Systems and methods for vehicle sound enhancement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11843909-B2
Application number	US-202217663403-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 13, 2022
Priority date	Mar 16, 2020
Publication date	Dec 12, 2023
Grant date	Dec 12, 2023

Abstract

Embodiments are disclosed for enhancing engine sound. An example method for a vehicle comprises acquiring a signal including harmonic content generated by an engine of the vehicle, upmixing the signal into a plurality of channels for a given number of engine orders, adjusting an order filter for each engine order of the given number of engine orders based on operating conditions of the engine, filtering each channel of the plurality of channels with the corresponding order filter, mixing the filtered channels into a mono output, and outputting the mono output to at least one speaker in the vehicle. The mono output is delayed based on a position of the at least one speaker such that an occupant of the vehicle perceives the mono output as originating from the engine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for a vehicle, comprising:
acquiring, from a sensor configured to measure engine sounds of an engine of the vehicle, the measured engine sounds;
filtering the measured engine sound based on operating conditions of the engine to obtain an enhanced engine sound, including:
upmixing the measured engine sound into a plurality of channels for a given number of engine orders,
adjusting an order filter for each engine order of the given number of engine orders based on the operating conditions of the engine,
filtering each channel of the plurality of channels with the corresponding order filter, and
mixing the filtered channels into a mono output comprising the enhanced engine sound,
wherein the order filter for each engine order corresponds with a multiple of a number of ignition events per revolution of a crankshaft of the engine of the vehicle; and

outputting, to a speaker positioned in a cabin of the vehicle, the enhanced engine sound.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the order filter for each engine order based on the operating conditions of the engine comprises:
adjusting a gain and a quality factor for each order filter based on measurements of revolutions per minute (RPM) and torque of the engine; and
adjusting a center frequency for each order filter based on the RPM.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
upmixing the mono output into a second plurality of channels; and
applying a separate delay to each channel of the second plurality of channels,
wherein outputting the enhanced engine sound to the speaker comprises outputting the delayed channels to respective speakers in the vehicle.

4. A method for a vehicle, comprising:
acquiring a signal including harmonic content generated by an engine of the vehicle;
upmixing the signal into a plurality of channels for a given number of engine orders;
adjusting an order filter for each engine order of the given number of engine orders based on operating conditions of the engine;
filtering each channel of the plurality of channels with the corresponding order filter and with a low-pass filter;
mixing the filtered channels into a mono output; and
outputting the mono output to at least one speaker in the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein acquiring the signal comprises acquiring the signal via an accelerometer mounted to the engine.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein adjusting the order filter for each engine order based on the operating conditions of the engine comprises adjusting a gain and a quality factor for each order filter based on measurements of revolutions per minute (RPM) and torque of the engine, and further adjusting a center frequency for each order filter based on the RPM.

7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising adjusting a main gain of the mono output based on measurements of RPM and torque of the engine.

8. The method of claim 4 , further comprising upmixing the mono output into a second plurality of channels, and applying a separate delay to each channel of the second plurality of channels, wherein outputting the mono output to at least one speaker in the vehicle comprises outputting the delayed channels to respective speakers in the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising running the delayed channels through a limiter to balance levels prior to outputting the delayed channels to the respective speakers in the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 4 , wherein the mono output is output to the at least one speaker in the vehicle within 10 milliseconds of acquiring the signal.

11. The method of claim 4 , further comprising mixing the mono signal into normal audio output to the at least one speaker.

12. A system for a vehicle, comprising:
a sensor configured to measure engine sounds of an engine of the vehicle;
a speaker positioned in a cabin of the vehicle; and
a computing system configured to:
acquire, from the sensor, the measured engine sounds;
apply filters to the measured engine sound based on operating conditions of the engine to obtain an enhanced engine sound, including to:
upmix the measured engine sound into a plurality of channels for a given number of engine orders,
adjust an order filter for each engine order of the given number of engine orders based on the operating conditions of the engine, and
filter each channel of the plurality of channels with the corresponding order filter and with a low-pass filter; and

output, to the speaker, the enhanced engine sound.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the sensor comprises an accelerometer, and wherein the measured engine sound comprises vibrations generated by the engine.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein, to apply the filters to the measured engine sound based on the operating conditions of the engine to obtain the enhanced engine sound, the computing system is further configured to:
mix the filtered channels into a mono output comprising the enhanced engine sound.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein, to adjust the order filter for each engine order based on the operating conditions of the engine, the computing system is further configured to:
adjust a gain and a quality factor for each order filter based on measurements of revolutions per minute (RPM) and torque of the engine; and
adjust a center frequency for each order filter based on the RPM.

16. The system of claim 14 , further comprising a plurality of speakers including the speaker, wherein the computing system is further configured to:
upmix the mono output into a second plurality of channels; and
apply a separate delay to each channel of the second plurality of channels, wherein outputting the enhanced engine sound to the speaker comprises outputting the delayed channels to respective speakers in the vehicle.

Assignees

• Harman Int Ind

Inventors

• Marin Jose Maria
• Trumpy David
• García-Baquero Miguel Ángel Conradi

Classifications

• H04R1/20 Primary

  Arrangements for obtaining desired frequency or directional characteristics (for stereophonic purpose H04R5/00) · CPC title

• G01M15/12

  by monitoring vibrations · CPC title

• G01P15/00

  Measuring acceleration; Measuring deceleration; Measuring shock, i.e. sudden change of acceleration · CPC title

• H04R2499/13

  Acoustic transducers and sound field adaptation in vehicles · CPC title

• G10K15/02 Primary

  Synthesis of acoustic waves (synthesis of speech G10L13/00) · CPC title