JPH10200423A - Timer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain noise prevention by controlling the sound volume within the timer set time by storing the sound level of a speaker on a recording medium in the case of timer setting, muting a sound output with timer operation start, storing the start and end time on the recording medium together with the sound output level of the speaker as well, reading data from the recording medium at the time of timer setting end and returning the sound level to a level set before. SOLUTION: A speaker 9 is connected to the output of a speaker driving part 8. At a control part 5, the operation of the entire system is controlled and based on an operating signal sent from an input operating part 3 at the time of timer setting, the second output start time, end time and sound level of the speaker 9 are stored in a memory 2. Besides, by cutting the output of the speaker driving part 8 by operating a mute part 7, the control part 5 performs control for muting sounds, reading data out of the memory 2 later and returning the output sound level of the speaker 9 to the original level.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a timer device for operating a speaker built in an AV device such as a television receiver or a radio by setting a timer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In ordinary households, a timer device is connected to a television receiver, a radio, or the like, and the wake-up time is reserved and set by the timer device.
2. Description of the Related Art Sound is emitted from a speaker of a device. This type of timer device includes, as main components, an input operation button for setting, a display unit for displaying time, a memory for storing a program, and the like. For example, when a user sets this timer device on a television receiver and uses the sound of a speaker for alarm, the timer is usually set before going to bed. At this time, the user operates the input operation button while watching the television program, raises the volume level so that the user can easily wake up when the user wakes up, and then inputs the start time and end time of sound emission. Along with this, the memory stores the data of the channel number currently being viewed, the data of the sound emission level of the speaker at the time of setting, the start / end time data, and the like. Thus, at a preset time every morning, the sound is emitted from the speaker of the television receiver at the set volume.

[0003]

By the way, in such a timer setting, the volume is raised for waking up, and the sound of the speaker is adjusted to be much larger than a normal listening level. However, when the volume is increased at night before going to bed, a loud sound is suddenly emitted from the speaker, causing a problem of disturbing noise in the neighborhood.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a timer device that can prevent a sound from being output from a speaker when a timer is set, thereby preventing a problem of annoying noise in a nearby neighborhood. .

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a program comprising a start time and an end time together with an output audio level of a speaker can be stored in a recording medium, A timer device for driving a speaker of a device to emit sound based on the program, wherein at the time of setting a timer, means for storing the sound level of the speaker in the recording medium at a sound emission level before the start of setting; Means for driving a mute unit built in the device at the start of the operation to mute the audio output of the speaker, and storing the start time and the end time in the recording medium together with the output audio level of the speaker based on a volume up / down command. Means for reading data from the recording medium at the end of the timer setting, and It is characterized in that it comprises means for returning the force audio level on the sound output level before the start setting, a.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram showing a timer device according to the present invention. This timer device is used by being connected to an AV device such as a television receiver or a radio, and includes a timer 1, a memory 2, an input operation unit 3, and a control unit 5. The speaker 9 is connected to the TV receiving circuit 6 to operate. Timer 1 and memory 2
It is bidirectionally connected to the control unit 5, and a main unit case of the timer 1 is provided with a display unit (not shown) for displaying time, day of the week, mode, and the like. The memory 2 stores the sound emission start time and end time of the speaker 9 and the speaker 9.
Is stored. The input operation unit 3 includes a main switch for instructing start and end of timer setting, a time setting key for inputting a sound emission start time, an end time, and a volume level of the speaker 9, a volume adjustment key, and the like. The output of the input operation unit 3 is connected to the control unit 5 so that the user can operate the volume adjustment key while watching the volume display on the volume level display unit 4 to set the emission volume of the speaker 9 to a required value. It has become.
The output signal of the control unit 5 is guided to the volume level display unit 4. Based on the signal from the control unit 5, the volume of the speaker 9 is displayed as a bar or a numerical value on the on-screen of the cathode ray tube. Has become.

[0006] The television receiver of this example is of a general popular type, and incorporates a TV receiving circuit 6 comprising a mute section 7 and a speaker driving section 8 in addition to various circuits constituting a receiving section. The output of an audio output unit (not shown) is guided to the mute unit 7 and connected to the input of the speaker drive unit 8. A speaker 9 is connected to an output of the speaker driving unit 8. The control unit 5 controls the operation of the entire device, and stores the sound emission start time, end time, and sound level of the speaker 9 in the memory 2 based on an operation signal transmitted from the input operation unit 3 when a timer is set. To mute the sound by cutting off the output of the speaker drive unit 8 by operating the mute unit 7,
Thereafter, control is performed such that data is read from the memory 2 and the output audio level of the speaker 9 is returned to the original level.

Next, the operation of the timer device will be described.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. However,
The setting by the timer device can be performed by the user using the speaker 9.
It is assumed that the setting operation is performed in a normal time zone in which a television receiver is turned on and a program is being watched in the daytime or evening of a holiday on holidays. First, the user turns on the main switch of the input operation unit 3 and starts timer setting. Accordingly, the control unit 5 controls the sound level emitted from the speaker 9 of the television receiver, that is,
The output of the speaker drive unit 8 is fetched as digital data and stored in the memory 2 (step S11). Subsequently, the control unit 5 sends a mute command signal to the mute unit 7 to drive the mute unit 7 (step S1).
2). Thereby, the output of the speaker drive unit 8 is muted, and the sound emission of the speaker 9 is stopped.

In this state, the user operates the volume control key and the time setting key of the input operation unit 3 to set the volume level of the speaker 9, the sound output start and end times (steps S13, S14). Here, when the user operates the volume control key while looking at the screen of the cathode ray tube, the control unit 5 controls the UP / DO of the volume level based on the operation signal.
Perform WN processing. When the volume level is determined in this way, the control section 5 stores the volume level data in the memory 2 together with the channel station number data. Thereafter, after inputting the sound emission start time of the speaker 9 by operating the time setting key, the end time is also input so that the sound is emitted from the speaker 9 for a certain period of time. Thus, the daily program is stored in the memory 2.

During this series of input operations, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the setting process of the timer 1 has been completed (step S15). If the time has not been set, the process returns to step S13 again. continue processing. On the other hand, when the setting process of the timer 1 is completed, the time data is stored in the memory 2. Thereafter, the control unit 5 sends a mute release command to the mute unit 7, reads the digital data of the original audio level from the memory 2, and sends an output signal corresponding to this audio level to the speaker drive unit 8. . Then, after the mute of the sound is released, the sound is emitted from the speaker 9 at the volume before the setting (step S16), so that the user can listen to the original volume without having to adjust the volume again.

When the setting process of the timer is completed, the control unit 5 determines whether or not the clock information has reached a set time (step S21). When the set time comes, the data of the set channel station and the data of the audio level are read from the memory 2 (step S22),
Subsequently, the power switch of the television receiver is turned on (step S23). As a result, the speaker driver 8 of the television receiver is driven, and the speaker 9 emits sound at a preset level (step S24). Therefore, the sound that is slightly higher than the normal level flows for a certain period of time, and thus the user can be awakened. Also, as described above, the setting operation is not performed at night before going to bed,
You only have to go there once during the daytime or in the evening on holidays, so you will not bother your neighbors. The timer device is not limited to the case where the television receiver is used, but may be widely applied to various AV devices, for example, a CD component with a radio.

[0011]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the timer is set, the mute unit is operated to mute the sound of the speaker, thereby facilitating waking up when the user wakes up. Therefore, when it is necessary to increase the volume level, the setting can be made in a state in which no sound is output from the speaker, and there is an effect that the problem of disturbing noise in the neighborhood can be solved. In addition, at the end of the timer setting, data is read from the recording medium and the output audio level of the speaker is returned to the sound emission level before the start of the setting, so that there is an advantage that the user can listen at the original volume after the setting is completed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an electrical block diagram showing a timer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the timer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Timer 2 Memory 3 Input operation part 5 Control means 7 Mute part 9 Speaker

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A timer device for storing a program including a start time and an end time together with an output sound level of a speaker in a recording medium, and driving a speaker of the device based on the program to emit a sound. Means for storing the sound level of the speaker in the recording medium at a sound emission level before the start of setting,
Means for driving a mute unit incorporated in the device with the start of the timer setting to mute the audio output of the speaker, and recording the start time and end time together with the audio output level of the speaker based on a volume up / down command. A timer device comprising: means for storing the data in a medium; and means for reading data from the recording medium at the end of the timer setting and returning the output audio level of the speaker to the sound emission level before the start of the setting.