Artificial engine sound control unit, approaching vehicle audible system, and electric vehicle having them

• US 8,712,615 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Omote, Asako, Sekiya, Mutsuo, Mitsugi, Tatsuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Khatib, Rami
• Application Number:
  US13/387,684
• Publication Number:
  US 20120130580A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 701/22, 701/36, 701/99, 180/65.1, 180/65.21, 180/65.22, 180/65.265, 180/65.27, 180/65.275, 903/902, 903/903, 903/904
• US Class Current: 701/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 5/008 for signaling silent vehicles, e.g. for warning that a hybrid or electric vehicle is approaching
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 15/02 Synthesis of acoustic waves synthesis of speech G10L13/00

Abstract

An artificial engine sound control unit which controls an artificial engine sound which is emitted from a sounding body which is provided at an electric vehicle whose at least a part of drive power is generated by an electric motor, to outside; comprising a speed region determination part which determines a speed region of the electric vehicle and an artificial engine sound generating part, when the speed region determination part determines such that the electric motor of the electric vehicle can be energized and the electric vehicle is stopped, the artificial engine sound generating part controls so as for the sounding body to emit an artificial engine sound, and the artificial engine sound generating part detects such that the electric vehicle comes close to a start running mode, then the artificial engine sound generating part controls the artificial engine sound which is emitted from the sounding body.

Claims

1. An artificial engine sound control unit which controls an artificial engine sound which is emitted from a sounding body, which is provided at an electric vehicle whose at least a part of drive power is generated by an electric motor, to outside, comprising:

a speed region determination part which determines a speed region of the electric vehicle; and

an artificial engine sound generating part comprises a volume modification processing part which controls the volume of the artificial engine sound, wherein

when the speed region determination part determines such that the electric motor of the electric vehicle can be energized and the electric vehicle is stopped, the artificial engine sound generating part controls so as for the sounding body to emit the artificial engine sound, and wherein

the artificial engine sound generating part is configured to detect that the electric vehicle is in a state that is immediately prior to a start running mode, and based on the detection that the electric vehicle is in a state that is immediately prior to the start running mode, the volume modification processing part changes a volume of the artificial engine sound which is emitted from the sounding body in the stop state of the electric vehicle.

2. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 1, wherein the state that is immediately prior to a start running mode is detected based on the change of the state of a brake, that is, from on state to off state.

3. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 2, wherein the brake is a parking brake.

4. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 1, wherein the artificial engine sound generating part comprises a sound quality modification processing part which controls the sound quality of the artificial engine sound which is emitted from the sounding body.

5. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 4, wherein the sound quality modification processing part controls the sound quality of the artificial engine sound corresponding to the state of a brake or a gear of the electric vehicle.

6. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 4, wherein the sound quality modification processing part controls the quality of the artificial engine sound corresponding to noise level in the vicinity of the electric vehicle, or information indicating an obstacle.

7. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 4, wherein even when the speed region determination part determines such that the electric vehicle is in the running state, the artificial engine sound generating part controls so as for the sounding body to emit the artificial engine sound, and the sound quality modification processing part controls the sound quality of the artificial engine sound corresponding to the information indicating the speed region of the electric vehicle which is determined by the speed region determination part.

8. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 7, wherein the sound quality modification processing part controls the sound quality of the artificial engine sound when the electric vehicle is determined to be in the stop state by the speed region determination part to be lower frequency than that when the electric vehicle is determined to be in the running state by the speed region determination part.

9. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 4, wherein the artificial engine sound generating part comprises fixed sound data and variable sound data as artificial engine sound data, and the sound quality modification processing part controls the sound quality of the variable sound data corresponding to the speed region which is determined by the speed region determination part.

10. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 9, wherein the fixed sound data are sound data having frequency component of a wide band, and the variable sound data are sound data comprising frequency component having one or plural peaks whose range is narrower than that of the fixed sound data.

11. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 1, wherein the volume modification processing part controls to decrease the volume of the artificial engine sound or stop the artificial engine sound when the stop state of the electric vehicle is continued for longer than a predetermined time.

12. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 1, wherein the volume modification processing part controls the volume of the artificial engine sound corresponding to the state of a brake, a gear or an accelerator of the electric vehicle.

13. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 1, wherein the volume modification processing part controls the volume of the artificial engine sound corresponding to noise level in the vicinity of the electric vehicle, or information indicating an obstacle.

14. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 1, wherein even when the speed region determination part determines such that the electric vehicle is in the running state, the artificial engine sound generating part controls so as for the sounding body to emit the artificial engine sound, and the volume modification processing part controls the volume of the artificial engine sound corresponding to the information indicating the speed region of the electric vehicle which is determined by the speed region determination part.

15. The artificial engine sound control unit according to claim 14, wherein the volume modification processing part controls the volume of the artificial engine sound when the electric vehicle is determined to be in the stop state by the speed region determination part to be smaller than that when the electric vehicle is determined to be in the running state by the speed region determination part.

16. An approaching vehicle audible system comprising the artificial engine sound control unit as in claim 1 and a sounding body which is controlled by artificial engine sound control unit to emit a sound to the outside.

17. An electric vehicle having the approaching vehicle audible system claimed by claim 16.