Trans-Cabin Audio Filtering for Vehicle Noise Suppression

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Solution Overview

Problem

Vehicles face challenges in maintaining a quiet cabin while allowing important audio signals to be heard, such as safety-related sounds and other desirable sounds, while actively suppressing unwanted noise.

Innovation Solution

A trans-cabin communication system using external microphones and internal loudspeakers to transmit desirable audio signals into the vehicle cabin while passively or actively suppressing unwanted noise, employing machine-learning algorithms and filters like Wiener filters to distinguish and process these signals.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If passive noise suppression is used to maintain a quiet cabin, then noise reduction is improved, but desirable audio signals may be suppressed along with unwanted noise

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunwanted noiseVSAvoiddesirable audio signals

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and separates desirable audio signals from unwanted noise by analyzing audio characteristics and selectively transmitting only the useful information through the inbound audio channel, while suppressing unwanted noise through the outbound audio channel

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different audio processing qualities to different parts of the audio spectrum - enhancing desirable signals (sirens, animal noises, child cries) while suppressing unwanted noise, creating localized quality improvements in specific frequency ranges

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Loss of information

If active noise suppression is used to transmit desirable audio signals, then audio signal transmission is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedesirable audio signalsVSAvoidaudio processing system

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The audio processing system performs multiple functions using the same hardware components - it processes both inbound audio signals (for transmission into the cabin) and outbound audio signals (for suppression outside the cabin), eliminating the need for separate dedicated systems

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses feedback from audio sensors to continuously adjust and optimize the audio processing, allowing the same processing circuitry to adapt to different audio conditions and maintain effective signal transmission while managing complexity through intelligent control

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Object-affected harmful factors

If audio filtering is applied to suppress unwanted noise, then noise reduction is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunwanted noiseVSAvoidsignal processing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies partial audio filtering - not complete filtering, but selective filtering that targets only the most problematic unwanted noise frequencies while allowing desirable signals to pass through with minimal processing delay

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS20250210028A1In-cabin audio filtering

Publication Date: 2025.06.26 CERENCE OPERATING CO

AI summary

A vehicle includes a cabin, an internal-loudspeaker set an external-microphone set, and a signal processor that filters a raw audio signal that has been received by the external-microphone set broadcasts the resulting filtered audio signal into the cabin using the internal-loudspeaker set.