Patent ID: 8594341

Claim:
An apparatus for selectively switching between audio channels, the apparatus comprising: a vehicular audio device including: a first audio input connection located inside the vehicle for receiving audio content; a second audio input connection for receiving an acoustic signal associated with sound external to the vehicle; a memory device for prestoring a plurality of predetermined digital sound patterns, each of the plurality of predetermined digital sound patterns corresponding to a preselected external audio sound; a controller for receiving the audio content from the first audio connection and the acoustic signal from the second audio input connection, for determining whether the acoustic signal matches at least one of the plurality of predetermined digital sound patterns prestored in the memory device, wherein if the acoustic signal associated with sound external to the vehicle matches at least one of the plurality of predetermined digital sound patterns, the controller sends the acoustic signal to an output connection within the vehicle such that the acoustic signal associated with sound external to the vehicle is generated within the vehicle and, if the acoustic signal does not match the at least one of the plurality of predetermined digital sound patterns, the controller outputs the audio content to the output connection that generates an audible signal based on the audio content.