US 8,542,846 B2Granted

Vehicle sound enhancing system and method of producing

OwnerJohn Lloyd Matejczyk, John Hart Millerinventors

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Abstract

Methods, systems and storage media are disclosed for enhancing the sounds of any vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, video game or vehicle like device by feeding the output of a playback device of the invention fed by a storage medium of the invention containing signals including one or more sounds of an operating DEV of choice and a signal indicating the RPM of the operating vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, video game or vehicle like device into one or more speakers and/or headphones. DEV's (Driving enthusiast vehicles) includes performance vehicles, race cars, trucks, tanks, motorcycles, power boats and the like. Using the invention, a driver or passenger is able to produce, inside the passenger compartment of any vehicle, etc., the sounds that a DEV makes at the corresponding RPM's of the separate engines.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method of producing a recording of one or more sound signals representing sounds of a Driving Enthusiast Vehicle (DEV) on a storage medium capable of being reproduced and/or capable of reproducing the one or more sound signals recorded when played in a playback device in a different vehicle or simulated vehicle that is also receiving an RPM signal representing a varying RPM of an engine or motor in the different vehicle or simulated vehicle, the playback device being in or on the different vehicle or simulated vehicle, the different vehicle having an electric motor or an internal combustion engine having four or fewer cylinders and the simulated vehicle being an arcade device or video game, the method comprising:

a) feeding a DEV engine RPM signal coming from a DEV engine RPM indicator that indicates the RPM of an engine in the DEV, into a recorder making a recording on the storage medium while operating the engine in the DEV at various RPM's, the DEV engine RPM signal coming from the DEV engine RPM indicator varying as the RPM's of the engine in the DEV changes as the DEV is operated while in gears from a stop to a high speed that produces a high engine RPM, and
b) simultaneously feeding one or more sound signals corresponding to engine exhaust sounds produced by an engine exhaust system of the DEV and optionally one or more other sounds produced by the DEV at corresponding DEV engine RPM's into the recorder, sound signals produced by the one or more other sounds selected from a group consisting of engine compartment, grill region, and a combination of these sounds of the DEV, the engine exhaust sounds of the DEV being sensed with one or more exhaust sound sensors attached to one or more mechanisms for moving the one or more exhaust sound sensors from a protected position away from a source of the engine exhaust sounds coming out of one or more tailpipes of the DEV to a position closer to the source of the engine exhaust sounds, the position closer to the source of the engine exhaust sounds being located beyond one or more ends of the one or more tailpipes of the DEV to a near optimum location for capturing the engine exhaust sounds as they would sound to a person riding along behind the DEV while the DEV is in use, the mechanisms for moving the one or more sound sensors being supported by the DEV.

A system for enhancing one or more sounds of a vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game comprising:

a) a playback device for playing a storage medium containing a one or more recorded sound signals and a recorded RPM indicator signal of a Driving Enthusiast Vehicle (DEV), the playback device being capable of putting out one or more signals for driving one or more speakers and/or one or more headphones, the storage medium comprising the one or more recorded sound signals representing the one or more sounds generated by the DEV, the one or more recorded sound signals also containing a simultaneous recording of an RPM indicator signal indicating an RPM of an engine in the DEV as the DEV was operated while in gears from a stop to a high speed that produced a high RPM, the storage medium being capable of reproducing the one or more recorded sound signals when the storage medium is played in the playback device or a player for playing the storage medium, the one or more recorded sound signals comprising the RPM indicator signal indicating revolutions per minute (RPM) of the engine in the DEV while the engine in the DEV was operated at various RPM's, the RPM indicator signal indicating the RPM's of the engine in the DEV changing as the engine was operated at various RPM's, and one or more signals produced by one or more sound signals of the engine exhaust of the DEV and optionally one or more other sounds produced by the DEV at the corresponding RPM's of the engine, the one or more other sounds selected from a group consisting of one or more sounds produced by or in an engine compartment, a grill region of the DEV, and
b) one or more linear and/or non-linear RPM indicator signal multipliers for the signal indicating the RPM's of the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game to allow sounds made by the DEV at higher RPM's than being produced by the RPM indicator of the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game to be heard.

A method of enhancing the sounds of a vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game comprising:

a) placing a storage medium of choice into a playback device that feeds one or more output signals to one or more speakers and/or one or more headphones in or near the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game, the storage medium containing a recording of signals comprising an RPM indicator signal indicating revolutions per minute (RPM) of an engine in a DEV while the DEV was operated at various RPM's while in gears from a stop to a high speed producing a high RPM, the RPM indicator signal indicating the
RPM's of the engine in the DEV changing as the engine was operated at various RPM's, and further containing one or more sound signals produced by sounds of engine exhaust of the DEV produced by the DEV at the corresponding RPM's and, optionally, one or more other sounds produced by the DEV at the corresponding RPM's of the engine, the one or more other sounds selected from a group consisting of one or more sounds produced in an engine compartment and/or a grill region of the DEV and the playback device receiving the RPM indicator signal representing the RPM of the engine or simulated engine in the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game and producing an output that drives the one or more speakers and/or headphones, the one or more sound signals having been generated by one or more sound sensors supported on the DEV, and
b) operating the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game while using a linear or/and non-linear multiplier to multiply the RPM indicator signal representing the RPM of the engine or simulated engine in the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game to allow sounds made by the DEV at higher RPM's than being produced by the RPM indicator signal representing RPM of the vehicle, motorized conveyance, vehicle simulator, or video game to be
heard through the one or more speakers and/or one or more headphones.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/710,158Filed 23 Feb 2007
Published: US 2008/0205232 A128 Aug 2008
Granted: 24 Sep 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

H04R 5/02
Stereophonic arrangements: spatial or constructional arrangements of loudspeakers
H04B 1/082
Constructional details, e.g. cabinet: to be used in vehicles
H04R
Loudspeakers, microphones, gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers
H04B
Transmission

Family

US 2008/0205232 A1Pre-grant publication · published 28 Aug 2008
US 8,542,846 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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