# US 10,479,271 B2 · Vehicle notification device and vehicle notification method

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- Number: US 10,479,271 B2
- Document ID: US10479271B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/777,915
- Filed: 2016-10-24
- Published: 2018-11-15
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2015-11-27
- Assignees: Clarion Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Clarion Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Takeshi Hashimoto; Kenji Kono; Yasuhiro Fujita
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10479271B2

## CPC

- B60Q 9/00: Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 {, e.g. haptic signalling}
- A47C 7/74: for ventilation, heating or cooling
- B60N 2/90: Details or parts not otherwise provided for
- B60R 11/02: for radio sets, television sets, telephones, or the like; Arrangement of controls thereof
- B60R 21/00: Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks (safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19)
- G08B 21/00: Alarms responsive to a single specified undesired or abnormal condition and not otherwise provided for
- G08G 1/16: Anti-collision systems (road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08)
- H04R 1/00: Details of transducers, {loudspeakers or microphones}
- H04R 3/00: Circuits for transducers (arrangements for producing a reverberation or echo sound G10K15/08; amplifiers H03F)
- B60N 2002/981: {Warning systems, e.g. the seat or seat parts vibrates to warn the passenger when facing a danger}
- B60Q: ARRANGEMENT OF SIGNALLING OR LIGHTING DEVICES, THE MOUNTING OR SUPPORTING THEREOF OR CIRCUITS THEREFOR, FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- A47C: CHAIRS; SOFAS; BEDS
- B60N: SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G08B: SIGNALLING SYSTEMS, e.g. PERSONAL CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})
- H04R: LOUDSPEAKERS, MICROPHONES, GRAMOPHONE PICK-UPS OR LIKE ACOUSTIC ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCERS; ELECTRIC HEARING AIDS; PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEMS (producing sounds with frequency not determined by supply frequency G10K)

## Abstract

To allow the driver to identify a notification vibration even in a situation in which the notification vibration may be masked depending on the road conditions. A vehicle notification device (1) randomly extract one of a plurality of pieces of signal data by the number of vibrators (exciters EX1 to EX4), each of the pieces of signal data being different in a combination of an initial frequency and a target frequency and generates a plurality of sweep signals by changing the frequency from the initial frequency to the target frequency of the extracted piece of signal data in cycles. A plurality of notification vibrations whose frequencies change in different frequency ranges are outputted by outputting the generated sweep signals, individually from the vibrators (exciters EX1 to EX4).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A vehicle notification device comprising:
a plurality of vibrators independently disposed in a seat;
a storage unit configured to store a plurality of pieces of signal data that are different in a combination of an initial frequency and a target frequency; and
a signal generator configured to randomly extract one of the pieces of signal data stored in the storage unit by the number of the vibrators and to generate a plurality of sweep signals corresponding to the number of the vibrators, each of the sweep signals being generated by changing a frequency from the initial frequency to the target frequency of the extracted piece of signal data in cycles, wherein
a plurality of notification vibrations whose frequencies change in different frequency ranges are outputted from a plurality of positions of the seat by outputting the sweep signals generated by the signal generator, individually from the vibrators.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The vehicle notification device according to claim 1, further comprising:
a delay signal generator configured to, by continuously randomly extracting one time value from a time range of each of the cycles as a delay time value, generate a plurality of delay signals indicating change states of the delay time values; and
a variable delay unit configured to delay the sweep signals generated by the signal generator in each of the cycles on the basis of the change states of the delay time values in the delay signals.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The vehicle notification device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of:
an amplitude changer configured to randomly change amplitude values of the sweep signals generated by the signal generator in each of the cycles; and
an occurrence frequency controller configured to suppress occurrence of the notification vibrations in each of the cycles by randomly limiting the amplitude values of the sweep signals generated by the signal generator to zero in each of the cycles.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The vehicle notification device according to claim 1, wherein when changing frequencies of the sweep signals from the initial frequency to the target frequency, the signal generator changes amplitude values in accordance with changes in the frequencies.

### Claim 5

A vehicle notification method performed by a vehicle notification device that outputs notification vibrations from a plurality of vibrators independently disposed in a seat, the method comprising:
a sweep signal generation step of randomly extracting, by a signal generator, one of a plurality of pieces of signal data stored in a storage unit by the number of the vibrators, the pieces of signal data being different in a combination of an initial frequency and a target frequency, and generating a plurality of sweep signals corresponding to the number of the vibrators, each of the sweep signals being generated by changing a frequency from the initial frequency to the target frequency of the extracted piece of signal data in cycles; and
a vibration output step of outputting a plurality of notification vibrations whose frequencies change in different frequency ranges, from a plurality of positions of the seat by outputting the sweep signals generated in the sweep signal generation step, individually from the vibrators.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The vehicle notification method according to claim 5, further comprising:
a delay signal generation step of, by continuously randomly extracting one time value from a time range of each of the cycles as a delay time value, generating, by a delay signal generator, a plurality of delay signals indicating change states of the delay time values; and
a variable delay step of delaying, by a variable delay unit, the sweep signals generated in the sweep signal generation step in each of the cycles on the basis of the change states of the delay time values in the delay signals generated in the delay signal generation step.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The vehicle notification method according to claim 5, further comprising at least one of:
an amplitude change step of randomly changing, by an amplitude changer, amplitude values of the sweep signals generated in the sweep signal generation step in each of the cycles; and
an occurrence frequency control step of suppressing, by an occurrence frequency controller, occurrence of the notification vibrations in each of the cycles by randomly limiting the amplitude values of the sweep signals generated in the sweep signal generation step to zero in each of the cycles.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The vehicle notification method according to claim 5, wherein the sweep signal generation step comprises when changing frequencies of the sweep signals from the initial frequency to the target frequency, changing, by the signal generator, amplitude values in accordance with changes in the frequencies.