Vehicle sound output apparatus

Abstract

To provide a vehicle sound output apparatus which can suppress a reduction in the sound pressure level of a sound outputted to an outside of the vehicle even when an exterior member body is provided with a through hole.SOLUTION: A vehicle sound output apparatus 11 comprises: an exterior member 20, having an exterior member body 20A constituting a part of a vehicle hull, and a plurality of connection parts 23 projected out of the inner face 20a of the exterior member body 20A; and a vibration device 30, coupled with the exterior member body 20A by means of the plurality of connection parts 23 to vibrate at a predetermined frequency by electrification. The exterior member body 20A is provided with a first opening 21. The first opening 21 is at a position surrounded by the plurality of connection parts 23. The distance L between the connection part 23 and the marginal apart 21a of the first opening 21 is set to a size where a first vibration propagated from the connection part 23 to the marginal part 21a and a second vibration reflected on the marginal part 21a to return to the connection part 23 strengthen each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sound output device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an alarm sound generating device that emits an alarm sound around a vehicle. This alarm sound generating device has a vibration unit having a vibrator that converts an acoustic electric signal into a mechanical vibration, and acoustic signal supply means for supplying the acoustic electric signal to the vibration unit.

[0003] The vibration unit is attached with the vibrator pressed against the rear surface of a body component such as a bumper that is exposed to the outside of the vehicle. Such an alarm sound generating device vibrates the entire body component by vibrating the vibrator, thereby emitting an alarm sound around the vehicle.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 describes a vehicle in which a charging port structure is installed inside an opening in the front bumper. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-246109 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-232707 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when the alarm sound generating device described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a vehicle having an opening in an exterior member such as a bumper as described in Patent Document 2, the following problem occurs, for example: The vibration unit cannot be attached to a position that overlaps with the opening because it is attached with the vibrator pressed against the back surface of the exterior member.

[0007] Furthermore, if the area contributing to the vibration of the exterior member is reduced by providing an opening, another problem occurs in that the sound pressure level of the warning sound emitted around the vehicle is reduced. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Various aspects of a vehicle sound output device for solving the above problems will be described. [Aspect 1] A sound output device for a vehicle comprising: an exterior member having an exterior member main body that forms part of the vehicle's outer shell; and a plurality of connecting portions protruding from the inner surface of the exterior member main body; and a vibration device that is connected to the exterior member main body by the plurality of connecting portions and vibrates at a predetermined frequency when electricity is applied, wherein the exterior member main body has a through hole that is located at a position surrounded by the plurality of connecting portions, and the distance between the connecting portion and an edge of the through hole is set to a size that causes a first vibration that is propagated from the connecting portion to the edge and a second vibration that is reflected at the edge and returns to the connecting portion to reinforce each other.

[0009] According to the above configuration, vibrations of a predetermined frequency input from the vibration device propagate to the edge of the through hole via the multiple connecting parts and vibrate the edge, and sound of the predetermined frequency generated by the vibration of the edge is output toward the outside of the vehicle.

[0010] According to the above configuration, the first vibration propagated from the connecting portion to the edge portion and the second vibration reflected at the edge portion and returning to the connecting portion reinforce each other, thereby increasing the sound pressure level of the sound output outside the vehicle.

[0011] Therefore, even if a through hole is provided in the exterior member main body, it is possible to prevent the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle from decreasing. Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the vibration device is attached to the exterior member main body via the connecting portion, so that the vibration device can be disposed at a position overlapping with the through hole.

[0012] [Aspect 2] A vehicle sound output device according to [Aspect 1], wherein the distance between each of the plurality of connecting portions and the edge portion is set to be the same. According to the above configuration, the first vibration and the second vibration reinforce each other between each of the multiple connecting portions and the edge of the through hole. Therefore, the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle can be efficiently increased. Therefore, even if a through hole is provided in the exterior member main body, it is possible to further prevent the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle from decreasing.

[0013] [Aspect 3] A sound output device for a vehicle as described in [Aspect 2], wherein the multiple connecting portions are arranged on the circumference of an imaginary circle located on the inner surface of the exterior member main body, and the through hole is arranged so as to include the center of the imaginary circle.

[0014] Conventionally, there are sound output devices in which through holes are not located between the multiple connecting parts. In this sound output device, the multiple connecting parts are arranged on the circumference of an imaginary circle located on the inner surface of the exterior member main body. With such a sound output device, by appropriately setting the diameter of the imaginary circle and the frequency of the vibration input from the vibration device, the vibrations propagated through the multiple connecting parts reinforce each other at the center of the imaginary circle. As a result, the sound pressure of the sound output outward can be increased.

[0015] However, in such a conventional sound output device, if the through-hole is arranged so as to include the center of the imaginary circle, it becomes difficult to achieve the above-mentioned effect. In this regard, with the above-mentioned configuration, the first vibration and the second vibration reinforce each other between each of the multiple connecting portions and the edge of the through-hole. This makes it possible to efficiently increase the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle.

[0016] Therefore, it is possible to realize a sound output device in which a plurality of connecting portions are arranged on the circumference of the imaginary circle and the through-hole is arranged so as to include the center of the imaginary circle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, even when a through hole is provided in the exterior member main body, it is possible to prevent the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle from decreasing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing the front part of a vehicle to which a sound output device according to an embodiment is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a sound output device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a front view showing the sound output device of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of one embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] An embodiment of a vehicle sound output device will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6. In this embodiment, the present invention is embodied as a sound output device 11 that is applied to a vehicle 10 such as an electric vehicle that runs on an electric motor that generates rotational power when energized, and that outputs an approach warning sound to pedestrians and the like that approach the vehicle 10.

[0020] Hereinafter, the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 10 will be simply referred to as the fore-and-aft direction, and the width direction of the vehicle 10 will be simply referred to as the vehicle width direction. Also, the up-and-down direction of the vehicle 10 when the vehicle 10 is positioned on a horizontal plane will be simply referred to as the up-and-down direction.

[0021] <Sound Output Device 11> 1 and 2, an exterior member 20 that forms part of the outer shell of the vehicle 10 is provided at the front of the vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the exterior member 20 is a front grille having a grill-less design surface.

[0022] The exterior member 20 is provided with an emblem 12 that indicates the manufacturer, model, etc. of the vehicle 10, and a charging port 13 for, for example, normal charging (see FIG. 1). A vibration device 30 is also attached to the exterior member 20 (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the vibration device 30 is disposed behind the emblem 12 in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 4).

[0023] The exterior member 20 and the vibration device 30 constitute the sound output device 11. Each component of the sound output device 11 will be described in detail below. <Exterior member 20> 1 and 2, the exterior member 20 has a plate-shaped exterior member main body 20A that forms the design surface, and a plurality of connecting portions 23. The exterior member 20 is integrally molded from a hard resin.

[0024] The exterior member main body 20A is provided with a first opening 21 and a second opening 22 that penetrate the exterior member main body 20A in the front-rear direction. The first opening 21 is a hole to which the emblem 12 is attached, and is disposed in the center of the exterior member main body 20A in the vehicle width direction. In this embodiment, the shape of the first opening 21 is a perfect circle (see FIG. 3). The first opening 21 corresponds to a through hole according to the present invention.

[0025] Second opening 22 is a hole to which charging port 13 is attached, and is disposed adjacent to first opening 21 in the vehicle width direction. Charging inlet 13a is provided inside second opening 22. Second opening 22 is closed from the front by charging lid 13b.

[0026] The multiple connecting portions 23 protrude from the inner surface 20a of the exterior member main body 20A. In this embodiment, three connecting portions 23 protrude from the inner surface 20a. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, each connecting portion 23 has a first portion 24 that constitutes the front portion of the connecting portion 23 and a second portion 25 that constitutes the rear portion of the connecting portion 23.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, the first portion 24 is hollow and opens downward in the up-down direction. The second portion 25 protrudes from a rear end surface 24a of the first portion 24. A screw hole 26 is formed in the rear end surface 25a of the second portion 25.

[0028] 3, the three connecting portions 23 are arranged on the circumference of an imaginary circle C located on the inner surface 20a of the exterior member main body 20A. More specifically, the three connecting portions 23 are arranged so that the centers of the screw holes 26 are located on the circumference of the imaginary circle C. In this embodiment, the screw holes 26 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the imaginary circle C.

[0029] <Vibration device 30> As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the vibration device 30 has a vibrator 31 that vibrates at a predetermined frequency when energized, and a fixed plate 32 made of hard resin.

[0030] The fixed plate 32 has a disk portion 33 and a plurality of extension portions 34 extending from the outer periphery of the disk portion 33 . 3, the disk portion 33 has substantially the same size as the imaginary circle C. The center of the disk portion 33 is located on an axis A that extends in the front-rear direction and passes through the center of the imaginary circle C.

[0031] The extension portions 34 are provided one by one at positions overlapping with the connecting portions 23 in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the fixing plate 32 is provided with insertion holes 32a at positions that overlap with the screw holes 26 in the front-rear direction.

[0032] With the extension portion 34 and a portion of the disk portion 33 that is continuous with the extension portion 34 in contact with the rear end surface 25a of the second portion 25, the screw 40 is inserted into the insertion hole 32a and the tip of the screw 40 is threaded into the screw hole 26, thereby fixing the fixing plate 32 to the connecting portion 23. As a result, the fixing plate 32 is connected to the exterior member main body 20A by the multiple connecting portions 23.

[0033] The vibrator 31 is fixed to the inner surface 32b of the fixed plate 32. The vibrator 31 is fixed to the center of the inner surface 32b, for example, with an adhesive. A control device (not shown) is electrically connected to the vibrator 31. The control device controls the vibration frequency of the vibrator 31.

[0034] <Positional Relationship Between First Opening 21 and Connecting Portion 23> 3, first opening 21 is located in a position surrounded by a plurality of connecting portions 23. Note that "a position surrounded by a plurality of connecting portions 23" here includes not only a position where first opening 21 is located so that the entire first opening 21 overlaps with a figure of the largest area formed by connecting a plurality of connecting portions 23 with straight lines in a front view, but also a position where first opening 21 is located so that a portion of first opening 21 overlaps with the figure. In this embodiment, first opening 21 is entirely surrounded by a plurality of connecting portions 23.

[0035] In this embodiment, an imaginary circle C is located at a position that extends concentrically from the first opening 21. In other words, the first opening 21 is located at a position that includes the center of the imaginary circle C. The distance L (see FIG. 4) between the connecting portion 23 and the edge 21a of the first opening 21 is set to a size that allows a first vibration V1 (see FIG. 5) propagated from the connecting portion 23 to the edge 21a and a second vibration V2 (see FIG. 6) reflected by the edge 21a and returning to the connecting portion 23 to reinforce each other. Note that the distance L between the connecting portion 23 and the edge 21a of the first opening 21 here is the shortest distance when a straight line is drawn between the center of the connecting portion 23 (the screw hole 26 in this embodiment) and the edge 21a. In this embodiment, the distance L between each of the multiple connecting portions 23 and the edge 21a is set to be the same.

[0036] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. 5, the first vibration V1 of a predetermined frequency input from the vibration device 30 propagates to the edge 21a of the first opening 21 via the multiple connecting portions 23 and vibrates the edge 21a. Then, sound of the predetermined frequency generated by the vibration of the edge 21a is output outward from the vehicle 10.

[0037] 6, the first vibration V1 propagated from the connecting portion 23 to the edge portion 21a and the second vibration V2 reflected by the edge portion 21a and returning to the connecting portion 23 reinforce each other. This makes it possible to increase the sound pressure level of the sound output outward from the vehicle 10.

[0038] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. (1) The exterior member main body 20A is provided with a first opening 21. The first opening 21 is located in a position surrounded by a plurality of connecting portions 23. The distance L between the connecting portion 23 and the edge portion 21a of the first opening 21 is set to a size such that the first vibration V1 propagated from the connecting portion 23 to the edge portion 21a and the second vibration V2 reflected by the edge portion 21a and returning to the connecting portion 23 reinforce each other.

[0039] This configuration provides the above-described effects. Therefore, even when the first opening 21 and the second opening 22 are provided in the exterior member main body 20A, by using the first opening 21, it is possible to prevent the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle 10 from decreasing.

[0040] Furthermore, according to the above configuration, the vibration device 30 is attached to the exterior member main body 20A via the multiple connecting portions 23, so that the vibration device 30 can be disposed at a position overlapping with the first opening 21.

[0041] (2) The distance L between each of the plurality of connecting portions 23 and the edge portion 21a is set to be the same. According to this configuration, the first vibration V1 and the second vibration V2 reinforce each other between each of the multiple connecting portions 23 and the edge portion 21a of the first opening 21. This makes it possible to efficiently increase the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle 10. Therefore, even when the first opening 21 and the second opening 22 are provided in the exterior member main body 20A, it is possible to further prevent the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle 10 from decreasing.

[0042] (3) The multiple connecting portions 23 are arranged on the circumference of an imaginary circle C located on the inner surface 20a of the exterior member main body 20A. The first opening 21 is arranged so as to include the center of the imaginary circle C.

[0043] Conventionally, there is a sound output device in which the first opening 21 is not provided in a position surrounded by the multiple connecting portions 23. In this sound output device, the multiple connecting portions 23 are arranged on the circumference of an imaginary circle C located on the inner surface 20a of the exterior member main body 20A. With such a sound output device, by appropriately setting the diameter of the imaginary circle C and the frequency of the vibration input from the vibration device 30, the vibrations propagated via the multiple connecting portions 23 reinforce each other at the center of the imaginary circle C. As a result, the sound pressure of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle 10 can be increased.

[0044] However, in such a conventional sound output device, if the first opening 21 is positioned so as to include the center of the imaginary circle C, it becomes difficult to achieve the above-mentioned effect. In this regard, with the above-mentioned configuration, the first vibration V1 and the second vibration V2 reinforce each other between each of the multiple connecting portions 23 and the edge portion 21a of the first opening 21. This makes it possible to efficiently increase the sound pressure level of the sound output toward the outside of the vehicle 10.

[0045] Therefore, the sound output device 11 can be realized in which the plurality of connecting portions 23 are arranged on the circumference of the imaginary circle C and the first opening 21 is arranged so as to include the center of the imaginary circle C.

[0046] <Example of change> This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0047] The fixing plate 32 is not limited to being made of hard resin, but may be made of metal. In this embodiment, the multiple connecting portions 23 are arranged at equal intervals on the imaginary circle C, but the positions of the multiple connecting portions 23 on the imaginary circle C may be changed as appropriate.

[0048] In this embodiment, three connecting portions 23 are provided, but the number of connecting portions 23 may be two, or four or more. The shape of the fixing plate 32 is not limited to a substantially circular shape, but may be a polygon such as a square. In this case, it is preferable that each vertex of the polygon is located on the same circle. It is also preferable that the connecting portions 23 are provided at positions corresponding to each vertex of the polygon.

[0049] The shape of the first opening 21 is not limited to the perfect circle exemplified in this embodiment, but may be, for example, a circle including an ellipse or an oval, or a polygon such as a square or a rectangle. The arrangement of the first opening 21 is not limited to the arrangement in which the entire first opening 21 is surrounded by the plurality of connecting portions 23 as exemplified in this embodiment, but may be such that at least a portion of the first opening 21 is surrounded by the plurality of connecting portions 23. In this case, the first opening 21 does not have to be arranged at a position that includes the center of the imaginary circle C.

[0050] The multiple connecting portions 23 are not limited to those arranged on the circumference of the imaginary circle C as exemplified in this embodiment. For example, when the shape and arrangement of the first opening 21 are changed as described above, the arrangement of the multiple connecting portions 23 may be changed as appropriate under the following conditions. That is, it is sufficient that the distance L between the connecting portion 23 and the edge portion 21a of the first opening 21 is set to a size that causes the first vibration V1 propagated from the connecting portion 23 to the edge portion 21a and the second vibration V2 reflected by the edge portion 21a and returning to the connecting portion 23 to reinforce each other.

[0051] In the present embodiment, the distance L between each of the multiple connecting portions 23 and the edge portion 21a is set to be the same, but the distance L between at least one connecting portion 23 and the edge portion 21a may be different as long as the distance L is set to a magnitude such that the first vibration V1 propagated from the connecting portion 23 to the edge portion 21a and the second vibration V2 reflected by the edge portion 21a and returning to the connecting portion 23 reinforce each other.

[0052] The second opening 22 may be omitted from the exterior member 20. The through hole according to the present invention is not limited to the first opening 21 to which the emblem 12 is attached, but can be any through hole around which a plurality of connecting portions 23 and vibration devices 30 can be arranged within the scope of the advantageous effects of this embodiment.

[0053] The exterior member 20 is not limited to the front grille exemplified in this embodiment, but may be any member that forms part of the outer shell of the vehicle, such as a back door, a fender panel, a bumper, or a roof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] A…Axis line C...Imaginary circle L…Distance V1...first vibration V2…Second vibration 10...Vehicle 11...Sound output device 12...Emblem 13...Charging port 13a...Charging inlet 13b...Charging lid 20...Exterior material 20A…Exterior material body 20a...inside 21...First opening 21a...Edge 22...Second opening 23...Connection part 24…Part 1 24a...Rear end surface 25…Second part 25a...Rear end surface 26...Screw hole 30...Vibration device 31...Vibrator 32…Fixing plate 32a...Through hole 32b...Inner 33...Disc part 34...Extending part 40...Screw

Claims

1. an exterior member having an exterior member main body that constitutes a part of the outer shell of a vehicle and a plurality of connecting portions that protrude from an inner surface of the exterior member main body; a vibration device connected to the exterior member main body by a plurality of the connecting portions and vibrating at a predetermined frequency when energized, The exterior member main body is provided with a through hole, the through-hole is located at a position surrounded by a plurality of the connecting portions, a distance between the connecting portion and the edge of the through hole is set to a size such that a first vibration propagated from the connecting portion to the edge and a second vibration reflected at the edge and returning to the connecting portion reinforce each other; Vehicle sound output device.

2. The distance between each of the plurality of connecting portions and the edge portion is set to be the same. The vehicle sound output device according to claim 1 .

3. the plurality of connecting portions are arranged on the circumference of an imaginary circle located on the inner surface of the exterior member main body, The through-hole is arranged so as to include the center of the imaginary circle. The vehicle sound output device according to claim 2 .

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