Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120109489 | ENGINE SOUND ENHANCEMENT IMPLEMENTATION THROUGH VARYING VEHICLE CONDITIONS - Engine sound enhancement (ESE) for a vehicle includes determining a current rate of change (ROC) in a position of an acceleration device of the vehicle from sensor data received from at least one sensor in communication with the acceleration device and calculating an ESE value based on the current ROC in the position of the acceleration device. The ESE value reflects an intensity and tone quality of at least one of the exhaust and the engine of the vehicle. The ESE also includes receiving a current RPM value, comparing the RPM value and the ROC in the position of the acceleration device to corresponding pre-defined threshold values, the pre-defined threshold values mapped to ESE tunings, and activating one of the ESE tunings when each of the current RPM value and the current ROC in the position of the acceleration device meets a corresponding pre-defined threshold value. | 05-03-2012 |
20130294619 | Engine Sound Enhancement ("ESE") System for a Continuously Variable Transmission ("CVT") Equipped Vehicle - A control system for a vehicle is provided. The vehicle has a continuously variable transmission (“CVT”), an engine, and a speaker. The control system includes a vehicle bus, a shifting module, and an engine sound module. The vehicle bus transmits a signal. The signal indicates a plurality of operating conditions of the vehicle. The shifting module receives the signal from the vehicle bus. The shifting module determines if the plurality of operating parameters of the vehicle indicate that the speaker is required to emit an audio signal that is blended with an engine sound emitted from the engine to mimic a shifting sound that a theoretical fixed gear transmission creates while shifting gears. The shifting module generates a shift mode signal if the speaker is required to emit the audio signal. The engine sound enhancement (“ESE”) module receives the shift mode signal. | 11-07-2013 |
20140115392 | SELF-DIAGNOSTIC NON-BUSSED CONTROL MODULE - A non-bussed control module that receives an audio code is provided. The non-bussed control module includes a tone processing module, a self-diagnostic module, and a reporting module. The tone processing module receives the audio code, and sends a trigger signal if the audio code is received. The self-diagnostic module performs a self-diagnostic test for the non-bussed control module if the trigger signal is received, and generates a diagnostic signal indicative of the self-diagnostic test. The reporting module receives the diagnostic signal and determines a type of fault based on the diagnostic signal. | 04-24-2014 |
20140121896 | ENGINE SOUND ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM FOR A FIXED GEAR TRANSMISSION - A control system for a vehicle having a fixed gear transmission and an engine that outputs an actual RPM signal is provided. The control system includes a vehicle bus, a shifting module, a simulated RPM module, and an engine sound enhancement (“ESE”) module. The vehicle bus transmits a signal indicating a plurality of operating conditions of the vehicle. The shifting module receives the signal from the vehicle bus to determine if the operating parameters of the vehicle indicate that a gear shift by the fixed gear transmission is imminent within a predetermined amount of time. The simulated RPM module is in communication with the shifting module for generating a simulated RPM signal if the gear shift is imminent. The simulated RPM signal has a greater increase in engine RPM with respect to time prior to the gear shift compared to the actual RPM signal. | 05-01-2014 |
20140244106 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING PERFORMANCE BASED ON VEHICLE OCCUPANTS - A vehicle having a system is provided. The system has at least one operating output. The system includes an occupant module and a vehicle system module. The occupant module receives at least one occupant signal indicative of occupants currently located within the vehicle, and determines a current number and location of occupants in the vehicle based on the occupant signal. The vehicle system module receives as input the current number of occupants located in the vehicle. The vehicle system module is configured for determining whether the current number of occupants located in the vehicle is less than a total number of occupants the vehicle is configured to seat. The vehicles system module is configured for adjusting the at least one operating output of the system if the current number of occupants located in the vehicle is less than the total number of occupants the vehicle is configured to seat. | 08-28-2014 |
20150016627 | ENGINE SOUND ENHANCEMENT BASED ON VEHICLE SELECTED MODE - A control system is provided for a vehicle having an engine which transitions between an activated mode and a deactivated mode. The control system includes a vehicle bus transmitting a signal indicating a vehicle selected mode and if the engine is operating in one of the activated mode and the deactivated mode. The control system also includes an engine sound enhancement (“ESE”) module configured to receive the signal. The ESE module is configured to select at least one ESE tone and a set of ancillary tones associated with one or more of the deactivated mode, the activated mode, and an activation transition. The ESE module selects a specific type of ancillary tones based on the vehicle selected mode. | 01-15-2015 |
20150043744 | MASKING VEHICLE NOISE - A method of masking sounds associated with a vehicle is provided. The method includes performing on processing circuitry, monitoring of vehicle data. A tonal disturbance type and a tone to mask associated with the tonal disturbance type are identified based on the vehicle data. A shaped band of sounds is determined based on the tone to mask. The shaped band of sounds covers a range of frequencies around the tone to mask. The shaped band of sounds is applied to an audio output of the vehicle. | 02-12-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110300661 | SOLAR CELL INTERCONNECTION METHOD USING A FLAT METALLIC MESH - An improved method for interconnecting thin film solar cells to form solar cell modules is provided, the method comprising using a flat metallic mesh formed from a thin metallic strip to provide a current collection grid over a thin film solar cell. The method is particularly useful for forming interconnections between thin film solar cells deposited on flexible substrates. The rectangular cross sectional shape of the mesh elements provides an increased area of electrical contact to the solar cell compared to the small tangential area provided by elements of circular cross section. Mesh elements can be made higher rather than wider to improve conductivity without proportionally increasing shading loss. Various coatings can be applied to the mesh to improve its performance, provide corrosion resistance, and improve its cosmetic appearance. | 12-08-2011 |
20140352777 | AUTOMATED FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELL FABRICATION AND INTERCONNECTION UTILIZING ROLLS EXPANDED METALLIC MESH - A method for forming photovoltaic cells comprises providing a first roll of a photovoltaic material and a second roll of an expanded metallic mesh. The photovoltaic material comprises a photoactive material adjacent to a flexible substrate, and the expanded metallic mesh comprises a plurality of openings. Next, an electrically insulating material is provided adjacent to an edge portion of the photovoltaic material. The photovoltaic material from the first roll can then be brought in proximity to the expanded mesh from the second roll to form a nascent photovoltaic cell. The electrically insulating material can be disposed between the expanded metallic mesh and the photovoltaic material. Next, the nascent photovoltaic cell is cut into individual sections to form a plurality of photovoltaic cells. | 12-04-2014 |
20140360563 | SOLAR CELL INTERCONNECTION METHOD USING A FLAT METALLIC MESH - An improved method for interconnecting thin film solar cells to form solar cell modules is provided, the method comprising using a flat metallic mesh formed from a thin metallic strip to provide a current collection grid over a thin film solar cell. The method is particularly useful for forming interconnections between thin film solar cells deposited on flexible substrates. The rectangular cross sectional shape of the mesh elements provides an increased area of electrical contact to the solar cell compared to the small tangential area provided by elements of circular cross section. Mesh elements can be made higher rather than wider to improve conductivity without proportionally increasing shading loss. Various coatings can be applied to the mesh to improve its performance, provide corrosion resistance, and improve its cosmetic appearance. | 12-11-2014 |