Active Engine Harmonic Control for Hybrid Sound Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing engine harmonic enhancement systems fail to accurately replicate the natural sound of a vehicle engine, particularly in quiet vehicles like electric ones, and struggle to maintain a consistent sonic experience during transitions between internal combustion and electric motor power in hybrid vehicles.
Innovation Solution
An active sound management system that includes a transducer to sense engine vibrations, a harmonic extractor to identify and decompose engine harmonics, and a harmonic modifier to adjust their magnitude, phase, and frequency to match predefined targets, using RPM and engine load data to ensure the sound is within desired thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing engine harmonic enhancement systems are used, then engine sound can be enhanced in quiet vehicles, but the systems fail to accurately replicate the natural sound of the engine and struggle to maintain consistent sonic experience during power transitions
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a transducer to sense actual engine sound and vibration, then feeds this information back through a harmonic extractor and modifier that adjusts harmonics based on sensed data compared to target harmonics. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables accurate replication of natural engine sound while adapting to different operating conditions and power transitions.
Solution Approach 2:
The harmonic modifier dynamically adjusts the magnitude, phase, and frequency of extracted harmonics in real-time based on sensed engine sound and predetermined thresholds. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain consistent sonic experience during transitions between internal combustion and electric motor power while accurately replicating natural engine harmonics.
2Illumination intensity
If the engine sound is enhanced to provide stimulating auditory feedback in the vehicle cabin, then the sound experience is improved, but the system may become overly loud to external listeners
Solution Approach 1:
The system enhances engine harmonics locally within the vehicle cabin through targeted sound output devices positioned to provide auditory feedback to occupants. The harmonic extractor and modifier process sounds selectively, enhancing only specific harmonic components that replicate natural engine sound characteristics, while controlling overall noise levels to prevent excessive loudness for external listeners.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively enhances the natural engine sound experience in vehicle cabins, providing a consistent and stimulating auditory feedback without being overly loud to external listeners, even during power mode transitions in hybrid vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a transducer that senses an actual sound or vibration from a sound generating source and generates a transducer signal
Data Source
AI summary
An active sound management system comprises a transducer that senses an actual sound or vibration from a sound generating source and generates a transducer signal in response to sensing the actual sound or vibration; a harmonic extractor device that extracts a plurality of harmonics from the transducer signal; and a harmonic modifier device that adjusts a feature of the extracted harmonic to be within a predetermined threshold with respect to a target harmonic corresponding to a desired sound.