Information processing device and bell buzzer unit

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing device and a bell buzzer unit capable of generating an optimized audio signal according to the travel section. [Solution] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit, a signal generation unit, and an audio processing unit. The acquisition unit acquires driving information detected by a group of sensors installed in the vehicle and location information relating to the current location of the vehicle. The signal generation unit generates an audio signal corresponding to the type of driving information. The audio processing unit determines, based on the location information, whether the current location of the vehicle belongs to a predetermined specific section, and when it determines that the current location belongs to the specific section, modulates the audio signal with a modulation scheme corresponding to the specific section.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device and a bell buzzer unit installed on the driver's cab of a railway vehicle, for example.

Background Art

[0002] On the driver's cab of a railway vehicle, in addition to various indicators that display driving information necessary for vehicle operation such as a speedometer, an overhead line voltage meter, and a pressure gauge, a bell buzzer unit that emits an alarm sound corresponding to the above driving information is installed. Here, due to ambient noise, it becomes difficult to hear the ringing sound or voice (broadcast) emitted from the device, and there are cases where the driver cannot recognize the sound (voice).

[0003] Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, there is proposed an audio output level control device that has the feature of automatically adjusting the volume of an audio reproduction device according to the level of ambient noise in a train or the like where the change in ambient environmental noise is large, thereby always controlling to an appropriate volume and at the same time improving sound leakage to the surroundings.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, even when the ambient noise level is the same, there is a tendency for a difference in the recognition degree of the reproduced sound to occur when traveling in a tunnel or on a railway bridge, and therefore it is desirable to be able to optimize the reproduced voice according to the type of these traveling sections.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device and a bell buzzer unit that can generate an audio signal optimized according to a traveling section.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit, a signal generation unit, and an audio processing unit. The acquisition unit acquires driving information detected by a group of sensors installed on the vehicle, and location information relating to the vehicle's current position. The signal generation unit generates an audio signal corresponding to the type of driving information. The audio processing unit determines, based on the location information, whether the vehicle's current location belongs to a predetermined specific section, and when it determines that the current location belongs to the specific section, modulates the audio signal using a modulation scheme appropriate to the specific section.

[0008] The modulation of the audio signal may include a process to increase the amplitude of the audio signal.

[0009] The modulation of the audio signal may include a process of changing the frequency of the audio signal.

[0010] The information processing device may further include a storage unit that stores a plurality of different audio data depending on the type of driving information. In this case, the signal generation unit may be configured to generate the audio signal based on one or more audio data corresponding to the driving information acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0011] The audio processing unit may be configured to perform a process of synthesizing each of the generated audio signals when the signal generation unit generates an audio signal based on the plurality of audio data.

[0012] When the plurality of audio data includes a first audio data and a second audio data having a higher priority than the first audio data, the audio processing unit may be configured to perform a process that emphasizes the second audio data more than the first audio data.

[0013] The aforementioned audio signal may be an alarm sound that is pre-set individually according to the type of driving information.

[0014] The vehicle may be a railway vehicle, and the operation information may include at least one of the instrument information of the railway vehicle, the equipment monitoring information of the railway vehicle, and the information related to the ATS (Automatic Train Stop).

[0015] The buzzer unit according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a speaker, an acquisition unit, a signal generation unit, and an audio processing unit. The speaker is installed in the cab of the vehicle. The acquisition unit acquires the operation information detected by a group of sensors installed in the vehicle and the position information regarding the current position of the vehicle. The signal generation unit generates an audio signal corresponding to the type of the operation information and drives the speaker. The audio processing unit determines whether the current position of the vehicle belongs to a preset specific section based on the position information, and when it is determined that the current position belongs to the specific section, modulates the audio signal in a modulation method corresponding to the specific section.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, an audio signal optimized according to the traveling section can be generated.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] [Figure 1] It is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a circuit diagram showing an example of an equivalent circuit of an audio processing unit in the above information processing apparatus. [Figure 3] It is a flowchart showing the processing procedure executed in the above information processing apparatus. [Figure 4] It is a flowchart showing another processing procedure executed in the above information processing apparatus.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] [Overall Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus of the present embodiment functions as a control device for a valve buzzer unit 1 installed in the cab of a railway vehicle.

[0020] The valve buzzer unit 1 includes an information processing apparatus 100 and a speaker 200.

[0021] The information processing apparatus 100 generates an audio signal related to various driving information (such as speed, air pressure, notch, etc.) detected by a sensor group 2 installed in the vehicle. The audio signal is typically a drive signal input to the speaker 200 to reproduce an alarm sound generated based on the above driving information.

[0022] The speaker 200 is one or more audio generators that reproduce the audio signal generated by the information processing apparatus 100, and is a valve buzzer in the present embodiment. The reproduced sound output from the speaker 200 is not limited to the above alarm sound, and may be a received voice from another formation vehicle or an alarm sound related to a control signal received from outside the vehicle such as an ATS signal.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes an acquisition unit 10, a signal generation unit 20, a storage unit 30, a communication unit 40, and an audio processing unit 50. The information processing apparatus 100 is a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) as a control unit and a memory, and at least a part of the acquisition unit 10, the signal generation unit 20, and the audio processing unit 50 is configured as a functional block of the CPU.

[0024] In addition to the CPU, or in addition to it, a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or other ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) may be used.

[0025] The acquisition unit 10 acquires an input signal that includes driving information detected by the sensor group 2 installed on the vehicle and position information regarding the vehicle's current position. The driving information includes at least one of the following: instrument information of the railway vehicle, equipment monitoring information of the railway vehicle, and information regarding the ATS (Automatic Train Stop) system.

[0026] Sensor group 2 typically consists of speed sensors, voltage sensors, pressure sensors, etc., and outputs monitoring data that monitors instrument data and the status of various devices. The detected values ​​of these sensors group 2 are displayed on various instruments such as speedometers, voltmeters, and pressure gauges located in the driver's cab equipped with operating devices such as a master controller.

[0027] Location information is typically obtained through the transmission and reception of information between ground beacons installed on the tracks and on-board beacons installed on the vehicles. Alternatively, location information may be obtained via a navigation system or a GPS (Global Positioning System) system.

[0028] The signal generation unit 20 is configured to generate an audio signal corresponding to the type of driving information. The audio signal is a different digital signal for each type of driving information, and audio data for playing a pre-set alarm sound according to the type of driving information is pre-stored in the storage unit 30. The signal generation unit 20 generates an audio signal based on one or more audio data corresponding to the driving information acquired by the acquisition unit 10.

[0029] For audio data, for example, a WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) file can be used. The number of audio data (number of channels) is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, it is set to 12 channels.

[0030] For example, when the signal generation unit 20 determines that the vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit based on the acquired speed data, it generates an audio signal related to the speeding violation by reading audio data for a pre-assigned channel as a speeding warning sound from the storage unit 30 and inputting it to the speaker 200.

[0031] The storage unit 30 is for storing various programs executed by the acquisition unit 10, the signal generation unit 20, and the audio processing unit 50, and is composed of, for example, memory elements such as semiconductor memory and storage devices such as hard disk drives. Furthermore, the storage unit 30 stores the audio data for each channel as described above, as well as position information (its start and end points) related to a specific section, which will be described later. The storage unit 30 is configured to allow arbitrary addition, deletion, and updating of the stored audio data.

[0032] The communication unit 40 is a communication module for communicating with vehicle depots, servers, etc. The communication unit 40 may include an on-board unit that communicates with ground units when acquiring vehicle location information. In addition, audio data to be stored in the storage unit 20 may be downloaded from the server via the communication unit 40.

[0033] The audio processing unit 50 is configured to determine whether the vehicle's current location belongs to a predetermined specific section based on the vehicle's location information acquired by the acquisition unit 10, and to modulate the audio signal using a modulation scheme appropriate to that specific section if it determines that the current location belongs to a specific section.

[0034] A specific section is typically a section in which a vehicle travels where the ambient noise level is above a certain level, and includes, for example, tunnel sections and railway bridge sections. Modulation methods include amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, and phase modulation of the audio signal, and a modulation method optimized for each specific section is adopted.

[0035] Typically, amplitude modulation is employed to increase the output level of the audio signal when traveling through a specific section compared to when traveling through normal sections outside that specific section. This makes it easier to recognize the necessary warning sound even when ambient noise is louder than usual.

[0036] In this case, a sound-gathering microphone may be installed in the driver's cab to measure the sound pressure level of ambient noise, and the modulation amount of amplitude modulation may be set according to the magnitude of the ambient noise detected by this microphone. Alternatively, the modulation amount may be set individually based on the sound pressure level of ambient noise measured in advance for each specific section, and the sound pressure level may be modulated with a modulation amount corresponding to the type of specific section being traveled.

[0037] Furthermore, the form of ambient noise during operation differs between tunnel sections and bridge sections. Even with similar noise levels, amplitude modulation can easily lead to differences in the recognizability (intelligibility) of the reproduced sound. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to optimize the reproduced sound according to the type of operating section. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the audio signal is configured to be modulated using other modulation methods such as frequency modulation or phase modulation, in addition to or instead of amplitude modulation.

[0038] For example, when traveling through a tunnel, the alarm sound may be made more audible by performing frequency modulation that emphasizes the high-frequency components of the audio signal. On the other hand, when traveling over a railway bridge, the alarm sound may be made more audible by performing frequency modulation that emphasizes the low-frequency components of the audio signal.

[0039] When the signal generation unit 20 generates multiple alarm sounds, it reads the corresponding audio data for each channel from the storage unit 30 and generates multiple audio signals based on the individual audio data. The audio processing unit 50 performs a process to synthesize each generated audio signal and plays the synthesized sound through a common speaker 200. Alternatively, if there are multiple speakers 200, the alarm sounds may be played individually through different speakers 200 without synthesizing the audio signals for each channel.

[0040] In this case, the multiple audio data stored in the memory unit 30 may be assigned a priority. For example, an alarm sound warning of speeding needs to be generated with priority over alarm sounds warning of other driving conditions (e.g., voltage drop). Therefore, in this embodiment, if the audio data forming the synthesized sound includes a first audio data and a second audio data with a higher priority than the first audio data, the audio processing unit 50 performs a process to emphasize the second audio data more than the first audio data.

[0041] As an emphasis process, for example, one method is to emphasize the second audio signal by reducing the volume of the audio signal related to the first audio data (hereinafter also referred to as the first audio signal) compared to the audio signal related to the second audio data (hereinafter also referred to as the second audio signal). Alternatively, one method may be to mute the first audio signal and play only the second audio signal.

[0042] Figure 2 is a circuit diagram showing an example of the equivalent circuit of the audio processing unit 50 described above.

[0043] The audio processing unit 50 has a processing block 501 that is configured in common for each channel (CH1 to CHn (in this embodiment, n is 12)). Each processing block 501 has a buffer 51, a modulation circuit 52, a volume setting unit 53, and a multiplier 54.

[0044] The buffer 51 is used to output the audio signal generated by the signal generation unit 20 to the modulation circuit 52 without compromising its strength or quality.

[0045] The modulation circuit 52 is a circuit that modulates the audio signal input from the buffer 51 using a predetermined modulation scheme. The modulation circuit 52 has a determination unit that determines whether the vehicle's current position belongs to a predetermined specific section (tunnel, railway bridge, etc.) based on the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 10, and modulates the audio signal using a modulation scheme corresponding to the specific section when it is determined that the vehicle belongs to the specific section. In this embodiment, the modulation circuit 52 performs frequency modulation, phase modulation, etc., and amplitude modulation is performed by the volume setting unit 53. The modulation circuit 52 may also be configured as part of the signal generation unit 20.

[0046] The volume setting unit 53 is for setting the volume of the audio signal generated by the signal generation unit 20, and is configured as part of the modulation circuit 52. Specifically, when the volume setting unit 53 determines that the vehicle's current position belongs to a specific section, it inputs a volume setting signal to the multiplier 54 to perform amplitude modulation of the audio signal so that the volume of the audio signal corresponds to that specific section.

[0047] The multiplier 54 is a circuit that multiplies the signal modulated by the modulation circuit 52 and the signal modulated by the volume setting unit 53. As a result, while traveling through a specific section, the audio signal is modulated using a modulation method appropriate to the type of that specific section.

[0048] The audio processing unit 50 further includes an adder 57, a limiter 58, and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 59.

[0049] The adder 57 adds the output signals from the multipliers 54 in the processing block 501 of each channel. The limiter 58 limits the combined audio signal added in the adder 57 to a predetermined sound pressure level or lower. The DAC 59 converts the output signal (digital signal) from the limiter 58 into an analog signal and outputs it to the speaker 200.

[0050] The signal generation unit 20 instructs the audio setting unit 53 to set the volume value of the audio signal. When the signal generation unit 20 generates an audio signal based on multiple audio data, if the multiple audio data includes audio data with a higher priority (second audio data), it instructs the volume setting unit 53 of the channel related to the other audio data (first audio data) that has a lower priority than the second audio data to reduce or mute the volume. The volume setting unit 53 inputs the volume setting signal corresponding to the above command to the multiplier 54.

[0051] The multiplier 54, which receives a volume setting signal from the volume setting unit 53 that has received a volume reduction / mute command, inputs an audio signal with a volume corresponding to the command to the adder 57. This makes it possible to generate an audio signal in which the higher-priority audio data (second audio data) is emphasized more than the other audio data (first audio data).

[0052] [Operation] Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the operation of the bell buzzer unit 1 configured as described above, and are flowcharts showing the processing procedures executed in the information processing device 100. Here, we will explain using the vehicle in motion as an example.

[0053] As shown in Figure 3, the information processing device 100 acquires driving information from the sensor group 2 at predetermined intervals while the vehicle is in motion (ST101). The information processing device 100 (signal generation unit 20) determines whether or not it is necessary to generate an alarm based on the acquired driving information (ST102).

[0054] When it is determined that an alarm needs to be issued (Yes in ST102), the signal generation unit 20 reads one or more channels of audio data corresponding to the type of alarm from the storage unit 30 and generates an audio signal (ST103). This allows the driver to be presented with different alarm sounds depending on the type of alarm.

[0055] On the other hand, when there is no need to generate an alarm (No in ST102), the signal generation unit 20 returns to ST101 without generating an audio signal, or, if an audio signal is being generated, stops generating the audio signal and then returns to ST101 (ST104).

[0056] In parallel with the above processing, the information processing device 100 further determines whether the vehicle is traveling in a specific section. As shown in Figure 4, the information processing device 100 acquires location information at predetermined intervals (ST201) and, based on the acquired location information, determines whether the vehicle's current location belongs to a specific section (ST202). Examples of specific sections include tunnel sections and railway bridge sections, as mentioned above.

[0057] When it is determined that the vehicle belongs to a specific section (is traveling through a specific section) (Yes in ST202), the signal generation unit 20 determines whether or not it is necessary to generate an alarm using the same procedure as in ST102 (ST203). When it is determined that it is necessary to generate an alarm (Yes in ST203), the voice processing unit 50 modulates the voice signal using a modulation method (amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phase modulation) corresponding to the specific section (ST204). This makes it possible to generate an alarm sound that is easily audible to the driver even when traveling through a specific section where the ambient noise level is high.

[0058] In this case, when multiple types of alarm sounds are generated, if a high-priority audio signal is included in the alarm sound, the volume of audio signals other than the high-priority audio signal is reduced or muted to emphasize the high-priority audio signal. This makes the driver more aware of the alarm.

[0059] On the other hand, when it is determined that the vehicle does not belong to a specific section (is not traveling in a specific section) (No in ST202), or when there is no need to generate an alarm (No in ST203), the voice processing unit 50 returns to ST201 without modulating the voice signal, or, if it is generating a voice signal, it stops modulating the voice signal and then returns to ST201 (ST205).

[0060] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to determine whether the vehicle's travel section is a specific section or another section, and if the vehicle's travel section is a specific section, the audio signal is modulated using a modulation scheme corresponding to that specific section. Therefore, an optimized audio signal can be generated that is easier for the driver to recognize depending on the travel section.

[0061] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and can be modified in various ways.

[0062] For example, in the embodiments described above, railway vehicles were used as an example of vehicles, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to general vehicles such as buses and passenger cars.

[0063] Furthermore, although the above embodiments have described an alarm sound as an example of an audio signal, the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to other audio signals other than alarms, such as telephone calls or guidance voices in navigation systems. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0064] 1... Bell buzzer unit 2…Sensor group 10…Acquisition part 20... Signal generation unit 30...Storage section 40... Communications Department 50…Sound Processing Unit 100... Information Processing Device 200... Speaker

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires driving information detected by a group of sensors installed on the vehicle and location information relating to the current position of the vehicle, A signal generation unit that generates an audio signal corresponding to the type of driving information, Based on the location information, an audio processing unit determines whether the vehicle's current location belongs to a predetermined specific section, and when it is determined that the current location belongs to the specific section, modulates the audio signal using a modulation scheme corresponding to the specific section. An information processing device equipped with the following.

2. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The modulation of the audio signal includes a process to increase the amplitude of the audio signal. Information processing device.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The modulation of the audio signal includes a process of changing the frequency of the audio signal. Information processing device.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The system further comprises a storage unit that stores multiple different audio data depending on the type of driving information. The signal generation unit generates the audio signal based on one or more audio data corresponding to the driving information acquired by the acquisition unit. Information processing device.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 4, When the signal generation unit generates an audio signal based on the plurality of audio data, the audio processing unit executes a process to synthesize each of the generated audio signals. Information processing device.

6. An information processing device according to claim 5, When the plurality of audio data includes a first audio data and a second audio data having a higher priority than the first audio data, the audio processing unit performs a process to emphasize the second audio data more than the first audio data. Information processing device.

7. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, The aforementioned audio signal is an alarm sound that has been pre-set individually according to the type of driving information. Information processing device.

8. An information processing apparatus according to claim 7, The aforementioned vehicle is a railway vehicle, The aforementioned operational information includes at least one of the following: instrument information of the railway vehicle, equipment monitoring information of the railway vehicle, and information related to the ATS (Automatic Train Stop) system. Information processing device.

9. Speakers installed in the driver's cab of the vehicle, An acquisition unit that acquires driving information detected by a group of sensors installed on the vehicle and location information relating to the current position of the vehicle. A signal generation unit generates an audio signal corresponding to the type of driving information and drives the speaker, Based on the location information, the audio processing unit determines whether the vehicle's current position belongs to a predetermined specific section, and when it is determined that the current position belongs to the specific section, modulates the audio signal using a modulation scheme corresponding to the specific section. A bell buzzer unit equipped with the following features.

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