Active sound control

An apparatus for controlling sound within a motor vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

• an acoustical damping device operable to determine a measured sound within the vehicle, the acoustical damping device operable to output a noise canceling signal to a vehicle audio system to dampen the measured sound;
• and
• a sound controller operably coupled to the acoustical damping device and to a vehicle entertainment system, the sound controller configured to automatically receive an environment signal from an environment sensor, the sound controller configured to determine an operating mode of the vehicle based on the environment signal, the operating mode being selectable from an operating mode list that includes a high-stress operating mode, a mild-stress operating mode, and a calm operating mode, wherein the environment sensor is selected from at least one of the following:
• an external object detector, a rough road detector, a camera, a global-positioning-system (GPS) device, a radar detector, a speed sensor, a traffic detector, a weather detector, and a driver drowsiness sensor, wherein
• in the high-stress operating mode, the sound controller is configured to eliminate the noise canceling signal and eliminate damping, the sound controller is configured to cause the acoustical damping device to generate an atonal signal, the atonal signal being configured to cause an atonal sound to raise driver awareness, and the sound controller is configured to generate an entertainment system signal to the vehicle entertainment system to lower the volume of existing sound from the entertainment system playing over vehicle speakers and play an alert message over the vehicle speakers;
• in the mild-stress operating mode, the sound controller is configured to cause alteration of the noise canceling signal and a reduction in damping;
• and
• in the calm operating mode, the sound controller is configured to refrain from altering the noise canceling signal and refrain from reducing damping.

A sound control system for controlling sound within a motor vehicle, the sound control system comprising:

• an environment sensor operable to measure a parameter of the environment and output an environment signal;
• a sound controller operably coupled to the environment sensor, the sound controller configured to automatically receive the environment signal and determine an operating mode of the vehicle based on the environment signal, the operating mode being selectable from an operating mode list that includes a first operating mode and a second operating mode;
• an acoustical damping device operably coupled to the sound controller, the acoustical damping device operable to measure sound and determine a measured sound, the acoustical damping device operable to output a noise canceling signal to dampen the measured sound;
• and
• a vehicle audio system operable to receive the noise canceling signal from the acoustical damping device and emit the noise canceling sound to dampen noises within the vehicle, wherein
• the sound controller is configured to cause alteration of the noise canceling signal and a reduction in damping in the second operating mode with respect to the first operating mode.

A method of controlling sound within a motor vehicle to increase driver awareness during certain driving conditions, the method comprising:

• determining a measured sound within a vehicle;
• generating a noise canceling signal to a vehicle audio system to dampen the measured sound;
• automatically receiving an environment signal from an environment sensor;
• determining an operating mode of the vehicle based on the environment signal, the operating mode being selectable from an operating mode list that includes a first operating mode and a second operating mode;
• in the second operating mode, altering the noise canceling signal and reducing damping with respect to the first operating mode.

A machine-readable medium that provides instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

• determining a measured sound within a vehicle;
• generating a noise canceling signal to a vehicle audio system to dampen the measured sound;
• automatically receiving an environment signal from an environment sensor;
• determining an operating mode of the vehicle based on the environment signal, the operating mode being selectable from an operating mode list that includes a first operating mode and a second operating mode;
• in the second operating mode, altering the noise canceling signal and reducing damping with respect to the first operating mode.