Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, 3, 000-000 1

1874-477X/10 $100.00+.00 2010 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.

Active Noise Cancellation Systems for Vehicle Interior Sound Quality
Refinement
Mingfeng Li, Jie Duan and Teik C. Lim*
Mechanical Engineering, School of Dynamic Systems, 598 Rhodes Hall, P.O. Box 210072, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072, USA
Received: September 7, 2010; Accepted: September 27, 2010; Revised: October 3, 2010
Abstract: The sound quality of the vehicle interior response and fuel efficiency are two important considerations that
influence customer purchase decision. However, these two objectives often have opposing design requirements. The
reason is because a more fuel efficient vehicle generally requires lower overall weight. On the other hand, to achieve a
quieter vehicle with premium sound quality inside the passenger compartment using traditional passive noise control
strategy typically leads to a more massive body structure. In recent years, as a response to the need to further improve
vehicle interior sound quality, a number of patents on active noise control (ANC) begin to appear. The proposed patented
systems basically use a destructive sound wave form to treat the unwanted noise. This approach is gaining popularity as
an alternative way to design a quieter car without the cost of weight penalty. This is made possible with recent rapid
development of high performance signal processing software and hardware systems. The existing, patented active noise
control systems are most effective for suppressing low frequency noise as compared to the traditional passive control
applications. Even though the active vehicle noise control technology is not fully matured yet, the number of
investigations and related patents in the open literature has risen over the years. Hence, there is merit to review the
existing patents on active control of vehicle systems, and to provide a candid discussion on the direction and trend of this
capability in the future.
Keywords: Active noise control, active noise reduction, active noise suppression, acoustic noise tuning, vehicle noise control.
INTRODUCTION
Vehicle noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) concerns
have always been an important consideration for vehicle
design and development [1]. Over the last decade, it has
become more imperative, as seen in various manufacturers
advertisements in which quiet and smooth-riding vehicles
are acclaimed. Vehicle cabin noise is frequently the focus of
NVH studies since it directly impacts occupants comfort.
To achieve better NVH performance, engineers have
conducted many refinement studies as described below.
Generally, there are two major categories of noise control
techniques; namely passive and active control. The purpose
of passive control is to suppress the targeted noise response
by either modifying the vehicle structure, such as by adding
mass, tuning stiffness, or increasing damping, or by creating
a means for the vibratory energy to be diverted or absorbed.
This usually works very well for high frequency noise
stimuli but is less effective at lower response frequencies. An
alternative treatment for low to middle frequency response is
active noise control that employs out-of-phase secondary
excitations to suppress the primary disturbances. The idea of
active acoustic noise control is based on applying a series of
secondary sound pressure waves that are out-of-phase from
the original sound pressure waves such that the resultant

*Address correspondence to this author at the Mechanical Engineering,
School of Dynamic Systems, 598 Rhodes Hall, P.O. Box 210072,
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072, USA;
Tel: +1-513-556-4450; Fax: +1-513-556-3390; E-mail: teik.lim@uc.edu
perceived sound is suppressed or significantly diminished. A
review of recent patents in active noise control related to
vehicle noise problems is the focus of this review paper.
The first, relatively primitive active noise control (ANC)
system was proposed by Lueg in 1930s [2]. However, the
idea did not attract the attention of many researchers until
decades later when rapid development of computing power,
digital signal processing and hardware manufacturing made
practical applications more feasible. Some of the earlier
applications of ANC are directed at headsets and transfor-
mers [3-5]. Also, example ANC applications in enclosed
spaces such as airplane and vehicle cabins are also seen. The
first study on active interior noise control can be traced back
to 1950s [6, 7]. In that study, an electronic sound absorber
was proposed in the effort to achieve both global and local
sound attenuation. Widespread attention to active control
applications for enclosed sound fields did not increase
drastically until 1980s, which coincided with the start of
rapid development of fast digital signal processor technology
that made the implementation of such systems much more
feasible. Many of the reported efforts were directed at the
treatment of interior noise in motor vehicles. This is because
recent advancement in materials and the demands to increase
fuel economy resulted in lighter-weight structures with the
propensity for noisier or poorer sound quality interior.
Passive noise control treatments are not ideal because they
almost always add weight back into the vehicle design.
Hence, active noise control appears to be a more feasible
option, especially at low to middle frequencies, because it
2 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 Li et al.
does not usually lead to substantial increase in weight. The
first system using the ANC technology on vehicle noise was
introduced in 1984 by Oswald [8]. Since then, many appli-
cations on the passenger cars [9-13], trucks and tractors [14-
16] have been reported.
As noted above, all of these studies attempted to reduce
noise level at preselected target locations. However, reducing
noise level does not always improve the perceived sound
quality inside the vehicle cabin. Instead, reshaping of the
time-frequency characteristics may yield a better solution.
This is an area that has not received much attention in the
past and studies have been fairly sparse. In 1993, Kuo and J i
[17] proposed an active noise equalizer to tune the spectrum
of a pure tone signal. Later in 2006, Rees and Elliott [18]
developed a phase scheduled command filtered-x least mean
square (FxLMS) approach to improve the stability of the
algorithm. However, this algorithm is limited to treatment of
sinusoidal signals only. For broadband noise treatment, Kuo
and Yang [19] in 1996 extended the simple active noise
equalizer system by designing an additional shaping filter.
Later on, a research team led by Kuo used filtered-error least
mean square and several frequency domain delayless
algorithms to reshape the spectrum [20, 21]. The studies are
limited to very simple cases using only idealized response,
signals and secondary path representation. Also, the desired
spectrum shape is only hypothetical and actually not related
to any sound quality metric. Since the actual dynamics are
more complex, more detailed studies are needed to quantify
the performance under practical condition. In 2008, Li [22]
et al. performed a numerical simulation study using actual
recorded vehicle powertrain noise signal and measured
system dynamics to tune the responses of various powertrain
orders for steady-state and speed ramping up operating
conditions.
Besides the above-mentioned research studies that have
been reported publicly, numerous patents related to this field
have been granted as well in the past decades. In the ensuing
discussions, some of the most relevant patents issued are
reviewed and discussed in chronological order.
EXISTING PATENTS
The first patent reviewed in this paper was granted to
Sano et al. in 1997 [23]. The claim of this patent is moti-
vated by the following reason. In the conventional active
noise control system, the adaptive filter is used not only for
the feedforward controller but also for the feedback one.
Accordingly, the performance of the conventional active
noise control system suffers from processing an extremely
large amount of digital operations required to perform the
calculation of the adaptive algorithm. This obviously
resulted in very large processing time. In the invention by
Sano et al. the principle objective was to provide an active
noise control method and a corresponding system that can be
operated with less processing time. This invention decreases
the computational load on a signal processing unit, and
makes it possible to perform sufficient noise suppressive
control. Their invention shown in Fig. (1). is based on an
internal model controller (IMC) concept. However, instead
of using an adaptive filter as the IMC controller with the
least mean square (LMS) algorithm, their proposed system
construct the IMC controller from the plant model with a
certain degree of uncertainty in the plant representation. The
plant model here represents the transfer function from the
input of the control speaker to the output of the error sensor.
Thus, the amount of calculation needed is greatly reduced.
Furthermore, the development of this invention accounts for
potential variations in the transfer function of the plant as
factors within the environment changes, such as increase or
decrease in the number of passengers, states of opening or
closing of windows, and changes in performances of the
microphone and speaker. The degree of variation of the plant
transfer function is approximated and set by previously
estimating the additive perturbation over a range of operating











Fig. (1). An active control system based on the IMC algorithm [adapted from ref. 23].
Sound Quality Refinement for Vehicle Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 3
frequency. The application also assumes the estimation is
performed before final packaging is done.
In 1998, Tsuji et al. [24], proposed an active vibration or
noise control system for motor vehicle applications. The
invention is reported to be capable of quickly responding to
changes in the traveling conditions, such as vehicle speed,
road surface and riding state, of the vehicle by resetting the
designed adaptive filter. Also, there are no strict require-
ments on the performance and size of the identification
system. The identification system refers to the adaptive
system for designing the adaptive filter (ADF(W), Label 3 in
Fig. (2)). Hence, the overall cost can be reduced by using the
identification system with lower performance and smaller in
size. In one example of this implementations, as shown in
Fig. (2), two sets of memory chips are employed. The first
memory chip (Label 21) stores the initial coefficient values
of the adaptive filter, and the second memory chip (Label
22) stores the coefficient values modified by a filter
coefficient-updating algorithm. Both cases correspond to the
predetermined traveling conditions. When a change occurs in
the traveling condition is detected, the control system will
read the initial filter coefficient values corresponding to the
traveling condition detected immediately before and after the
occurrence of the change from the first and second memory
chips. Then, the controller will utilize those two different
sets of coefficient values to generate the control signal
needed to suppress the targeted vibration or noise response.
The specific set of filter coefficient values that resulted in a
smaller residual noise will be selected and applied to the
adaptive filter ADF (Label 3) in Fig. (2). Furthermore, the
coefficient values of the adaptive filter can be updated by a
suitable algorithm such as the least mean square (LMS)
algorithm.
In early 2002, a patent was granted to Billoud [25] that
aims to reduce the noise response within a closed space
caused by a vibratory disturbance source. The proposed
active noise control system is stated to be highly efficient,
which comprise of four major components; a reference
sensor for deriving the reference signal that is correlated to
the disturbance source, an error sensor for sensing the
residual sound pressure level, a speaker for generating the
cancelling sound wave, and a controller for providing the
control signal to the control speaker. As shown in Fig. (3).
and Fig. (4), the proposed ANC invention can be used in a
vehicle passenger compartment to reduce the unwanted
interior noise due to engine excitation. In this application,
the speaker assemblies (Labels 45k, 46k and 50k in Fig. (3))
are mounted to a trim (Label 251 in Fig. (4)) that can be
located under the seats, on the window platform, or in the
front of the rear seats. In this design, as claimed by the
patent, the speaker is inversely mounted in an enclosure to
provide a more efficient noise cancellation effect. Each
enclosure assembly and installation is intentionally designed
to produce a planar wave guide and at the same time
constrain the canceling wave form. Hence, the generated
control sound will come from the enclosure in a direction
that is mostly parallel to the trims surface. This is illustrated
more in detail in Fig. (4). that depicts a wall-mounted
acoustic speaker that is rigidly attached to an enclosure. The
enclosure (Label 331) includes an interior volume and a
reflex port that can enhance the output power of low
frequency content. Also, the speaker (Label 301) is offset to
one of the corners of the enclosure to reduce the generated
acoustic loading on itself. Then the enclosure is attached to
the trim using mounts. In this setup, grommet type mounts
are suggested. To protect the speaker components from
damage due to unintended transient loads, the enclosures are
soft-mounted using elastomeric isolators. Hence, in order to
allow for some degree of relative flexible movement
between the enclosure and the trim without slippage, the
flexible mounting element should be compressed with the
correct amount of compression. If it is too tight, there will
not be enough flexibility in the speaker system to absorb











Fig. (2). An active control system based on the sensed vehicle state [adapted from ref. 24].
4 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 Li et al.
large impact loads. On the other hand, if it is too loose, there
will be too much slippage between the enclosure and trim.
Furthermore, in the design of the wall-mounted form, the
grommets are also naturally loaded in compression vertically
due to gravity loading.
In 2005, Astorino proposed an active noise control
system with a horn sound feature [26]. Basically, this
invention is an active noise control system that also provides
a horn sound function even when the vehicle is not running.
The invention takes advantage of basic capabilities of the
ANC system and provides additional features or functions
for the consumer, such as horn sound, in order to minimize
the overall cost of vehicle components. One example system
designed according to this invention includes a speaker
producing horn sound with and without the vehicle running.
On one hand, the controller operates in a normal mode while
the vehicle is running, and will drive the speaker to achieve
the desired noise cancellation. When the horn switch
activation is detected, the controller interrupts the active
noise cancellation temporarily so that the speaker can
produce the intended horn sound. On the other hand, the
controller operates in a power saving mode when the vehicle
is not running. However, the controller can be woken up
from the power saving mode through a horn switch
activation device. The controller then drives the speaker to
emit a horn sound and returns to the power saving mode
after the horn switch activation ceases.
In the same year later in 2005, a relevant active control
patent was granted to Vaishya [27]. This patent is an active
engine noise control system that relies upon a single sensor,
which is rather simple and inexpensive. The control system
is claimed to serve as an after-market product that can be
easily installed on a vehicle. In their one example system
shown, a single pressure sensor is used to estimate both the
engine speed and throttle open position that are needed to
compute the precise phase information of the primary engine
noise excitation. Specifically, the pressure sensor signal has
a frequency component that can be used to estimate the
engine speed in RPM and a static or DC component to
estimate the throttle valve position. The controller then uses
the estimated engine speed and throttle position to generate
the appropriate control signal for suppressing engine noise.
In 2006, Nakamura et al., proposed an active noise
control system as shown in Fig. (5). for reducing low
frequency vehicle noise without producing an abnormal or
distortional noise from the speaker [28]. The proposed active
noise control system includes four components, namely a
microphone (Label 101) to sense the unwanted noise, a
signal generator (Label 102) for producing a controlling
signal, a limiting amplifier (Label 103) and a speaker (Label







Fig. (3). An active control system applied to a vehicle system [adapted from ref. 25].









Fig. (4). Speaker assembly used for active noise control [adapted from ref. 25].
Sound Quality Refinement for Vehicle Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 5
104) for generating the cancellation sound. Obviously, the
proposed system is a feedback control system. Hence,
according to the classic control theory, the resultant noise
level at the microphone location will depend on the open
loop transfer function of the system. The signal generator is
used to adjust the open-loop transfer function within the
frequency range that encompasses the low frequency noise
response of interest. The function of the limiting amplifier is
used to enhance the output from the signal generator
dynamically in accordance with the amplitude of the signal
fed into the speaker (Label 104). Furthermore, the limiting
amplifier has a predetermined threshold or maximum value
associated with its output signals. Hence, the amplitude of
the output signal from the limiting amplifier will not exceed
the predetermined threshold level when in use. In this way,
the system is capable of controlling the noise inside the cabin
without causing distortional sound from the speaker.
Also in 2006, a patent was issued to Daly [29]. In this
patent, Daly proposed an active control system for control-
ling and modifying the acoustic noise response created by a
vehicle door closing as shown in Fig. (6). The system uses a
two-stage switch corresponding to two different positions of
the door. Each switch will deliver a signal to the processor
when the door is at the corresponding position. By mea-
suring the elapse time between the two measured signals
from the switches, the proposed processor can determine the
door velocity as it closes. The door velocity will also be
linked to a sound amplitude control unit such that the system
can send a control signal through a speaker near the closing
door event. In one example, it is proposed that each door on
the vehicle has its own switch. This will enable the processor
to select a proper door speaker to output the controlling
sound. The spectrum of the control signal is determined
based on the desired characteristics of the door closing
sound. For example, the frequency spectrum of the control
signal may be derived to treat higher frequency content of
the door closing response and at the same time treat the
reverberation sound generated when the vehicle door closes.
The resulting response should then be a more pleasing sound
that has a lower frequency spectrum with no reverberation.
In another reported demonstration, the invented system
works in the feedback way. In that implementation, the
resulting acoustic noise is compared with a template reflec-
ting the desired response. Based on that comparison, the
proposed system adjusts the control signal to minimize any
deviation between the resulting acoustic noise and the
template to achieve the desired response.
To accomplish a similar function implemented in the
earlier mentioned patent by Nakamura [28], Onishi et al.
[30] in 2008, proposed the active noise control system shown
in Fig. (7), which is capable of avoiding abnormal acoustic
noise resulting from the divergence of the adaptive
controller. Furthermore, the patent claimed that the system
can also stop the potential abnormal acoustic noise when it
detects an abnormality in the output signal from the error
microphone. Their control system also includes a monitor
(Label 28) for tracking the signals used as the indication of
abnormal level. For example, when the signals sensed by the
microphone and supplied to the adaptive controller have the
same positive or negative sign for a predetermined duration,
the monitor will halt the controlling signal being output from
the adaptive controller. One possible sign of abnormality is
the ratio between the duration of the positive sign of output
signals from the microphone and that of the negative sign
being greater than or equal to a predetermined value. This
feature allows the system to sense an abnormal level that is
indicative of the output signal from the microphone having a
mean value or DC offset, and thereby stop the cancellation
acoustic noise from being generated. According to the
patent, there are also some other means for measuring the
abnormal level, including, monitoring the abnormal increase
in the temperature of speaker voice coil , the change in the
speaker magnetic flux density , the level of noise canceling
signal delivered to the amplifier, and the vibration of the
speaker diaphragm.
Also, in 2008, another ANC related patent was granted to
Inoue et al. [31]. Having acknowledging the fact that the
convolution operation in most active control algorithms is










Fig. (5). Proposed active control configuration that avoids abnormal sounds [adapted from ref. 28].
6 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 Li et al.
time consuming, the inventors proposed a novel approach for
vehicle noise control with the capability of reducing the
calculation requirement greatly. The proposed system uses
the adaptive notch filter with a simple way to produce the
filtered reference signals. Their invention is illustrated in
Fig. (8). The filter coefficients of the adaptive notch filters
are updated to minimize the error signal from an error sensor
placed inside the vehicle compartment using the least mean
square (LMS) algorithm. The novelty of this invention is the
means to calculate the filtered reference signal that is
required for the filter coefficients updating task. In the
traditional way, the filtered reference signal is obtained
through the convolution of the reference signal with the
finite impulse response (FIR) of the secondary path [32],
which is the transfer function between the speaker and error
sensor. This procedure is computationally demanding and
time consuming. When there are many reference signals or
the order of the estimated model of the signal transfer
characteristic (i.e. estimated secondary path filter) is very
high, the calculation burden increases dramatically. Here, the
inventors proposed a very simple way to calculate the
filtered reference signals. The first filtered reference signal is
produced by subtracting the product of a sine corrective
value (Label 23) and the reference sine wave signal from the
product of a cosine corrective value (Label 22) and the
reference cosine wave signal. The sine and the cosine
corrective values are based on the sine and cosine values of
the phase characteristics of the secondary path with respect
to the frequencies of the reference signals. Similarly, the
second filtered reference signal is produced by adding the
product of a sine corrective value and the reference cosine
wave signal and the product of the cosine corrective value
and the reference sine wave signal. Hence, the computational
process only requires four multiplications and two additions
for generating the two filtered reference signals each time the
filter coefficients of the two adaptive notch filters are
updated. Obviously, the amount of calculations for obtaining
the two filtered reference signals is much smaller than the
case where the actual FIR filters are used. This feature
allows the production control system to be relatively
inexpensive. Furthermore, according to the claims in the
patent, since the two filtered reference signals are calculated
as optimally corrected signals directly from the reference
signals, the contours of constant square error curves become
concentric circles. This makes the system capable of
controlling the unwanted noise much quicker.
Additionally, in the invented system discussed above, to
determine the sine and cosine corrective values, the ampli-
tude response and phase characteristics of a predetermined
frequency in the secondary path is measured. However, the






Fig. (6). An active control system for treating door noise [adapted from ref. 29].














Fig. (7). An active noise control system for preventing abnormality in a speaker [adapted from ref. 30].
Sound Quality Refinement for Vehicle Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 7
measured amplitude value has to be adjusted to obtain a
corrected gain through a series of calculations with no
change in the phase. Subsequently, the cosine corrective
value and the sine corrective value will be determined based
on the corrected gain and measured phase information. The
obtained cosine and sine corrective values are then stored in
a storage device along with the frequencies of the reference
signals for use in calculating the filtered reference signals
later on. Since the cosine and sine corrective values are
based on the measured characteristics of the secondary path,
the filtered reference signals or the filter coefficients of the
adaptive notch filters can be calculated with a high degree of
accuracy. Therefore, the proposed system is expected to
yield a much better performance. Furthermore, to increase
the convergence speed of the algorithm and in turn result in
better responsiveness of the system, the step size of the
updating algorithm of the adaptive notch filters can be
optimally adjusted.
In 2010, two more patents were granted to same group of
researchers led by Sakamoto and Inoue [34, 35]. These two
patents are related to that patent in 2008 discussed above.
They both use adaptive notch filter to control engine noise.
However, one patent [33] focuses on the generation of
reference signal. The invented control system is shown in
Fig. (9a). A series of sinusoidal waveform data were stored
in the memory (Label 19) and output at different sampling
time sequentially to create reference signal with the same
frequency as the engine noise for the adaptive control
algorithm. Conventionally, the system outputs the waveform
data sequentially at increment 1. To make the frequency of
reference signal the same as the engine noise, a variable
sampling rate was used. The instantaneous sampling rate was
calculated based on the engine speed and the number of the
waveform data (N). In that design, the division number,
defined as the number of sampling point within one period of
sine wave, is the same as N which has to be a positive
integer number. Hence, as shown in Fig. (9b), the control
range (the range between maximum and minimum frequen-
cies/periods of reference signal) will be limited by the
processing capacity (CPU speed and calculation burden) and
noise canceling capability that is characterized by the longest
sampling period (or the lowest sampling rate). The relation
between the period of reference sine wave signal (Tnep) and
the period of the required sampling rate (Ts) can be
characterized by a straight line (Label C6). In the invented
system, the division number is a real number (less than N).
Hence, the system outputs the waveform data with an incre-
ment larger than 1. Furthermore, the system uses multiple
division numbers for different range as shown in Fig. (9c). In
this way, the control range can be widen, and less CPU
processing burden is required. As a result, the cost of system
will be reduced.
The second related patent [34] focuses on preventing the
ANC system from generating abnormal sound when the error
microphone is covered unintentional or malfunction. The
invented system is illustrated in Fig. (10). Unlike traditional
adaptive control system, two filter coefficient updating
algorithms (Label 51 and 52) are used. These two algorithms
work under different operating conditions. A switch decision
unit (Label 54) chooses corresponding updating algorithm
according to the comparison result between the filter coeffi-
cient values and the predetermined threshold values (W1 and
W2 in Label 55). The threshold values may vary with the
frequency, and therefore a table of the candidate values is
used. When the system senses normal condition, the first
updating algorithm will be used to adapt the filter coeffi-
cients as usual. Otherwise, the second updating algorithm,
that is actually a forgetting process (current filter coefficient
value will set to the multiplication between the old value and
a forgetting factor), will be chosen. In this way, the potential
abnormal sound due to the malfunction or unintentional
cover of the microphone will be avoided.
Also, in 2010, a patent was issued to McCain et al. that
apply ANC to cylinder de-activation engine system [35].











Fig. (8). Adaptive notch filter with fast calculation of filtered reference signal [adapted from ref. 31].
8 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 Li et al.

































Fig. (9). An active control system with improved sinusoidal waveform generator [adapted from ref. 33].
Sound Quality Refinement for Vehicle Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 9


















Fig. (10). An active control system with capability of stopping the generation of abnormal sound due to the malfunction of microphone
[adapted from ref. 34].

Cylinder de-activation engine system is designed to use
engine cylinders selectively, so that it can improve fuel
efficiency. For instance, when power requirements are small,
only part of engine cylinders are active. Unfortunately, when
fewer cylinders are utilized, the engine even generates more
noise, because engine mounts, which is designed based on
the full-cylinder operating mode, are less effective in the
partial-cylinder operating mode. Thus, the ANC system can
play a greater role. When the engine operating mode change,
for example, from a three cylinders utilization mode to a six
cylinders one, there may be a pop noise that occurs during
the transient period. This patent focuses on cancelling the
unwanted pop noise. One of the examples is the operating
mode change from three cylinders to six cylinders. The
targeted engine order to be controlled is changed from 1.5
th

order to 3
rd
order, which are the firing orders that dominate
the engine noise. In the past, the ANC system is either turned
completely off resulting in no cancellation signal or changed
immediately to a 3
rd
order cancellation signal from a 1.5
th

order one yielding higher net amplitude than the primary
engine noise. To overcome these effects, the authors uni-
quely proposed two steps to smoothen the transition process,
namely delay and wait. When the transition occurs, the
1.5
th
order cancellation signal is extended for a short period
of time (delay time) to reduce the pop noise, and then
reduced smoothly for another short period of time (waiting
time) to prevent generating undesired high amplitude of
cancellation signal, before a change to 3
rd
order cancellation
signal is imposed. Furthermore, the author suggested the
preferred delay times and waiting time for six different
cylinder mode transitions.
CURRENT & FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
In the current vehicle market, a more fuel efficient
vehicle will be very attractive for obvious reasons. To
develop a fuel efficient vehicle, one of the potential solutions
is to reduce the weight of the vehicle. However, reducing the
weight of the vehicle body inevitably degrades their
performance of abating the vehicle interior noise especially
in the low frequency range. Hence, the perceived noise level
in the passenger compartment will be higher, and in turn,
worsen the interior sound quality of the vehicle. This is
certainly undesirable for the customers. Under this situation,
active noise control means may provide a good alternative
for treating the low to mid frequency noise and vibration
responses without significantly increasing the weight of the
vehicle. In 1991, Nissan implemented an active noise control
system in one of its production vehicles (Bluebird) with
limited success [36]. Since then, more and more automotive
manufacturers are either developing or planning to
implement active noise control approaches to improve the
NVH performance of their products [36]. It can be expected
that, with the development of newer vehicles in the near
future, active noise control will become a desirable feature to
be included in the design.
Another developmental trend of vehicle design is to
achieve a better overall sound quality in the vehicle
passenger compartment. Sound quality is a highly subjective
term. A sound perceived as having good quality does not
necessarily imply possessing low sound pressure level. The
reason is because the environment, context and expectation
play a significant role in determining the perceived quality.
10 Recent Patents on Mechanical Engineering 2010, Vol. 3, No. 3 Li et al.
Hence, the linear sound pressure level metric is generally not
the most suitable index to quantify sound quality. In most
cases, the spectrum of the sound will have to be tuned to
achieve a desirable effect. The ideal spectrum varies
substantially from one application to the next. Hence, the
objective of the designed controller is not to minimize the
perceived noise, but to tune the response to meet the
prescribed target associated with a desirable sound quality
performance. Using active noise control, an effective way to
enhance the sound quality adaptively is to embed the psy-
choacoustic models into the control algorithm. To accom-
plish this successfully, not only psychoacoustic research
leading to pleasant sound attributes is needed, further
research in adapting the existing ANC algorithm to handle
sophisticated time-frequency functions must be performed as
well.
Finally, to improve the performance of active noise
control system in vehicle system, the development of the
technique of virtual sensor is also desirable. Since most of
active control system is designed to treat the sound at the
microphone location and it is sometimes impractical to place
the microphone close to the ears of the passengers, the ANC
system may not be optimized to work well enough. The
virtual sensor technique is a possible solution for this
problem. Currently, there are some related efforts performed
by numerous groups. In 1992, the first virtual sensor concept
was examined by Elliott [37]. Since then, a number of virtual
sensing algorithms have been developed [38] including the
virtual microphone arrangement [37], the remote microphone
technique [39], the feedforward difference prediction tech-
nique [40], the adaptive LMS virtual microphone technique
[41], the Kalman filtering virtual sensing method [42] and
the stochastically optimal tonal diffuse field virtual sensing
technique [43]. These algorithms differs in the assumptions
made and strategies employed. However, the above men-
tioned approaches are yet practical enough for implemen-
tation in a complex environment such as vehicle cabin.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank the Vibro-Acoustics and Sound Quality
Research Laboratory of the University of Cincinnati for
support of this review study and preparation of the
manuscript.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
None
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