WO2018189713A2

WO2018189713A2 - Vehicular acoustic environmental system

Info

Publication number: WO2018189713A2
Application number: PCT/IB2018/052572
Authority: WO
Inventors: Albert Lam
Original assignee: Detroit Electric Ev Limited
Priority date: 2017-04-13
Filing date: 2018-04-12
Publication date: 2018-10-18
Also published as: GB2561559A; GB201706033D0; WO2018189713A3

Abstract

Disclosed is a vehicular acoustic environmental system including a speaker arrangement disposed in a headrest of a seat of a driver and/or passenger of the vehicle. Furthermore, the headrest is provided with a microphone arrangement that detects sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal, and the acoustic environmental system includes a signal processing arrangement that adjusts in operation a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal to excite, in operation, the speaker arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger. Optionally, vehicular acoustic environmental system additionally, or alternatively, includes a vibration sensor arrangement that is mounted to a chassis of the vehicle to sense in operation vibrations in the chassis to generate corresponding sensed vibration signals, and a vibration actuation transducer arrangement coupled to the chassis, and wherein the signal processing arrangement adjusts a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the sensed vibration signals to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti- sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

Description

VEHICULAR ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to vehicular acoustic environmental systems, for example for use in pure electrical vehicles, in hybrid electrical vehicles as well as internal combustion engine vehicles (for example, contemporary internal combustion engine vehicles) . Moreover, the present disclosure concerns methods of using aforesaid vehicular acoustic environmental systems. Furthermore, the present disclosure is concerned with computer program products comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer- readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions being executable by a computerized device comprising processing hardware to execute aforesaid methods.

BACKGROUND

Noise insulation is an important aspect when seeking to provide an improved driving quality when driving a given vehicle. Conventionally, such noise insulation is achieved in a passive manner using sound- dampening materials, for example sound absorbing panels as part of an interior decorative trim of vehicles. Typically, a driver of a given vehicle may experience certain noises arising from operation of the given vehicle and/or an environment surrounding the vehicle. For example, such noises may include electrical motor whining noise, suspension system noise, tyre(tire)-on-road noise, noises due to rain or wind or thundering and so forth. Furthermore, the noise experienced within the aforementioned vehicle may interfere with the driver's communications. However, certain types of noises (or sounds) are necessary for a driver of a vehicle to be heard clearly (for example fire/ambulance sirens, approaching vehicles, and so forth) . In certain cases, it is even potentially desirable to add certain synthesized sounds. For example, "engine roar" (for example, akin to a sound of a Harley-Davidson® motor cycle or similar) when the accelerator pedal of a pure electrical vehicle is depressed firmly by its driver, or bird tweets and farm cattle noises when the driver is driving at low speeds within a rural or forest environment, where enhanced driving care is required to avoid injuring wildlife.

Therefore, there exists a technical problem of how to provide an improved driving experience, for example, by eliminating unnecessary noises that can irritate a driver, that can cause driver fatigue and/or by providing sounds that can add excitement or pleasure to a driving experience of the driver.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to provide an improved vehicular acoustic environmental system for a vehicle. Moreover, the present disclosure seeks to provide a method of using a vehicular acoustic environmental system for a vehicle to provide an improved acoustic environmental system for the vehicle.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a vehicular acoustic environmental system, wherein a speaker arrangement is disposed in a headrest of a seat of a driver and/or passenger of a vehicle, characterized in that: the headrest is provided with a microphone arrangement that detects sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal, and the acoustic environmental system includes a signal processing arrangement that adjusts a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

The vehicular acoustic environmental system of the present disclosure attenuates in operation vehicle noise and enhances sounds as per the convenience of the driver and/or passengers to provide an improved driving experience along with maintaining driving safety. Optionally, the vehicular acoustic environmental system includes a vibration sensor arrangement that is mounted (for example, clamped, bolted, adhesively bonded or otherwise affixed) to a chassis of the vehicle to sense in operation vibrations in the chassis to generate corresponding sensed vibration signals, and a vibration actuation transducer arrangement coupled to the chassis, and wherein the signal processing arrangement adjusts a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the sensed vibration signals to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger. According to a second aspect, there is provided a method of using a vehicular acoustic environmental system, wherein the acoustic environmental system includes a speaker arrangement that is disposed in a headrest of a seat of a driver and/or passenger of the vehicle, characterized in that the method includes:

(i) providing the headrest with a microphone arrangement that detects in operation sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal;

(ii) using a signal processing arrangement of the acoustic environmental system to adjust in operation a gain and/or a phase shift as a function of signal frequency applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement; and

(iii) adjusting the gain and/or the phase shift to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

Optionally, the method includes arranging for the vehicular acoustic environmental system to include a vibration sensor arrangement that is mounted (for example, clamped, bolted, adhesively bonded or other affixed) to a chassis of the vehicle to sense in operation vibrations in the chassis to generate corresponding sensed vibration signals, and a vibration actuation transducer arrangement coupled to the chassis, and wherein the method includes using the signal processing arrangement to adjust a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the sensed vibration signals to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti- sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the computer-readable instructions being executable by a computerized device comprising processing hardware to execute the aforesaid method of the second aspect.

It will be appreciated that features of the disclosure are susceptible to being combined in various combinations without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

The present invention is included in the general business context, which aims to substitute vehicles powered by traditional fuels, for example gasoline or diesel, by electric vehicles. In particular, the present invention is intended for use in electric vehicles used within cities, which can be highly beneficial to the local environment due to significant reduction of gaseous emissions as well as significant reduction of noise. Overall environmental benefits can also be significant when electric vehicles are charged from renewable energy sources. Use of the present invention enables relatively lighter-weight chassis to be employed concurrently with providing a comfortable driving experience, wherein greater frugality in fuel utilization or energy utilization during driving is potentially achievable by employing the relatively lighter-weight chassis.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAMS Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrams wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an architecture of a vehicular acoustic environmental system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an architecture of a signal processing arrangement associated with the system of the FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of an architecture of an arrangement, for addition of synthesized and/or pre-recorded sounds, to be associated with the signal processing arrangement of the FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a seat arrangement of a vehicle adapted for use with the vehicular acoustic environmental system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a battery unit mounted, via a plurality of piezoelectric-stack and/or magnetostrictive-stack actuating transducers, on a bulkhead of a chassis of a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 6 is an illustration of steps of a method of using a vehicular acoustic environmental system for a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the accompanying diagrams, an underlined number is employed to represent an item over which the underlined number is positioned or an item to which the underlined number is adjacent. A non-underlined number relates to an item identified by a line linking the non-underlined number to the item. When a number is non-underlined and accompanied by an associated arrow, the non-underlined number is used to identify a general item at which the arrow is pointing.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In overview, embodiments of the present disclosure are concerned with a vehicular acoustic environmental system, for example for use in a pure electrical vehicle, that in operation enhances driving experience, reduces driver fatigue, and increases driving safety.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic illustration of an architecture of a vehicular acoustic environmental system 100 for a vehicle (not shown in FIG. 1), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, in FIG. 1, there are shown various primary components of the acoustic environmental system 100. As shown, the acoustic environmental system 100 addresses in operation noise arising from an acoustic noise source 102A, optionally also a vibrational noise source 102B, wherein the environmental system 100 includes a microphone arrangement 104A, optionally a chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B (for example, implemented as one or more silicon micromachined accelerometers or piezoelectric accelerometers spatially distributed and mounted around a chassis of the vehicle), amplifiers 106, 110, a control filter 108, a control unit 112, and a speaker arrangement 114, optionally also an actuated vibration transducer arrangement 115 coupled to a chassis of the vehicle. The vehicular acoustic environmental system 100 includes the speaker arrangement 114 disposed in a headrest of a seat of a driver and/or passenger of the vehicle. Optionally, the vehicular acoustic environmental system 100 includes a vibration actuation transducer arrangement 115 that is coupled to a chassis of the vehicle to inject vibrational mechanical energy thereinto; conveniently, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement 115 is mounted to employ a battery unit of the vehicle as a working mass against which to inject vibration- cancelling mechanical energy into the chassis (for example, by implementing the actuation transducer arrangement 115 as a load- bearing arrangement for the battery unit onto the chassis). The vibration actuation transducer arrangement 115 is optionally implemented as a piezoelectric-stack actuating transducer, a magnetostrictive stack transducer, an electromagnetic transducer or any combination of these. Optionally, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement 115 is implemented as a spatially distributed arrangement of a plurality of transducers, for example in a manner of a phase array of transducers. In an embodiment, the piezoelectric-stack actuating transducers are manufactured, for example, using a stack of piezoelectric discs fabricated from electrically-polarized Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT); an enabling disclosure for such a piezoelectric-stack actuating transducer is described in a United State patent application US2014184021 (Al) (" Piezoelectric Stack Transducer"; KIM Jin Oh [KR] ; KIM De Jong [KR]). Enabling examples of magnetostrictive actuating transducers are described in a published US patent application US 4845450 A ("Se/ - biased modular magnetostrictive driver and transducer"; Raytheon Co.).

In an embodiment, the term ^{^}vehicular acoustic environmental system' as used herein relates to a system that, in operation, records, processes and/or generates sound signals in an enclosed or semi-enclosed space, such as an interior region of a vehicle where a driver and/or passenger may be seated. Specifically, the acoustic environmental system 100 is implemented using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these, configured to attenuate noises, optionally also vibrations, generated in the vehicle and/or to enhance sounds that arise externally to the vehicle. In an example, the acoustic environmental system 100 attenuates in operation irritable noises generated while driving the vehicle. In an embodiment, the term ^{^}speaker arrangemen used herein relates to a configuration of one or more loudspeakers that provides, in operation, an acoustic output. Specifically, the speaker arrangement 114 is an electro-acoustic transducer that converts an audio signal into a corresponding sound. Furthermore, the speaker arrangement 114 is implemented as a single loudspeaker and/or an array of loudspeakers. Optionally, the speaker arrangement 114 may include loudspeakers of various shapes and sizes. For example, the speaker arrangement 114 may be a single miniature loudspeaker and/or an array of miniature loudspeakers arranged throughout the headrest of the seat of a driver and/or passenger of the vehicle. In an embodiment, the loudspeaker may be wired or wireless. Furthermore, the speaker arrangement 114 may be at least one of a woofer, a subwoofer, a mid-range speaker, a tweeter, and a super-tweeter. Additionally, the speaker arrangement 114 may comprise components suitable for converting audio signal into a corresponding sound. For example, the components may comprise a yoke, a magnet, a front plate, a chassis, a voice-coil, a suspension, a cone, a diaphragm and so forth.

In an embodiment, the headrest of the seat relates to a top portion of the seat. In an example, the headrest of the vehicle seat is provided with an inwards concave arc-shaped surface on which the neck of the driver and/or passenger leans. Optionally, the inwards concave arc- shaped surface forms two protruding arm-like structure which remains in a proximity of ears of the driver and/or the passenger, when seated on the seat of the vehicle. Furthermore, in an embodiment, the speaker arrangement 114 is disposed on the two-protruding arm-like structures of the headrest of the seat. Optionally, the protruding arm-like structures are padded with a soft material for driver and/or passenger comfort, for example when resting his/her head onto one or more of the structures.

The headrest is provided with a microphone arrangement that detects sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal, and the acoustic environmental system includes a signal processing arrangement that adjusts a gain and/or a phase shift as a function of signal frequency (f) applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted (as a function of signal frequency) to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

In an embodiment, the term ^{^}microphone arrangemen as used herein relates to a microphone that captures acoustic signals. Specifically, the microphone arrangement 104A is an electro-acoustic transducer that converts acoustic signals into the corresponding microphone signal such as an output electrical signal. Furthermore, the microphone arrangement 104A is implemented as a single microphone and/or an array of microphones. Optionally, the microphone arrangement 104A may include microphone of various shapes and sizes. For example, the microphone arrangement 104A may be a single miniature microphone and/or an array of miniature microphone arranged throughout the headrest of the seat of a driver and/or passenger of the vehicle and placed in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate the corresponding microphone signal. In an embodiment, the microphone may be wired or wireless. Furthermore, the microphone may be at least one of a dynamic microphone, a condenser microphone, and a piezoelectric microphone; for example, there are employed at least one of electret microphones, condenser microphones, and ribbon microphones Optionally, the microphone arrangement 104A may employ in operation different methods to convert air pressure variations of the acoustic signals to an electrical signal, such as usage of a coil of wire suspended in a magnetic field, usage of a vibrating diaphragm as a capacitor plate, usage of a crystal of piezoelectric material and so forth. Furthermore, the microphone arrangement 104A may comprise components that suitably convert acoustic signals into a corresponding electrical signal. The components may comprise a voice coil, a magnate, a diaphragm, a coaxial audio signal cable a diaphragm, and so forth.

In an embodiment, the microphone arrangement 104A captures in operation the acoustic signals of the noise generated from a noise source, such as the noise source 102A, optionally such as the noise source 102B, of a vehicle. Optionally, the term ^{^}noise source' used herein relates to the noise generated from a vehicle. Specifically, the vehicle is a pure electrical vehicle, and the noise source in such an electrical vehicle includes a combination of electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise. Additionally, the noise source in such an electrical vehicle may also include road noise and transmission noise from tyres on a road surface; the vibration actuated transducer arrangement 115 is especially effective at dampening such road noise coupled to the chassis before it is able to cause airborne acoustic noise within the vehicle.

In an embodiment, the term 'chassis vibration sensor arrangement' as used herein relates to one or more sensors, for example an array of a plurality of sensors that is connected to the chassis of the vehicle for sensing a vibration force experienced by the chassis and for generating a corresponding electrical signal. Optionally, a magnitude of the corresponding electrical signal generated by the one or more sensor is a function a magnitude of the vibration force experienced by the chassis; for example, for an W Newton' vibration force experienced by the chassis, a Ύ volt' of electrical signal is generated. In an embodiment, the term ^{^}signal processing arrangemen as used herein relates to an electronic circuit arrangement comprising programmable and/or nonprogrammable signal processing devices configured to process the corresponding microphone signal generated by the microphone arrangement 104A, optionally also the signal generated by the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B. Specifically, the signal processing arrangement is configured to adjust a gain and/or a phase shift as a function of signal frequency (f) applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement. Likewise, optionally, the signal processing arrangement is configured to adjust a gain and/or a phase shift as a function of signal frequency (f) applied to the signal from the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the vibrational actuated transducer arrangement 115. Furthermore, the gain and/or the phase shift in the microphone signal, optionally also the signal from the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction (namely an antiphase reduction) in the perceived sound (such as the electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise) at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger. Optionally, the signal processing arrangement adjusts in operation a gain and/or a phase shift for dampening the electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise (namely, vehicle chassis vibrational noise) .

In an embodiment, the signal processing arrangement of the acoustic environmental system 100 comprises amplifiers (such as the amplifiers 106, 110), a control filter (such as the control filter 108), and a control unit (such as the control unit 112) . Optionally, the term 'amplifier' used herein relates to a device that is configured to amplify a signal input to the device to produce an output signal of greater magnitude than the magnitude of the input signal . Specifically, the amplifiers 106, 110 are configured to amplify the microphone signal generated by the microphone arrangement 104A, optionally also from the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B. Furthermore, the amplifier 106 may be a preamplifier. Specifically, the amplifier 106 amplifies in operation the signal strength of the microphone signal generated by the microphone arrangement 104A, before passing the microphone signal through the control filter 108. In an embodiment, the term ^{^}control filter' used herein relates to a device and/or a process that, in operation, amplifies, passes or attenuates predefined frequency ranges. Specifically, the control filter 108 may be a phase/gain control filter that controls a phase and/or amplitude of a signal component of the amplified microphone signal at the corresponding frequency (f) of the signal component; such control of phase and/or amplitude is necessary in order to avoid the acoustic environmental system 100 suffering parasitic feedback from the microphone arrangement 104A to the speaker arrangement 114. Similar consideration pertains optionally to signals generated by the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B. Optionally, the control filter 108 provides in operation a controlled signal amplitude to the amplified microphone signal generated by the amplifier 106. Furthermore, the control filter 108 is coupled with a control unit, such as control unit 112. In an embodiment, the term ^{^}control unit' as used herein relates to programmable and/or non-programmable hardware configured to control the operation of the control filter 108. Specifically, the control unit 112 instructs, in operation, the control filter 108 to reduce or eliminate sounds as experienced by a driver and/or a passenger that has his/her ears, for example, the electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise. Furthermore, the amplified microphone signal with controlled signal amplitude is thereafter passed through another amplifier such as the amplifier 106. In an embodiment, the amplifier 106 is an audio power amplifier. Specifically, the amplifier 106 may be operable to further amplify the amplified and processed microphone signal (wherein the amplifier and processed microphone signal has controlled signal amplitude and phase for its signal components as a function of signal frequency) . Optionally, thereafter the microphone signal is provided to excite the speaker arrangement 114 to provide the acoustic output. In an embodiment, as described in the foregoing, the acoustic output is an anti-sound signal that is operable to dampen perceived sounds, such as, the electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise, captured by the microphone arrangement 104A, optionally also chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B.

Optionally, the signal processing arrangement of the acoustic environmental system 100 is configured to be implemented as a nested loop feedback arrangement. In the nested loop feedback arrangement, a first outer loop is concerned with the vibration sensor arrangement, wherein the signal processing arrangement adjusts the gain and/or the phase shift applied to the sensed vibration signals to generate an output signal to dampen the vibrations in the chassis by suitably driving the vibration actuating transducers; by dampening vibrations propagating in the chassis, there is less contribution to acoustic noise within the vehicle arising from chassis vibration, making it easier to dampen acoustic noise within the vehicle. Furthermore, a second inner loop of the nested loop feedback arrangement, is concerned with the microphone arrangement, wherein the signal processing arrangement adjusts the gain and/or the phase shift applied to the microphone signal to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger. More optionally, the signal processing arrangement of the vehicular acoustic environmental system 100 is configured to be implemented as multiple-input multiple-output arrangement. By employing nested feedback loops, wherein the second inner loop corrects from residual noise or errors arising from operation of the first feedback loop, a complexity of computational tasks in the control unit 112 can be reduced.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a schematic illustration of an architecture of a signal processing arrangement 200 associated with the system 100 of the FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, in FIG. 2, there is shown a system flow diagram illustrating operation of the signal processing arrangement 200. As shown, the signal processing arrangement 200 receives in operation a signal from a noise source, such as the noise source 102A, optionally, also the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, wherein the signal processing arrangement 200 includes an amplifier 106, such as an amplifier 106, an adder unit 202, a control filter, such as a control filter 108, and a control unit, such as control unit 112. In an embodiment, the acoustic signals of the noise generated from the noise source 102A, optionally also the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, are passed through the adder unit 202. According to an embodiment, the term ^{^}adder' used herein relates to a process or a device that is configured to sum the two input signals. It may be appreciated that the acoustic signals generated from the noise source 102A is captured by a microphone arrangement, such as the microphone arrangement 104A, to generate the microphone signal, described hereinabove in respect of the acoustic environmental system 100 of FIG. l . In an embodiment, the microphone signals after passing though the adder unit 202 are fed to the control unit 112. Optionally, the control unit 112 of the signal processing arrangement 200 is operable to adjust the gain and/or the phase shift in an adaptive manner during driving of the vehicle; optionally, such adjustments are performed digitally on digitized sampled signals, for example using digital recursive filters, wherein outputs of the digital recursive filters are converted to analog output signals to excite the speaker arrangement 114 and the vibration actuation transducer arrangement 115; for example, such adjustments are made in response changes in weight distribution within the vehicle, ageing of component parts of the chassis of the vehicle, degradation in components of the vehicle (for example, worn tyres, partially deflated tyres, wheel imbalance, weight asymmetries in tyres, steering imbalance, and so forth) . Furthermore, the control unit 112 may instruct the amplifier 106 to amplify the microphone signal to a specific amount, and further control the functioning of the control filter 108 to modify the amplified microphone signal to a specific signal amplitude to adjust the gain and/or the phase shift of the acoustic signal, for example to avoid any unwanted parasitic feedback that could cause self-oscillation of the signal processing arrangement 200. Furthermore, the adaptive manner is determined by the signal processing arrangement 200 in an iterative manner for increasing a ratio of the output signal relative to the microphone signal at a given frequency (f). Optionally, the control unit 112 includes programmable and non-programmable hardware. The programmable and non-programmable hardware may include a memory, a processor, custom digital hardware (for example, ASIC's and FPGA) and so forth. In an embodiment, the control unit 112 stores in operation data related to the acoustic signals to be processed by the signal processing arrangement 200. Furthermore, the control unit 112 executes in operation processing instructions such as a signal processing algorithm, instructions and coding to be executed by the processor of the control unit 112. In an example, the control unit 112 may store in operation instructions to adjust the gain and/or the phase shift of the microphone signal and optionally, the signal from by the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B to provide dampening of the perceived sounds at the driver and/or the passenger, and provide an inverse cancelling acoustic signal (namely "anti-sound") to be delivered by the speaker arrangement 114. In such an example, in order to adjust the gain and/or the phase shift of the microphone signal, likewise optionally a signal from the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, a specific condition needs to be satisfied for controlling the gain and phase angle of the microphone signal, likewise optionally the signal from chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, as a function of signal frequency (f), amplifying the microphone signal, and optionally the signal from chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B and redirecting the amplified signal. Furthermore, in such example, the specific condition may be described in a manner of mathematical equation, such as Equation 1 (Eq. 1) :

^speaker ^{= A} (6⁽0/ G(f), S_mj_Cr0phone) ^Ecl- ¹ where, element S_mj_Cr0phone ^may represent acoustic signal sensed by the microphone arrangement, optionally also likewise a signal from the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, the element G(f) may represent amplifying signal gain as a function of signal frequency (f), the element 6(f) may represent phase correction as a function of signal frequency (f), the element A may represent a complex amplification function, and the element S_Sp_ea|<_er may represent signal applied to the speaker arrangement, optionally also to the vibration actuated transducer arrangement 115. Furthermore, the mathematical function of the aforementioned Equation 1 is beneficially determined in an adaptive manner, to adapt to variations, such as change in the position of the driver's head while driving, different head size, and so forth, that may affect a required phase shift and/or amplification required to achieve sound cancellation (namely "anti-sound"). In an embodiment, the signal processing arrangement 200 employs in operation a Fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm to determine a required gain and/or phase shift at a given frequency to apply to the microphone signal, and optionally also to the signal from the chassis vibration sensor arrangement 104B, to generate the output signal. Specifically, the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm is beneficially implemented using the control unit 112.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the signal processing arrangement 200 computes suitable amplitudes and phases for an output signal to achieve an anti-sound effect at the headrest, thereafter the signal processing arrangement 200 has determined an acoustic transfer function. It may be appreciated that the acoustic transfer function may be achieved by the signal processing arrangement 200 by implementing the aforementioned mathematical equation. In an embodiment, the signal processing arrangement 200 determines a phase and amplitude relationship of a signal at various frequencies (f) (for example, continuously or at various test frequencies in a range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz). Such determination may be performed by the signal processing arrangement 200 for a signal provided by the speaker arrangement 114 and detected at the microphone arrangement 104A; optionally, such determination may be performed by the signal processing arrangement 200 for a signal provided by the vibration actuating transducer arrangement 115 and detected at the vibration sensor arrangement 104B. Optionally, the signal processing arrangement 200 is operable to generate a frequency sweep signal via the microphone arrangement 104A. Optionally, the frequency sweep signal may be an introduction jingle signal and/or similar signal containing a broad spectrum of tones. Likewise, a jingle vibration signal is initially injected from the vibration actuating transducer arrangement 115, to determine a phase and amplitude relationship of a signal at various frequencies (f) to determine a vibration acoustic transfer function describing the chassis of the vehicle (for example, continuously or at various test frequencies in a range of 10 Hz to 1 kHz). Additionally, the signal processing arrangement 200 provides in operation a 180 degree (180°) phase shift (namely, an inversion) to a signal passing from the microphone arrangement 104 via the signal processing arrangement 200 to the speaker arrangement 114 to achieve an anti-sound effect within the vehicle; similar considerations optionally pertain to the signal from the vibration sensor arrangement 104B via the signal processing arrangement 200 to the vibration actuation transducer arrangement 115 to achieve an ant-vibration effect within the chassis of the vehicle. Furthermore, such a phase shift is applied on all the operating frequencies of the signal, in operation. Furthermore, the signal processing arrangement 200 provides various phase shifts to the microphone signals provided by the microphone arrangement 104; optionally, likewise, in respect of the signal provided from the vibration sensor arrangement 104B. Moreover, the signal processing arrangement 200 is implemented by employing an array of frequency-dependent phase shifters. In an example, the array of frequency-dependent phase shifters may be any one or more of:

(i) digital recursive phase-shifting filters;

(ii) digital phase shifting filters; and (iii) by performing an FFT of the microphone signal to generate signal harmonic component amplitudes and phases in real-time, then applying a phase shifting function to the phases of the signal.

Optionally, an amplitude adjusting function is applied to the component amplitudes (for example, Fourier component amplitudes) of the microphone signals to generate a transformed component amplitudes and phases of the signal and subsequently reconstituting the microphone signals using inverse-FFT of the transformed amplitudes and phases component.

In an example, the signal processing arrangement of the acoustic environmental system 100 uses a Fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm to determine the required gain and/or phase shift at the given frequency such as "X", to apply to the microphone signal to generate the output signal. Furthermore, the control unit 112 implementing the Fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm instructs the control filter 108 to reduce or eliminate sounds as experienced by a driver and/or a passenger, for example, the electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise. Moreover, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm implemented by the control unit 112 provides frequency tracking. In such example, the control unit 112 implements the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm to determine the required gain and/or phase at the frequency "X". Furthermore, the control unit 112 is configured to use the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm to determine the self-oscillation that may appear in the microphone signal at the frequency "X" as an instability due to the movement in the driver's head and thereafter use the control filter 108 to modify adaptively the microphone signal to specific signal amplitude at frequency "X" of the microphone signal that is to be provided through the microphone to provide sound cancellation (namely generate "anti- sound"). An enabling disclosure for such an anti-sound signal processor is described in a published United States patent application US2018082673 (Al) ("Active Noise Cancellation for Defined Spaces", TZANETOS Theodore).

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic illustration of an architecture of an arrangement, for addition of synthesized and/or prerecorded sounds, to be associated with the signal processing arrangement 200 of the FIG. 2, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, in FIG. 3, there is shown a system flow diagram illustrating the addition of the pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds by the signal processing arrangement 200, for an output at the speaker arrangement, such as the speaker arrangement 114 of FIG. 1 (not shown). As shown, the arrangement 300 receives in operation signals from a noise source, such as the noise source 102A, wherein the arrangement 300 includes a software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302, a data processing arrangement 304, adder units, such the adder units 202 and 306, an amplifier, such as the amplifier 106, and a control filter, such as the control filter 108.

In an embodiment, the term ^{^}software application management and infotainment arrangement' (SAMI) used herein relates to a device- functionality software and/or an operating system software configured to execute other application programs and interface between the application programs and associated hardware (such as display, processor, memory, CAN bus, sensor and so forth). Specifically, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 may be a computing platform, wherein a plurality of computer programs (namely "software applications") may be installed. More specifically, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 accepts, in operation, data when performing data analysis, strategic control and reporting to a user of the electrical vehicle. In an embodiment, the system software defined herein may include a firmware and operating system that may be executed by a single and/or a plurality of processors. In such an embodiment, the term ^{^}firmware' used herein relates to processor routines that are stored in non-volatile memory structures such as read only memories (ROMs), flash memories, and so forth. Furthermore, the operating system may interact with the firmware to provide the computing platform in which plurality of computer programs may be installed and executed.

Optionally, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 is operable to provide a computing platform for installing a software application for implementing a control unit such as the control unit 112 (not shown). In an embodiment, the term ^{^}data processing arrangement' used herein relates to hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these, for example as aforementioned, configured to generate pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds, to be added by the sound processing arrangement 200 for output at the speaker arrangement 114. Specifically, the data processing arrangement 304 comprises of a software application for generating a pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds to be added by the sound processing arrangement 200. Optionally, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 is operable to provide a computing platform for executing a software application of the data processing arrangement 304 for generating pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds.

Optionally, the pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds include at least one of:

(a) synthesized engine sounds depending upon a power being delivered to an electrical motor arrangement of the vehicle for propelling the vehicle;

(b) synthesized braking sounds depending upon a braking action being applied to the vehicle;

(c) synthesized environmental sounds depending upon a geographical location of the vehicle, based upon global positioning system (GPS) or general packet radio service (GPRS) position identification of the vehicle;

(d) external environmental sounds detected using a microphone arrangement that is mounted externally on the vehicle;

(e) sound entertainment signals (for example music); and

(f) acoustic signals indicative of a state of charge of a battery unit of the vehicle, wherein the battery unit is operable to provide motive power to propel the vehicle. In an example, the synthesized engine sounds may provide an electronically generated sound or a pre-recorded of an engine of a third- party vehicle. In such example, the synthesized engine sounds may be an engine sound a favourite car of the driver and/or passenger of the vehicle. In another example, the synthesized braking sounds may be an electronically generated sound or a pre-recorded in an amplified form similar to the car drift and/or a tyre burnout sound. In an example embodiment, synthesized environmental sounds are implemented by using computer-generated sounds. In such example, if the vehicle is passing by a river, then a sound of water flowing in a river may be provided. Moreover, if the vehicle is in tropical region, then a sound of rain and thunder may be optionally provided. In another example, if the vehicle is passing by a market place, the microphone may record in operation the sounds of the market place and provide the same to be heard by the driver and/or the passenger in the vehicle. In yet another example, the sound entertainment signals may be infotainment content, such as media content, advertising and/or web-based content and so forth. In such example, media content may be songs, videos, games, social networking, and advertising and/or web-based content may be traffic conditions, sports scores and weather forecasts and so forth. In another example, the acoustic signals indicative of a state of charge of a battery unit may be may be a computer-generated voice describing the level of charge left in the battery, for example the computer- generated voice may provide information "The battery of your vehicle has only 25% charge remaining; please park at your nearest recharging station at a location ... to fast-recharge your vehicle. Do you need GPS navigation help to the nearest recharging station?".

Optionally, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 is provided with a graphical user interface (GUI), wherein the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 enables in operation user-adjustment of parameters of the signal processing arrangements 200 when generating the output signal from the microphone signal and/or for adjusting pre- recorded and/or synthesized sounds applied by the data processing arrangement 304.

In an embodiment, the graphical user interface (GUI) facilitates interaction between a user (such as a driver or a passenger of the electrical vehicle) and the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302. Optionally, the graphical user interface (GUI) may be displayed on a display terminal within the vehicle, such as a display panel of a carputer. In an embodiment, the graphical user interface (GUI) may include control options, on-screen keyboards and pull-down menus to receive input from the user. Specifically, the user may interact with the graphical user interface (GUI) by employing voice input, keypad input, gesture input, and so forth. For example, the user may input information to the graphical user interface (GUI) in a form of a gesture via a keypad input. In such an example, the keypad input may be provided via a virtual keyboard and/or a physical keyboard. Furthermore, the user interface may consequently interact with the user by employing text output, voice output, image output, and so forth. In an embodiment, the driver and/or passenger of the vehicle provides in operation user-adjustment parameters for the signal processing arrangements to use when generating the output signal from the microphone signal and/or for adjusting pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds applied by the data processing arrangement 304. Optionally, the driver and/or passenger of the vehicle are operable to provide user-adjustment of parameters via the graphical user interface (GUI). Optionally, the user-adjustment parameters may be related to various attributes, such as amount of output signal, time of the output signal, volume of the output signal, type of the output signal and so forth.

Optionally, the driver and/or passenger are allowed to generate a microphone signal for operating the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302. In an example, the driver and/or passenger may generate a microphone signal to be recorded by the microphone arrangement 104. In such example, the driver and/or passenger may instruct the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 to play an infotainment content, such as a song.

Optionally, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 is communicably coupled to a user device for rendering a graphical user interface (GUI) thereon, to enable the user to adjust remotely parameters of the signal processing arrangements 200 used when generating the output signal from the microphone signal and/or used when adjusting pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds applied by the data processing arrangement 304. In an example, the user device may comprise at least one of a smartphone, a tablet computer and/or a laptop computer and may comprise the graphical user interface (GUI) to allow the user (such as the driver and/or the passenger) to communicate with the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302, for example, using an input on a touch screen or a keyboard of the user device to instruct the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 to reduce the amount of output signal produced by the speaker arrangement 114. Optionally, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 further comprises a network interface that is employed in operation when communicating with one or more user devices. In an embodiment, the term ^{^}network interface' used herein relates to a wired and/or wireless communication arrangement comprising a software component, a hardware component, a network adapter component, a communication network and a combination thereof. In an example, the communication network used by the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement 302 may include Bluetooth®, Internet of things (IoT), Visible Light Communication (VLC), Near Field Communication (NFC), Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), Wireless LANs (WLANs), Wireless WANs (WWANs), Wireless MANs (WMANs), the Internet, telecommunication networks, radio networks, and so forth.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic illustration of a seat arrangement of a vehicle that employs the vehicular acoustic environmental system 100 of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the seat arrangement 400 is a seat back. As shown, the seat arrangement 400 includes a headrest 402, a backrest 404, an abdominal-rest 406, a microphone arrangement 104A, and a speaker arrangement 114.

Optionally, the headrest 402 of the seat arrangement 400 is an inwardly-concave arc-shaped surface. Therefore, when the driver and/or passenger are seated on the seat arrangement 400, the headrest 402 partially encircles around the head of the driver and/or passenger. Furthermore, the microphone arrangement 104A, and the speaker arrangement 114, is positioned at the two extremities of the arc-shaped surface of the headrest 402, thereby assuming a close proximity of the driver and/or passenger heads. Optionally, each ear of the driver and/or passenger is provided with a corresponding microphone arrangement, speaker arrangement and associated signal processing arrangement. Furthermore, the backrest 404 of the seat arrangement 400 comprises a semi-inwardwardly concave arc-shaped surface, wherein the backward portion of the torso of the driver and/or passenger may be positioned and supported from the left and the right side of the torso. Additionally, the backrest 404 may comprise a cushion at the lower end of the backrest 404 to provide support to the upper portion of the waist of the driver and/or passenger. Furthermore, the abdominal-rest 406 is the portion of the seat arrangement 400 wherein the abdominal portion of the driver and/or passenger is placed when the driver and/or passenger is seated in the seat arrangement 400. Optionally, there is provided a sensor arrangement for determining a head orientation of the driver and/or passenger relative to the backrest 404, and signals provided to the speaker arrangement 114 are adjusted adaptively, for example a balance between left-side and right-side amplification is adjusted, based upon the sensed head orientation, so that the driver and/or passenger continues to experience an anti-sound effect (noise cancellation effect), as aforementioned.

Optionally, the headrest 402, is further provided with a lighting arrangement. The term ^{^}lighting arrangement' used herein relates to a single light source and/or an array of light source arranged on the headrest 402. Optionally, the light source of the lighting arrangement may be two miniature light sources arranged at the two extremities of the arc-shaped surface of the headrest 402. Furthermore, the lighting arrangement may be implemented using light-emitting diode light, liquid crystal display light, incandescent light, fluorescent light, electroluminescent light and so forth. Optionally, the lighting arrangement emits lights of different colours, for example as a function of a spatial location of the vehicle, for example blue colour in urban environments and green colour in rural environments. Optionally, the operation of the lighting arrangement is associated with the output at the speaker arrangement 114. In an example, the intensity of the light emitted by the light source may be high when the amplitude of the output signal of the speaker arrangement 114 is high. In such example, the intensity of the light emitted by the light source may be low when the amplitude of the output signal of the speaker arrangement 114 is low. Optionally, the light arrangement may be operable to generate a specific light signal in order to indicate the functional aspect of the electrical vehicle. In an example, the light arrangement may dissipate in operation a red coloured light blinking twice per second to indicate a low charge of the battery unit.

Optionally, the pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds produced by a data processing arrangement 304 is provided to the adder units 306, which may add in operation the pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds to the microphone signal to generate an input signal for the signal processing arrangement 200. Thereafter, the input signal is passed through the amplifier 106 and thereafter is passed through the control filter 108 to generate controlled signal amplitude to excite the speaker arrangement 114 to provide an output audio signal.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a perspective view of a battery unit 500 mounted onto a bulkhead 510 of a chassis 520 of the electrical vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The battery unit 500 is mountable onto the bulkhead 510 of the chassis 520 of the vehicle to provide an increased torsional strength (for example, an increased torsional modulus) along a front-rear elongate axis (Χ-Χ') of the vehicle. Optionally, the battery unit 500 is mounted via the plurality of piezoelectric-stack and/or magnetostrictive-stack actuating transducers 530 onto the bulkhead 510, wherein the electrical vehicle includes a sensor arrangement 540 including a plurality of vibration sensors (for example, implemented using accelerometers, for example Silicon micromachined accelerometers) attached, for example spatially in a distributed array arrangement, to the chassis 520 that generate sensor signals indicative of vibration occurring within the chassis 520 when in motion. Optionally, the piezoelectric-stack and/or magnetostrictive-stack actuating transducers 530 onto the bulkhead 510 are positioned, for example at regular spatial intervals, along the bulkhead 510 to distribute a weight of the battery unit 500 along the bulkhead 510.

Referring to FIG. 6, there are illustrated steps of a method 600 of using a vehicular acoustic environmental system to enhance a driving experience when driving a vehicle, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At a step 602, a headrest is provided with a microphone arrangement for detecting sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal. At a step 604, a signal processing arrangement of the acoustic environmental system is used to adjust a gain and/or a phase shift as a function of signal frequency (f) applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement 114. At a step 606, the gain and/or the phase shift is adjusted so as to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger

The steps 602 to 606 are only illustrative and other alternatives can also be provided where one or more steps are added, one or more steps are removed, or one or more steps are provided in a different sequence without departing from the scope of the claims herein. Optionally, mutatis mutandis, the method 600 provides vibration dampening in the chassis 520 of the vehicle. Furthermore, the method of using an acoustic environmental system for a vehicle is implemented on a software product recording on machine- readable data storage media, characterized in that the software product is executable upon computing hardware, for example as aforementioned. The acoustic environmental system of the present disclosure is convenient to implement and provides a driver and/or passenger of the vehicle with an anti-sound system, optionally also an anti-vibration system, that attenuates vehicle noise, which can be irritable for the driver and/or passenger in long-distance journeys. For example, the acoustic environmental system filters noises (such as electrical motor whine, vehicle frame rattle, road noise and so forth) and provides the driver and/or passengers with a peaceful environment within the vehicle. Furthermore, the anti-sound system enhances sounds that may be pleasant for the driver and/or passenger. The enhanced sounds may be related to an external environment wherein the vehicle is located. Moreover, the enhanced sounds may be machine-generated sound that may be generated based on the geographical location of the vehicle; for example, when the vehicle is moving along a forested road, then machine generated sound is provided to include bird tweets and swishing of tree branches. Furthermore, in another example, if the vehicle is moving in city traffic and the microphone arrangement (that is mounted externally on the vehicle) captures an ambulance siren, then the sound of the siren may be enhanced for notifying the driver and/or passenger, thereby improving driving safety. Furthermore, in an event wherein the microphone arrangement (that is mounted externally on the vehicle) captures a crashing sound in a very close proximity to the vehicle, the acoustic environmental system for the vehicle is disabled so that the driver and/or passenger is maximally aware of their surroundings. Moreover, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement is communicably coupled to a user device for rendering a graphical user interface thereon, to enable the user to adjust remotely parameters of the signal processing arrangements. Furthermore, the software application management and infotainment (SAMI) arrangement communicate in operation with external resources to provide infotainment content for the driver and/or passenger. For example, the application management and infotainment arrangement may communicate in operation with a third-party mapping service provider, that provide the global positioning system and/or satellite navigation services for providing enhanced position locating service and navigational services.

Modifications to embodiments of the present disclosure described in the foregoing are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the accompanying claims. Expressions such as "including", "comprising", "incorporating", "have", "is" used to describe and claim the present disclosure are intended to be construed in a nonexclusive manner, namely allowing for items, components or elements not explicitly described also to be present. Reference to the singular is also to be construed to relate to the plural.

Claims

1. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100), wherein a speaker arrangement (114) is disposed in a headrest (402) of a seat of a driver and/or passenger of a vehicle, characterized in that:

the headrest (402) is provided with a microphone arrangement (104A) that detects in operation sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal, and the acoustic environmental system (100) includes a signal processing arrangement (200) that adjusts in operation a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement ( 114), wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

2. A vehicular acoustic environmental system of claim 1, characterized in that the vehicular acoustic environmental system includes a vibration sensor arrangement (104B) that is mounted to a chassis of the vehicle to sense in operation vibrations in the chassis to generate corresponding sensed vibration signals, and a vibration actuation transducer arrangement coupled to the chassis, and wherein the signal processing arrangement adjusts a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the sensed vibration signals to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

3. A vehicular acoustic environmental system ( 100) of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each ear of the driver and/or passenger is provided with a corresponding microphone arrangement (104A), a speaker arrangement (114) and an associated signal processing arrangement (200).

4. A vehicular acoustic environmental system ( 100) of claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the vehicle is a pure electrical vehicle, and the acoustic environmental system (100) dampens in operation electrical motor whine and vehicle frame noise.

5. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the signal processing arrangement (200) adjusts in operation the gain and/or the phase shift in an adaptive manner during driving of the vehicle.

6. A vehicular acoustic environmental system ( 100) of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the signal processing arrangement (200) modifies in operation the corresponding microphone signal to a specific signal amplitude to adjust the gain and/or the phase shift in the adaptive manner during driving of the vehicle.

7. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of claim 6, characterized in that the signal processing arrangement (200) employs in operation a Fast Fourier transform algorithm to determine a required gain and/or phase shift at a given frequency to apply to the microphone signal to generate the output signal, to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

8. A vehicular acoustic environmental system ( 100) of claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the adaptive manner is determined by the signal processing arrangement (200) in an iterative manner to increase a ratio of the output signal relative to the microphone signal at a given frequency.

9. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sound processing arrangement (200) add in operation pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds for output at the speaker arrangement (114), wherein the prerecorded and/or synthesized sounds include at least one of:

(a) synthesized engine sounds depending upon a power being delivered to an electrical motor arrangement of the vehicle to propel the vehicle;

(c) synthesized environmental sounds depending upon a geographical location of the vehicle, based upon global positioning system or general packet radio service position identification of the vehicle;

(e) sound entertainment signals; and

(f) acoustic signals indicative of a state of charge of a battery unit of the vehicle, wherein the battery unit provides in operation motive power to propel the vehicle.

10. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle is provided with a software application management and infotainment arrangement (302) provided with a graphical user interface, wherein the software application management and infotainment arrangement (302) enables in operation user-adjustment of parameters of the signal processing arrangements (200) to generate the output signal from the microphone signal and/or to adjust pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds applied by a data processing arrangement (304).

11. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the software application management and infotainment arrangement (302) is controllable using oral signals provided from the driver and/or passenger, wherein the oral signals are provided in a microphone signal to the software application management and infotainment arrangement (302).

12. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of claim 10, characterized in that the software application management and infotainment arrangement (302) is communicably coupled to a user device for rendering a graphical user interface thereon, to enable the user to adjust remotely parameters of the signal processing arrangements (200) to generate the output signal from the microphone signal and/or to adjust pre-recorded and/or synthesized sounds applied by the data processing arrangement (304).

13. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the headrest (402) is further provided with a lighting arrangement.

14. A vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) of claim 13, characterized in that operation of the lighting arrangement is associated with the output at the speaker arrangement (114).

15. A method (500) of using a vehicular acoustic environmental system, wherein the acoustic environmental system (100) includes a speaker arrangement (114) that is disposed in a headrest (402) of a seat of a driver and/or passenger of a vehicle, characterized in that the method includes:

(i) providing the headrest (402) with a microphone arrangement (104) that detects in operation sounds in a proximity to one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger to generate a corresponding microphone signal;

(ii) using a signal processing arrangement (200) of the vehicular acoustic environmental system (100) to adjust a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the microphone signal to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the speaker arrangement ( 114); and

16. A method of claim 15, characterized in that the method includes arranging for the vehicular acoustic environmental system to include a vibration sensor arrangement that is mounted to a chassis of the vehicle to sense in operation vibrations in the chassis to generate corresponding sensed vibration signals, and a vibration actuation transducer arrangement coupled to the chassis, and wherein the method includes using the signal processing arrangement to adjust a gain and/or a phase shift, as a function of signal frequency, applied to the sensed vibration signals to generate an output signal for exciting, in operation, the vibration actuation transducer arrangement, wherein the gain and/or the phase shift are adjusted to provide an anti-sound reduction in perceived sound at the one or more ears of the driver and/or passenger.

17. A software product recording on machine-readable data storage media, characterized in that the software product is executable upon computing hardware for implementing a method as claimed in claim 15 or 16.