System for simulated multi-gear vehicle sound generation

A simulated vehicle sound generator system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a memory configured to store sound information for an engine;
• a processor in communication with the memory;
• and
• a simulated vehicle sound generation module executable by the processor to:
• receive a signal indicative of an operating condition of the vehicle;
• select a first simulated gear in response to the operating condition of the vehicle;
• generate a sound signal based on sound information retrieved from the memory, the sound signal configured to drive at least one sound generation device to produce variable sound waves to simulate operation of the engine in the first simulated gear;
• determine a shift condition in response to an operating condition indicative of a speed of the vehicle reaching a variable threshold point corresponding to the first simulated gear, the variable threshold point being variable based on an operating condition indicative of a load of the vehicle;
• select a second simulated gear in response to the determined shift condition;
• and
• adjust the sound signal in response to the determined shift condition, the sound signal being adjusted to drive the at least one sound generation device to produce variable sound waves to simulate operation of the engine in the second simulated gear.

A method of generating simulated engine sounds in an audio system of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving a first current operating condition of the vehicle and a second current operating condition of the vehicle with a processor;
• selecting, with the processor, a first simulated gear from a plurality of respective simulated gears in response to the received first and second current operating conditions of the vehicle;
• driving a sound generation device of the vehicle to produce variable sound waves to simulate variable operation of an engine within a first operating range of the first simulated gear based on the first and second current operating conditions of the vehicle;
• mapping a plurality of threshold values to the first operating range of the first simulated gear;
• the processor dynamically determining a shift condition based on variations in the first and second current operating conditions of the vehicle and a threshold value in the first operating range of the first simulated gear;
• selecting a second simulated gear from the plurality of respective simulated gears in response to the determined shift condition and the first and second current operating conditions of the vehicle;
• and
• driving the at least one sound generation device of the vehicle to produce variable sound waves to simulate variable operation of the engine within the second operating range of the second simulated gear based on the first and second current operating conditions of the vehicle, the first operating range and the second operating range being different.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions executable with a processor, the computer-readable storage medium comprising:

• instructions to select a first simulated gear of a vehicle based on a first signal indicative of a first current operating condition of the vehicle and a second signal indicative of a second current operating condition of the vehicle;
• instructions to drive at least one sound generation device in the vehicle to variably produce a simulated sound of an engine operating in an operating range of the first simulated gear as the first signal indicative of the first current operating condition of the vehicle changes and the second signal indicative of a second current operating condition of the vehicle changes;
• instructions to dynamically select a second simulated gear of a vehicle in response to a shift condition identified from variations in the relationship of the first signal indicative of the first current operating condition of the vehicle with respect to the second signal indicative of the second current operating condition of the vehicle;
• and
• instructions to drive the at least one sound generation device in the vehicle to variably produce a simulated sound of the engine operating in an operating range of the second simulated gear as the first signal indicative of the first current operating condition of the vehicle and the second signal indicative of a second current operating condition of the vehicle changes.