Vehicle Inter-Occupant Conversation Audio Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

In vehicle cabins, background noises such as navigation guides, movie sounds, and music make it difficult for occupants to listen to conversations between each other, as increasing the sound level of the driver's voice is insufficient to overcome these varied and loud distractions.

Innovation Solution

An inter-occupant conversation device that includes a display unit to show an occupant's image, an operational information acquisition unit, an image control unit to change the image size, a sound control unit to adjust the sound level ratio between the driver's voice and background sounds based on the image size, and a sound output unit to output the combined sound to the second occupant.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the sound level of the driver's voice is increased to overcome background noises, then the spoken voice becomes more audible, but the reproduced sound of AV sources becomes inaudible or requires muting

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaudibility of spoken voiceVSAvoidreproduced sound of AV source

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different sound level adjustments to different audio sources based on their type. Spoken voices receive amplification while AV reproduced sounds maintain their original levels, creating localized quality differentiation in the audio output mix

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If the sound level of the driver's voice is maximized to ensure audibility, then conversation becomes possible, but the occupant cannot continuously watch AV content without muting or suspending reproduction

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaudibility of spoken voiceVSAvoidcontinuous AV reproduction

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The system selectively amplifies only spoken voice signals while leaving AV reproduced sounds at their original levels, allowing both conversation and continuous AV playback to coexist without requiring muting or suspension of either

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If various background sounds coexist with spoken voice at similar sound levels, then audio environment remains natural, but spoken voice becomes difficult to distinguish

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenatural audio environmentVSAvoidaudibility of spoken voice

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the sound level parameter specifically for spoken voice signals, amplifying them relative to background sounds and AV reproduction to improve distinguishability while maintaining overall audio balance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS11328720B2Inter-occupant conversation device and inter-occupant conversation method

Publication Date: 2022.05.10 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC MOBILITY CORP

AI summary

A rear display displays a driver image of a driver to a rear occupant. An operational information acquisition unit acquires operational information for changing a size of the driver image displayed on the rear display. An image control unit changes the size of the driver image displayed on the rear display, on the basis of the operational information acquired by the operational information acquisition unit. A sound control unit controls, at a time of generating a synthetic sound by combining a spoken voice of the driver with a reproduced sound of an AV source, a sound-level ratio between the spoken voice of the driver and the reproduced sound of the AV source, on the basis of the size of the driver image displayed on the rear display. A rear speaker outputs the synthetic sound generated by the sound control unit toward the rear occupant.