A system that detects the direction of a vehicle's horn and determines the location of the honking vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for detecting the direction of a vehicle horn and determining the position of the honking vehicle. The system includes first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves from a source of the sound waves. The system includes a memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones. The system includes a processor configured to: measure first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from the source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; receive the first, second, and third phase difference maps from the memory; and identify the position of the source of the sound waves based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones, and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The information provided in this section is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. To the extent described in this section, the work of the presently named inventors and aspects of the description that may not constitute prior art at the time of filing are neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art to the present disclosure.

[0002] The present invention relates to a system for detecting the direction of a vehicle horn and determining the position of the honking vehicle.

[0003] When driving a first vehicle, whether in a city or on a highway, or when backing up in a driveway or in a parking garage, a second vehicle near the first vehicle may sound its horn to warn or alert the driver of the first vehicle. It is helpful to determine the direction of the horn and to determine the location of the second vehicle. Knowing the direction of the horn and the location of the second vehicle as the source of the horn can help the driver of the first vehicle decide whether to change lanes and which lane to switch to (right or left), whether to pull over (for example, if the second vehicle is an emergency vehicle such as a police car, ambulance, fire truck or tow truck), etc. Early detection of horns can reduce the possibility of collisions and congestion. Summary of the Invention

[0004] A system includes first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves from a source of the sound waves. The system includes a memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones. The system includes a processor configured to measure first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from the source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; receive the first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones from the memory; and identify a location of the source of the sound waves based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones, and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

[0005] In other features, the first, second, and third microphones are disposed in a first vehicle, and the source of the sound waves is a horn from a second vehicle proximate to the first vehicle.

[0006] In another feature, the processor is configured to generate at least one of the first, second, and third phase difference maps based on a frequency of the acoustic waves output by the source.

[0007] In other features, the processor is configured to: generate the first phase difference map for the first microphone and the second microphone based on a first frequency of the sound waves emitted by the source; generate the second phase difference map for the second microphone and the third microphone based on a second frequency less than the first frequency; and generate the third phase difference map for the third microphone and the first microphone based on a third frequency less than the second frequency.

[0008] In another feature, the third frequency is half the first frequency.

[0009] In other features, the processor is configured to generate the first, second, and third phase difference maps by arranging the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a grid including a plurality of cells; and calculating phase differences between the first microphone and the second microphone, the second microphone and the third microphone, and the third microphone and the first microphone based on waves of the first frequency, the second frequency, and the third frequency originating from each of the cells of the grid.

[0010] In another feature, the processor is configured to identify a location of a source within the area of ​​the grid in response to the acoustic waves having the first frequency.

[0011] In other features, the processor is configured to: generate the first, second, and third phase difference maps to locate the source within a grid-like area around the first, second, and third microphones, wherein the grid-like area includes a plurality of cells; subtract the first, second, and third phase differences from the first, second, and third phase difference maps, respectively; square the results of the subtractions; add the squares of the subtraction results; and identify the location of the source in a cell where the sum of the squares of the subtraction results in the cells is minimized.

[0012] In another feature, the processor is configured to display the location of the second vehicle on a display in the first vehicle.

[0013] In other features, a method includes receiving a sound wave from a source of the sound wave at first, second, and third microphones. The method includes storing first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones in a memory. The method includes measuring first, second, and third phase differences between the sound waves received from the source by the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones. The method includes retrieving the first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones from the memory. The method includes identifying a location of the source of the sound wave based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones, and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

[0014] In other features, the method further includes positioning the first, second, and third microphones in the first vehicle. The source of the sound waves is a horn from a second vehicle in proximity to the first vehicle.

[0015] In another feature, the method further includes generating at least one of the first, second, and third phase difference maps based on a frequency of the acoustic wave output by the source.

[0016] In other features, the method further includes generating the first phase difference map for the first microphone and the second microphone based on a first frequency of the sound waves emitted by the source; generating the second phase difference map for the second microphone and the third microphone based on a second frequency less than the first frequency; and generating the third phase difference map for the third microphone and the first microphone based on a third frequency less than the second frequency.

[0017] In another feature, the method further includes selecting the third frequency to be half the first frequency.

[0018] In other features, the method further includes generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps by arranging the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a grid including a plurality of cells; and calculating phase differences between the first microphone and the second microphone, the second microphone and the third microphone, and the third microphone and the first microphone based on waves of the first frequency, the second frequency, and the third frequency originating from each of the cells of the grid.

[0019] In another feature, the method further includes identifying a location of the source within the area of ​​the grid in response to the acoustic waves having the first frequency.

[0020] In other features, the method further includes: generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps to locate the source within a grid-like area around the first, second, and third microphones, wherein the grid-like area includes a plurality of cells; subtracting the first, second, and third phase differences from the first, second, and third phase difference maps, respectively; squaring the results of the subtractions; adding the squares of the results of the subtractions; and identifying the location of the source in a cell where the sum of the squares of the results of the subtractions in the cells is minimized.

[0021] In another feature, the method further includes displaying the location of the second vehicle on a display in the first vehicle.

[0022] In other features, a system includes first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves having a first frequency from a source of the sound waves. The system includes a memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones. The first, second, and third phase difference maps are generated by calculating phase differences between the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones based on waves of the first frequency and waves of the second and third frequencies originating from a plurality of cells in a grid-like area surrounding the first, second, and third microphones. The system includes a processor configured to measure first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from the source by the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; and identify a location of the source in one of the cells of the grid-like area based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones, and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

[0023] In other features, the processor is configured to: subtract the first, second, and third phase differences from the first, second, and third phase difference maps, respectively; square the results of the subtractions; add the squares of the results of the subtractions; and identify the position of the source in a cell where the sum of the squares of the results of the subtractions in the cell is minimized.

[0024] The present invention may also include the following aspects.

[0025] 1. A system comprising:

[0026] first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves from a source of the sound waves;

[0027] a memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; and

[0028] A processor configured to:

[0029] measuring first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from a source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones;

[0030] receiving from the memory the first, second, and third phase difference maps of the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; and

[0031] A location of the source of the sound wave is identified based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

[0032] 2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, and third microphones are disposed in a first vehicle, and wherein the source of the sound waves is a horn from a second vehicle near the first vehicle.

[0033] 3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate at least one of the first, second, and third phase difference maps based on a frequency of the acoustic wave output by the source.

[0034] 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

[0035] generating the first phase difference map for the first microphone and the second microphone based on a first frequency of the sound wave emitted by the source;

[0036] generating the second phase difference map for the second microphone and the third microphone based on a second frequency less than the first frequency; and

[0037] The third phase difference map for the third microphone and the first microphone is generated based on a third frequency that is less than the second frequency.

[0038] 5. A system according to Option 4, wherein the third frequency is half of the first frequency.

[0039] 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to generate the first, second, and third phase difference maps by:

[0040] arranging the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a grid comprising a plurality of cells; and

[0041] Phase differences between the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones are calculated based on waves of the first, second, and third frequencies originating from each of the cells of the grid.

[0042] 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to identify the location of the source within the area of ​​the grid in response to the sound waves having the first frequency.

[0043] 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

[0044] generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps to locate the source within a grid-like area around the first, second, and third microphones, wherein the grid-like area includes a plurality of cells;

[0045] subtracting the first, second and third phase differences from the first, second and third phase difference maps, respectively;

[0046] Square the result of the subtraction;

[0047] Add the squares of the results of the subtractions; and

[0048] The position in a cell where the sum of squares of the subtraction results of the sources in the cell is minimized is identified.

[0049] 9. The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to display the position of the second vehicle on a display in the first vehicle.

[0050] 10. A method comprising:

[0051] receiving sound waves from a source of sound waves at first, second, and third microphones;

[0052] storing in a memory first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones;

[0053] measuring first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from the source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones;

[0054] retrieving from the memory the first, second, and third phase difference maps of the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; and

[0055] A location of the source of the sound wave is identified based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

[0056] 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

[0057] placing the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a first vehicle,

[0058] The source of the sound wave is a horn of a second vehicle located near the first vehicle.

[0059] 12. The method according to embodiment 10 further includes generating at least one of the first phase difference map, the second phase difference map, and the third phase difference map based on the frequency of the sound wave output by the source.

[0060] 13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

[0061] generating the first phase difference map for the first microphone and the second microphone based on a first frequency of the sound wave emitted by the source;

[0062] generating the second phase difference map for the second microphone and the third microphone based on a second frequency less than the first frequency; and

[0063] The third phase difference map for the third microphone and the first microphone is generated based on a third frequency that is less than the second frequency.

[0064] 14. The method according to claim 13 further comprises selecting the third frequency as half of the first frequency.

[0065] 15. The method according to claim 10, further comprising generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps by the following steps:

[0066] arranging the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a grid comprising a plurality of cells; and

[0067] Phase differences between the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones are calculated based on waves of the first, second, and third frequencies originating from each of the cells of the grid.

[0068] 16. The method of claim 15 further comprising identifying a location of the source within the area of ​​the grid in response to the acoustic wave having the first frequency.

[0069] 17. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

[0070] generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps to locate the source within a grid-like area around the first, second, and third microphones, wherein the grid-like area includes a plurality of cells;

[0071] subtracting the first, second and third phase differences from the first, second and third phase difference maps, respectively;

[0072] Square the result of the subtraction;

[0073] Add the squares of the results of the subtractions; and

[0074] The position in a cell where the sum of squares of the subtraction results of the sources in the cell is minimized is identified.

[0075] 18. The method according to claim 11 further includes displaying the position of the second vehicle on a display in the first vehicle.

[0076] 19. A system comprising:

[0077] first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves having a first frequency from a source of the sound waves;

[0078] A memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; wherein the first, second, and third phase difference maps are generated by the following steps:

[0079] calculating phase differences between the first microphone and the second microphone, the second microphone and the third microphone, and the third microphone and the first microphone based on waves of the first frequency and waves of the second and third frequencies originating from a plurality of cells in a grid-like area around the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone; and

[0080] A processor configured to:

[0081] measuring first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from the source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; and

[0082] A location of the source in one of the cells of the grid-like area is identified based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

[0083] 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to:

[0084] subtracting the first, second and third phase differences from the first, second and third phase difference maps, respectively;

[0085] Square the result of the subtraction;

[0086] Add the squares of the results of the subtractions; and

[0087] The position in a cell where the sum of squares of the subtraction results of the sources in the cell is minimized is identified.

[0088] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims and drawings.The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0089] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0090] Figure 1 An example of a system for determining a phase difference between two microphones is shown;

[0091] Figure 2A and 2B respectively show examples of contour lines of unfolded and packed phase difference maps drawn based on the phase difference between two microphones when the position of the sound source is unknown;

[0092] Figure 3 shows an example of a waterfall plot when a whistle is sounded three times in succession from a source at a fixed position;

[0093] Figure 4 An example of a grid and three microphones for generating phase difference maps of three pairs of microphones based on phase differences between the three pairs of microphones is shown;

[0094] Figure 5 Shown Figure 4 Phase difference plots of the three microphone pairs shown, and subtracting the phase differences measured while driving to determine the position of the honking vehicle;

[0095] Figure 6 Shown for use Figure 4 and Figure 5A system using three pairs of microphones and phase difference diagrams to detect the direction of a whistle and locate its source;

[0096] Figure 7 Shown for use Figure 4 The three microphone pairs shown are used to generate Figure 5 The method of the phase difference diagram shown; and

[0097] Figure 8 Shown for use Figure 4 and Figure 5 The method shown uses three pairs of microphones and phase difference diagrams to detect the direction of a whistle and locate the source of the whistle.

[0098] Among the drawings, reference numerals may be repeated to identify similar and / or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0099] Using currently available methods, it is not possible to determine the direction of a horn or the location of the source of the horn. The present disclosure provides a system that uses a phase difference map (explained below) to determine the direction of a horn from a passenger vehicle or emergency vehicle. Specifically, the system uses three external microphones installed in the vehicle to detect and visualize the direction of the horn and determine the location of the honking vehicle. Based on the phase differences measured by the three microphones, the location of the source of the horn (i.e., the honking vehicle) can be found at the minimum of the sum of the squares of the subtracted phase difference maps. Visualization of the horn direction and the horn source location is achieved by plotting the sum of the squares of the subtracted phase difference maps.

[0100] Figure 1 An example of a system 100 for determining a phase difference between two microphones 102 and 104 is shown. For example, the two microphones 102 and 104 may be mounted on the exterior of a first vehicle. The positions of the two microphones 102, 104 may be represented by Cartesian coordinates ( ). In addition, the position of the sound source 106 (e.g., a whistle) with frequency f can be represented by the Cartesian coordinates For example, source 106 may be a second vehicle, such as an emergency vehicle (e.g., a police car, a fire truck, an ambulance, etc.)

[0101] The phase difference ( ) can be calculated as follows. First, the distances D2 and D3 between the source 106 and the two microphones 102, 104 are calculated as follows.

[0102]

[0103]

[0104] The difference between distances D2 and D3 is determined as follows.

[0105]

[0106] The phase difference between the sound waves received by the two microphones 102, 104 from the source 106 can be calculated as follows.

[0107]

[0108] Where λ = 1 / f is the wavelength of the sound (ie, the whistle) emitted from source 106; and c is the speed of sound.

[0109] The signals received by microphones 102, 104 are in package phase (0 to 2π). The phase difference between the two microphones 102, 104 is in the package data format (-2π to 2π). Therefore, the method for determining the phase difference between the sound waves received by the two microphones 102, 104 from the source 106 is based on the package phase difference.

[0110] Figure 2A and 2B Examples of the contour lines of the unwrapped and packed phase difference maps (PDMs) drawn based on the phase difference between two microphones when the position of the sound source is unknown are shown respectively. In the phase difference map shown, the relative distances of the sound source from the two microphones are plotted on the X-axis and the left Y-axis, and the normalized phase difference between the two microphones is plotted on the right Y-axis. Given the measured phase difference of the two microphones, the position of the sound source is on the contour lines of the phase difference map. Examples of possible solutions for the sound source position are shown in Figure 2B It is shown at 110-1, 110-2, 110-3, 110-4, etc.

[0111] However, the exact location of the sound source cannot be determined using only two microphones. At least one more (third) microphone (i.e., three or more microphones) can be used to determine the location of the sound source using a phase difference map generated based on the phase differences between the three microphone pairs, as described below. Before describing the generation of the phase difference map, the following reference is made to Figure 3 A waterfall plot is shown and described for a plurality of whistles. Selected frequencies from the waterfall plot can be used to generate a phase difference plot, as described below.

[0112] Figure 3 An example of a waterfall plot 151 is shown when a whistle is sounded three times consecutively from a source at a fixed location. A waterfall plot is a three-dimensional graph that simultaneously displays multiple data curves, such as a spectrum. In a waterfall plot, frequency, time, and amplitude are plotted on the X, Y, and Z axes, respectively. The curves in a waterfall plot are typically staggered both horizontally and vertically.

[0113] In the example shown, a whistle is emitted three times in rapid succession from a source at a fixed location. The curves for the first, second, and third consecutive whistles are shown at 150, 152, and 154, respectively. In each curve (i.e., for each whistle), the peak with the highest amplitude (magnitude) is identified, and the frequency of the peak is selected. In the example shown, the peak for each of the three whistles occurs at approximately 1 kHz. These peaks for the three whistles are referred to as first peaks, and are shown at 156-1, 156-2, and 156-3, respectively.

[0114] In addition, if available, one or more peaks having successively lower or decreasing amplitudes than the first peak having the highest amplitude are identified. In the example shown, the second and third peaks for each of the three whistles occur at approximately 800 Hz and 500 Hz, respectively. The second peaks for the three whistles are shown at 158-1, 158-2, and 158-3, respectively. The third peaks for the three whistles are shown at 160-1, 160-2, and 160-3, respectively. These frequencies of the first, second, and third peaks (approximately 1000, 800, and 500 Hz, respectively) are roughly the same for the three whistles and can be used to generate phase difference maps for the three pairs of microphones, as described below.

[0115] Figure 4 An example of a grid 200 for generating phase difference maps for three microphones 202, 204, and 206 is shown. These phase difference maps are generated when the vehicle is manufactured and stored in the vehicle. After describing the generation of the phase difference maps, these phase difference maps are then used in real time (i.e., while the vehicle is being driven) to locate a honking vehicle, as described below.

[0116] For example, the grid 200 used to generate the phase difference map may be a grid spanning 50×50 m. 2 A 10×10 grid (i.e., having 100 cells) of an area of ​​M*N or any other PxQ grid of P*Q cells may alternatively be used, where M, N, P, and Q are integers greater than 1, and the units of M and N may be feet, yards, or meters. The size and shape of the cells may be uniform or varied. The accuracy with which the honking vehicle can be located using the phase difference map is proportional to the number of cells in the grid 200 (i.e., the cell density). The accuracy with which the honking vehicle can be located using the phase difference map is also proportional to the number of microphones.

[0117] The three microphones 202, 204, and 206 are arranged approximately near the center area of ​​the grid 200, although the three microphones 202, 204, and 206 can be located anywhere in the grid 200. The three microphones 202, 204, and 206 can be separated from each other by a suitable distance. For example, the suitable distance can be determined based on the vehicle in which the three microphones 202, 204, and 206 will be installed.

[0118] The three microphones 202, 204, and 206 may be arranged at the vertices of a triangle. The type of triangle (e.g., equilateral, isosceles, right-angled, or irregular) may depend on the vehicle in which the three microphones 202, 204, and 206 will be installed. To generate a phase difference map, it is sufficient to fix the positions of the three microphones 202, 204, and 206, which are generally selected as described above.

[0119] The three microphones 202, 204 and 206 can be grouped into three pairs: a first pair including microphones 202 and 204 (also referred to as mic1 and mic2 or first and second microphones, respectively); a second pair including microphones 204 and 206 (also referred to as mic2 and mic3 or second and third microphones, respectively); and a third pair including microphones 206 and 202 (also referred to as mic3 and mic1 or third and first microphones, respectively).

[0120] Assume that the source of the whistle (e.g. Figure 1 Assume further that the whistle from the source has a first peak at about 1 kHz, followed by two successive lower peaks at 800 and 500 Hz, respectively. Figure 3 As shown, these three frequencies can be generally expressed as f1, f2 and f3, respectively, as Figure 5 For example, f1 = 1 kHz, f2 = 800 Hz, and f3 = 500 Hz. In general, f2 and f3 can have any value between f1 and f1 / 2, which may or may not be used as shown in the following example. Figure 3 The waterfall chart shown is exported.

[0121] At the source of the whistle (e.g. Figure 1 In the case where the element 106 shown is located in the first unit (any of the 100 units shown), the distance from the source to each of the three microphones 202, 204 and 206 is known. In addition, although f1 can be in the reference Figure 1 The equations shown and described are used to calculate the phase difference for each pair of microphones, but if different frequencies f1, f2 and f3 are used for different microphone pairs as described above, the location of the source of the whistle can be determined more accurately.

[0122] For example, f1 can be used to calculate the phase difference between the first microphone 202 and the second microphone 204 (i.e., the first pair of microphones mic1 and mic2); f2 can be used to calculate the phase difference between the second microphone 204 and the third microphone 206 (i.e., the second pair of microphones mic2 and mic3); and f3 can be used to calculate the phase difference between the third and first microphones 206, 202 (i.e., the third pair of microphones mic3 and mic1).

[0123] Given the distance from the source to each of the three microphones 202, 204, and 206, and given the frequencies f1, f2, and f3, the reference Figure 1 The equations shown and described are used to calculate the phase difference Δθ between the microphones in the three pairs of microphones. 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 .

[0124] Next, suppose the source of the whistle (e.g. Figure 1 106) is located at the second unit (any one of the 100 units shown), and when the distance from the source to each of the three microphones 202, 204 and 206 is known, and when the frequencies f1, f2, f3 are known, using the reference Figure 1 The equations shown and described are used to calculate the phase difference Δθ between the microphones in each pair 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 Similarly, the additional phase difference Δθ is calculated by 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 : Assuming that the source of the whistle is located at other cells of the grid 200, the distance is calculated, and the frequencies f1, f2, and f3 are used.

[0125] Figure 5 Shown Figure 4 Phase difference diagram of the three pairs of microphones shown. Using the phase difference Δθ calculated for the first pair of microphones mic1 and mic2 (microphones 202, 204) for all cells in the grid 200 as described above 12 A first phase difference map 210 is generated for the first pair of microphones mic1 and mic2 (microphones 202, 204). The phase differences Δθ calculated for the second pair of microphones mic2 and mic3 (microphones 204, 206) for all cells in the grid 200 are used as described above. 23, a second phase difference map 212 is generated for the second pair of microphones mic2 and mic3 (microphones 204, 206). Using the phase difference Δθ calculated as described above for the third pair of microphones mic3 and mic1 (microphones 206, 202) for all cells in the grid 200 31 A third phase difference graph 214 is generated for the third pair of microphones mic3 and mic1 (microphones 206, 202). In the phase difference graphs 210, 212, 214 shown, distance is plotted on the X and Y axes, and normalized phase difference is plotted on the Z axis.

[0126] Each phase difference graph represents all possible solutions for the location of the source of the honking in grid 200 based on phase differences measured by the corresponding microphone pair during use (e.g., while driving). Phase difference graph 210 represents all possible solutions for the location of the source of the honking in grid 200 based on phase differences measured by a first pair of microphones mic1 and mic2 (microphones 202, 204) during use. Phase difference graph 212 represents all possible solutions for the location of the source of the honking in grid 200 based on phase differences measured by a second pair of microphones mic2 and mic3 (microphones 204, 206) during use. Phase difference graph 212 represents all possible solutions for the location of the source of the honking in grid 200 based on phase differences measured by a third pair of microphones mic3 and mic1 (microphones 206, 202) during use.

[0127] The precise location of the source of the horn in the grid 200 (and, when driving, in the area around the vehicle equal to the grid 200) can be determined using Figure 5 As shown and as referenced below Figure 5 and 6 The difference graphs 210 , 212 , and 214 are combined to determine the difference between the two images.

[0128] Figure 6 The present disclosure shows a method for using Figure 4 and Figure 5 System 300 is shown in FIG. 1 , which uses three pairs of microphones and phase difference maps to detect the direction of a horn and locate the source of the horn. System 300 includes three microphones 202, 204, and 206 installed in a first vehicle 302. System 300 also includes a horn sensing module 310 and an infotainment module 312. Horn sensing module 310 includes a memory 320 and a processor 322. Memory 320 stores phase difference maps 210, 212, and 214. Infotainment module 312 includes, for example, multimedia, navigation, and other subsystems of vehicle 302. Infotainment module 312 includes a display 340.

[0129] In use (eg, while driving the vehicle 302), when the second vehicle 330 near the first vehicle 302 honks its horn, the processor 322 calculates the phase difference Δθ between the microphones in the three pairs of microphones as described above. 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 The processor 322 subtracts these phase differences Δθ from the corresponding phase difference maps 212 , 214 , 216 stored in the memory 320 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 . Figure 5 The results of the subtraction are shown at 220, 222 and 224 respectively. The subtraction can be regarded as the phase difference Δθ 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 The horizontal portion is taken from the corresponding phase difference diagrams 210, 212, and 214 at the value of Figure 5 As shown at 230, 232 and 234 respectively.

[0130] The processor 322 then adds the subtraction results 220, 222, and 224 to generate Figure 5 Based on the net result 240 shown in FIG, the processor 322 then calculates the location of the source (ie, the second vehicle 330) in the cell in the grid 200 ( ), which is at the minimum value of the sum of squares of the subtracted phase difference maps 212, 214, and 216, as follows:

[0131]

[0132] in is the phase difference map (in matrix form) of microphone pair i; and FD i is the measured phase difference (scale) of microphone pair i.

[0133] Figure 5 An example of the precise location of the second vehicle 330 honking its horn as detected by the first vehicle 302 is shown at 250. The processor 322 is based on and similar to Figure 5 The unit 240 shown in FIG generates visual indications on the display 340 of the infotainment module 312, including Figure 5 Based on the visual indication on the display 340, the driver of the first vehicle 302 can decide whether to change lanes, pull over, etc.

[0134] Figure 7 The present disclosure shows a method for using Figure 4 The three microphone pairs shown in Figure 5The method 400 of the phase difference diagram shown in FIG. For example, the method 400 may be performed by Figure 6 The horn sensing module 310 of the illustrated system 300 executes the control. The term “control” in the following description refers to the processor 322 of the horn sensing module 310.

[0135] At 402, control defines three (or more) microphone pairs (eg, mic1-2, mic2-3, and mic3-1). At 404, control defines three (or more) microphones in a grid of j cells (eg, X m1 、Y m1 、X m2 、Y m2 、X m3 、Y m3 ) in the .

[0136] At 406, control retrieves the position of microphone pair i. At 408, control calculates the phase difference for microphone pair (mic pair) i assuming the sound source is present in cell j. At 410, control determines whether j is the last cell of the grid. If j is not the last cell of the grid (i.e., if the phase difference for microphone pair i has not been determined for all cells j of the grid), at 412, control increments j, and control returns to 408. If j is the last cell of the grid (i.e., if the phase difference for microphone pair i has been determined for all cells j of the grid), at 414, control generates a phase difference map ( ).

[0137] Control determines whether phase difference maps are generated for all microphone pairs at 416. If phase difference maps are not generated for all microphone pairs, control increments i at 418 and control returns to 406. If phase difference maps are generated for all microphone pairs, control ends.

[0138] Figure 8 The present disclosure shows a method for using Figure 4 and Figure 5 Method 450 for detecting the direction of a whistle and locating the source of the whistle using the three pairs of microphones and the phase difference diagram shown in FIG. Figure 6 The horn sensing module 310 of the illustrated system 300 executes the control. The term “control” in the following description refers to the processor 322 of the horn sensing module 310.

[0139] At 452, control measures the phase difference (FDi) (Δθ 12 , Δθ 23 and Δθ 31 At 454, control retrieves the phase difference map for microphone pair i from memory ( At 456, the phase difference diagram ( ) minus the phase difference (FD) of microphone pair i i ) as ( -FD i At 458, control calculates the square of the subtracted phase difference map for microphone pair i as (FDM j,i -FD i ) 2 .

[0140] At 460, control determines whether processing has been performed for all microphone pairs. If processing has not been performed for all microphone pairs, control increments i at 462, and control returns to 452. If processing has been performed for all microphone pairs, control sums the squares of the subtracted phase difference maps for all microphone pairs to ∑ i 3 (FDM j,i -FD i ) 2 .

[0141] At 466 , control finds the cell j with the smallest sum of squares of the subtracted phase difference maps of all microphone pairs in the grid, ie, ∑ 3 i=1 (FDM j,i – FD i ) 2 The cell j of the grid where the sum of the squares of the phase difference patterns of all microphone pairs is the smallest is the location of the whistle source.

[0142] At 468 , control displays the direction and location of the source of the horn by plotting a color map of the sum of squares of the subtracted phase difference maps of all microphone pairs. The vehicle driver can decide whether to change lanes, pull over, etc. when viewing the displayed direction and location of the source of the horn.

[0143] While the present disclosure is described in the context of detecting the direction and location of a source of a whistle, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The teachings of the present disclosure may also be applied to detecting the direction and location of any sound source having a known frequency in a variety of other applications.

[0144] For example, the present teachings can be used to locate trapped people and animals during rescue missions. For example, a device can be equipped with three or more microphones and different phase difference pattern groups, each group designed to detect sounds of different frequencies. Such a device can be used to detect sound sources with different frequencies.

[0145] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms. Therefore, although this disclosure includes specific examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited, as other modifications will become apparent after studying the drawings, the description, and the appended claims.

[0146] It should be understood that one or more steps within the method may be performed in a different order (or simultaneously) without changing the principles of the present disclosure. In addition, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented in and / or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and the permutation of one or more embodiments with each other remains within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0147] Various terms are used to describe the spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.), including "connected," "engaged," "coupled / connected," "adjacent," "next to," "on top of," "above," "below," and "disposed." Unless explicitly described as "directly," when a relationship between a first and a second element is described in the above disclosure, the relationship can be a direct relationship with no other intervening elements between the first and second elements, but can also be an indirect relationship with one or more intervening elements between the first and second elements (spatially or functionally). As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be interpreted to mean a logical (A OR B OR C) using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be interpreted to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."

[0148] In the accompanying drawings, the direction of the arrows, as indicated by the arrows, generally represents the flow of information (e.g., data or instructions) of interest to the diagram. For example, when element A and element B exchange various information, but the information sent from element A to element B is relevant to the diagram, an arrow may be directed from element A to element B. This unidirectional arrow does not imply that no other information is being sent from element B to element A. In addition, for information sent from element A to element B, element B may send a request for the information or an acknowledgment of receipt of the information to element A.

[0149] In this application, including the definitions below, the term "module" or the term "controller" may be replaced with the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include: an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system on a chip.

[0150] The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuit may include a wired or wireless interface connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or a combination thereof. The functionality of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed across multiple modules connected via the interface circuits. For example, multiple modules may allow for load balancing. In a further example, a server (also referred to as a remote or cloud) module may perform some functions on behalf of a client module.

[0151] As used above, the term "code" may include software, firmware, and / or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, data structures, and / or objects. The term "shared processor circuitry" includes a single processor circuit that executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term "group processor circuitry" includes a processor circuit that, in conjunction with additional processor circuits, executes some or all code from one or more modules.

[0152] References to multi-processor circuits include multiple processor circuits on discrete dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or combinations thereof. The term "shared memory circuit" includes a single memory circuit that stores some or all code from multiple modules. The term "group memory circuit" includes a memory circuit that, in combination with additional memory, stores some or all code from one or more modules.

[0153] The term "memory circuit" is a subset of the term computer-readable medium. As used herein, the term "computer-readable medium" does not include transient electrical or electromagnetic signals propagated through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); therefore, the term "computer-readable medium" may be considered to be both tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of non-transitory tangible computer-readable media are non-volatile memory circuits (such as flash memory circuits, erasable programmable read-only memory circuits, or mask read-only memory circuits), volatile memory circuits (such as static random access memory circuits or dynamic random access memory circuits), magnetic storage media (such as analog or digital magnetic tape or hard drives), and optical storage media (such as CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs).

[0154] The apparatus and methods described in this application may be implemented in part or in whole by a special-purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions implemented in a computer program. The above-described functional blocks, flow chart components, and other elements serve as software specifications that can be converted into computer programs by routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.

[0155] The computer program includes processor-executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium. The computer program may also include or rely on stored data. The computer program may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with the hardware of the special-purpose computer, device drivers that interact with specific devices of the special-purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

[0156] A computer program may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, such as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation); (ii) assembly code; (iii) object code generated by a compiler from source code; (iv) source code executed by an interpreter; (v) source code compiled and executed by a just-in-time compiler, etc. By way of example only, the source code may be written using syntax from languages ​​including C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Java®, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, Javascript®, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language 5th Revision), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Flash®, Visual Basic®, Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and Python®.

Claims

1. A system for detecting the direction of a vehicle horn, comprising: first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves from a source of the sound waves; a memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; as well as A processor configured to: measuring first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from a source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; receiving from the memory the first, second, and third phase difference maps of the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; as well as identifying a location of the source of the sound wave based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones and the first, second, and third phase difference maps, The processor is further configured to: generating the first phase difference map for the first microphone and the second microphone based on a first frequency of the sound wave emitted by the source; generating the second phase difference map for the second microphone and the third microphone based on a second frequency less than the first frequency; as well as The third phase difference map for the third microphone and the first microphone is generated based on a third frequency that is less than the second frequency. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second, and third microphones are disposed in a first vehicle, and wherein the source of the sound waves is a horn from a second vehicle in proximity to the first vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate at least one of the first, second, and third phase difference maps based on a frequency of the acoustic wave output by the source. The system of claim 1 , wherein the third frequency is half of the first frequency.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the first, second, and third phase difference maps by: arranging the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a grid comprising a plurality of cells; and Phase differences between the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones are calculated based on waves of the first, second, and third frequencies originating from each of the cells of the grid.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to identify the location of the source within the area of ​​the grid in response to the sound waves having the first frequency.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to: generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps to locate the source within a grid-like area around the first, second, and third microphones, wherein the grid-like area includes a plurality of cells; subtracting the first, second and third phase differences from the first, second and third phase difference maps, respectively; Square the result of the subtraction; Add the squares of the results of the subtractions; and The position in a cell where the sum of squares of the subtraction results of the sources in the cell is minimized is identified.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the processor is configured to display the location of the second vehicle on a display in the first vehicle.

9. A method for detecting the direction of a vehicle horn, comprising: receiving sound waves from a source of sound waves at first, second, and third microphones; storing in a memory first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; measuring first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from a source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; retrieving from the memory the first, second, and third phase difference maps of the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; identifying a location of the source of the sound wave based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones and the first, second, and third phase difference maps; generating the first phase difference map for the first microphone and the second microphone based on a first frequency of the sound wave emitted by the source; generating the second phase difference map for the second microphone and the third microphone based on a second frequency less than the first frequency; as well as The third phase difference map for the third microphone and the first microphone is generated based on a third frequency that is less than the second frequency.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: The first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone are arranged in a first vehicle, wherein a source of the sound waves is a horn from a second vehicle in the vicinity of the first vehicle.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating at least one of the first phase difference map, the second phase difference map, and the third phase difference map based on a frequency of the acoustic wave output by the source.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising selecting the third frequency to be half the first frequency.

13. The method according to claim 9, further comprising generating the first, second and third phase difference maps by the following steps: arranging the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone in a grid comprising a plurality of cells; and Phase differences between the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones are calculated based on waves of the first, second, and third frequencies originating from each of the cells of the grid.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising identifying a location of the source within an area of ​​the grid in response to the acoustic waves having the first frequency.

15. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: generating the first, second, and third phase difference maps to locate the source within a grid-like area around the first, second, and third microphones, wherein the grid-like area includes a plurality of cells; subtracting the first, second and third phase differences from the first, second and third phase difference maps, respectively; Square the result of the subtraction; Add the squares of the subtraction results; as well as The position in a cell where the sum of squares of the subtraction results of the sources in the cell is minimized is identified.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the location of the second vehicle on a display in the first vehicle.

17. A system for detecting the direction of a vehicle horn, comprising: first, second, and third microphones configured to receive sound waves having a first frequency from a source of the sound waves; A memory configured to store first, second, and third phase difference maps for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; wherein the first, second, and third phase difference maps are generated by the following steps: calculating phase differences between the first microphone and the second microphone, the second microphone and the third microphone, and the third microphone and the first microphone based on waves of the first frequency and waves of the second frequency and the third frequency originating from a plurality of cells in a grid-like area around the first microphone, the second microphone, and the third microphone; as well as A processor configured to: measuring first, second, and third phase differences between sound waves received from the source via the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones; and A location of the source in one of the cells of the grid-like area is identified based on the first, second, and third phase differences for the first and second microphones, the second and third microphones, and the third and first microphones and the first, second, and third phase difference maps.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the processor is configured to: subtracting the first, second and third phase differences from the first, second and third phase difference maps, respectively; Square the result of the subtraction; Add the squares of the results of the subtractions; and The position in a cell where the sum of squares of the subtraction results of the sources in the cell is minimized is identified.

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