Approaching Notification Sound Circuit With Lower MCU Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle approaching notification systems require high-performance MCUs to generate high-quality sounds, leading to increased costs due to the need for expensive processors and high-resolution DACs, resulting in a substantial price increase.
Innovation Solution
A sound output device with a communication controller and sound generator that receives moving body information, generates parameters for sound adjustment, and uses a sound synthesis circuit to adjust a basic sound signal based on these parameters, reducing the load on the MCU by performing sound generation in hardware rather than software.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the MCU generates the approaching notification sound waveform signal through software processing, then the system can be implemented with basic hardware, but the processing load on the MCU increases and sound quality is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the software-based sound generation process in the MCU with a dedicated hardware sound synthesis circuit. This circuit uses hardware components (adders, multipliers, memory units) to perform waveform synthesis directly in the electrical domain, eliminating the need for software processing and significantly reducing the MCU's computational load while enabling high-quality sound output.
2Manufacturing precision
If a high-performance MCU and high-resolution DAC are employed to achieve high-quality sound, then sound quality is improved, but the system cost increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the sound generation system into separate functional modules: a dedicated sound synthesis circuit for waveform generation, a separate MCU for control logic, and a DAC for digital-to-analog conversion. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function using cost-effective implementations, rather than requiring a high-performance MCU to handle all tasks, thereby reducing overall system cost while maintaining high sound quality.
3Device complexity
If the MCU performs both reception control of CAN communication and generation of approaching notification sound, then the system structure is simplified, but the MCU load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sound generation function from the MCU and places it in a dedicated sound synthesis circuit. The MCU retains only the reception control of CAN communication and parameter generation tasks, while the sound synthesis circuit independently handles the computationally intensive waveform generation. This extraction significantly reduces the MCU's processing load and energy consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication controller that receives moving body related information detected by a sensor and transmits a parameter for generating a sound based on this moving body related information, and a sound generating unit that includes a circuit that generates a basic sound signal having a predetermined sound waveform, receives the parameter received by the communication controller, and outputs a sound signal obtained by adjusting the sound waveform of the basic sound signal based on the received parameter.