Patent Grant
11937067
Aspects disclosed herein generally relate to a system and method for sound zone experience optimization control in a vehicle. These aspects and others will be discussed in more detail herein.
With a sound zone system in a vehicle, there may be a tradeoff between separation (or isolation) between individual sound zones and the overall subjective sound quality. In other words, a system can focus specifically on cancelling sounds from sounds from adjacent zones, but this may come with poor spatial performance, poor spectral performance, and a generally undesirable listening experience. On the other side, a system may attempt to provide users with the best possible listening experience by providing, for example, surround algorithms, headrest/immersion speakers, etc. However, these may leave all occupants with high levels of distracting sounds from other zones.
In at least one embodiment, an apparatus for providing a contrast mode and a front optimized mode for the playback of audio in a vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes a memory and an audio controller. The audio controller includes the memory and is programmed to transmit first audio content as desired by one or more first vehicle occupants positioned in a first zone seating area and to transmit second audio content as desired by one or more second vehicle occupants positioned in a second zone seating area. The audio controller is further programmed to receive a first indication from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area and the second audio content in the second zone seating area in the contrast mode to provide an equal listening experience for the first zone seating area and the second zone seating area while achieving isolation between the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area and the second audio content being played back in the second zone seating area. The audio controller is further programmed to receive a second indication from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area and the second audio content in the second zone seating area in the front optimized mode to increase a quality of sound of the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area and to decrease a quality of sound in the second zone seating area.
In at least another embodiment, a computer-program product embodied in a non-transitory computer read-able medium that is programmed for providing a contrast mode and a front optimized mode for the playback of audio in a vehicle is provided. The computer-program product includes instructions for transmitting first audio content as desired by one or more first vehicle occupants positioned in a first zone seating area and for transmitting second audio content as desired by one or more second vehicle occupants positioned in a second zone seating area. The computer-program product includes instructions for receiving a first indication from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area and the second audio content in the second zone seating area in the contrast mode to provide an equal listening experience for the first zone seating area and the second zone seating area while achieving isolation between the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area and the second audio content being played back in the second zone seating area. The computer-program product further includes instructions for receiving a second indication from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area and the second audio content in the second zone seating area in the front optimized mode to increase a quality of sound of the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area and to decrease a quality of sound in the second zone seating area.
In at least another embodiment, a method for providing a contrast mode and a front optimized mode for the playback of audio in a vehicle is provided. The method includes transmitting first audio content as desired by one or more first vehicle occupants positioned in a first zone seating area and transmitting second audio content as desired by one or more second vehicle occupants positioned in a second zone seating area. The method further includes receiving a first indication from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area and the second audio content in the second zone seating area in the contrast mode to provide an equal listening experience for the first zone seating area and the second zone seating area while achieving isolation between the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area and the second audio content being played back in the second zone seating area. The method further includes receiving a second indication from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area and the second audio content in the second zone seating area in the front optimized mode to increase a quality of sound of the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area and to decrease a quality of sound in the second zone seating area.
The embodiments of the present disclosure are pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the various embodiments will become more apparent and will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompany drawings in which:
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention.
It is recognized that at least one controller as disclosed herein may include various microprocessors, integrated circuits, memory devices (e.g., FLASH, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), or other suitable variants thereof), and software which co-act with one another to perform operation(s) disclosed herein. In addition, the at least one controller as disclosed herein utilize one or more microprocessors to execute a computer-program that is embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium that is programmed to perform any number of the functions as disclosed. Further, the controller(s) as provided herein includes a housing and the various number of microprocessors, integrated circuits, and memory devices ((e.g., FLASH, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)) positioned within the housing. The disclosed controller(s) also include hardware-based inputs and outputs for receiving and transmitting data, respectively from and to other hardware-based devices as discussed herein.
With a sound zone system in a vehicle, there may be a tradeoff between separation (or isolation) between individual sound zones and the overall subjective sound quality. In other words, a system can focus specifically on cancelling sounds from adjacent zones, but this may come with poor spatial performance, poor spectral performance, and a generally undesirable listening experience. On the other side, a system may attempt to provide users with the best possible listening experience by providing, for example, surround algorithms, headrest/immersion speakers, etc. However, these may leave all occupants with high levels of distracting sounds from other zones.
Aspects disclosed herein generally provide for a system and method that may utilize a complex digital signal processing (DSP) matrix and a controller to optimize combined sound zone experiences in a vehicle according to a user's preference. In other words, users may elect to sacrifice sound quality for maximum separation between various sound zones in a vehicle. In addition, one or more users may focus on sound quality with a known compromise of reduced separation.
In a typical use case, one “master” sound zone occupant in the vehicle may have the ability to activate this control. A typical example may involve a family road trip. For example, parents positioned in a first seating zone (i.e., in a front row of the vehicle) may be listening to music and children may be positioned in one or more second and/or third seating zone watching a movie. If the parents want to enjoy a premium stereo or surround music experience up front, the parent may adjust the controller to maximize sound quality. This may inherently decrease the separation from front-to-back, meaning the children in the back may have to put up with increased distracting noises.
However, in a similar use case, parents may elect to have all sounds zones provide audio with generally equal sound quality and maximum separation. This may allow all occupants the best chance to hear their own content with a decent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and desired speech intelligibility. Such a control between a contrast mode (e.g., an audio system that provides an equal listening experience for both front and rear sound zones with an intent of achieving maximum contrast between the zones) and a front optimized mode (e.g., and audio zone that provides optimized, spatially enhanced listening experience for the front zone with a reduced contrast for rear sound zones) may be selected via a simple toggle switch or display switch or slider on a GUI that enables the sound system to jump two the distinct modes “Sound Quality” and “Separation”. The control may enable the occupant to ability to blend between the contrast mode and the front optimized mode until an acceptable medium is found between such modes.
The first zone seating area 110 may include first and second seats 120a and 120b, respectively. The first seat 120a may correspond to a driver's seat and the second seat 120b may correspond to a front passenger's seat. The second zone seating area 112 may include first and second seats 122a and 122b. The first seat 122a may correspond to a left side rear passenger seat and the second seat 122b may correspond to a right-side rear passenger seat. Similarly, the third zone seating area 114 may include first and second seats 124a and 124b. The first seat 124a may correspond to a left side rear passenger seat and the second seat 124b may correspond to a right-side rear passenger seat. The first and second seats 124a and 124b of the third zone seating area 112 may form an integrated bench 125 that couples the first and second seats 124a and 124b to one another.
The vehicle 100 also includes an instrument panel 130 and an audio controller 132 positioned on the instrument panel 130. Various loudspeakers 134 may be positioned about the vehicle 102 to playback audio processed by the audio controller 132. It is recognized that various headrests 126 as positioned on the seats 120a, 120b, 122a, 122b may include loudspeakers 134 that are headrest loudspeakers for playing back audio to a vehicle occupant that is positioned rearward to a corresponding seat 120a, 120b, 122a, and 122b. The implementation of the headrest loudspeakers 134 may be optional. It is also recognized that any one or more of the headrests 126 may include sub audio controllers (or sub-media controllers) 136 to process audio data for passengers in any one or more of the seats 122a, 122b, 124a, and 124b. The various occupants in the vehicle 100 may pair a corresponding mobile device via a wireless communication protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH or other suitable protocol) such that the mobile device provides audio data to the audio controller 132 and/or the sub audio controller 136 to play back the audio data via a particular loudspeaker 134 in the vehicle 100.
Generally speaking, occupants positioned in the first zone seating area 110 may playback audio data that is different than the audio played back in one or more of the second zone seating area 112 and the third zone seating area 114. Similarly, occupants sitting in the seats 122a, 122b, 124a, and 124b may listen to audio that is different from one another assuming the corresponding seat positioned in front of them includes a corresponding sub audio controller. These aspects generally relate to individual sound zones (ISZ) that are established in the vehicle 102. The audio controller 132 generally controls the playback of the audio such that the audio is processed and transmitted into each of the various zones 110, 112, 114 to provide desired listening experience that is zone specific. The system 100 is generally configured to enable a driver to control the audio controller 132 to enter into a contrast mode (e.g., the system 100 provides an equal listening experience for the first, second, and third zone seating areas 110, 112, and 114 with an intent of achieving maximum contrast for the areas 110, 112, and 114) and a front optimized mode (e.g., the system 100 provides and optimized, spatially enhanced listening experience for the first zone seating area 110 with a reduced contrast for the second and third zone seating areas 112, 114). While the various zones 110, 112, 114 as illustrated in
In some instances, any one or more of the sub-audio controllers 136 associated with respective seats 120a, 120b, 122a, 122b, 124a, 124b (or in the second zone seating area 112 and the third zone seating area 114) may interface with the audio controller 132 for providing the contrast mode and the front optimized mode. The audio controller 132 generally includes a user interface 150 (e.g., a human interface machine (HMI)) that enables the driver to select between the contrast mode or the front optimized mode. In general, it is recognized that the audio controller 132 may control a single sub-audio controller 136 positioned in the second zone seating area 112 or in the third zone seating area 114 to enter into the contrast mode or the front optimized mode.
The GUI 200 illustrates a horizontal slider (or switching element 202) that may be utilized to optimize the sound zones for maximum quality or maximum separation between zones. In this case, the switching element illustrates a continuous axis of control and allows for a gradual increase or decrease with respect to sound immersion and width and sound bleed between the different seating areas 110, 112, 114. For example, the user can selectively control the amount of sound immersion and width as desired in the first zone seating area 110 which directly impacts the amount of sound bleed from the first zone seating area 110 into the other seating areas 112 and 114. The user may obtain a maximum level of sound immersion and width by moving the switching element 202 all the way to the right. Similarly, the user can selectively control the amount of sound isolation between the various seating areas 110, 112, and 114 which directly impact the amount of sound immersion and width for the user(s) in the first zone seating area 112. The user may obtain a maximum amount of sound isolation between the various seating areas 110, 112, and 114 which impacts the level of sound immersion and width for the user(s) in the first zone seating area 110. It is recognized that the switching element 202 may include a binary toggle switch, a radio button group, or other suitable variation to select between the modes and to further blend the contrast mode and the front optimized mode.
In the contrast mode, an equal listening experience is generally provided for the first, second, and third zone seating areas 110, 112, 114. The first sound zone algorithm 260, when executed, applies filters to equalize the audio in the various seating zone areas 110, 112, 114. This may involve filtering the audio at frequencies that are not specific to a particular location in the vehicle 102 that would otherwise be applied to isolate the audio between the zone areas 110, 112, 114. One example of the manner in which the filtering of the audio at frequencies that are not specific to a particular location may include minimizing a bandwidth of the media in any of the zone 110, 112, 114 such as filtering very high frequencies or very low frequencies minimize the amount of bleed, or leakage, in adjacent zones. In addition, consider filtering a frequency band above 10 kHz. This condition may reduce some of the sound attributes pertaining to “detail” and “clarity” but may minimize the distraction of those same frequencies that may bleed into adjacent zones. Other examples may include architecture-focused filtering. In this case, if a given speaker architecture cannot adequately produce a given band of frequencies at desired output levels with sufficient sound isolation, these frequency bands can be filtered to provide a greater overall perception of sound isolation.
In general, the second implementation 100″ separates high frequency components and low frequency components of the audio input signal from the one or more audio sources 222 and provides a stereo image for such high frequencies from the audio input signal to provide an enhanced listening experience for the user (e.g., driver, parent, owner of the vehicle, etc.) positioned in the first zone seating area 112. The enhanced listening experience for the user in the front optimized mode provides more sound immersion and width than the mono playback of the audio input received from the one or more audio sources 224 the second or third zone seating areas 112, 114. Similarly, the low frequency audio input from the one or more audio sources 222 in first zone seating area 112 may be mixed with the audio input from the one or more audio sources 224 in the second and/or third zone seating area 112, 114 which may reduce the amount of audio isolation (or reduce the audio contrast) between the audio being played back from the first zone seating area 112 and that of the second and/or third zone seating areas 112, 114. In this instance, the audio playback in the second or third zone seating areas 112, 114 may not be as optimum of that provided in the first zone seating area 112.
For example, the audio controller 132 and/or the sub-audio controllers 136 include a first filter 270, a tuning circuit 272, a mixer 274, a second filter 276, and a second sound zone algorithm 278. In one example, the first filter 270 may be a high pass filter and the second filter 276 may be a low pass filter. As noted above, in the front optimized mode, the system 100 provides for an optimized, spatially enhanced listening experience for the first seating zone area 110 with reduced contrast in the second and/or third seating zone areas 112, 114. In other words, the second implementation 100″ provides reduced sound isolation between the audio being played back in the first seating zone area 110 and that of the second and/or third seating zone areas 112, 114 as the audio playback in the first seating zone area 110 may provide for a surround sound immersion and width (e.g., improved listening experience) than that of the mono sound played back in the second and/or third seating zone areas 112, 114. The audio being played back in the first seating zone area 110 may have some contrast (or isolation) with respect to the audio being played back in the second or third seating zone area 112, 114. However, the user(s) in the second and/or third seating zone areas 112, 114 may not have as much sound isolation with respect to the audio being played back in zones 112, 114 and the audio being played back in the zone 110. The objective may be to provide enhanced audio playback characteristics for the user positioned in the first seating zone area 110 while reducing the audio playback characteristics for the user(s) positioned on the second seating zone areas 112, 114.
The audio controller 132 and/or the sub-audio controllers 136 separate the high frequencies and low frequencies from the audio input from the one or more audio sources 222 in the first zone seating area 112 via the first filter 270 and the second filter 276. For example, the first filter 270 allows frequencies from the audio input that are above a first crossover frequency to pass therethrough and the second filter 276 allows frequencies from the audio input that are below a second crossover frequency to pass therethrough. In one example, the same frequency value may be used for the first and the second crossover frequencies. In yet another example, different frequency values may be used for the first crossover frequency and the second crossover frequency.
The tuning circuit 272 receives the audio signal including the frequencies that are greater than the first crossover frequency and provides a stereo (or surround) based audio output for such frequencies. This aspect increases the audio performance (or sound quality) for the user positioned in the first zone seating area 110 (e.g., driver in the driver side seat). As noted above, this provides a spatial and/or surround experience (or surround sound immersion and width) in the first zone seating area 112. The processor 250 executes the second sound zone algorithm 278 to provide a mono based audio output with the frequencies that are below the second crossover frequency of the audio input provided by the audio source(s) 222 in the first zone seating area 110, and the audio input provided by the audio sources 224 in the second and/or third zone seating area 112, 114. In this case, the low frequencies are mixed down to mono since this condition has only a slightly negative effect on the sound experience and also promotes the ability to cancel sounds between the zones 110, 112, and 114. The mixer 274 mixes the surround audio output from the tuning circuit 272 and the mono audio output derived from executing the second sound zone algorithm 278.
The mixer 274 mixes the stereo based audio output as provided from the tuning circuit 272 and the low frequency audio output as provided by the second filter 276 and provides the stereo based audio output and the low frequency audio output to loudspeakers 134 as a first final audio output in the first zone seating area 110 for the user (e.g., driver) that is positioned in this area 110. Additionally, the mixer 274 mixes the low frequency audio out as provided by the second filter 276 and audio output as provided by the audio sources 224 in the second and/or third zone seating area 112, 114 as a second final audio output (i.e., mono based audio output) to the loudspeakers 134 positioned in the second and/or third seating area 112, 114.
The low frequency signals are provided to the sound zone algorithm 278 (and processed by the controller 132) to actively cancel the audio signals (e.g., play back the signals with a flipped or inverted phase) in the rear zone (or third zone seating area 114). Therefore, occupants in the third zone seating area 114 (or rear zone occupants) are hearing their selected media and the addition of cancellation signals (or mixed cancellation signals) for the front zone (or first zone seating area 110) low frequency signals. For the first zone seating area 110 (or front zone), a similar situation exits, however, with an alternate media mapping (e.g., audio signal from the front zone (or first zone seating area 110)) that is mixed with cancelled audio signals from the rear zone media cancellation signals (or audio signals from the second and or third zone seating areas 112, 114). In the front optimized mode, the high frequency stereo/surround content for first zone seating area 110 provides occupants therein a better spatial (and overall) audio experience (e.g., improvement in sound quality) by providing the known detriment of creating more bleed/distraction for the occupants in the second and/or third zone seating areas 112, 114.
In operation 302, the audio controller 132 transmits first audio content as desired by one or more first vehicle occupants positioned in a first zone seating area 110. In operation 304, the audio controller 132 transmits second audio content as desired by one or more second vehicle occupants positioned in a second zone seating area 112 (or the third zone seating area 114).
In operation 306, the audio controller 132 receives a first indication (e.g., via the GUI 200 or other user interface) from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area 110 and the second audio content in the second zone seating area 112 in the contrast mode. In the contrast mode, the audio controller 132 provides an equal listening experience for the audio that is played back in the first zone seating area 110 and in the second zone seating area 112 while achieving isolation between the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area 110 and the second audio content being played back in the second zone seating area 112 (or third zone seating area 114). In this instance, the audio controller 132 achieves an adequate level of sound isolation between the sound played back in the first zone seating area 110 and the sound played back in the second zone seating area 112 (i.e., sound from the first zone seating area 110 may not be heard by users in the second zone seating area 112 and vice versa) (see
In operation 308, the audio controller 132 receives a second indication (e.g., via the GUI 200 or other user interface) from the one or more first vehicle occupants to transmit at least one of the first audio content in the first zone seating area 110 and the second audio content in the second zone seating area 112 in the front optimized mode. In the front optimized mode, the audio controller 132 increases the quality of sound of the first audio content being played back in the first zone seating area 110 and decreases the quality of sound (or the amount of overall sound isolation) in the second zone seating area 112 (e.g., see
While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/180,020 filed Feb. 19, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,412,339, issued Aug. 9, 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/979,821 filed Feb. 21, 2020, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170213541 | MacNeille | Jul 2017 | A1 |
| 20180302734 | Choi et al. | Oct 2018 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 3486121 | May 2019 | EP |
| 2016008621 | Jan 2016 | WO |
| Entry |
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| Extended European Search Report for EP Application No. 21158376.0, dated Jun. 22, 2021, 10 pgs. |
| First Office Action dated Aug. 16, 2023 for European Application No. 21158376.0 filed Feb. 22, 2021, 7 pgs. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220329963 A1 | Oct 2022 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62979821 | Feb 2020 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17180020 | Feb 2021 | US |
| Child | 17853119 | US |
