example, on the voice characteristics of user 14 and another person involved in the telephone conversation. If a person 24 is now standing next to vehicle 10, this is identified by vehicle sensors, and the position of vehicle 10 and its trajectory relative to vehicle 10 are further determined. Based on this information, the internal speaker 18 can be controlled to further reduce the radiation of the sound signal 20 toward the person 24.

[0062] In other words, this invention describes context-dependent control of communication playback in a vehicle to protect privacy.

Claims

1. A method for controlling communication playback between a hands-free device (12) in a motor vehicle (10) and a user (14), wherein, for communication playback, a control device (16) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12) controls at least one speaker (18) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12) and / or at least partially modifies at least one sound signal (20) emitted from the at least one speaker (18), the method comprising the following method steps: - Parameters for determining the vehicle usage scenario are detected by at least one first detection device (22) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12); - Detecting a person (24) in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10) by means of at least one second detection device (30) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12); - Detect the position (32) of the person (24) relative to the motor vehicle (10); Its features are, During a telephone call via the hands-free device (12), the person (24) in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10) is detected according to parameters of the vehicle usage context, and the volume and / or speech clarity of the sound signal (20) emitted from the at least one speaker (18) and at least partially directed toward the location (32) of the person (24) is changed by the control device (16) according to the detected location (32) of the person (24).

2. The method according to claim 1, Its features are, The first detection device (22) is provided as an optical detection device, and / or the second detection device (30) is provided as an optical detection device.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Its features are, The first detection device (22) is provided as a sensor device, and / or the second detection device (30) is provided as a sensor device.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, Its features are, The second detection device (30) detects the trajectory from the positional changes of a person (24) in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10).

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, Its features are, The control device (16) is wirelessly coupled to the data center (34).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, Its features are, Another quality of volume and / or speech intelligibility in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10) is detected by a third detection device (36).

7. The method according to claim 6, Its features are, The control device (16) alters the sound signal (20) at least partially based on another volume and / or another quality of speech intelligibility detected in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, Its features are, Individual users are detected by the fourth detection device (38).

9. The method according to claim 8, Its features are, The control device (16) controls the sound signal (20) at least partially based on the detected data of the individual user.

10. A hands-free device (12) for a motor vehicle (10), the hands-free device comprising an electronically coupled control device (16) for controlling the playback of communication between the hands-free device (12) and a user (14), the control device being configured to at least partially control a plurality of speakers (18) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12) and corresponding volumes of sound signals (20) for the playback of communication emitted from the respective speakers (18), wherein, The device is capable of detecting parameters for determining the vehicle usage context by at least one first detection device (22) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12), and is capable of detecting a person (24) in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10) and the position (32) of the person (24) relative to the motor vehicle (10) by at least one second detection device (30) electronically coupled to the hands-free device (12). Its features are, During a telephone call via the hands-free device (12), the person (24) in the environment (26) of the motor vehicle (10) can be detected by the second detection device (30) and according to parameters of the vehicle usage context, and the volume of the sound signal emitted from the speaker (18) and at least partially directed to the location (32) of the person (24) can be reduced according to the location (32) of the person (24).

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