This is a continuation-in-part application of international application PCT/EP03/03480 filed Apr. 3, 2003 and claiming the priority of German application 102 23 872.3 filed May 29, 2002.
The invention relates to a device for establishing noise in a motor vehicle including a housing which is divided by a sound transmission device into at least two spaces of which one is in communication with a gas-carrying part of an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle and the other space is acoustically coupled to the vehicle interior.
Such a device is known, for example, from DE 44 35 296 A1. Such devices are intended to transmit the noises produced by the internal combustion engine more intensely to the driver of the motor vehicle, in particular during acceleration, in order, on the one hand, to provide for a more intensive driving experience and, on the other hand, to provide to the driver more information concerning the load state of the engine.
The disadvantages of this known device, however, are its relatively low efficiency and the very inflexible transmission characteristics.
DE 100 42 012 A1 attempts to improve the efficiency of the overall device. However, an optimum solution in particular with regard to more flexible transmission characteristics is still not provided.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a device for establishing noise in a motor vehicle by which the characteristics of the transmission of the noises and their transmission from the engine into the interior space of the motor vehicle are improved.
In a device for establishing noise in a motor vehicle, comprising a housing which is divided by a sound transmission device into at least two spaces, of which one space is in communication with a gas-carrying part of an internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle and the other space is acoustically coupled to an interior space of the motor vehicle via an outlet line, the outlet line is connected via a hollow rigid deflecting element to an interior space lining element, the deflecting element being capable of transmitting forces applied thereto by the sound radiation to the interior space lining element.
A deflecting element according to the invention between the outlet line and the interior lining element has the effect that the sound waves that are produced by the sound transmission device and introduced to the vehicle interior via the outlet line are deflected in the direction of the interior space, whereby an intensification of the sound effect is achieved. This intensified sound effect leads to a force acting on the deflecting element, which then, on account of the connection of the deflecting element to the inner lining element, induces the latter to undergo vibrations and in this way provides further intensification of the sound effect.
Therefore, in addition to changing the sound radiation there is also the advantageous effect that vibrations of the interior lining element are produced, so that overall considerably improved influencing of the noise in the interior space is possible by the device according to the invention, enabling the driver to acoustically perceive the load state of the engine.
The interior space of the motor vehicle can be insulated considerably better in this way for protection from disturbing external noises, without depriving the driver of acoustic information concerning the load state of the engine.
Decoupling the outlet line from the deflecting element, and the resultant possibility of intensifying the vibrations of the interior lining element induced by the sound can be achieved if, in an advantageous development of the invention, a flexible connecting element is arranged between the outlet line and the deflecting element.
In a further advantageous refinement of the invention, the deflecting element may be a hollow body. This represents an additional possibility for influencing the sound frequencies radiated into the interior space by varying the volume of the hollow body.
Advantageous refinements and embodiments of the invention will be described below on the basis of the accompanying drawing:
The device 4, the basic construction and operating principle of which are known for example from DE 100 42 012 A1, has a hollow body 5, in the interior of which there is arranged a sound transmission device. The sound transmission device in the present case is formed as a vibratable membrane 6 and divides the hollow body 2 into two spaces, namely an inlet space 7 and an outlet space 8. Of these, the inlet space 7 is connected to the inlet line 3 and the outlet space 8 is connected to an outlet line 9 which leads to an interior space 10 of the motor vehicle.
Vibrations or sound waves inside the gas-carrying line 1, which are introduced into the hollow body 5 via the inlet line 3, have the effect that the membrane 6 is induced to undergo vibrations, which in turn are introduced as sound waves into the interior space 10 via the outlet line 9. In this way, the driver of the motor vehicle located in the interior space 10 is acoustically informed about the load state of the engine 2.
The outlet line 9 is connected via a deflecting element 11 to an interior space lining element 12, a flexible connecting element 13 being arranged between the outlet line 9 and the deflecting element 11. On the side that is opposite the flexible connecting element 13, the deflecting element 11 is attached substantially rigidly to the interior space lining element 12. The interior space lining element 12 is part of a complete interior space lining 14, which at least partly lines the interior space 10 in a way not represented, but may also be part of a dashboard which is not represented.
The deflecting element 11, consisting for example of plastic, has the effect that the sound waves arriving via the outlet line 9 are deflected, which leads to an acoustic flow, and consequently to an intensification of the sound effect in the interior space 10. In the present case, the deflecting element 11 has for this purpose an angle of substantially 90°, which has proven to be the most suitable for the intensification of the sound waves explained in more detail below. Of course, an angle of the deflecting element 11 other than 90° is conceivable in particular installation cases.
The reacting force or counteracting force on the deflecting element 11 that is produced as a result of the acoustic flow described and is indicated by an arrow causes the deflecting element to exert a force on the interior lining element 12, which in turn induces the latter to undergo vibrations, and consequently to produce sound of its own. These vibrations of the interior lining element 12 intensify further the described acoustic information for the driver with respect to the load state of the engine 2. In the present case, the interior lining element 12 is decoupled from the interior lining 14, in order to prevent the complete interior lining 14 from vibrating and to offer the interior lining element 12 an independent possibility of radiating vibration. This makes it possible to provide the interior lining element 12 with a special geometry, in order to achieve a further possibility for influencing the way in which sound is produced. However, this special geometry of the interior lining element 12 is not discussed herein in detail.
A further configuration of the device 4 is represented in
All the embodiments that are represented in FIGS. 1 to 6 may be combined with one another in any way desired if they are not mutually exclusive. For example, the absorption material 15 may be provided in all the embodiments and the decoupling of the interior space lining element 12 from the interior vehicle lining 14 may be provided in each case.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102 23 872.3 | May 2002 | DE | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/EP03/03480 | Apr 2003 | US |
Child | 10998358 | Nov 2004 | US |