KR20080056572A - Audio device and its volume control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an audio device and a volume control method thereof, which can solve a problem in which it is difficult for a user to control amplification gains corresponding to the level of a sound source in real time in an environment where a large level of audio changes in time. The audio device corresponds to a level detector for detecting a level of a source sound source, a volume IC for receiving the source sound source, a gain variable amplifier for adjusting and amplifying a gain of an output signal of the volume IC, and an output signal of the level detector. And a micom for adjusting the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifier and controlling the volume IC to adjust the volume. Thus, the present invention solves the difficulty in which the user cannot directly control the amplification gain in real time in a conventional audio device, and the user wants to listen to the volume momentarily when the user listens to a sound source having a large change in audio level in time. By solving the problem of getting out of the range to be able to listen to the realistic sound at the same time can feel comfortable listening.

Description

AUDIO APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING VOLUME THEREOF}

1 is a schematic block diagram of a portion of a conventional audio device;

2 is a graph illustrating amplification gain according to the source level in FIG.

3 is a graph illustrating the output level according to the source level in FIG.

4 is a block diagram illustrating an audio device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of a variable gain amplifier of FIG. 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating a case in which an amplification gain for each volume level is changed according to a level of a source sound source in the audio device of FIG. 4.

7 is a graph illustrating the output level of each of the volume levels according to the amplification gain of FIG.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a volume adjusting method of an audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a volume adjusting method of an audio device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

-Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing-

110: volume IC 120: level detector

130: micom 140: gain variable amplifier

150: output unit 145: amplifier

R1: first resistor R2: second resistor

The present invention relates to volume control in an audio device. More specifically, when a user sets a sound range determined to be suitable for listening, an audio device and a audio device for changing and outputting an amplification gain corresponding to a source sound source in real time accordingly It relates to a volume control method.

In general, the audio device may adjust the volume to a degree that the user wants to listen to. That is, in a typical audio device, if a user selects a volume level determined to be suitable for a listening environment on a table or volume curve already determined by a designer, the amplification is fixed independently of time and a sound source accordingly. The gain is applied to the reproduced sound source. That is, before the user directly adjusts the volume, the audio device outputs a volume to which a fixed amplification gain is applied.

In the above-described audio device, when a user wants to listen to a sound source whose audio level does not change significantly in time, the user can listen to the sound source to a desired volume without any inconvenience. The volume control feature of the conventional audio device will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic block diagram of a portion of a conventional audio device.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional audio device includes a volume IC 10, a microcomputer 20, an amplifier 30, and an output 40.

The volume IC 10 receives a source sound source and outputs a source sound source whose gain is adjusted according to the control of the microcomputer 20. In addition, the microcomputer 20 controls the overall operation of the audio device. In particular, the microcomputer 20 controls the operation of the volume IC 10 according to the volume set by the user. The amplifier 30 receives an output signal of the volume IC 10, that is, a source sound source whose gain is controlled by the volume IC 10, and outputs an amplified signal having a predetermined amplification gain. The output unit 40 receives the amplified signal from the amplifier 30 and outputs a sound signal.

The amplifier 30 has a fixed amplification gain, and the output unit 40 is a sound signal output device such as a speaker, earphone.

2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining a volume control feature of the conventional audio device shown in FIG. 1, and in particular, FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating an amplification gain according to the level of a source sound source in FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating an output level according to the source level in FIG. 1.

First, referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that volume levels VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3 set by a user are constant regardless of the level of the source sound source. That is, even if the level of the source sound source increases or decreases, it can be seen that the amplification gains determined according to the volume levels VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3 always have constant values as A1, A2, and A3, respectively. In FIG. 2, the X axis represents the voltage (unit: volts) level of the source sound source, and the Y axis represents the amplification gain (unit: decibel (dB)).

Therefore, the amplification gain is independent of the level of the source sound source and varies only depending on the volume level VOL1, VOL2, VOL3 set by the user.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, since the amplification gain in FIG. 2 is independent of the source level, the output level increases linearly in proportion to the level of the source sound source. That is, the slope changes only in accordance with the volume levels VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3 set by the user, and the slope according to each volume level VOL1, VOL2, VOL3 represents the amplification gain shown in FIG. Seems constant. In FIG. 3, the X axis represents the voltage (unit: volts (V)) level of the source sound source, and the Y axis represents the output voltage (units of volts (V)).

However, in the conventional audio device having the above-described volume control feature, there is a difficulty that the user cannot directly control the amplification gain in real time.

Thus, when listening to a sound source having a large change in audio level in time, for example, a sudden loud effect sound when playing a movie, there is a problem that the volume is momentarily out of a range desired by the user.

In addition, a similar problem exists when the user suddenly decreases the volume when listening.

Therefore, the amplification gain can be controlled in real time in order to improve the problem that the user is out of the range to be listened to when listening to a suddenly loud effect sound, or is out of the range to be listened to by the user when a suddenly decreasing sound effect is heard. There is an urgent need for a volume control method.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an audio device and a volume control method thereof for improving the difficulty in which a user cannot directly control amplification gain in real time in a conventional audio device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an audio device and a volume control method thereof for improving a problem in a case where a volume is suddenly increased when a user listens to the audio device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an audio device and a volume control method thereof for improving a problem in a case where a volume suddenly decreases when a user listens to the audio device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an audio device and a volume control method thereof for improving a problem that a volume is out of a range desired by a user for a moment when listening to a sound source having a large change in audio level in time.

An audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, the level detecting unit for detecting the level of the source sound source; A volume IC for receiving the source sound source; A gain variable amplifier configured to amplify by controlling the gain of the output signal of the volume IC; And a microcomputer adjusting the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifying unit and controlling the volume IC so as to correspond to the output signal of the level detector.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a volume of an audio device, the method including: detecting a level by receiving a source sound source; And outputting a sound signal by adjusting an amplification gain corresponding to the level of the source sound source detected in the detecting step.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of adjusting a volume of an audio device, the method including: detecting a level by receiving a source sound source; Comparing the level of the source sound source detected in the detecting step with a level set by the user; Adjusting an amplification gain if the detected level is greater than a set maximum level or less than a set minimum level; And outputting a sound signal in which the amplification gain is adjusted.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for adjusting the volume of an audio device. The method may further include lowering amplification gain when a received source sound source is higher than a set level, and lowering the gain of the audio source. It is characterized by increasing the amplification gain.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following descriptions are only examples and illustrated without any other intention, except for the purpose of helping a person having ordinary knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains, to limit the scope of the invention It shall not be used.

4 is a block diagram illustrating an audio device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the audio device includes a volume IC 110, a level detector 120, a microcomputer 130, a gain variable amplifier 140, and an output 150.

The volume IC 110 receives the source sound source and operates under the control of the microcomputer 130 to determine a predetermined amplification gain of the source sound source.

The level detector 120 detects the level of the source sound source. The level detector 120 may be an A / D converter that detects a level of the source sound source and converts the level into a digital signal. The A / D converter, also called an analog-to-digital converter, is a device that converts an analog signal, which is a continuous signal, into a digital signal, and continuously in real life such as temperature, pressure, voice, video signal, and voltage. As a device for digitizing a signal to be measured, it is well known to those skilled in the art, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The level of the source sound source detected by the level detector 120 may be a voltage level of the source sound source.

The microcomputer 130 controls the overall operation of the audio device. The microcomputer 130 controls the operation of the volume IC 110 according to a volume level set by a user, and in particular, the signal received from the level detector 120. Accordingly, the gain variable amplifying unit 140 is controlled, and the volume IC 110 is controlled.

The gain variable amplifier 140 amplifies the gain of the output signal of the volume IC 110. That is, when compared with the conventional amplifier (30 in FIG. 1) shown in FIG. 1, the conventional amplifier (30 in FIG. 1) has a fixed amplification gain, but the gain variable amplifier 140 is The amplification gain may be varied according to the control of the microcomputer 130.

Therefore, the audio device according to the present invention operates according to the volume level set by the user and is controlled by the microcomputer according to the result detected by the level detector 120 to gain-variably amplify in real time without the volume level setting of the user. There is an advantage that can adjust the amplification gain of the unit 140.

An example of the gain variable amplifier 140 is illustrated in FIG. 5.

That is, FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram illustrating an example of the variable gain amplifier 140 of FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 5, the variable gain amplifier 140 includes an operational amplifier 145. The positive input terminal of the operational amplifier 145 is grounded, a first resistor R1 is connected to the negative input terminal, and a second resistor R2 is connected between the negative input terminal and the output terminal. The second resistor R2 is a variable resistor, and the second resistor R2 is controlled by the microcomputer 130 to adjust the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifier 140.

The gain variable amplifier 140 shown in FIG. 5 is a circuit well known to those skilled in the art, and the amplification gain Av may be represented by Equation 1 below. have.

Since the second resistor R2 is the variable resistor in Equation 1, the amplification gain Av of the gain variable amplifier 140 may be adjusted by controlling the variable resistor R2 with the microcomputer 130. have.

6 and 7 are diagrams for describing a specific example of volume control of the audio device of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a graph illustrating volume levels VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3 according to levels of a source sound source in the audio device of FIG. 4. FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating a case in which amplification gains are different from each other, and FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating output levels of each of the volume levels VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3 according to the amplification gain of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIG. 6, in each of the volume levels VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3 set by the user, the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifying unit (140 in FIG. 4) is changed according to the level of the source sound source. That is, when the level of the source sound source is smaller than V1, the amplification gains are A1, A2 and A3, respectively. When the level of the source sound source is higher than V2, the amplification gains are A11, A12 and A13, respectively.

For example, if the source sound source is V2 is the level of the source sound source corresponding to the maximum level set by the user, if the level of the source sound source is higher than V2, the amplification gain is A11 when the volume level VOL1. In the case of the volume level VOL2, the amplification gain is set to A12. In the case of the volume level VOL3, the amplification gain is set to A13. In this way, when the level of the source sound source is high, by lowering the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifier (140 of FIG. 4) (the microcomputer 130 lowers the variable resistor R2 of the gain variable amplifier (140 of FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 7, output level curves according to the source sound source may be obtained.

When FIG. 7 is compared with FIG. 3, when the level of the source sound source is high, the slope of the graph is lowered and the rate of increase of the output level is lowered. Therefore, the audio device according to the present invention can reduce the rate of increase of the output level in real time when the user suddenly exceeds the level of the sound signal that the user wants to listen to, so that the user can listen to the realistic sound and provide a comfortable listening feeling. There is an advantage to that.

On the other hand, when the level of the source sound source is lower than the minimum level set by the user, when the source sound source is suddenly lower than the level of the sound signal to be heard by the user by increasing the level of the gain variable amplifier (140 in FIG. 4). By increasing the increase rate of the output level in real time, there is an advantage that the user can receive a realistic and clear sound.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a volume adjusting method of an audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the method for adjusting the volume of the audio device may include receiving a source sound source (S12) and detecting a level (S14), and amplifying gain corresponding to the level of the source sound source detected in the detection step (S14). Adjusting (S16) and outputting a sound signal (S18).

The volume adjusting method of the audio device may be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 8. 4 and 8, the level detector 120 receives a source sound source (S12) to detect a level (S14), and the microcomputer 140 adjusts the level of the source sound source detected in the detection step (S14). Correspondingly, the gain variable amplification unit 140 is controlled to adjust the amplification gain (S16). The output unit 150 outputs a sound signal whose amplification gain is adjusted to correspond to the level of the source sound source.

If the level of the source sound source detected in the detection step is greater than the maximum level set by the user, the amplification gain may be lowered. If the level of the source sound source detected in the detection step is less than the minimum level set by the user, the amplification gain may be amplified. You can also increase the gain.

The maximum level is a maximum level suitable for a user to listen to, and the minimum level is a minimum level suitable for a user to listen to. Examples of lowering amplification gain when a source sound source exceeds the maximum level are illustrated in FIGS. 6 and FIG. Since a detailed description has been made in the description of the audio apparatus with reference to FIG. 7, a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a volume adjusting method of an audio device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, in the method for adjusting the volume of the audio device, receiving a source sound source (S21) and detecting a level (S22), and setting the level of the source sound source detected in the detection step (S22) and the user Comparing the level (S23), it is determined whether the detected level is greater than the maximum level set by the user or smaller than the set minimum level (S24) (S25) The detected level is greater than the maximum level set by the user If it is smaller than the set minimum level, the step of adjusting the amplification gain (S26), and outputting a sound signal with the amplified gain is adjusted (S27).

The order of determining whether the detected level is greater than the maximum level set by the user (S24) and the determining of whether the detected level is smaller than the minimum level set by the user (S25) may be reversed. Similarly, the method for adjusting the volume of the audio device has been sufficiently described in the description of the audio device with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, and thus redundant description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the volume adjusting method of the audio device according to the embodiment of the present invention lowers the amplification gain when the level of the detected source sound source is greater than the maximum level set by the user, and the level of the detected source sound source is determined by the user. If it is lower than the set minimum level, the amplification gain is increased to control the amplification gain in real time, thereby outputting a sound signal, thereby providing the user with a realistic sound and a comfortable listening feeling.

The audio device and its volume control method according to the present invention are not limited to the above embodiments, and can be variously designed and applied without departing from the basic principles of the present invention. It will be obvious to those who have.

Thus, the present invention has the effect of solving the difficulty in which the user cannot directly control the amplification gain in real time in a conventional audio device by providing an improved audio device and its volume control method.

In addition, the present invention provides an improved audio device and its volume control method, thereby solving the problem that the volume is out of the range that the user wants to listen to instantly when the user listens to a sound source having a large change in audio level in time. It has the effect of listening to a realistic sound, delivering a clear sound, or a comfortable listening feeling.

Claims (9)

A level detector detecting a level of the source sound source; A volume IC for receiving the source sound source; A gain variable amplifier configured to amplify by controlling the gain of the output signal of the volume IC; And And a microcomputer that adjusts the volume by controlling the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifier and controlling the volume IC so as to correspond to an output signal of the level detector. The method of claim 1, The gain variable amplifier includes an operational amplifier having a positive input terminal grounded and a first resistor connected to the negative input terminal, and a second resistor connected between the negative input terminal and the output terminal. . The method of claim 2, And the second resistor controls the amplification gain of the gain variable amplifier by being controlled by the micom. The method of claim 1, And the level detector is an A / D converter that receives the source sound source and converts the source sound into a digital signal. In the volume control method of the audio device: Detecting a level by receiving a source sound source; And And adjusting the amplification gain to output a sound signal corresponding to the level of the source sound source detected in the detecting step. The method of claim 5, And if the level of the source sound source detected in the detecting step is larger than the maximum level set by the user, reducing the amplification gain. The method according to claim 5 or 6, And if the level of the source sound source detected in the detecting step is smaller than the minimum level set by the user, increasing the amplification gain. In the volume control method of the audio device: Detecting a level by receiving a source sound source; Comparing the level of the source sound source detected in the detecting step with a level set by the user; Adjusting an amplification gain if the detected level is greater than the maximum level set by the user or smaller than the set minimum level; And And outputting a sound signal of which the amplification gain is adjusted. In the volume control method of an audio device: Amplification gain is lowered if the level of the received source sound is higher than the level set by the user; and amplification gain is increased if the level of the source sound source is lower than the level set by the user. .

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