JPH048005A - Sound volume control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To start with sound volume set when power supply is turned off finally like the conventional operation and also to start with a small sound volume by devising the system such that the start sound volume is made adjustable depending on the time length of a power input command in the case of application of the power supply to the device making sound output. CONSTITUTION:When a power supply command is detected with application of power supply for sound output, a sound volume storage means 6 stores the sound volume at that point of time and the power supply of a sound output device is interrupted. When the power supply command is detected with the power supply interrupted, an input time detection means 2 detects the consecutive time of the power supply command. A 1st means 3 is active only when its consecutive time is shorter than a prescribed time and given a sound volume stored in a sound volume storage means 6 to a sound volume control means 7 as an initial control sound volume. On the other hand, when the consecutive time is longer than the prescribed time, only a 2nd means 4 is acted. The 2nd means 4 gives the minimum sound volume of the sound output device to the sound volume control means 7 to increase the sound volume gradually. A stop means 5 fixes the sound volume outputted to the sound volume control section 7 from the 2nd means 4 when any external signal is inputted to the stop means 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to volume control at the time of power input of equipment having an audio output device, such as a radio or television.

When controlling the volume of an audio output device electronically, the volume level is always stored in memory, and when the power is turned off and then turned on again, the stored value is used to control the volume before turning off the power. will be set to the same volume level.

I turned off the power while listening to it at a fairly high volume in the middle of the day.
When you turn on the power at night, you may be surprised to hear a sudden loud noise. This is because the ambient noise level (background noise level) differs greatly between daytime and nighttime, which can be a serious problem depending on the living environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and provide a device that can arbitrarily control the volume level when the power is turned on.

In order to achieve the above object, the volume control system according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. A volume storage means 6 that stores the volume value when the power for audio output is turned off, a power command detection means 1 that detects whether or not a power command is input, and a state in which the power for audio output is off. When a power command is input to the power command detection means 1, an input time detection means 2 detects the duration of input of the power command, and when the duration is less than a predetermined time, it is stored in the volume storage means 6. a first means 3 for outputting a volume value that is set as a control volume value to the volume control means 7; The second means 4 outputs the output to the volume control means 7, and the stop means 5 fixes the control volume value output from the second means 4 to the volume control means 7 at the time when some signal is inputted from the outside. Features.

1-If a power command is detected while the power source for voice output is on, the volume storage means 6 stores the volume value at that time, and the power source of the voice output device is turned off.

When a power command is detected while the power is off, the input time detection means 2 detects the duration of the power command. The first means 3 operates only when the continuous opening is shorter than a predetermined time, and sends the volume value stored in the volume storage means 6 to the volume control means 7 as the first control volume value. As a result, this audio output device outputs audio at the same volume level as when the power was last turned off.

On the other hand, when the duration of the power command input is longer than the predetermined time, the first means 3 does not work! @2 Only means 4 works. The second means 4 first sends the minimum volume value of this audio output device to the volume control means 7, and gradually increases the volume value. During this time, the stopping means 5 waits for a signal from the outside, and fixes the volume value output from the second means 4 to the volume control device 7 when any signal is input.

Example 1 - Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to a television receiver controlled by a remote control will be described. FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the portions of this television receiver system related to the present invention. In addition to the power key 12, the remote control device lo is provided with a volume control key 14, a channel select key 16, and the like. On the main body side, there is a light receiving section 18 that receives an infrared signal from a remote control, a control section 20 that controls the entire television receiver, and a volume control section 3 that outputs audio.
6th class is equipped. (Video-related systems are not shown.) The control unit 20 is a microcomputer centered on the CPU 24, and is backed up by a special power source (a battery or a power source taken from a plug line separate from the audio output system). It has RAM28.

The audio output system is driven by a power supply unit 34,
The demodulated audio signal is amplified by the volume control section 36 and output from the speaker 38. The volume control section 36 is the control section 20
The amplification degree is changed according to the volume signal from the. In the control unit 20, the volume value output to the volume control unit 36 is always stored in the backup RAM 28.

When the audio output system is powered on and audio is being output from the speaker, press the power key 12 on the remote control 10.
When the button is pressed, the control unit 20 receives the signal and stops the operation of the power supply unit 34, but the volume value at this time is held in the backup RAM 28.

When the power key 12 of the remote controller 10 is pressed while the audio output system is powered off, after the power is turned on, the volume of the audio to be output first is determined by the method described below and sent to the volume control unit 36. . The method for determining the initial volume will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Note that this routine is stored in the ROM 26 of the control unit 20.

First, in step #lO, it is determined whether the power is currently off, and only when it is currently off, the following process is executed. In step #12, 1. The cause of starting this routine was the power key 12 on the remote control 10.
Determine whether or not it was caused by the operation. This television receiver also has a main power switch (not shown) on the main body side, and the routine shown in Figure 3 is executed when the main power switch is turned on (or when the power plug is inserted into the outlet). The program will start, but the following processing will not be performed at these times.

In step #14, the infrared signal of the power key is transmitted to the light receiving section 1.
8 (the time from when the power key 12 is pressed to when it is released) exceeds a predetermined time to. If the input time is within the predetermined time to, the volume value stored in the backup RAM 28 (the volume value when the power was last turned off) is read out and output as is to the volume control unit 36 (steps #16 and #18). ).

As a result, audio output starts at the same volume as when it ended last time.

When the power key power time exceeds the predetermined time to, audio is first output at the minimum volume level stored in the ROM 26 (step #20), and the volume level is gradually increased (step #22). And step #2
4, it is checked whether any signal has come from the remote controller 10 (that is, whether any key operation has been performed on the remote controller 10). If no signal is coming from the remote controller 1o, then it is checked whether the current volume has reached a predetermined value (step #26). The predetermined value here may be the maximum volume value of the audio output device of this television receiver (in this case, it is stored in 80M26), or it can be manually pressed in advance and stored in the backup RAM 28. It may be the value you set. If the current volume has not yet reached the predetermined value, the process returns to step #22 and continues to increase the volume little by little.

During this time, when any key operation is performed on the remote control 10, the volume value at that time is stored in the backup RAM 28 (step #28), and this routine ends.

To summarize the above, when the power key 12 of the remote control 10 is pressed briefly, audio output starts at the volume value at the time the power was last turned off. On the other hand, if the power key 12 is held down for a predetermined period of time t8 or more, the speaker output is first output at the minimum volume, and then the volume automatically increases gradually.

Then, by operating some key on the remote control 10, the volume can be fixed at that point. As a result, when you do not want to make loud noises to the fish, such as at night, you can start watching on the TV receiver at a low volume by pressing the power key 12 of the remote control 10 for a little longer. Furthermore, since it is sufficient to press any key to fix the volume, there is no need to take the trouble of searching for the volume keys 14 and 15 on the remote control, and the operation is very simple.

In the above embodiment, the case where the power key is located on the remote control device 10 has been explained, but this also applies even if the power key for audio output is located on the main body side, provided that the control device is operating. Applicable. Furthermore, the human key power determined in step #24 may respond not only to the keys on the remote control 10 but also to some key operations on the receiver body.

As described above, according to the present invention, when turning on the power of a device that outputs audio, the initial volume can be adjusted depending on the length of the power-on command. Therefore, as usual,
You can start at the volume you were at when you last turned it off, or you can start at a lower volume. Additionally, you can set the desired volume level with very simple operations.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram corresponding to the claims of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the volume control-related portion of a television receiver to which the present invention is applied, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the power-on operation performed by the control unit of the embodiment. 2 is a flowchart of volume control processing.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Volume control means for controlling the volume of audio output based on a control volume value input from the outside, volume storage means for storing the volume value when the power for audio output is turned off, and a power supply command. a power command detection means for detecting whether or not a power command is being input; and an input for detecting the duration of input of a power command when a power command is input to the power command detection means while the audio output power source is off. time detection means; first means for outputting the volume value stored in the volume storage means to the volume control means as a control volume value when the duration time is equal to or less than the predetermined time; , the second means outputs a value gradually increasing from the minimum value to the volume control means as a control volume value, and when some signal is input from the outside, the second means outputs the value to the volume control means. A volume control system comprising: a stop means for fixing a control volume value.