IP Library Granted Patent US 11,557,275
Granted Patent B2
US 11,557,275 · App. 17/269,149 · Granted Jan 17, 2023

Voice system and voice output method of moving machine

Inventors: Masanori Kinuhata (Kobe, JP); Daisuke Kawai (Kobe, JP); Shohei Terai (Kobe, JP); Hisanosuke Kawada (Kobe, JP); Hirotoshi Shimura (Itami, JP)
Assignee: KAWASAKI MOTORS, LTD.
G10L13/033G10L25/51G06F40/35G10L15/187G10L15/22
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,557,275
App. No.
17/269,149
Granted
Jan 17, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A voice system of a moving machine is a voice system of a moving machine driven by a driver who is exposed to an outside of the moving machine and includes: a noise estimating section which estimates a future noise state based on information related to a noise generation factor; and a voice control section which changes an attribute of voice in accordance with the estimated noise state, the voice being voice to be output to the driver.

Claims (39)

1. A voice system of a moving machine driven by a driver who is exposed to an outside of the moving machine, the voice system comprising:

a noise estimating section which estimates a future noise state based on information related to a noise generation factor; and

a voice control section which changes an attribute of voice in accordance with the estimated noise state, the voice being voice to be output to the driver, wherein

the information related to the noise generation factor includes: information related to a generation factor of driving noise generated by the moving machine, or a time change of a state of the moving machine, and

the voice control section shortens a sentence length of the voice by modifying an output text of the voice as a noise level estimated by the noise estimating section increases.

2. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein the information related to the noise generation factor further includes information related to at least one of a generation factor of traveling noise generated when the moving machine travels, and a generation factor of environmental noise generated around the moving machine.

3. The voice system according to claim 2 , wherein the information related to the noise generation factor is information related to two or more of the generation factor of the driving noise, the generation factor of the traveling noise, and the generation factor of the environmental noise.

4. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein:

the noise estimating section estimates the noise level based on the information related to the noise generation factor; and

the voice control section changes the attribute of the voice in accordance with the estimated noise level.

5. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein:

the noise estimating section estimates a future noise state based on a time change of the noise generation factor; and

the voice control section changes the attribute of the voice in accordance with the estimated future noise level.

6. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein the noise estimating section estimates the noise state based on operation information related to vehicle operation of the driver.

7. The voice system according to claim 2 , further comprising a location noise acquiring section which acquires noise generation information of a location where the moving machine travels, wherein

the noise estimating section determines the noise state in accordance with the noise generation information of the location.

8. A voice output method for a moving machine driven by a driver who is exposed to an outside of the moving machine, the voice output method comprising:

estimating a future noise state based on information related to a noise generation factor;

shortening a sentence length of a voice by modifying an output text of the voice as an estimated noise level increases, the voice being voice to be output to the driver, wherein

the information related to the noise generation factor includes: information related to a generation factor of driving noise generated by the moving machine, or a time change of a state of the moving machine.

9. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein the information related to the noise generation factor includes the information related to the generation factor of the driving noise generated by the moving machine.

10. The voice system according to claim 6 , wherein the vehicle operation is at least one selected from the group consisting of accelerator operation, brake operation, clutch operation, and gear operation.

11. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein the information related to the noise generation factor includes a time change of the noise generation factor.

12. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein the information related to the noise generation factor includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a time change of an engine rotational frequency, a time change of a throttle opening degree, a vehicle speed, a front wheel rotational frequency, a rear wheel rotational frequency, acceleration, deceleration, and a change gear ratio.

13. The voice system according to claim 1 , wherein

when a noise level estimated by the noise estimating section becomes a predetermined value or more after the output of the voice is started, the voice output is suspended, and

when the noise level estimated by the noise estimating section becomes less than the predetermined value, the voice output is resumed.

14. The voice system according to claim 13 , wherein the predetermined value is changed in accordance with an importance of the voice to be output.

15. A voice system of a moving machine driven by a driver who is exposed to an outside of the moving machine, the voice system comprising:

a noise estimating section which estimates a future noise state based on information related to a noise generation factor; and

a voice control section which changes an attribute of voice in accordance with the estimated noise state, the voice being voice to be output to the driver, wherein

the voice control section determines a sentence length of the voice as the attribute in accordance with the estimated noise state, and

the voice control section shortens the sentence length of the voice by modifying an output text of the voice as a noise level estimated by the noise estimating section increases.

16. A voice system of a moving machine driven by a driver who is exposed to an outside of the moving machine, the voice system comprising:

a noise estimating section which estimates a future noise state based on information related to a noise generation factor; and

a voice control section which changes an attribute of voice in accordance with the estimated noise state, the voice being voice to be output to the driver, wherein

when a noise level estimated by the noise estimating section becomes a predetermined value or more after the output of the voice is started, the voice output is suspended,

when the noise level estimated by the noise estimating section becomes less than the predetermined value, the voice output is resumed, and

the voice control section shortens a sentence length of the voice by modifying an output text of the voice as the noise level estimated by the noise estimating section increases.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 7, 2022
From: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
To: KAWASAKI MOTORS, LTD.
Reel/Frame 059630/0169 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 17, 2021
From: KINUHATA, MASANORI; KAWAI, DAISUKE; TERAI, SHOHEI; KAWADA, HISANOSUKE; SHIMURA, HIROTOSHI
To: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Reel/Frame 055298/0033 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP JP2018-169349 · Sep 11, 2018 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220114999A1 · Apr 14, 2022