Vehicle Fascia Exciter Mount Surface Stiffness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (AVAS) speakers are expensive, bulky, difficult to package, and hard to maintain, while also struggling with sound transmission to the surrounding environment and sound dampening back to the vehicle interior.
Innovation Solution
An exciter is mounted to a vehicle body panel with a mount surface having a higher stiffness than the panel itself, allowing effective sound transmission to the environment while dampening sound back into the vehicle interior, using a fascia with a first portion of higher stiffness and a second portion of lower stiffness, and optionally incorporating a rigid insert plate or grill for mounting, along with temperature sensors to adjust power for optimal performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional AVAS speakers are used, then sound can be transmitted to the surrounding environment, but the system becomes expensive, bulky, and difficult to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical speaker systems with an exciter that directly vibrates the fascia panel to generate sound waves. This substitution eliminates complex speaker assemblies, voice coils, and magnetic assemblies in favor of a simpler mechanical vibration source that couples directly with the vehicle's body panel, thereby reducing device complexity and manufacturing difficulty
Solution Approach 2:
The fascia panel serves multiple functions: it acts as both the vehicle's aesthetic body panel and the sound-generating element for the AVAS. By making the fascia multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for separate speaker components, reducing overall system complexity and ease of manufacture while maintaining sound transmission capability
2Productivity
If a stiff mount surface is used for the exciter, then sound transmission to the surrounding environment is effective, but sound transmission back to the vehicle interior increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a stiff mount surface specifically at the exciter mounting location to ensure effective sound transmission to the surrounding environment, while the rest of the fascia panel maintains its normal flexibility. This localized stiffness enhancement allows the mount surface to efficiently transmit exciter vibrations outward without requiring the entire panel to be stiff, thereby preventing excessive sound transmission back into the vehicle interior
Solution Approach 2:
The mount surface acts as an intermediary element between the exciter and the fascia panel. By providing a localized stiff mounting surface, it mediates the transmission of vibrations, allowing efficient sound projection outward while the flexible portions of the fascia panel absorb and dampen vibrations that would otherwise transmit back into the vehicle interior
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 solution effectively transmits sound to the surrounding environment while minimizing sound return to the vehicle interior, reducing the need for bulky AVAS speakers and improving maintenance, and allows for various sound types based on vehicle conditions, such as alerts for pedestrians or vehicle identification.
Implementation Method 1
at least one exciter mounted to the mount surface... including a sound generator
Implementation Method 2
sound is effectively transmitted to a surrounding environment via the mount surface and sound transmission back to a vehicle interior is dampened via the vehicle body panel
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus includes a vehicle body panel, a mount surface associated with the vehicle body panel, and at least one exciter mounted to the mount surface. The mount surface has a first stiffness and the vehicle body panel has a second stiffness that is less than the first stiffness such that sound is effectively transmitted to a surrounding environment via the mount surface and sound transmission back to a vehicle interior is dampened via the vehicle body panel.