GB2622197A

GB2622197A - Instrument cluster apparatus and vehicle warning arrangement including the instrument cluster apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2622197A
Application number: GB2212694.0A
Authority: GB
Inventors: You Jaepio
Original assignee: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
Current assignee: Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH
Priority date: 2022-09-01
Filing date: 2022-09-01
Publication date: 2024-03-13
Also published as: GB202212694D0

Abstract

There may be provided an instrument cluster apparatus for a vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may include at least one input signal terminal connectable to an active safety system of the vehicle to receive a warning signal from the active safety system of the vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may further include a plurality of sound output terminals, connectable respectively to a plurality of speakers disposed around a vehicle cabin of the vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may further include a processor connected to the at least one input signal terminal and the plurality of sound output terminals. The processor may be configured to output one or more sound signals respectively through one or more sound output terminals based on the warning signal to cause the plurality of speakers to produce a spatial sound.

Description

INSTRUMENT CLUSTER APPARATUS AND VEHICLE WARNING ARRANGEMENT INCLUDING THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER APPARATUS

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments generally relate to an instrument cluster apparatus for a vehicle (e.g. car, truck, etc.) and a vehicle warning arrangement including the instrument cluster apparatus, and particularly to an instrument cluster apparatus and a vehicle warning arrangement for causing one or more speakers disposed in the vehicle to produce a spatial warning sound.

BACKGROUND

Many conventional vehicles are equipped with a safety system configured to detect a hazard situation or potential hazard situation the vehicle may be in or may potentially face.

When a hazard situation / potential hazard situation is detected by the safety system of the vehicle, a warning is typically displayed on a display on a dash of the vehicle to alert a driver of the vehicle to act to avoid an accident.

However, the warning typically displayed on the dash of the vehicle may not be easily observed by the driver of the vehicle.

Hence, there may be a need for an improved means of alerting a driver of the vehicle of a hazard situation / potential hazard situation.

SUMMARY

According to various embodiments, there may be provided an instrument cluster apparatus for a vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may include at least one input signal terminal connectable to an active safety system of the vehicle to receive a warning signal from the active safety system of the vehicle. The warning signal may include a location information associated with a location of a potential hazard situation relative to the vehicle detected by the active safety system of the vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may further include a plurality of sound output terminals, connectable respectively to a plurality of speakers disposed around a vehicle cabin of the vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may further include a processor connected to the at least one input signal terminal and the plurality of sound output terminals. The processor may be configured to output one or more sound signals respectively through one or more sound output terminals among the plurality of sound output terminals based on the location information of the warning signal to cause the plurality of speakers (i.e. the one or more speaker(s) connected to the one or more sound output terminal(s) to which the processor may be configured to output one or more sound signal(s) based on the location information of the warning signal) to produce a spatial sound (e.g. spatial warning sound) for serving as a directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin corresponding to a direction of the location of the potential hazard situation with respect to the vehicle cabin of the vehicle.

According to various embodiments, there may be provided a vehicle warning arrangement including the instrument cluster apparatus. The vehicle warning arrangement may further include the plurality of speakers connected to the instrument cluster apparatus via the plurality of sound output terminals. The vehicle warning arrangement may further include the active safety system connected to the instrument cluster apparatus via the at least one input signal terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments are described with reference to the following drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows schematically an embodiment of an instrument cluster apparatus, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows schematically another embodiment of the instrument cluster apparatus 100, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3A shows schematically an embodiment of the instrument cluster apparatus including two sound output terminals, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3B to FIG. 3D are schematic views of the vehicle, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4A shows schematically an embodiment of the instrument cluster apparatus including four sound output terminals, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4B to FIG. 41 are schematic views of the vehicle, according to various embodiments; and FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting a process of determining whether a warning sound is produced by the plurality of speakers of the vehicle, via the instrument cluster apparatus (or the vehicle warning arrangement), according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments described below in context of the apparatus are analogously valid for the respective methods, and vice versa. Furthermore, it will be understood that the embodiments described below may be combined, for example, a part of one embodiment may be combined with a part of another embodiment.

It should be understood that the terms "on", "over", "top", "bottom", "down", "side", "back", "left", "right", "front", "lateral", "side", "up", "down" etc., when used in the following description are used for convenience and to aid understanding of relative positions or directions, and not intended to limit the orientation of any device, or structure or any part of any device or structure. In addition, the singular terms "a", "an", and "the" include plural references unless context clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the word "or" is intended to include "and" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Various embodiments may provide an instrument cluster apparatus (e.g. instrument cluster unit) for a vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus may be configured to communicate and / or display vehicle information / parameter(s) to an operator (e.g. a driver) of the vehicle. The vehicle information / parameter(s) may include, but not limited to, vehicle speed, mileage, rotation speed, oil pressure, fuel level, engine temperature, or battery voltage. Accordingly, the instrument cluster apparatus may include or may display a speedometer, an odometer, a tachometer, an oil pressure gauge, a fuel level gauge, an engine temperature gauge, or a battery voltage indicator. Further, the instrument cluster apparatus may be connected (e.g. electrically connected), either directly or via a vehicle communication network (e.g. Controller Area Network, Ethernet, etc.), to one or more system(s), module(s), and / or sensor(s), etc. of the vehicle for receiving the vehicle information / parameter(s) from such system(s), module(s), and / or sensor(s), etc. of the vehicle. The received vehicle information / parameter(s) may then be communicated and / or displayed by the instrument cluster apparatus to the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle (e.g. through a display of the instrument cluster apparatus, described later with reference to FIG. 2). According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus may be an electronic instrument cluster apparatus, a digital instrument panel, or a digital dash, etc. Further, the instrument cluster may usually be disposed at a front of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle so as to be in front of the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle.

The instrument cluster apparatus according to the various embodiments may include a communication interface (e.g. at least one input signal terminal) for connecting to a safety system (e.g. an active safety system) of the vehicle to receive warning information (e.g. warning signal) from the safety system, a sound output interface (e.g. sound channels / sound output terminals) for connecting to a plurality (e.g. two, three, four, five or more) of speakers disposed around and / or within a vehicle cabin of the vehicle. Further, the instrument cluster apparatus according to the various embodiments may include a processor configured to output multi channel sound signals, based on the warning information (e.g. warning signal from the safety system of the vehicle), via the sound output interface to cause the plurality of speakers to produce a spatial sound or spatial audio warning (e.g. a multichannel sound, or multichannel audio warning) for serving as a directional audio indication, within the vehicle cabin, corresponding to a direction of a location of a dangerous situation (e.g. a potential hazard situation) detected by the safety system. According to various embodiments, the spatial sound produced may be in addition to any visual indication associated with the warning information provided by the instrument cluster apparatus.

Various embodiments may also provide a vehicle warning arrangement (e.g. a multi channel warning sound system) which may include the instrument cluster apparatus of the various embodiments, the plurality of speakers, and the safety system (e.g. active safety system).

With the spatial sound serving as a directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin corresponding to the direction of the location of the dangerous situation (e.g. potential hazard situation), the instrument cluster apparatus (and / or the vehicle warning arrangement) according to the various embodiments may provide a better / clearer / direct (e.g. immediate) perception / indication (e.g. to the operator) of where the dangerous situation may be occurring relative to the vehicle, even while the operator is operating (e.g. driving) the vehicle.

According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus may include a multi sound channel device / component (e.g. a multi channel amplifier). The multi sound channel device / component may serve to provide the sound output interface of the instrument cluster apparatus. The warning information (e.g. warning signal) from the safety system may be converted to the one or more sound signals by the instrument cluster apparatus and be transmitted through the multi sound channel device of the instrument cluster apparatus to one or more speaker(s) of the plurality of speakers of the vehicle for the one or more speaker(s) to cooperatively produce the spatial sound capable of serving as the directional audio indication. In other words, when the instrument cluster apparatus receives any warning information (e.g. warning signal) from the safety system, the instrument cluster apparatus may provide or output one or more sound signals to the one or more speaker(s) disposed in the vehicle, via the multi sound channel device, for the one or more speaker(s) to produce the spatial sound.

As an example, according to various embodiments, the vehicle may include two speakers disposed at a front left corner and a front right corner of the vehicle respectively. Thus, for example, when a dangerous situation is detected on a right side of the vehicle (e.g. by a Lane Departure Warning module of the safety system), the instrument cluster apparatus may cause one (e.g. only one) speaker proximal to the right side of the vehicle (e.g. the speaker at the front right corner) to sound while causing the other speaker proximal to a left side of the vehicle (e.g. the speaker at the front left corner) not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the two speakers cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the right side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the dangerous situation is detected on the right side of the vehicle. On the other hand, when a dangerous situation is detected forward of the vehicle (e.g. by a Collision Warning module of the safety system), the instrument cluster apparatus may cause the two speakers to sound at a same time so as to produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the front of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the dangerous situation is detected forward of the vehicle.

As another example, according to various embodiments, the vehicle may include four speakers disposed at the front left corner, the front right corner, a rear left corner, and a rear right corner of the vehicle respectively. Thus, for example, when the dangerous situation is detected on the right side of the vehicle (e.g. by a Lane Departure Warning module of the safety system), the instrument cluster apparatus may cause two speakers disposed proximal to the right side of the vehicle (e.g. the speaker at the front right corner and the speaker at the rear right corner) to sound while causing the other two speaker proximal to a left side of the vehicle (e.g. the speaker at the front left corner and the speaker at the rear left corner) not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the four speakers cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the right side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the dangerous situation is detected on the right side of the vehicle.. On the other hand, when a dangerous situation is detected forward of the vehicle (e.g. by a Collision Warning module of the safety system), the instrument cluster apparatus may cause the two speakers disposed proximal to the front of the vehicle (e.g. the speaker at the front left corner and the speaker at the front right corner) to sound while causing the other two speaker proximal to the rear of the vehicle (e.g. the speaker at the rear left corner and the speaker at the rear right corner) not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the four speakers cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the front of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the dangerous situation is detected forward of the vehicle.

As yet another example, when the vehicle is speeding (e.g. as detected by an Intelligent Speed Adaptation module of the warning system), the instrument cluster apparatus may cause all / every speaker disposed in the vehicle to produce a warning sound.

According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus may be compatible with an audio or speaker system (e.g. speakers) of any existing vehicle.

Hence, the instrument cluster apparatus may be retrofitted or installed in an existing vehicle with audio or speaker system without requiring new speakers to be installed. According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus may output sound signal(s) of different frequencies to associate different frequency sound with different safety system.

The instrument cluster apparatus according to the various embodiments may allow an operator to selectively control or adjust a sound intensity or volume of the sound signal (e.g. depending on the operator's preference).

An operator of the instrument cluster apparatus according to the various embodiments may selectively enable (e.g. switch on) or disable (e.g. switch off) the "warning sound function" of the instrument cluster apparatus that may cause the plurality of speakers of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound. In other words, the instrument cluster apparatus may be configurable to communicate information (e.g. a warning notification) to the operator of the vehicle with or without causing one or more speaker(s) of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound.

According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus may be a single unit housing the various electronic components (e.g. the communication interface, the sound output interface, the processor, etc.) of the instrument cluster apparatus. Thus, for example, the various electronic components of the instrument cluster apparatus may be contained (e.g. entirely or partially) within an outer casing (e.g. housing) of the instrument cluster apparatus. Accordingly, the instrument cluster apparatus may be retrofitted or installed to an existing vehicle or built in a new vehicle.

FIG. 1 shows schematically an embodiment of an instrument cluster apparatus 100, according to various embodiments.

According to various embodiments, there may be provided the instrument cluster apparatus 100 for a vehicle (e.g. a car, truck, etc.).

The instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to communicate and! or display the vehicle information / parameter(s) to the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle. For example, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include or may display, but not limited to, a speedometer, an odometer, a tachometer, an oil pressure gauge, a fuel level gauge, an engine temperature gauge, or a battery voltage indicator for communicating and / or displaying vehicle information / parameter(s) such as vehicle speed, mileage, rotation speed, oil pressure, fuel level, engine temperature, or battery voltage. According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be connectable or connected (e.g. electrically connected), either directly or via a vehicle communication network (e.g. Controller Area Network, Ethernet, etc.), to one or more system(s), module(s), and / or sensor(s), etc. of the vehicle for receiving the vehicle information! parameter(s) from such system(s), module(s), and / or sensor(s), etc. of the vehicle. Hence, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may serve as a user interface for communication and / or displaying received vehicle information / parameter(s) to the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle (e.g. through a display of the instrument cluster apparatus, described later with reference to FIG. 2). Accordingly, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be an electronic instrument cluster apparatus 100, a digital instrument panel, or a digital dash, etc. According to various embodiments, there may be provided a safety system (e.g. an active safety system) 70. The safety system (e.g. active safety system) 70 may be configured to detect a potential hazard situation and may determine (or detect) a location of the potential hazard situation relative to the vehicle. As an example, the potential hazard situation may include, but is not limited to, any one or more of (i) the vehicle moving faster than a predetermined speed, (ii) the vehicle crossing one of a determined set of lane boundaries, (iii) the vehicle being within a predetermined distance from an object (e.g. an external object) external to (or, relative to) the vehicle, (iv) an object (e.g. an external object) proximate to a blind spot of an operator (e.g. driver) of the vehicle, etc. When the safety system (e.g. active safety system) 70 of the vehicle detects a potential hazard situation, the safety system (e.g. active safety system) 70 may generate and / or output a warning signal (or warning information) that includes or contains a location information associated with the location of the potential hazard situation relative to the vehicle detected by the safety system (e.g. active safety system) 70. Herein, various embodiments may be described with reference to the active safety system 70. The active safety system may be configured to actively detect a potential hazard situation for warning or assisting the operator (e.g. the driver) to control the vehicle so as to avoid or reduce the severity of accident. According to various embodiments, the active safety system may generally be referring to advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS). Nevertheless, it is understood that various embodiments described herein as such are not limited to being applicable only with an active safety system 70.

With reference to FIG. 1, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include at least one input signal terminal 110. The at least one input signal terminal 110 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be connectable or connected to (e.g. to at least) the active safety system 70 of the vehicle to receive, from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle, a warning signal including or containing a location information associated with a location of a potential hazard situation relative to the vehicle detected by the active safety system 70 of the vehicle. Accordingly, the at least one input signal terminal 110 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may serve as a communication interface for the instrument cluster apparatus 100 to communicate with the active safety system 70.

According to various embodiments, there may be provided a plurality of speakers 80 disposed around and / or within the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. As an example, the plurality of speakers may be speakers of a car audio system or an "in car" entertainment system for listening to music or songs or audio entertainment.

Accordingly, the plurality of speakers 80 may be connectable to an "in car" entertainment device or an infotainment device of the vehicle for outputting an audio (e.g. music, movie audio) controlled by the "in car" entertainment device or the infotainment system of the device. As another example, the plurality of speakers 80 may be a separate set of speakers from the speakers of the car audio system or the "in car" entertainment system.

According to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include (e.g. further include) a plurality of sound output terminals 120. The plurality of sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be connectable or connected respectively to the plurality of speakers 80 disposed around and / or within the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. According to various embodiments, the plurality of sound output terminals 120 may be a plurality of sound channels. According to various embodiments, the plurality of sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may serve as the sound output interface for the instrument cluster apparatus 100 to communicate with the plurality of speakers 80.

Further, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include (e.g. further include) a processor 140 connected to the at least one input signal terminal 110 and to the plurality of sound output terminals 120.

The term "processor" encompasses all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a chip (i.e. SoC), or multiple ones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The "processor" may include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The "processor" may also include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, a cross platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.

Some of the processes and logic flows described in this specification may be performed by one or more processors executing one or more computer programs to perform actions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows may also be performed by, and apparatus may also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA or an ASIC.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) may be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it may be deployed in any form, including as a stand alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a mark up language document), in a single file dedicated to the program, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program may be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

According to various embodiments, the processor 140 may be configured to output one or more sound signal(s) respectively through one or more sound output terminal(s) 120 (e.g. sound channel(s)), among the plurality of sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100, based on the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) to cause the plurality of speakers 80 of the vehicle (i.e. the one or more speaker(s) 80 connected to the one or more sound output terminal(s) 120 through which the processor 140 may be configured to output one or more sound signal(s)) to produce a spatial sound. The spatial sound may serve or may be for serving as a directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin corresponding to a direction of the location of the potential hazard situation with respect to the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. Hence, the spatial sound may be a spatial warning sound. Thus, the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may output the one or more sound signal(s), via the one or more sound output terminal(s) 120, to cause the one or more speaker(s) 80 to cooperatively produce the spatial sound that gives a perception that the sound is coming from a direction of the location of the potential hazard situation relative to the vehicle so as to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected in that direction.

According to various embodiments, the processor 140 may be configured to establish a correspondence between the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) and a disposition (e.g. position / location) of the plurality of speakers 80 around and / or within the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, so as to determine the one or more sound output terminal(s) 120 (e.g. sound channel(s)) to respectively output the one or more sound signal(s) for causing one or more speaker(s) 80, among the plurality of speakers 80 of the vehicle, proximal (e.g. close or closest) to the location of the potential hazard situation with respect to the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce / for producing the spatial sound (e.g. spatial warning sound) serving as the directional audio indication. Accordingly, by mapping the location information of the warning signal to the disposition of the plurality of speakers 80 around and / or within the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, the processor 140 may determine! select the one or more speaker(s) 80 among the plurality of speakers 80 required to be sounded for producing the spatial sound that gives a directional perception of the location of the potential hazard relative to the vehicle. With the one or more speaker(s) 80 determined / selected, the one or more sound output terminal(s) 120 may be determined / selected, and the processor 140 may output the one or more sound signal(s) respectively through the determined / selected one or more sound output terminal(s) 120.

Accordingly, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may provide a more realistic and / or direct and / or clear feedback / warning notification to an operator of the vehicle for the operator to react readily / immediately so as to avoid a potential hazard situation. The instrument cluster apparatus 100 according to various embodiments may thus help reduce or minimize a risk of an accident with the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 2, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include (e.g. further include) a communication bus. The communication bus may include the at least one input signal terminal 110 and! or the plurality of sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100. Accordingly, the at least one input signal terminal 110 and / or the plurality of sound output terminals 120 may be part of the communication bus 130 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100. According to various embodiments, the communication bus may be a Controller Area Network bus or an Ethernet connector, or any other suitable type of communication bus or connector. The communication bus may allow the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 and other system(s), module(s), and / or sensor(s) etc. of the vehicle to communicate with each other.

With reference to FIG. 2, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include (e.g. further include) a display 150 (e.g. display panel).

The display 150 may be connected to the processor 140. According to various embodiments, the processor 140 may be configured to simultaneously: (i) control the display 150 to provide a visual indication based on the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) and (ii) to output the one or more sound signal(s) respectively through the one or more sound output terminal(s) 120 of the plurality of sound output terminals 120 based on the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70). According to various embodiments, the display 150 may be an analogue display or an electronic / digital display.

With reference to FIG. 2, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include (e.g. further include) at least one of a speedometer 151 (e.g. configured or adapted to show or indicate a speed of the vehicle), a tachometer 152 (e.g. configured or adapted to show or indicate a speed of an engine of the vehicle), a fuel gauge (e.g. configured or adapted to show or indicate an amount of fuel in a fuel tank of the vehicle), and / or an odometer 154 (e.g. configured or adapted to show or indicate a distance travelled by the vehicle). According to various embodiments, any one or more of the speedometer 151, the tachometer 152, the fuel gauge 153, and! or the odometer 154 may be provided on the display 150 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100. As such, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 is an electronic instrument cluster apparatus 100, the speedometer 151, the tachometer 152, the fuel gauge 153, and / or the odometer 154 may be digitally displayed on an electronic! digital display 150 of the electronic instrument cluster apparatus 100.

With reference to FIG. 2, according to various embodiments, the active safety system 70 of the vehicle may include one or more module(s) 71. Each of the one or more modules may respectively include a respective at least one sensor 72 arranged on (e.g. around) the vehicle. The number of modules 71 may be cascaded according to design specification, up to nth number of modules. The same concept may apply to number of sensors 72 relative to the one or more modules 71.

Specifically, the number of sensors 72 may be cascade according to design specification, up till nth number of sensors 72 for any of the one or more modules 71. More in particular, the active safety system 70 of the vehicle may include any one or a combination of an Intelligent Speed Adaptation module, a Lane Departure Warning module, a Lane Keeping Assist module, a Collision Warning module, a Rear Cross Vehicle Alert, and/or a Blind Spot Detection module.

The Intelligent Speed Adaptation module of the active safety system 70 may be configured to detect (e.g. based on a sensor signal from an Intelligent Speed Adaptation module sensor of the active safety system 70 in communication with the Intelligent Speed Adaptation module) a potential hazard situation of the vehicle moving faster than a predetermined speed. The location of the potential hazard situation detected / determined by the Intelligent Speed Adaptation module may be an external location (e.g. forward of the vehicle) relative to the vehicle to which the vehicle is moving towards.

The Lane Departure Warning module of the active safety system 70 may be configured to detect (e.g. based on a sensor signal from a Lane Departure Warning module sensor of the active safety system 70 in communication with the Lane Departure Warning module) a potential hazard situation of the vehicle crossing one of a determined set of lane boundaries. The location of the potential hazard situation detected / determined by the Lane Departure Warning may be a location to a left / forward left / rear left of the vehicle or a location to a right / forward right / rear right of the vehicle (e.g. where the vehicle may be crossing one of a determined set of lane boundaries).

The Lane Keeping Assist module of the active safety system 70 may, likewise or similar to the Lane Departure Warning module, be configured to detect (e.g. based on a sensor signal from a Lane Keeping Assist module sensor of the active safety system 70) a potential hazard situation of the vehicle crossing one of a determined set of lane boundaries or when a lane departure is about to occur.

The Collision Warning module of the active safety system 70 may be configured to detect (e.g. based on a sensor signal from a Collision Warning module sensor of the active safety system 70 in communication with the Collision Warning module) a potential hazard situation of the vehicle being within a predetermined distance from an object (e.g. an external object) external to (or, relative to) the vehicle. The location of the potential hazard situation detected / determined by the Collision Warning module may be a location of the object relative to the vehicle (e.g. forward of the vehicle, rear of the vehicle, left! forward left! rear left of the vehicle, or right /forward right! rear right of the vehicle).

The Rear Cross Vehicle Alert module of the active safety system 70 may be configured to detect (e.g. based on a sensor signal from Rear Cross Vehicle Alert module sensor of the active safety system 70 in communication with the Rear Cross Vehicle Alert module) a potential hazard situation of the vehicle reversing, in particular when reversing out from a parking lot or parking space. The location of the potential hazard situation detected! determined by the Rear Cross Vehicle Alert module may be an external location (e.g. forward of the vehicle) relative to another vehicle approaching from a left side of the reversing vehicle or a right side of the reversing vehicle The Blind Spot Detection module of the active safety system 70 may, accordingly, be configured to detect (e.g. based on a sensor signal from a Blind Spot Detection module sensor of the active safety system 70 in communication with the Blind Spot Detection module) a potential hazard situation of an object (e.g. an external object) proximate to a blind spot of an operator (e.g. driver) of the vehicle. The location of the potential hazard situation detected / determined by the Blind Spot Detection module may be a location of the object relative to the vehicle (or to the operator) (e.g. to a left! rear left of the vehicle or to a right! rear right of the vehicle, or rear of the vehicle / operator).

For ease of illustration, the active safety system 70 of the vehicle may be described herein as including any one or a combination of the Intelligent Speed Adaptation module, the Lane Departure Warning module, the Lane Keeping Assist module, the Collision Warning module, and / or the Blind Spot Detection module. Nevertheless, it is understood that the active safety system 70 of the vehicle is not limited thereto.

Thus, for example, the active safety system 70 of the vehicle may optionally and / or further include any one or a combination of an Automatic Emergency Braking module (e.g. configured to detect a slow down or a stop in traffic ahead), an Electronic Stability Control module (e.g. configured to detect a loss of steering control of the vehicle), Tyre Pressure Monitoring module (e.g. configured to detect low air pressure in a tyre of the vehicle), or any other suitable module for the active safety system 70 of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 2, according to various embodiments, the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may include (e.g. further include) a multi channel amplifier 121 connected to the processor 140. The multi channel amplifier 121 may provide the plurality of sound output terminals 120. According to various embodiments, the plurality of sound output terminals 120 may be a plurality of sound channels of the multi channel amplifier 121.

FIG. 3A shows schematically an embodiment of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 including two sound output terminals 120, according to various embodiments. FIG. 3B to FIG. 3D are schematic views of the vehicle, according to various embodiments.

With reference to FIG. 3B to FIG. 3D, two (or at least two) speakers 80 may be disposed on a left side and a right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. In particular, a first (or at least one) speaker 80a of the two (or at least two) speakers 80 may be disposed on a left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle (or on a left side of an operator seat of the vehicle) and a second (or at least one other) speaker 80b of the two (or at least two) speakers 80 may be disposed on a right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle (or on a right side of the operator seat of the vehicle).

With reference to FIG. 3A, according to various embodiments, the two sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be connectable respectively to the two (or at least two) speakers 80. In particular, a first sound output terminal 120a of the two sound output terminals 120 may be connectable to (e.g. to only) the first (or at least one) speaker 80a disposed on the left side (e.g. front left corner) of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle and a second sound output terminal 120b of the two sound output terminals 120 may be connectable to (e.g. to only) the second (or at least one other) speaker 80b disposed on the right side (e.g. front right corner) of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 3B, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a left of the vehicle (e.g. to a left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal 120 associated with a corresponding speaker of the two speakers 80 on the left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes two sound output terminals 120 (e.g. two sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a left of the vehicle (e.g. to a left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through the first sound output terminal 120a (e.g. first sound channel) to cause the speaker (or at least one speaker) 80a proximal to the left side of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speaker (or at least one other speaker) 80b proximal to a right side of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the left side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the left side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 3C, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a right of the vehicle (e.g. to a right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal 120 associated with a corresponding speaker of the two speakers 80 on the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes two sound output terminals 120 (e.g. two sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a right of the vehicle (e.g. to a right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through the second sound output terminal 120b (e.g. second sound channel) to cause the speaker (or at least one speaker) 80b proximal to the right side of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speaker (or at least one other speaker) 80a proximal to a left side of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the right side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the right side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 3D, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus from the active safety system 70) includes a location forward of the vehicle (e.g. forward of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through the two sound output terminals 120 associated with the two speakers 80 on the left side and the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes two sound output terminals 120 (e.g. two sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location forward of the vehicle (e.g. forward of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output sound signals through both the first sound output terminal 120a and the second sound output terminals 120b (in other words, all of the sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100) to cause the speakers 80 to cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from forward of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected forward of the vehicle.

FIG. 4A shows schematically an embodiment of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 including four sound output terminals 120, according to various embodiments. FIG. 4B to FIG. 41 are schematic views of the vehicle, according to various 15 embodiments.

With reference to FIG. 4B to FIG. 41, four speakers 80 may be disposed on a forward left, a forward right, a rear left and a rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. In particular, a first (or a first subset of at least one) speaker 80a of the four (or at least four) speakers 80 may be disposed on a forward left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle (e.g. on a forward left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), a second (or a second subset of at least one) speaker 80b of the four (or at least four) speakers 80 may be disposed on a forward right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle (e.g. on a forward right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), a third (or a third subset of at least one) speaker 80c of the four (or at least four) speakers 80 may be disposed on a rear left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle (e.g. on a rear left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), and a fourth (or a fourth subset of at least one) speaker 80d of the four (or at least four) speakers 80 may be disposed on a rear right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle (e.g. on a rear right side of the operator seat of the vehicle).

With reference to FIG. 4A, according to various embodiments, the four sound output terminals 120 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be connectable respectively to the four (or at least four) speakers 80. In particular, a first sound output terminal 120a of the four sound output terminals 120 may be connectable to (e.g. to only) the first (or the first subset of at least one) speaker 80a disposed on the left side (e.g. front left corner) of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, a second sound output terminal 120b of the four sound output terminals 120 may be connectable to (e.g. to only) the second (or the second subset of at least one) speaker 80b disposed on the right side (e.g. front right corner) of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, a third sound output terminal 120c of the four sound output terminals 120 may be connectable to (e.g. to only) the third (or the third subset of at least one) speaker 80c disposed on the left side (e.g. rear left corner) of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, and a fourth sound output terminal 120d of the four sound output terminals 120 may be connectable to (e.g. to only) the fourth (or the fourth subset of at least one) speaker 80d disposed on the right side (e.g. rear right corner) of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 4B, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a left of the vehicle (e.g. to a left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the forward left and rear left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a left of the vehicle (e.g. to a left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a first sound signal through a first sound output terminal 120a (e.g. a first sound channel) and a second sound output signal through a third sound output terminal 120c (e.g. a third sound channel) to cause the speakers (or the first and third subsets of at least one speaker) 80a, 80c proximal to the left side of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the second and fourth subsets of at least one speaker) 80b, 80d proximal to the right side of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the left side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the left side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 4C, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a right of the vehicle (e.g. to a right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the forward right and rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a right of the vehicle (e.g. to a right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a first sound signal through a second sound output terminal 120b (e.g. a second sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 and a second sound output signal through a fourth sound output terminal 120d (e.g. a fourth sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 to cause the speakers (or the second and fourth subsets of at least one speaker) 80b, 80d proximal to the right side of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the first and third subsets of at least one speaker) 80a, 80c proximal to the left side of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the right side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the right side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 4D, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus from the active safety system 70, e.g. from any module of the active safety system 70 other than the Intelligent Speed Adaptation module) includes a location forward of the vehicle (e.g. to a forward side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the forward left and forward right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a forward of the vehicle (e.g. to a forward side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a first sound signal through the first sound output terminal 120a (e.g. first sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 and a second sound output signal through the second sound output terminal 120b (e.g. second sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 to cause the speakers (or the first and second subsets of at least one speaker) 80a, 80b proximal to the forward side of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the third and fourth subsets of at least one speaker) 80c, 80d proximal to the rear side of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the rear side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the rear side of the vehicle.

According to various other embodiments, when the warning signal is a warning system from the Intelligent Speed Adaptation module of the active safety system 70, and the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward / forward left! forward right of the vehicle, the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output four sound signals respectively through four (or all) corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with four (or all) corresponding speakers of the four (or at least four) speakers 80 disposed around the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as an "all around" directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin for indicating to the operator (e.g. driver) that the vehicle is moving faster than a predetermined speed and / or that the entire vehicle cabin may be at risk of damage from an accident.

With reference to FIG. 4F, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus from the active safety system 70) includes a location forward left of the vehicle (e.g. to a forward left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal respectively through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the forward left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a forward left of the vehicle (e.g. to a forward left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through the first sound output terminal 120a (e.g. first sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 to cause the speaker (or the first subset of at least one speaker) 80a proximal to the forward left corner of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the second, third and fourth subsets of at least one speaker) 80b, 80c, 80d proximal respectively to the forward right corner, rear left corner and rear right corner of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the forward left side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the forward left side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 4G, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location forward right of the vehicle (e.g. to a forward right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal respectively through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the forward right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a forward right of the vehicle (e.g. to a forward right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through the second sound output terminal 120b (e.g. second sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 to cause the speaker (or the second subset of at least one speaker) 80b proximal to the forward right corner of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the first, third and fourth subsets of at least one speaker) 80a, 80c, 80d proximal respectively to the forward left corner, rear left corner and rear right corner of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the forward right side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the forward right side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 4H, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location rear left of the vehicle (e.g. to a rear left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal respectively through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the rear left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a rear left of the vehicle (e.g. to a rear left side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through the third sound output terminal 120c (e.g. third sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 to cause the speaker (or the third subset of at least one speaker) 80c proximal to the rear left corner of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the first, second and fourth subsets of at least one speaker) 80a, 80b, 80d proximal respectively to the forward left corner, forward right corner and rear right corner of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the rear left side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the rear left side of the vehicle.

With reference to FIG. 41, according to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location rear right of the vehicle (e.g. to a rear right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal respectively through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 associated with a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin. Thus, for example, when the instrument cluster apparatus 100 includes four sound output terminals 120 (e.g. four sound channels), and when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 from the active safety system 70) includes a location to a rear right of the vehicle (e.g. to a rear right side of the operator seat of the vehicle), the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through the fourth sound output terminal 120d (e.g. fourth sound channel) of the four sound output terminals 120 to cause the speaker (or the fourth subset of at least one speaker) 80d proximal to the rear right corner of the vehicle to sound while causing the other speakers (or the first, second and third subsets of at least one speaker) 80a, 80b, 80c proximal respectively to the forward left corner, forward right corner and rear left corner of the vehicle not to sound (or to sound with a significantly lower amplitude) such that the speakers 80 cooperatively produce a spatial sound giving a perception that the sound is coming from the rear right side of the vehicle to serve as the directional audio indication to alert the operator (e.g. the driver) of the vehicle that the potential hazard situation is detected on the rear right side of the vehicle.

Referring back to FIG.1, according to various embodiments, there may be provided a vehicle warning arrangement (e.g. a system) 1000. The vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include the instrument cluster apparatus 100 according to the various embodiments. The vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include (e.g. further include) the plurality of speakers 80 connected to the instrument cluster apparatus 100 via the plurality of sound output terminals 120. The vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include (e.g. further include) the active safety system 70 connected to the instrument cluster apparatus 100 via the at least one input signal terminal.

According to various embodiments, the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include (e.g. optionally and / or further include) two speakers 80 on the left side and the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include two sound output terminals 120 connected respectively to the two speakers 80 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location to a left of the vehicle, the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal of the two sound output terminals 120 to a corresponding speaker of the two speakers 80 on the left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location to a right of the vehicle, the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal of the two sound output terminals 120 to a corresponding speaker of the two speakers 80 on the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location forward of the vehicle, the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through the two sound output terminals 120 to the two speakers 80 on the left side and the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include (e.g. optionally and / or further include) four speakers 80 disposed on a forward left, a forward right, a rear left and a rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle. The instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 may include four sound output terminals 120 connected respectively to the four speakers 80 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location to a left of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 to two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the forward left and rear left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location to a right of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 to two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the forward right and rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location forward of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 to two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the forward left and forward right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location rear of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals of the four sound output terminals 120 to two corresponding speakers of the four speakers 80 on the rear left and rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location forward left of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 to a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the forward left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location forward right of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 to a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the forward right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location rear left of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 to a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the rear left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

According to various embodiments, when the location information of the warning signal (i.e. received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000 from the active safety system 70 of the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) includes a location rear right of the vehicle, the processor 140 may be configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal of the four sound output terminals 120 to a corresponding speaker of the four speakers 80 on the rear right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart depicting a process 500 of determining whether a warning sound is produced by the plurality of speakers 80 of the vehicle, via the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000), according to 25 various embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 5, the process 500 may involve a step 501 of determining whether a warning system (e.g. the active warning system) is activated.

If the warning system is not activated, the process 500 may proceed to step 502 in which the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) does not cause one or more speaker(s) 80 of the plurality of speakers 80 in the vehicle to produce a spatial sound (i.e. spatial warning sound).

If the warning system is activated, the process 500 may proceed to step 503 of determining whether the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) is configured to cause one or more speaker(s) 80 of the plurality of speakers 80 in the vehicle to produce a spatial sound (i.e. spatial warning sound).

In other words, in step 501, it may be determined whether a "warning sound function" of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) is enabled or not.

If the "warning sound function" of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) is not enabled, the process 500 may proceed to step 504 in which the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) does not cause one or more speaker(s) 80 of the plurality of speakers 80 in the vehicle to produce a spatial sound (i.e. spatial warning sound).

If the "warning sound function" of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) is enabled, the process 500 may proceed to step 505 in which it is determined whether a warning signal (i.e. from the safety system) is received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000).

If no warning signal is received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000), the process 500 may proceed to step 506 in which the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) does not cause one or more speaker(s) 80 of the plurality of speakers 80 in the vehicle to produce a spatial sound (i.e. spatial warning sound).

If a warning signal is received by the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000), the process 500 may proceed to step 507 in which the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) may cause one or more speaker(s) 80 of the plurality of speakers 80 in the vehicle to produce a spatial sound (i.e. spatial warning sound). In particular, in step 507, the processor 140 of the instrument cluster apparatus 100 (or the vehicle warning arrangement 1000) may output one or more sound signal(s) respectively through one or more sound output terminal(s) 120 among the plurality of sound output terminals 120 based on the location information of the warning signal to cause the plurality of speakers 80 (i.e. the one or more speaker(s) connected to the one or more sound output term inal(s) 120 to which the processor 140 may be configured to output one or more sound signal(s) based on the location information of the warning signal) to produce a spatial sound (i.e. spatial warning sound) for serving as a directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin corresponding to a direction of the location of the potential hazard situation with respect to the vehicle cabin of the vehicle.

Various embodiments may thus provide an instrument cluster apparatus for a vehicle, as well as a vehicle warning system including the instrument cluster apparatus, capable of selectively causing one or more speaker(s) around a vehicle cabin of the vehicle to cooperatively produce a spatial warning sound. The spatial warning sound may serve as a clear and / or direct warning notification to an operator (e.g. driver) of the vehicle for the operator to react readily to a hazard situation / potential hazard situation.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modification, variation in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.

REFERENCE SIGNS

100: Instrument cluster apparatus 110: Input signal terminal 120: Sound output terminals 120a: First sound output terminal 120b: Second sound output terminal 120c: Third sound output terminal 120d: Fourth sound output terminal 121: Multi channel amplifier 130: Communication bus 140: Processor 150: Display 151: Speedometer 15 152: Tachometer 153: Fuel gauge 154: Odometer 70: Active safety system 71: Module(s) 72: Sensor(s) 80: Speakers 80a: First speak! first subset of at least one speaker 80b: Second speak / second subset of at least one speaker 80c: Third speak! third subset of at least one speaker 25 80d: Fourth speak / fourth subset of at least one speaker

Claims

CLAIMS1. An instrument cluster apparatus (100) for a vehicle comprising: at least one input signal terminal (110) connectable to an active safety system (70) of the vehicle to receive a warning signal from the active safety system (70) of the vehicle, wherein the warning signal comprises a location information associated with a location of a potential hazard situation relative to the vehicle detected by the active safety system (70) of the vehicle; a plurality of sound output terminals (120), connectable respectively to a plurality of speakers (80) disposed around a vehicle cabin of the vehicle; a processor (140) connected to the at least one input signal terminal (110) and the plurality of sound output terminals (120), the processor (140) being configured to: output one or more sound signals respectively through one or more sound output terminals (120) among the plurality of sound output terminals (120) based on the location information of the warning signal to cause the plurality of speakers (80) to produce a spatial sound for serving as a directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin corresponding to a direction of the location of the potential hazard situation with respect to the vehicle cabin of the vehicle.
2. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of claim 1, further comprising: a communication bus (130) including the at least one input signal terminal (110) and the plurality of sound output terminals (120).
3. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of claim 2, wherein the communication bus (130) is a Controller Area Network bus or an Ethernet connector.
4. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a display (150) connected to the processor (140), wherein the processor (140) is configured to simultaneously control the display to provide a visual indication based on the warning signal and to output the one or more sound signals respectively through the one or more sound output terminals (120) of the plurality of sound output terminals (120) based on the location information of the warning signal.
5. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the processor (140) is configured to establish a correspondence between the location information of the warning signal and a disposition of the plurality of speakers (80) around the vehicle cabin of the vehicle so as to determine the one or more sound output terminals (120) to respectively output the one or more sound signals for causing one or more speakers (80) among the plurality of speakers (80) proximal to the location of the potential hazard situation with respect to the vehicle cabin of the vehicle for producing the spatial sound serving as the directional audio indication.
6. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the active safety system (70) comprises any one or a combination of an Intelligent Speed Adaptation module, a Lane Departure Warning module, a Lane Keeping Assist module, a Collison Warning module, a Rear Cross Vehicle Alert module, a Blind Spot Detection module, an Automatic Emergency Braking module, an Electronic Stability Control module, or a Tyre Pressure Monitoring module.
7. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a multi-channel amplifier (121) connected to the processor (140), wherein the multi-channel amplifier (121) provides the plurality of sound output terminals (120).
8. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 6 further comprising: at least one of a speedometer (151), a tachometer (152), a fuel gauge (153), or an odometer (154).
9. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising two sound output terminals (120) connectable respectively to two speakers (80) disposed on a left side and a right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the two sound output terminals (120) associated with a corresponding speaker (80) of the two speakers (80) on the left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the two sound output terminals (120) associated with a corresponding speaker (80) of the two speakers (80) on the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, and wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through the two sound output terminals (120) associated with the two speakers (80) on the left side and the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.
10. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising 30 four sound output terminals (120) connectable respectively to four speakers (80) disposed on forward-left, forward-right, rear-left and rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with two corresponding speakers (80) on the forward-left and rear-left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with two corresponding speakers (80) on the forward-right and rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with two corresponding speakers (80) on the forward-left and forward-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location rear of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with two corresponding speakers (80) on the rear-left and rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.
11. The instrument cluster apparatus (100) of claim 10, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward-left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the forward-left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward-left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward-right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the forward-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward-right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location rear-left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the rear-left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear-left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location rear-right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) associated with a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear-right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.
12. A vehicle warning arrangement comprising: the instrument cluster apparatus (100) of any one of claims 1 to 8; the plurality of speakers (80) connected to the instrument cluster apparatus (100) via the plurality of sound output terminals (120); and the active safety system (70) connected to the instrument cluster apparatus (100) via the at least one input signal terminal (110).
13. The vehicle warning arrangement of claim 12, comprising two speakers (80) on a left side and a right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, wherein the instrument cluster apparatus (100) comprises two sound output terminals (120) connected respectively to the two speakers (80), wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the two sound output terminals (120) to a corresponding speaker (80) of the two speakers (80) on the left side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the two sound output terminals (120) to a corresponding speaker (80) of the two speakers (80) on the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, and wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through the two sound output terminals (120) to the two speakers (80) on the left side and the right side of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.
14. The warning system of claim 12, comprising four speakers (80) disposed on forward-left, forward-right, rear-left and rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle, wherein the instrument cluster apparatus (100) comprises four sound output terminals (120) connected respectively to the four speakers (80), wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to two corresponding speakers (80) on the forward-left and rear-left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location to a right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to two corresponding speakers (80) on the forward-right and rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to two corresponding speakers (80) on the forward-left and forward-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location rear of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output two sound signals respectively through two corresponding sound output terminals (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to two corresponding speakers (80) on the rear-left and rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.
15. The warning system of claim 14, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward-left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal 25 through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the forward-left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward-left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location forward-right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the forward-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a forward-right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location rear-left of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal 5 through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the rear-left of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear-left directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin, wherein, when the location information of the warning signal includes a location rear-right of the vehicle, the processor (140) is configured to output a sound signal through a corresponding sound output terminal (120) of the four sound output terminals (120) to a corresponding speaker (80) of the four speakers (80) on the rear-right of the vehicle cabin of the vehicle to produce the spatial sound for serving as a rear-right directional audio indication within the vehicle cabin.