Communication device

Abstract

To improve a technique relating to microphone fault diagnosis.SOLUTION: A communication device 20 comprises a control unit 25 configured to: set a reference value on the basis of a ratio calculated from magnitude of a first audio signal output to a speaker 23A and magnitude of a second audio signal obtained by collecting, with a microphone 22A, output audio of the first audio signal output from the speaker 23A; and, after setting the reference value, determine that sensitivity of the microphone 22A has deteriorated when the value obtained by dividing, by the reference value, the ratio calculated each time the first audio signal is generated from audio data received from a telephone terminal 30 outside a vehicle becomes less than a threshold value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a communication device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, techniques for diagnosing microphone failures have been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for diagnosing failures in an in-vehicle hands-free communication device, such as whether the microphone can properly receive speaker output, whether there is a microphone amplifier failure, or whether there is a cable break. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-212489 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the in-vehicle device has a disconnection detection function, it can detect disconnection failures in the microphone body, but it cannot diagnose failures in the transmission of voice due to a decrease in the sound receiving sensitivity of the microphone on the in-vehicle device, etc. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the technology related to microphone failure diagnosis.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the technology relating to microphone fault diagnosis. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A communication device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a communication device mounted on a vehicle, and includes a control unit that sets a reference value based on a ratio calculated from the magnitude of a first audio signal output to a speaker and the magnitude of a second audio signal obtained by collecting the output audio of the first audio signal output from the speaker with a microphone, and determines that the sensitivity of the microphone has decreased if, after the reference value is set, the value obtained by dividing the ratio calculated each time the first audio signal is generated from audio data received from a telephone terminal outside the vehicle by the reference value becomes less than a threshold value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, techniques for diagnosing microphone faults are improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration example of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a communication device; [Figure 3] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the communication device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0010] (Outline of the embodiment) An overview of a system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The system 1 includes a vehicle 10, a communication device 20 mounted on the vehicle 10, and a telephone terminal 30. The vehicle 10, the communication device 20, and the telephone terminal 30 are communicably connected to a network 2 including, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0011] The vehicle 10 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited thereto and may be any vehicle. The automobile may be, but is not limited to, a gasoline-powered vehicle, a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), a HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or a FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The number of vehicles 10 included in the system 1 may be determined arbitrarily. The vehicle 10 can communicate with the communication device 20 via the network 2 or by wire.

[0012] The communication device 20 is an in-vehicle communication device that is mounted on the vehicle 10 and has a function of communicating with a telephone terminal 30 outside the vehicle. The communication device 20 includes a microphone 22A and a speaker 23A. The number of microphones 22A and speakers 23A included in the communication device 20 may be determined arbitrarily. The communication device 20 is capable of communicating with the telephone terminal 30 via the network 2. The communication device 20 is capable of communicating with the vehicle 10 via the network 2 or by wire. Furthermore, the communication device 20 may be connected via Bluetooth (registered trademark) to a telephone terminal such as a mobile phone, smartphone, or smartwatch carried by a passenger 3 of the vehicle 10, and may communicate with the telephone terminal 30 via the telephone terminal carried by the passenger 3.

[0013] The telephone terminal 30 is a terminal device having a calling function, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a smart watch, or a fixed-line phone. The telephone terminal 30 is capable of communicating with the calling device 20 via the network 2.

[0014] First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described, and then details will be described later. The communication device 20 sets a reference value based on a ratio calculated from the magnitude of a first audio signal output to the speaker 23A and the magnitude of a second audio signal obtained by collecting the output audio of the first audio signal output from the speaker 23A with the microphone 22A, and after setting the reference value, determines that the sensitivity of the microphone 22A has decreased if the value obtained by dividing the ratio calculated every time the first audio signal is generated from audio data received from the telephone terminal 30 outside the vehicle by the reference value becomes less than a threshold value.

[0015] As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the passenger 3 of the vehicle 10 is unable to recognize that an event has occurred in which the voice of the passenger 3 cannot be properly heard by the other party 4, the passenger 3 can detect the decrease in sensitivity of the microphone 22A by receiving a notification from the communication device 20. Therefore, the probability that the passenger 3 of the vehicle 10 will detect the decrease in sensitivity of the microphone 22A is increased, and the technology related to microphone failure diagnosis is improved.

[0016] Next, each component of the system 1 will be described in detail.

[0017] (Vehicle configuration) 1, the vehicle 10 includes a communication unit 11, an output unit 12, and a control unit 13. The vehicle 10 further includes a communication device 20. Details of the communication device 20 will be described later.

[0018] The communication unit 11 includes both a communication interface for wireless connection to the network 2 and a communication interface for wired connection to a CAN (Controller Area Network). The communication interface for connection to the network 2 corresponds to a mobile communication standard such as, but not limited to, 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation).

[0019] The output unit 12 includes at least one audio output interface capable of outputting audio and at least one display interface capable of displaying text or video. The audio output interface is, for example, a speaker. The display interface is, for example, a display such as an LCD or an organic EL display.

[0020] The control unit 13 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor may be, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit may be, for example, but is not limited to, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The dedicated circuit may be, for example, but is not limited to, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 13 controls the overall operation of the vehicle 10.

[0021] (Communication equipment configuration) As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 20 includes a communication unit 21, an input unit 22, an output unit 23, a storage unit 24, and a control unit 25.

[0022] The communication unit 21 includes both a communication interface for wireless connection to the network 2 and a communication interface for wired connection to the CAN. The communication interface for connection to the network 2 corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard, but is not limited to these and may correspond to any communication standard.

[0023] The input unit 22 is configured to include at least one input interface capable of accepting input from a passenger 3 of the vehicle 10 using the communication device 20. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitance key, a pointing device, a camera, a touch screen provided integrally with the display of the output unit 23 described below, or a microphone 22A that collects the voice of the passenger 3. However, the input interface is not limited to these, and may include a measurement microphone (measurement microphone) for measuring the volume of output voice from the speaker 23A or the like. The number of microphones 22A included in the input unit 22 may be determined arbitrarily.

[0024] The output unit 23 is configured to include at least one audio output interface capable of outputting audio. The audio output interface is, for example, a speaker 23A. The output unit 23 may further include an amplifier 23B that amplifies an analog signal input to the speaker 23A. The number of pairs of speaker 23A and amplifier 23B included in the output unit 23 may be determined arbitrarily.

[0025] The storage unit 24 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 24 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 24 stores any information used in the operation of the communication device 20. For example, the storage unit 24 may store a system program, an application program, a database, and a reference value obtained by dividing the volume of the second audio signal by the volume of the first audio signal. The information stored in the storage unit 24 may be updatable with information obtained from the network 2 via the communication unit 21, for example.

[0026] The control unit 25 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 25 controls the overall operation of the communication device 20.

[0027] 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of the communication device 20. As shown in FIG.

[0028] The first processing unit 251 includes a microcomputer or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) that performs arithmetic processing on digital audio data.

[0029] The second processing unit 252 includes a DA converter that converts the processed digital audio data into a first audio signal in analog format.

[0030] The third processing unit 253 performs information processing such as calculating a ratio between the first audio signal and the second audio signal, setting a reference value, and determining whether microphone sensitivity has decreased, as will be described in detail below. The third processing unit 253 is configured to perform signal processing called "echo cancellation," which removes an audio signal corresponding to the output audio of the speaker 23A from the analog audio signals picked up by the microphone 22A in order to prevent so-called feedback. The third processing unit 253 may also include an AD converter for converting the "echo-canceled" audio signal into digital audio data and outputting it to the communication unit 21.

[0031] (Telephone terminal configuration) The telephone terminal 30 is a mobile phone, a smartphone, a smartwatch, or a fixed-line telephone carried by the call partner 4 outside the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1 , the telephone terminal 30 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a control unit 33.

[0032] The communication unit 31 is configured to include at least one communication module connectable to the network 2. The communication module is, for example, a communication module compatible with a mobile communication standard such as 4G or 5G. However, the communication module is not limited to this. The communication module may be compatible with any communication standard.

[0033] The storage unit 32 includes one or more memories. The memories may be, for example, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, optical memories, etc., but are not limited to these. Each memory included in the storage unit 32 may function, for example, as a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 32 stores any information used in the operation of the telephone terminal 30. For example, the storage unit 32 may store system programs, application programs, embedded software, etc. The information stored in the storage unit 32 may be updatable with information obtained from the network 2 via the communication unit 31, for example.

[0034] The control unit 33 includes at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination of these. The control unit 33 controls each unit of the telephone terminal 30 and executes processes related to the operation of the telephone terminal 30.

[0035] (Operation flow of the communication device) 2 and 3, the operation of the communication device 20 according to this embodiment will be described. This operation relates to determining whether the microphone sensitivity has decreased. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the communication device 20.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, every time digital voice data d1 is received from a call partner 4 outside the vehicle via the network 2 and the communication unit 21, the first processing unit 251 performs arithmetic processing using a microcomputer or DSP to generate digital voice data d2 and transmits the data to the second processing unit 252. The second processing unit 252 converts the voice data d2 into analog format and outputs a first voice signal a1 to the speaker 23A. The first voice signal a1 is output by the speaker 23A as output voice s1 into the vehicle cabin. The first voice signal a1 may be amplified by the amplifier 23B as necessary. Furthermore, the second processing unit 252 transmits the first voice signal a1 to the third processing unit 253 as feedback voice.

[0037] The microphone 22A picks up the output sound s1 output from the speaker 23A, the speech sound s2 of the passenger 3 of the vehicle 10, and driving noise, and outputs an analog audio signal a t Generate.

[0038] The third processing unit 253 receives the audio signal a generated by the microphone 22A. t A second audio signal a2 corresponding to the first audio signal a1 is extracted from the audio signal a1 and subjected to information processing, which will be described later.

[0039] S101: The control unit 25 measures the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 output to the speaker 23A.

[0040] The first processing unit 251 uses, for example, a DSP to perform high-speed arithmetic processing (product-sum operations) such as compression and expansion of digital audio data d1 received from the telephone terminal 30 via the network 2 and the communication unit 21, to generate audio data d2. The second processing unit 252 performs digital-to-analog conversion on the processed audio data d2 to generate a first audio signal a1 in analog format. The first audio signal a1 is output to the speaker 23A. In response to the input of the first audio signal a1, the speaker 23A outputs an output audio s1.

[0041] The third processing unit 253 measures the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 received from the second processing unit 252 as feedback audio.

[0042] S102: The control unit 25 measures the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 obtained by collecting the output audio s1, which is the first audio signal a1 output from the speaker 23A, with the microphone 22A.

[0043] The microphone 22A receives an audio signal a2 including a speech voice s2 of the passenger 3 of the vehicle 10, or a running noise of the vehicle 10, in addition to the output audio s1 from the speaker 23A. t The input unit 22 generates an audio signal a t to the third processing unit 253. The third processing unit 253 outputs the received audio signal a tThe second audio signal a2 is extracted from the signal a2, and the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 is measured.

[0044] S103: The control unit 25 calculates the ratio α0(α) between the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 output to the speaker 23A and the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 obtained by collecting the output audio s1 output from the speaker 23A based on the first audio signal a1 with the microphone 22A.

[0045] The magnitude of the audio signal is, for example, V RMS However, it is not limited to these and any other index may be used. The subscript RMS (Root Mean Square) is the average value of the change in the AC signal within a certain period of time. V RMS is calculated as the square root of the average value over one period of the square of the instantaneous value of the voltage waveform of a certain audio signal. The subscript "0" of the ratio α indicates that it is the initial value for setting the reference value β, which will be described later.

[0046] The control unit 25 may calculate the ratio α0 from the volume X of the output sound s1 of the speaker 23A and the magnitude of the second sound signal a2 obtained by collecting the output sound s1 with the microphone 22A. The volume X of the output sound s1 of the speaker 23A can be measured using a measurement microphone or the like. In this case, the magnitude of the first sound signal a1 and the volume X of the output sound s1 are converted using equation (1). Volume X (dB) = λ1 × the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 (Vrms) (1)

[0047] The third processing unit 253 receives the output voice s1, the speech voice s2 of the passenger 3, and the driving noise collected by the microphone 22A, and generates the voice signal s t The third processing unit 253 extracts the second audio signal a2 from the first audio signal a1. Meanwhile, the third processing unit 253 receives the first audio signal a1 as feedback audio from the second processing unit 252. Therefore, the third processing unit 253 can calculate the ratio α0 from the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 and the magnitude of the second audio signal a2.

[0048] The third processing unit 253 calculates the ratio α0 by dividing the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 by the magnitude of the first audio signal a1. For example, if the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 is 12 Vrms and the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 is 14 Vrms, the ratio α0 is calculated to be 85%.

[0049] S104: The control unit 25 sets a reference value β based on the ratio α0.

[0050] The third processing unit 253 may store the set reference value β (%) in the storage unit 24. In the above example, since the ratio α0 is 85%, the reference value β is set to, for example, 80%.

[0051] S105: The control unit 25 receives the voice data d1 from the telephone terminal 30 outside the vehicle.

[0052] S106: The control unit 25 calculates the ratio α1(α) every time the first audio signal a1 is generated from the received audio data d1.

[0053] The third processing unit 253 calculates the ratio α1 by dividing the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 by the magnitude of the first audio signal a1. The subscript "1" of the ratio α is added to distinguish it from the ratio α0 for the reference value β. The ratio α1 is calculated by dividing the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 by the magnitude of the first audio signal a1, similar to the method for calculating the ratio α0 in S103.

[0054] S107: The control unit 25 (third processing unit 253) determines whether the value obtained by dividing the ratio α1 by the reference value β is less than the threshold value γ. If the value is equal to or greater than the threshold value γ, the process returns to S105. If the value is less than the threshold value γ, the process proceeds to S108.

[0055] S108: The control unit 25 (third processing unit 253) determines that the sensitivity of the microphone 22A has decreased.

[0056] For example, when the reference value β is set to 80% as described above, if the magnitude of the first audio signal a1 is 14 Vrms and the magnitude of the second audio signal a2 drops to 7 Vrms, the ratio α1 becomes 50%. Here, if the threshold value γ is set to 70%, for example, the ratio obtained by dividing 50% by 80% becomes 62.5%. In this case, since 62.5% is equal to or less than the threshold value γ (70%), the third processing unit 253 determines that the sensitivity of the microphone 22A has decreased.

[0057] S109: The control unit 25 (third processing unit 253) notifies the output unit 12 of the vehicle 10 that the sensitivity of the microphone 22A has decreased, via the communication unit 11, the communication unit 21, and a communication interface such as CAN.

[0058] The third processing unit 253 notifies the passenger 3 that the sensitivity of the microphone 22A has decreased by displaying text or video on a display provided in the output unit 12 of the vehicle 10, or by audio guidance from the speaker of the output unit 12. This allows the passenger 3 to realize that an event has occurred in which their voice cannot be heard properly by the other party 4.

[0059] As described above, the communication device 20 of this embodiment sets a reference value β based on the ratio α0(α) calculated from the magnitude of the first audio signal output to the speaker 23A and the magnitude of the second audio signal obtained by collecting the output audio of the first audio signal output from the speaker 23A with the microphone 22A, and after setting the reference value β, if the value obtained by dividing the ratio α1(α), calculated each time the first audio signal is generated from the audio data received from the telephone terminal 30 outside the vehicle, by the reference value β becomes less than the threshold value γ, it is determined that the sensitivity of the microphone 22A has decreased.

[0060] With this configuration, even if the passenger 3 of the vehicle 10 is unable to recognize that the other party 4 cannot hear his or her voice properly, the passenger 3 can detect the decrease in sensitivity of the microphone 22A through the notification from the communication device 20. Therefore, the probability that the passenger 3 of the vehicle 10 will detect the decrease in sensitivity of the microphone 22A is increased, and the technology related to microphone failure diagnosis is improved.

[0061] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple components or steps can be combined or divided into one.

[0062] The arrangement of the microphone 22A and the speaker 23A installed in the vehicle 10 varies depending on the vehicle model, and therefore the volume of the speaker 23A and the volume of the sound received by the microphone 22A also vary depending on the vehicle model. Furthermore, if multiple speakers 23A are installed, the volume from each speaker 23A also varies. For this reason, the reference value β may be set for each vehicle model or for each speaker installed in the vehicle cabin.

[0063] Also, for example, an embodiment is possible in which a general-purpose computer functions as the communication device 20 according to the above-described embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content for realizing each function of the communication device 20 according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the program is read and executed by a processor. Therefore, the present disclosure can also be realized as a program executable by a processor or a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing the program.

[0064] 1 System 2 Network 3 Passengers 4. Caller 10 vehicles 11 Communications Department 12 Output section 13 Control Unit 20 Telephone device 21 Communications Department 22 Input section 22A Microphone 23 Output section 23A Speaker 23B Amplifier 24 Memory section 25 Control Unit 251 First Processing Section 252 Second Processing Section 253 Third Processing Department 30 Telephone terminals 31 Communications Department 32 Storage section 33 Control Unit

Claims

[Claim 1] A communication device mounted on a vehicle, A communication device comprising: a control unit that sets a reference value based on a ratio calculated from the magnitude of a first audio signal output to a speaker and the magnitude of a second audio signal obtained by collecting the output audio of the first audio signal output from the speaker with a microphone; and that determines that the sensitivity of the microphone has decreased if, after the reference value is set, the value obtained by dividing the ratio calculated each time the first audio signal is generated from audio data received from a telephone terminal outside the vehicle by the reference value becomes less than a threshold value.

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