Optimum "type of sound" in "approaching sound" of electric vehicle or the like

Abstract

To provide "approaching sound" accepted as "approaching sound of an electric vehicle or the like".SOLUTION: In "approaching sound" at a "vehicle approaching notification device" in an electric vehicle and a hybrid vehicle, a fuel battery vehicle and an electrically-driven motorcycle, "discharge sound" as the "approaching sound" of the "vehicle approaching notification device" is used. "Discharge sound" is emitted from a speaker by recording the "discharge sound" and cutting out only effective sound.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention provides an optimal "type of sound" for the "approaching sound" in a "vehicle approaching notification device" in electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and electric motorcycles. (Hereinafter, "electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and electric motorcycles" will be collectively referred to as "electric vehicles, etc.")

Background Art

[0002] On January 29, 2010, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan announced "Summary of Measures for the Quietness of Hybrid Vehicles, etc." in its "Press Release and Public Relations". In the appendix 3 "Guidelines" thereof, the "type of sound" is defined. The definition is as follows.

[0003] "The sound to be emitted shall be a continuous sound that reminds of the running state of the vehicle. In this case, the following sounds or sounds similar thereto shall be considered inappropriate. 1. Siren, chime, bell, and melody sound 2. Sound of a warning siren 3. Sounds emitted by animals or insects such as cries 4. Sounds of natural phenomena such as waves, wind, and the flow of a river 5. Other sounds that cannot be assumed to be emitted from a vehicle in common sense

[0004] According to the regulations of these guidelines, each Japanese automobile manufacturer seems to adopt its own "type of sound". Most of them use "engine sound", "motor rotation sound", "various exhaust sounds", "jet jet sound", "whistle sound", "hum sound", etc., but currently, each company is still in a fragmented state and there is no unified one as the "approaching sound" of electric vehicles, etc.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0005]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Currently, each automobile manufacturer is in a search state for the optimal "approach sound" and the "type of pronunciation" in the "approach sound". And in the international agreement ("Automotive Standards Harmonization World Forum"), the "type of pronunciation" is still undetermined. Originally, since an artificial "driving sound (approach sound)" is given to an electric vehicle or the like that does not originally emit a "driving sound (approach sound)", no matter what kind of sound is adopted as the "driving sound (approach sound)", it will inevitably be accompanied by unnaturalness. However, for this reason, for pedestrians, the "artificial approach sound" will not directly mean the approach of the vehicle. For example, when a contact accident occurs between a pedestrian and an electric vehicle or the like, the pedestrian may plead "I didn't think it was the approaching sound of a vehicle." Therefore, in order for pedestrians to be able to understand the meaning just by faintly hearing the "approach sound" approaching from afar, it is essential that there is some kind of association between the "approach sound" and the vehicle.

[0007] Two types of "sounds" that are suitable as the "approach sound" of the "vehicle approach notification device" can be immediately listed. They are A. "engine sound", B. "motor sound (electric motor rotation sound)". Regarding A. "engine sound", it is a sound that has been familiar for many years since the automobile was born as an engine vehicle. Regarding B. "motor sound", it is a sound characteristic of the newly born "electric vehicle etc.". And besides these two types of sounds, it seems that there is no sound that is naturally associated with the vehicle as the "approach sound".

[0008] However, when taking the "engine sound" as the "approaching sound" of an electric vehicle or the like, for example, it is difficult for the driver of a hybrid vehicle to distinguish between the "artificial engine sound" when the vehicle is running on the motor and the "genuine engine sound" when it is running on the engine. Therefore, in order to avoid this problem, it can be said that it is desirable to have a clear difference between the "approaching sound" during motor running and the "engine sound" during engine running. (That is, it is not appropriate to adopt the "engine sound" as the "approaching sound").

[0009] Also, in the case of B. "motor rotation sound", since this sound is audibly smaller compared to the engine sound, it cannot be used as the "approaching sound" as it is. However, since the actual "approaching sound" is the recorded "motor rotation sound" emitted from a speaker, it is only necessary to amplify the recorded sound (make it a louder sound) and emit it from the speaker.

[0010] However, when taking the "motor rotation sound" as the "approaching sound", there is one problem. That is, the "rotation sound of the motor" is a "sound" that fills the streets. The largest of these is the "motor rotation sound" emitted by the "train" of public transportation. That is, the "motor rotation sound" that most pedestrians hear daily as the "running sound" of the train overlaps with the "approaching sound of a train running on the rails without the need for caution", so it is predicted that it will be difficult to serve the purpose of warning of the approach of an "electric vehicle or the like".

Means for Solving the Problem

[0011] The present invention proposes to adopt the "sound emitted by electricity" as the "approaching sound" related to an electric vehicle or the like. Of course, there is no sound in "electricity", but there is the sound of a "discharge phenomenon" that occurs between the cathode and anode such as "spark discharge". That is, the sound of discharge such as "jijijiji" and "bababa". Ordinary pedestrians have probably heard the "discharge sound" at least once, and there are few people who don't know what the sound is when they hear it. If it is known that the "discharge sound" is approaching from afar, it will be immediately understood that the sound is the sound emitted by an "electric spark", and it will be easy to associate it with an electric vehicle or the like.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] Listing the points where the above "discharge sound" corresponds to the "sound type" of the "approach sound" of the "vehicle approach warning device", it is as follows. 1. It is universal (a sound known to everyone). 2. It is easy to recognize (easy to distinguish from other sounds filling the street). 3. It is a non-daily sound (rarely heard usually). 4. The "alertness" of humans towards electric sounds (such as electric shock) can be utilized. 5. It has the characteristics of an "electric sound" and is easily accepted as a common symbol for "electric vehicles and the like" in general. 6. The "sound" itself is easily obtained by a "discharge device". 7. It meets the guidelines of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] The "discharge sound" presented by the present invention as an "approach sound" is the sound generated during a "discharge phenomenon". Here, the "discharge" refers to applying a voltage to electrodes facing each other with an insulator such as a gas in between to cause "dielectric breakdown" and allowing an electric current to flow between the electrodes, and the "sound" generated at that time is called the "discharge sound". The "discharge phenomenon" is roughly classified into four types according to its form: "spark discharge", "corona discharge", "glow discharge", and "arc discharge". All discharge sounds generated from these can be generated by the sound generating device and recorded. And in these four types of discharges, simply looking at only the "discharge sound", two types are found: the "spark sound" like "jijijiji" and "baba" and the "hum sound" like "vonn". Among these two types of discharge sounds, the one suitable as the "approach sound" of the vehicle would generally be the "spark sound" which is familiar and easy to recognize. However, it doesn't mean that the "rumbling sound" cannot be used. In fact, these "discharge sounds" will be recorded and processed, such as cutting out only the effective sounds, and then emitted from the speaker.

Claims

【Claim 1】 Using a "discharge sound" as the "type of sound" of the "approach sound" of a "vehicle approach notification device" such as an electric vehicle.