Vehicle Sound Notification via Frequency-Selective Amplification

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems for notifying drivers of sounds around a vehicle often mix desired and undesired sounds, leading to the driver missing important notifications due to overwhelming noise.

Innovation Solution

A processing device with multiple microphones collects environmental sounds and a processing unit amplifies and outputs them differently based on position and context, allowing for selective amplification of desired sounds and reduction of undesired ones.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If environmental sound is simply collected and output from speaker in the vehicle, then the driver can hear sounds around the vehicle, but desired sounds and undesired sounds are mixed together causing the driver to miss important notifications

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenotification reliabilityVSAvoidsignal-to-noise ratio

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the environmental sound into multiple frequency bands using band-pass filters. Each frequency band is processed independently with its own amplification factor, allowing selective enhancement of desired sounds (e.g., human voices in specific ranges) while suppressing undesired noises (e.g., engine rumble, tire noise) in other frequency ranges.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different amplification factors to different frequency bands based on their characteristics and importance for driver notification. Critical frequency ranges containing important sounds are amplified more strongly, while frequency ranges containing primarily unwanted noise are amplified less or suppressed, creating non-uniform local quality across the frequency spectrum.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If all environmental sounds are amplified equally, then no important sound is missed, but unnecessary distractions are also amplified reducing notification effectiveness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesound notification reliabilityVSAvoidnoise distraction

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent dynamically adjusts amplification factors for different frequency bands based on real-time sound environment analysis. The system continuously monitors the acoustic environment and adapts the amplification levels to emphasize important sounds while suppressing distracting noises, making the notification system responsive to changing conditions rather than using fixed equal amplification.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the amplification parameter differently for each frequency band. By varying the amplification factor across frequency bands rather than applying a uniform gain, the system enhances the signal-to-noise ratio for important sounds while reducing the amplification of distracting noises, thereby improving notification effectiveness without adding unnecessary distractions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple microphones are used to collect sounds from different directions, then comprehensive sound coverage is achieved, but the complexity of sound processing increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesound collection coverageVSAvoidsound processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments both the spatial and frequency domains. Multiple microphones capture sounds from different directions, and the system segments these signals into different frequency bands. This dual segmentation allows the complex multi-microphone input to be processed as multiple independent frequency-band signals, each with its own amplification factor, simplifying the overall processing architecture while maintaining comprehensive coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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

This solution ensures that the driver is reliably notified of important sounds while minimizing distractions from other noise sources, improving the effectiveness of sound notification systems.

Implementation Method 1

a sound collection unit that collects an environmental sound outside a vehicle with plural microphones

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMicrophone transduction:

Implementation Method 2

a processing unit that amplifies the environmental sound collected by the sound collection unit and causes the amplified sound to be output to an inside of the vehicle

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectElectrical signal amplification:

Data Source

PatentUS10720897B2Processing device, server device, output method, and non-transitory storage medium

Publication Date: 2020.07.21 PIONEER IP

AI summary

According to the present invention, there is provided a processing device (10) which includes a sound collection unit (11) that collects an environmental sound outside a vehicle with plural microphones and a processing unit (12) that amplifies the environmental sound collected by the sound collection unit (11) and causes the amplified sound to be output to an inside of the vehicle. The processing unit (12) sets an amplification factor of the environmental sound collected by some microphones to be different from an amplification factor of the environmental sound collected by other microphones.