Virtual Engine Sound Generator for Electric Vehicles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Environmentally-friendly vehicles, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, lack engine noise, leading to safety concerns for pedestrians and drivers due to unclear vehicle states, and existing virtual engine sound generation systems are insufficient in providing accurate information about vehicle operations and states.
Innovation Solution
An environmentally-friendly vehicle operating sound generator apparatus that senses various operation states and generates realistic operating sounds through different playback methods, including volume and pitch changes, to inform drivers and pedestrians about the vehicle's state, and includes a diagnosis function to ensure normal sound output.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If environmentally-friendly vehicles (hybrid, electric, fuel cell) are used to reduce energy consumption and emissions, then energy efficiency and environmental protection are improved, but vehicle noise is eliminated which causes safety issues for pedestrians and drivers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent generates virtual engine sounds that copy the acoustic characteristics of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. By synthesizing and reproducing authentic engine noise patterns, the system provides pedestrians and drivers with audible cues about vehicle presence and state, thereby resolving the safety issue caused by the complete silence of environmentally-friendly vehicles while maintaining their energy efficiency benefits
2Device complexity
If simple volume control is implemented for virtual engine sound, then device complexity is reduced, but the system cannot provide sufficient information about vehicle current state to the driver
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a multi-functional sound generation system that simultaneously provides multiple functions: alerting pedestrians to vehicle presence, informing drivers of vehicle startup state, indicating charging status, and conveying battery or fuel level information. By making the sound system universal and multi-functional, the patent resolves the information deficiency problem without requiring separate complex notification systems for each function
3Ease of operation
If conventional virtual engine sound systems only adjust volume based on vehicle speed, then the system is simple to operate, but the generated sound does not accurately reflect the actual vehicle behavior and state
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the characteristics of virtual engine sounds based on multiple changing vehicle parameters including speed, acceleration, engine load, and operational state. The system continuously adapts the sound output to match the actual vehicle behavior in real-time, providing accurate auditory feedback that reflects the true vehicle state while maintaining ease of operation through automatic adaptation
4Device complexity
If no engine startup sound is generated, then device complexity is minimized, but the driver cannot recognize the startup state of the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent generates an engine startup sound that plays before the vehicle actually begins moving or before the engine fully operationalizes. This preliminary auditory notification alerts the driver to the upcoming engine startup state, allowing the driver to be aware of the vehicle's transitioning state before physical movement occurs, thereby resolving the information gap without requiring complex real-time monitoring systems
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for controlling an environmentally-friendly vehicle operating sound generator apparatus. The method comprises: a providing step of providing an environmentally-friendly vehicle operating sound generator apparatus comprising a vehicle state sensing unit, a sound source storage unit for storing a plurality of operating sounds in the form of a sound source data, a sound source playback unit for selecting at least one of the operating sounds and playing back the selected sound source, a sound source amplification unit, a sound output unit, and a control unit; an initialization step of comprising a diagnosis confirmation step of allowing the control unit to confirm a connection state of the sound output unit and an operation state of the sound source playback unit and compare an output of the sound source amplification unit with a preset reference value to diagnose the presence of distortion; and an operating sound execution step of allowing the control unit to determine whether or not to generate an operating sound of the environmentally-friendly vehicle according to the vehicle operation state sensed by the vehicle state sensing unit, output at least one sound source, selected from among the sound sources stored in the sound source storage unit, as the operating sound through the sound output unit.