Patent ID: 8599006

Claim:
A vehicle notification sound emitting apparatus comprising: a sound emitting device configured to emit a movement notification sound to outside of a vehicle to inform a person in an area surrounding the vehicle of movement of the vehicle; and a notification sound control device configured to control the sound emitting device to begin emitting the movement notification sound when a vehicle speed, which is above a sound fade-in speed value, decreases to the sound fade-in vehicle speed value; the notification sound control device being further configured to determine when the vehicle speed further decreases to equal to or smaller than a prescribed value, lower than the sound fade-in speed value, while the sound emitting device is emitting the movement notification sound, and to operate the sound emitting device to continue to emit the movement notification sound during a period beginning when the notification sound control device determines that the vehicle speed has decreased to equal to the prescribed value and ending after a prescribed amount of time has elapsed while the vehicle speed remains less than or equal to the prescribed value while the movement notification sound is being emitted.