JP2003134591A - Audio system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an audio system capable of reducing the labor for setting the sound output to meet the connected state of speakers. SOLUTION: A control portion 16 obtains the detected result of a energized state in each of connecting lines 3a-3f from a energizing detection portion 22 to specify the presence or absence of each of speakers 2a-2f. Now, the control portion 16 determines whether or not each of the speakers 2a-2f has a change in the connecting state. In the case of the presence of the change, the contents of sound output setting are changed in accordance with the connected state of the speaker specified by the foregoing process. For example, when a state that all of the six speakers 2a-2f are connected is specified, the control portion 16 changes the contents of the sound output setting so that sound output from a 5.1 channel using the six speakers may be implemented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an audio system that outputs a sound reproduced by an audio device using an arbitrary number of speakers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an audio system which outputs an audio by combining an audio device for reproducing audio recorded on various recording media and a plurality of speakers. For example, CD (Compact Disc) or M
An audio device that reproduces sound recorded on a recording medium such as a D (mini disk) is capable of outputting sound by connecting two speakers on the front left and right, or two speakers on the rear left and right in addition to these. There is.

DVD (digital versatile disk)
In a disc reproducing apparatus for reproducing video and audio of a movie or the like recorded by using as a recording medium, six speakers, specifically, five speakers corresponding to front left and right, front center, and rear left and right, and a bass range are provided. The one that can output a so-called 5.1-channel audio by connecting one dedicated speaker, and the so-called 7.1 in which eight speakers are connected and two more channels are added to the 5.1-channel. Some exist that can output audio from a channel.

In most disc reproducing apparatuses capable of outputting audio of multi-channel such as 5.1 channel,
Due to the size of the room where the audio system is installed, etc., if there are not so many speakers installed, 5.1 channel sound is mixed down into left and right 2 channel stereo sound, and 2 speakers are used. In this case, it is possible to change the content of the audio output setting according to the connection state of the speaker, such as outputting a sound suitable for the case.

[0005]

By the way, in the conventional audio system, the user performs a predetermined setting operation after turning on the power of the audio device at the time of initial setting or when the system configuration is changed. As a result, the voice output setting suitable for the connection state of the speaker is manually set each time, so there is a problem that the setting operation is complicated and time-consuming.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an audio system capable of reducing the time and effort for setting the audio output according to the connection state of the speaker. It is in.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the audio system of the present invention detects the energization state of the connection line by the energization detection means, and sets based on the detection result by this energization detection means. The presence / absence of the speaker connected to the connection line is determined by the means, and the audio output setting of the audio device is performed based on the determination result. Since the presence / absence of the speaker connected to the audio device is automatically determined and the audio output setting is performed, it is possible to reduce the trouble of performing the audio output setting according to the connection state of the speaker.

The above-mentioned connecting line is provided with a plurality of sets corresponding to the maximum number of speakers that can be installed, and it is desirable to set the audio output by the setting means at the time of initial setting or when the system configuration is changed. As a result, at the time of initial setting or when the system configuration is changed, the audio output setting is automatically performed only by connecting a desired number of speakers to the audio device, which eliminates the need for complicated operations and improves convenience. be able to.

It is desirable that the energization detecting means described above is a current detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a current flowing through the connection line. Since a current for driving the speaker flows through the connection line to which the speaker is connected, the presence or absence of the connection of the speaker can be easily detected by detecting the presence or absence of this current.

The energization detecting means may be voltage detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a voltage drop occurring in the connecting line. Since a voltage drop occurs in the connection line due to the flow of the current, the presence or absence of the speaker connection can be easily detected by checking the presence or absence of the voltage drop in the connection line.

The above audio device is preferably a disc reproducing device for reproducing the sound recorded on the digital versatile disc. Digital versatile disc (D
When reproducing voices recorded in VD), for example, it is possible to construct a multi-channel system that outputs voices using a maximum of eight speakers, and the degree of freedom regarding the number of speakers installed is high. For this reason, each user can configure an audio system by connecting an arbitrary number of speakers according to his / her convenience such as the size of the place where the audio system is installed and the content of the audio to be listened to. After connecting, it was necessary to set the voice output according to the connection state, and the operation was complicated. According to the present invention, since the audio output setting is automatically performed according to the connection state of the speaker, it is possible to reduce the labor of the user when viewing the audio recorded on the DVD.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An audio system of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the audio system of the present embodiment. The audio system shown in FIG. 1 reproduces a movie or the like recorded on a digital versatile disk (DVD) and outputs a video signal and an audio signal, and an audio signal output from the disk reproducing apparatus 1. Speakers 2a that output audio based on
2f and a display device 4 for displaying an image based on an image signal output from the disc reproducing device 1.

The six loudspeakers 2a to 2f are for performing so-called 5.1-channel audio output for reproducing a three-dimensional sound field, and disk reproduction via a plurality of sets of connection lines 3a to 3f. It is connected to the device 1. Specifically, the speaker 2a is installed on the front left side with respect to the audio listening position, and is connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 via the connection line 3a. The speaker 2b is installed on the front right side of the listening position, and is connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 via a connection line 3b. The speaker 2c is installed in the front center of the listening position, and is connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 via the connection line 3c.

The speaker 2d is installed on the rear left side with respect to the listening position, and is connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 via a connecting line 3d. The speaker 2e is installed on the rear right side with respect to the listening position, and is connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 via the connection line 3e. In addition, the speaker 2f is installed at an arbitrary position (for example, in the lateral direction of the listening position) and is connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 via the connection line 3f. This speaker 2f is generally called a "subwoofer", and is used to output a sound in the low frequency range.

Next, the detailed structure of the disc reproducing apparatus 1 will be described. The disc reproducing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a disc reading unit 12, a reproduction processing unit 14, a control unit 16, an operating unit 18, six amplifiers 20a to 20f, and an energization detecting unit 22. The disc reading unit 12 is a DVD
It is for reading the data recorded in 10. The reproduction processing unit 14 reproduces video and audio based on the data read by the disk reading unit 12, and outputs the video signal to the display device 4 and the audio signal to the amplifier 20a.
To 20f respectively.

The control unit 16 controls the entire operation of the disc reproducing apparatus 1. Further, the control unit 16 determines the connection state of the speaker based on the detection result of the energization detection unit 22 (details will be described later), and sets the audio output according to the determination result. The detailed contents of the audio output setting will be described later.

The operation unit 18 is used for reproduction, reproduction stop, fast forward,
An operation key for issuing various operation instructions such as fast reverse is provided, and a signal corresponding to the operation content performed by the user is output to the control unit 16. The amplifier 20a amplifies the audio signal corresponding to the audio of the left channel, and outputs it to the speaker 2a via the connection line 3a. The amplifier 20b amplifies the audio signal corresponding to the audio of the right channel, and the connection line 3b
To the speaker 2b via. The amplifier 20c amplifies the audio signal corresponding to the audio of the center channel and outputs it to the speaker 2c via the connection line 3c.

The amplifier 20d amplifies a sound signal corresponding to the sound of the left rear channel and outputs it to the speaker 2d via the connection line 3d. The amplifier 20e amplifies the audio signal corresponding to the audio of the right rear channel and outputs it to the speaker 2e via the connection line 3e. The amplifier 20f amplifies the audio signal corresponding to the audio in the low frequency range channel, and outputs the amplified audio signal to the speaker 2f via the connection line 3f.

The energization detector 22 detects the presence or absence of a current flowing through the connection lines 3a to 3f as the respective energization states of the connection lines 3a to 3f. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the energization detection unit 22. The energization detection unit 22 includes six coils 3
0 and six current detectors 32 are included.
As shown in FIG. 2, the coil 30 is installed so that one line of the connection line 3 a connected to the speaker 2 a passes through the inside of the coil 30. Then, an electromotive force is generated in the coil 30 by the current flowing through the connection line 3a, and the current detection unit 32 detects the current flowing through the connection line 3a based on the electromotive force, and the detection result is output to the control unit 16. The presence or absence of a current flowing through the connection line 3a, that is, the energization state is detected by the coil 30 and the current detection unit 32.

Also, with respect to each of the other connection lines 3b to 3f, the presence or absence of a current is detected in the same manner as in the case of the connection line 3a. Specifically, the connection line 3b and the connection line 3
c, the connection line 3d, the connection line 3e, and the connection line 3f, the coil 30 is installed so that one line passes through the inside of the coil 30, and the current is generated based on the electromotive force generated in each coil 30. The detection unit 32 detects the current flowing through each of the connection lines 3b to 3f, and the detection result is output to the control unit 16. As described above, the presence or absence of the connection of the speakers 2a to 2f can be easily detected by checking the presence or absence of the current flowing in each of the connection lines 3a to 3f.

The above-mentioned disc reproducing apparatus 1 is an audio apparatus, the energization detecting section 22 is an energization detecting means, and the control section 16 is provided.
Corresponds to the setting means, and the coil 30 and the current detecting section 32 correspond to the current detecting means, respectively. The audio system of this embodiment has such a configuration, and its operation will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation procedure of the audio system when changing and setting the audio output setting at the time of reproduction according to the connection state of the speaker, and mainly the control unit in the disc reproducing apparatus 1. 16 operation contents are shown. When the power of the disc reproducing apparatus 1 is turned on, the control unit 16 acquires the detection result of the energization state of each of the connection lines 3a to 3f from the energization detection unit 22 (step 100), and uses the acquired detection result of the energization state. Based on each speaker 2a-2
The presence or absence of f is specified (step 101).

Next, the control unit 16 controls the speakers 2a to 2a.
It is determined whether or not there is a change in the connection state of f (step 102). Specifically, the control unit 16 stores, in an internal memory (not shown), the presence or absence of each speaker specified in the previous processing, that is, the connection state of the speaker. By comparing with the specified contents, it is determined whether or not there is a change in the speaker connection state. If there is no change in the speaker connection state, a negative determination is made in step 102,
The control unit 16 ends the series of processes.

If there is a change in the speaker connection state, an affirmative decision is made in step 102 and the control unit 16
Changes the content of the audio output setting according to the connection state of the speaker identified in step 101 (step 103). For example, when the power is turned on for the first time after purchasing the disc reproducing apparatus 1, the connection state of the speaker arbitrarily connected by the user is specified in step 101, and then step 1
When the affirmative determination is made in 02, the audio output setting corresponding to the connection state of the speaker is automatically performed. Also, when the connection state of the speakers 2a to 2f, that is, when the system configuration is changed, the connection state of the speaker changed by the user is specified in step 101, and after that, an affirmative determination is made in step 102.
The audio output setting corresponding to the changed contents of the speaker connection state is automatically performed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a concrete example of the speaker connection state and the corresponding audio output setting. For example, when the connection state of the speakers is a state in which all the six speakers 2a to 2f are connected, the control unit 16 controls the 6
Change the audio output settings so that 5.1-channel audio output using one speaker is performed. According to the content of the audio output setting, the reproduction processing unit 14 reproduces the audio corresponding to the 5.1 channel.

When the speaker is connected to the two speakers 2a and 2b corresponding to the left and right, the control unit 16 converts the 5.1-channel audio into left and right 2-channel stereo audio. Change the audio output settings to mix down and output audio. Depending on the content of this audio output setting, the reproduction processing unit 14
Audio reproduction is performed by mixing down audio corresponding to 5.1 channel into stereo audio of left and right channels.

As described above, the audio system of the present embodiment automatically determines the presence / absence of the speaker connected to the disc reproducing apparatus 1 and sets the audio output.
When viewing the sound recorded on the DVD 10, it is possible to reduce the time and effort for setting the sound output according to the connection state of the speaker. Especially, at the time of initial setting or system configuration change, simply connect the desired number of speakers,
Since the audio output setting can be automatically performed according to the connection state of the speaker, a complicated operation is not necessary and the convenience of the user can be improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, in the embodiment described above,
The energization detection unit 22 detects the energized state of the connection lines 3a to 3f by detecting the presence or absence of a current, but may detect the energized state by detecting the presence or absence of a voltage drop occurring in each connection line. it can.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the energization detecting section in the case of detecting the energization state based on the presence or absence of voltage drop.
The energization detection unit 22A illustrated in FIG. 5 includes six resistors 40 and 6
It is configured to include one voltage detection unit 42. As shown in FIG. 5, the resistor 40 is inserted on one line of the connection line 3a connected to the speaker 2a. Then, the voltage detection unit 42 detects the voltage across the resistor 40, and the detection result is output to the control unit 16. The resistance 40 and the voltage detection unit 42 detect the presence or absence of a voltage drop in the connection line 3a, that is, the energized state.

Also, regarding each of the other connection lines 3b to 3f, the presence or absence of a voltage drop is detected in the same manner as the case of the connection line 3a. Specifically, for each of the connection line 3b, the connection line 3c, the connection line 3d, the connection line 3e, and the connection line 3f, the resistor 40 is inserted on one line,
The voltage across the resistors 40 is detected by the voltage detector 42, and the detection result is output to the controller 16. The resistor 40 and the voltage detection unit 42 described above correspond to the voltage detection means.

The presence / absence of the speakers 2a-2f can be easily detected by examining the presence / absence of a voltage drop in each of the connection lines 3a-3f in this manner. The resistor 40 has an impedance (resistance value) sufficiently smaller than the load impedance of the speakers 2a to 2f so as not to affect the drive current flowing through the speakers 2a to 2f.

In addition to the example shown in FIG. 4, various modified examples of the contents of the audio output setting corresponding to the speaker connection state can be considered. For example, when three speakers 2a and 2b corresponding to the front left and right and a speaker 2f corresponding to the low frequency range are connected, audio signals mixed down into stereo sound are output to the speakers 2a and 2b respectively, and the low frequency range is output. The audio output setting may be changed so as to output the audio signal corresponding to the speaker 2f.

In the above-described embodiment, when the power of the disc reproducing apparatus 1 is turned on, the series of processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed to change the contents of the audio output setting when the connection state of the speakers 2a to 2f is changed. However, the processing of FIG. 3 may be repeated at predetermined intervals while the disc reproducing apparatus 1 is powered on. Alternatively, the control unit 16 monitors whether or not there is a change in the detection signal from the energization detection unit 22, and when there is a change in the detection signal, the processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed to change the content of the audio output setting. You may. As a result, even if the connection state of the speaker is changed while the disc reproducing apparatus 1 is powered on, the content of the audio output setting can be automatically changed in response to the change. .

In the above-described embodiment, the six speakers 2 are used.
Although the case of performing audio output using a to 2f has been described, the number of speakers is not limited to this. For example, by using 8 speakers,
In addition to 5.1-channel audio, two-channel audio corresponding to sub-audio is added, so-called 7.
The present invention can be applied to the case of performing audio output using a DVD in which audio of one channel is recorded.

In the above-described embodiment, a case where an audio system is configured by using the disc reproducing apparatus 1 for reproducing the sound recorded on the DVD as the audio apparatus and the sound output setting according to the connection state of the speaker is performed will be described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to an audio system configured by using an audio device that reproduces sound recorded on a CD (compact disc) or other various recording media.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the presence / absence of the speaker connected to the audio device is automatically determined, and the audio output setting is performed according to the determination result.
It is possible to reduce the time and effort for setting the audio output according to the connection state of the speaker.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an audio system of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of an energization detection unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the audio system when changing and setting the audio output setting during reproduction according to the connection state of the speaker.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of a speaker connection state and audio output settings corresponding thereto.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an energization detection unit in the case of detecting an energization state based on the presence or absence of a voltage drop.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Disc Playback Device 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f Speakers 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e, 3f Connection Line 10 DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) 12 Disc Reading Unit 14 Playback Processing Unit 16 Control Unit 18 Operation Parts 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d, 20e, 20f Amplifier 22, 22A Energization detection unit 30 Coil 32 Current detection unit 40 Resistor 42 Voltage detection unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An audio system in which a speaker is connected to an audio device via a connection line, and an energization detection unit that detects an energization state of the connection line; and the connection line based on a detection result by the energization detection unit. An audio system, comprising: a setting unit that determines the presence or absence of the connected speaker, and sets a voice output of the audio device based on the determination result. 2. The connection line according to claim 1, wherein the connection line is provided with a plurality of sets corresponding to the maximum installable number of the speakers, and the setting unit sets the audio output setting at the time of initial setting or when the system configuration is changed. An audio system characterized by performing. 3. The audio system according to claim 1, wherein the energization detection unit is a current detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a current flowing through the connection line. 4. The audio system according to claim 1, wherein the energization detecting unit is a voltage detecting unit that detects the presence or absence of a voltage drop that occurs in the connection line. 5. The audio system according to claim 1, wherein the audio device is a disc reproducing device for reproducing sound recorded on a digital versatile disc.