JP2006339852A - Information processor and method for selecting module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processor for processing an acoustic signal of an attached speaker in an electronic apparatus having a removable speaker, and to provide a method for selecting a module. <P>SOLUTION: When a speaker A171 is connected with a speaker interface 34, an EC/KBC 27 detects high level, and an EQ circuit A31 is connected electrically by turning a switch 301 on through a switch signal line 52. When a speaker B172 is connected with the speaker interface 34, an ID signal line 50 drops to the ground and has a low level. The EC/KBC 27 detects low level, and an EQ circuit B32 is connected electrically by turning a switch 302 on through a switch signal line 53. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus having a speaker, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus in which a speaker can be attached and detached.

  In recent years, information processing apparatuses such as notebook personal computers (hereinafter referred to as personal computers) are becoming thinner and lighter, and the housings of personal computers are becoming smaller.

  In particular, so-called AV (Audio / Visual) personal computers equipped with TV tuners have recently become widespread, and improvements in image quality and sound quality are desired, and models equipped with stereo speakers are increasing. .

  As far as sound quality is concerned, it is not uncommon for a user who feels that the speaker originally attached to the personal computer is unsatisfactory in sound quality to purchase an external external speaker and pursue the sound quality.

As a technique for responding to such requests from users, there is a technique for connecting an external speaker unit (Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-150286 A

  Most conventional notebook PCs have a structure in which stereo speakers that are installed in the purchased state cannot be attached or detached, and users can only purchase optional speakers with good sound quality and install them on the PC. It cannot be replaced with existing speakers.

  For example, as described in Patent Document 1, a personal computer is originally mounted with a speaker and an external speaker is connected. This means that even if the laptop is focused on portability, it is necessary to carry external speakers with it, which may kill portability, which is an advantage of notebook computers.

  Also, with regard to a circuit that outputs an acoustic signal to a speaker built in a personal computer, an equalizer (hereinafter referred to as EQ) is used to output an acoustic signal that matches the characteristics (output and frequency characteristics) of the speaker that is originally mounted. Since a circuit may be prepared, there is a possibility that even if an external speaker is attached, the characteristics of the attached speaker cannot be utilized.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus and a module selection method capable of controlling an output corresponding to a speaker mounted in an information processing apparatus having a speaker.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, a main body, a speaker detachably connected to the main body, and a first equalizer circuit that is provided in the main body and performs signal processing of an acoustic signal output to the speaker. And a second equalizer circuit that is provided in the main body and performs signal processing of an acoustic signal output to the speaker, and a switching circuit that electrically connects the first equalizer circuit and the speaker in response to detection of attachment of the speaker, It is characterized by comprising.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of controlling output according to a speaker mounted.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a main body, a speaker storage section provided in the main body, a speaker that can be detachably stored in the speaker storage section, and a detection section that detects that the speaker is connected to the storage section. And a switching unit electrically connected so that an output signal of the first equalizer circuit is output to the speaker among at least two equalizer circuits provided in the main body when the detection unit detects the connection of the speaker. It is characterized by comprising.

  With such a configuration, an information processing apparatus capable of controlling output according to a mounted speaker.

  In the invention according to claim 7, in the module selection method of the information processing apparatus having a main body to which the speaker can be attached and detached, a first equalizer circuit that outputs an acoustic signal to the speaker, and a second equalizer circuit, It is detected that the speaker is connected to the main body, and when the speaker is connected, the speaker and the first equalizer circuit are electrically connected.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to provide a module selection method capable of controlling the output according to the mounted speaker.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and a module selection method capable of controlling an output corresponding to a mounted speaker in an information processing apparatus having a detachable speaker.

  A first embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 10 is a general notebook type personal computer. Here, a notebook type personal computer that can be driven by a battery will be described as an example. Hereinafter, the information processing apparatus 10 will be referred to as a personal computer 10 and will be described.

  A keyboard 14 for inputting information from a user is disposed on the top surface of the main body 13 of the personal computer 10, and a display unit 15 is rotatably connected to the rear end of the main body 13. The display unit 15 is provided with an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 16 which is a device for displaying data. The display unit 15 is rotatable between a closed position that covers the keyboard 14 and an open position where the keyboard 14 can be used.

  A speaker 17 is provided on the side surface of the main body 13. The speaker 17 is also provided on the opposite side of the main body 13 and is an external interface that outputs sound processed by the personal computer 10.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a hardware configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in the figure, the personal computer 10 includes a CPU 21, a graphic memory controller hub 22, a main memory (main storage device) 23, a graphic controller 24, an I / O hub 25, a hard disk drive (HDD) 26, an embedded controller. A keyboard controller (hereinafter referred to as EC / KBC) 27, a BIOS-ROM 28, a keyboard 14 and the like are provided.

  The CPU 21 is a device that controls the operation of the personal computer 10 as a whole and refers to the contents stored in the main memory 23 and executes data processing and the like based thereon. Although not shown, the CPU 21 is operated by a clock supplied from a clock generator to the outside, and a supply clock from the clock generator can be supplied intermittently.

  The main memory 23 stores an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS), an execution application, and the like, and reads / writes data according to instructions from the CPU 21.

  The graphic controller 24 is connected to the VRAM 241. Under the control of the OS executed by the CPU 21, the display drive control of the LCD 16 provided in the display unit 15 is performed, and the display is connected through connection interfaces of various external displays such as a CRT terminal, a DVI terminal, a TV terminal (not shown). Display drive control of the external display device.

  The VRAM 241 is a memory device controlled by the graphic controller 24 and temporarily stores display data displayed on the LCD 16. The graphic controller 24 writes / reads video data transmitted from the graphic / memory controller hub 22.

  The I / O hub 25 is a bridge circuit that performs data conversion between a device on an LPC (Low Pin Count) bus connected to the I / O hub 25 and the graphic / memory controller hub 22. / O controller is built-in.

  The HDD 26 is a non-volatile storage device that stores data, and can hold data even when the personal computer 10 is powered off. The HDD 26 stores content data such as an OS, various applications, drivers, utility software, music, and video. These data are appropriately read by the CPU 21 to the main memory 23, and the read data is Further processing is performed by the CPU 21.

  The EC / KBC 27 includes a plurality of registers 271 that can be read / written by the CPU 21. By using the register 271, communication between the CPU 21 and a device connected to the EC / KBC 27 is possible. The register 271 stores speaker 17 connection information and the like. This point will be described later. Also, a keyboard controller function is built in, and a signal input from the keyboard 14 connected to the EC / KBC 27 is processed and notified to a higher-level device (CPU 21 or the like).

  The BIOS-ROM 28 is a program that systematizes a function execution routine for accessing various hardware in the personal computer, and is configured by a flash ROM so that the program can be rewritten. Various types of hardware are initialized when the personal computer 10 is started, and some programs stored in the BIOS-ROM 28 are copied to the main memory 23 when the personal computer 10 is started. .

  An audio codec IC 29 is connected to the I / O hub 25, and a switch circuit (switching unit) 30 is further connected to the audio codec IC 29. The switch circuit 30 switches between two equalizer circuits (hereinafter referred to as EQ circuit), the EQ circuit A31, and the EQ circuit B32 connected to the switch bottleneck 30. The switch circuit 30 is electrically connected to the speaker 17. After the frequency of the acoustic signal is adjusted to a predetermined frequency characteristic by the connected EQ circuit, the signal is amplified by the speaker amplifier IC 33 and a sound is emitted from the speaker 17 via the speaker interface 34.

  The audio codec IC 29 decodes the encoded acoustic information sent from the I / O hub 25 and outputs it as a digital audio signal.

  The switch circuit 30 is a circuit that switches the electrical connection of the EQ circuit to be used to the EQ circuit A31 or the EQ circuit B32 in accordance with the type of the speaker connected to the speaker interface 34.

  The EQ circuit generally adjusts the gain of a predetermined frequency of the input acoustic signal. In this embodiment, the EQ circuit A31 adjusts the signal in the frequency band of 200 Hz to 20000 Hz. The EQ circuit B32 adjusts a signal having a frequency band of 400 Hz to 20000 Hz.

  The speaker amplifier IC 33 increases or decreases the overall gain of the acoustic signal whose frequency is adjusted by the EQ circuit A 31 or the EQ circuit B 32, and outputs it to the speaker interface 34.

  The speaker interface 34 is an interface that is detachably connected to the speaker 17 and transmits an electrical signal to the connected speaker. The speaker 17 connected to this outputs an acoustic signal from the speaker.

  Next, FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the main body around the speaker.

  In the present embodiment, a rectangular speaker storage portion 35 is provided on the side surface of the main body 13. The main body 13 is provided with a recess according to the outer shape of the speaker 17 so that the speaker 17 can be accommodated inside the main body 13.

  A speaker interface 34 is provided on the wall surface 36 of the speaker storage portion 35 parallel to the side surface of the main body 13, and at the same time, the speaker interface 34 is electrically connected to the substrate 37.

  The speaker 17 is provided with a speaker-side interface 38. When the speaker 17 is stored in the speaker storage unit 35, the speaker 17 is electrically connected to the speaker interface 34, and an acoustic signal is transmitted to the speaker 17 to the speaker 17. .

  An eject switch 39 is provided on the side surface of the main body 13 and is used when the speaker 17 is taken out when the speaker 17 is stored in the speaker storage portion 35.

  In the present embodiment, the eject switch 29 is configured to be slidable in the vertical direction with respect to the side surface of the main body 13, and the speaker 17 is taken out by being pushed in the vertical direction with respect to the side surface.

  With the configuration described above, the speaker 17 and the main body 13 are connected.

  Next, FIGS. 4 and 5 show examples of reproduction frequency characteristics of two types of speakers.

  FIG. 4 shows a reproduction frequency characteristic diagram of the speaker A, and FIG. 5 shows a reproduction frequency characteristic diagram of the speaker B.

  4 and 5, the horizontal axis represents frequency, and the vertical axis represents gain.

  The speaker A is a speaker having a reproduction frequency characteristic in a band of 220 to 20000 Hz, and the speaker B is a speaker having a reproduction frequency characteristic in a band of 480 to 20000 Hz.

  An EQ circuit suitable for these speakers is provided in the personal computer 10. In the present embodiment, an EQ circuit A31 is provided as an EQ circuit corresponding to the speaker A, and an EQ circuit 32 is provided as an EQ circuit corresponding to the speaker B. Depending on whether the speaker A or the speaker B is mounted. Thus, the EQ circuit A31 or the EQ circuit B32 is switched.

  The speaker A and the speaker B have the same outer dimensions and the like (the outer dimensions and the position of the speaker interface) so that they can be stored in the speaker storage unit 35 of the main body 13.

  Next, EQ circuit switching control accompanying the attachment / detachment of the speaker 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the Z area indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the EQ circuit switching. FIG. 7 shows a control flowchart of EC / KBC.

  As shown in the figure, the speaker interface 34 includes a + terminal 341, a − (minus) terminal 342, an ID terminal 343, and a GND (ground) terminal 344.

  The + terminal 341 and the − terminal 342 are connected to the speaker amplifier IC, and a signal output from the speaker amplifier 33 is input. This signal is propagated to the corresponding + terminal and − terminal of the speaker side interface of the speaker connected to the speaker interface 34.

  The ID terminal 343 is connected to the EC / KBC 27. In this case, a high-level or low-level signal is input to the EC / KBC 27 via the line 50 according to the connected speaker.

  The GND terminal 344 is a terminal connected to the ground.

  The ID terminal 343 is connected to the EC / KBC 27 via the ID signal line 50. The ID signal line 50 is connected to a power supply via a pull-up resistor 51. The normal ID signal line 50 is fixed at a high level, and the EC / KBC 27 detects a high level signal.

  The speaker side interface 391 of the speaker A 171 includes a + terminal 393 and a − terminal 394. On the other hand, the speaker side interface 392 of the speaker B 172 includes a ground (GND) terminal 395, an ID terminal 396, a − terminal 397, and a + terminal 398.

  Further, the speaker B 172 is internally connected with a GND terminal 395 and an ID terminal 173.

  The EC / KBC 27 has switch switching signal lines 52 and 53 connected to the switch circuit 30, and outputs an ON signal to either the switch 301 or the switch 302 according to the input of the ID signal line 50. For example, a transistor or the like is used for the switches 301 and 302. The EC / KBC 27 can be connected to the ID signal line 50 and the switch switching signal lines 52 and 53 by using a general-purpose pin called a general purpose I / O pin (GPIO) of the normal EC / KBC 27.

  Here, the EQ circuit A31 is an EQ circuit that matches the characteristics of the speaker A171, and the EQ circuit B32 is an EQ circuit that matches the characteristics of the speaker B172.

  Next, the switching process when the speaker A171 or the speaker B172 is connected will be described.

  First, when the speaker A 171 is connected to the speaker interface 34, the + terminal 341 of the speaker interface 34 and the + terminal 393 of the speaker A 171 are electrically connected, and the − terminal 342 and the − terminal 394 of the speaker A are electrically connected. Connected. However, since the ID terminal 343 and the GND terminal 341 are not electrically connected, the ID signal line 50 remains fixed at the high level, and the EC / KBC 27 detects the high level (YES in step S101).

  When detecting a high level, the EC / KBC 27 turns on the switch 301 via the switch signal line 52 in order to turn on the switch 301 (step S102).

  The switch 301 is turned on, and the audio codec IC 29 and the EQ circuit A31 are electrically connected. When an acoustic signal is output, the acoustic signal from the audio codec IC 29 is input to the EQ circuit A31, and processing such as frequency correction is performed in the EQ circuit A31. After the output of the EQ circuit A31 is amplified by the speaker amplifier IC33, an electrical signal is transmitted to the speaker A171 via the + terminals (341, 393) and the-terminal (342, 394), and an acoustic signal is output from the speaker A. The

  On the other hand, when the speaker B 172 is connected to the speaker interface 34, the GND pin 344, the ID pin 343, the − terminal 342, and the + terminal 341 of the speaker interface 34 are the ground (GND) pin 395 and ID pin of the speaker side interface 392, respectively. 396, −terminal 397 and + terminal 398.

  At this time, the GND pin 395 and the ID pin 394 in the speaker B 172 are connected 173, and the ID signal line 50 falls to the ground due to the connection between the speaker interface 34 and the speaker side interface 392, and the low level. It becomes.

  Accordingly, the EC / KBC 27 detects a low level (NO in step S101), and turns on the switch 302 via the switch signal line 53 (step S103). When the acoustic signal is output, the acoustic signal from the audio codec IC 29 is input to the EQ circuit B32, and processing such as frequency correction is performed in the EQ circuit B32. After the output of the EQ circuit B32 is amplified by the speaker amplifier IC33, an electrical signal is transmitted to the speaker B172 via the + terminals (341, 398) and the-terminal (342, 397), and an acoustic signal is output from the speaker B172. The

  In the present embodiment, an example in which one ID pin is provided and two types of speakers are switched has been described, but more types of speakers can be identified by increasing the number of ID pins. By providing n ID pins, 2n speakers can be identified.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to switch the EQ circuit according to the connected speaker, and it is possible to provide an information processing apparatus capable of controlling the output according to the attached speaker.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the user who purchased the information processing apparatus replaces the speaker has been described. However, in addition to this, when assembling the product, the board design is the same and the speaker to be attached for each model is used. It is applicable also to the aspect of changing.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

1 is a perspective view of an information processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. The hardware block diagram of the information processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The main body enlarged view around a speaker. The reproduction frequency characteristic figure of the speaker A. The reproduction frequency characteristic figure of the speaker B. FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed view of a Z area in FIG. 2. The control flowchart of EC / KBC.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Information processing device (PC)
13 ... Main body 17 ... Speaker 21 ... CPU
27 ... EC / KBC
29 ... Audio codec IC
30 ... Switch 31 ... Equalizer circuit A
32 ... Equalizer circuit B
33 ... Speaker amplifier IC
34 ... Speaker interface 35 ... Speaker housing 37 ... Substrate 38, 391, 392 ... Speaker side interface 39 ... Eject switch 50 ... ID signal line 51 ... Pull-up resistor 52 53 ... Switch switching signal line 171 ... Speaker A
172 ... Speaker B
173 ... Connections 301, 302 ... Switches 341, 393, 398 ... + terminals 342, 394,397 ...- terminals 343,396 ... ID terminals 344,395 ... ground terminals

Claims (8)

A main body and a speaker detachably connected to the main body;
A first equalizer circuit provided in the main body for performing signal processing of an acoustic signal output to the speaker;
A second equalizer circuit provided in the main body for performing signal processing of an acoustic signal output to the speaker;
A switching circuit for electrically connecting the first equalizer circuit and the speaker in response to detection of attachment of the speaker;
An information processing apparatus comprising: The main body further has a second speaker detachable from the main body,
2. The switch circuit according to claim 1, wherein the switch circuit electrically connects the second equalizer circuit and the second speaker when detecting that the second speaker is connected. 3. Information processing device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the speaker and the second speaker have the same outer dimensions. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the main body includes a storage unit that can store either the speaker or the second speaker within an outer dimension of the main body. The body,
A speaker housing provided in the main body;
A speaker that can be detachably stored in the speaker storage section;
A detection unit for detecting that the speaker is connected to the storage unit;
When the detection unit detects the connection of the speaker, among the at least two equalizer circuits provided in the main body, switching to electrically connect so that the output signal of the first equalizer circuit is output to the speaker And
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus further includes a second speaker that can be stored in the speaker storage unit,
When the detection unit detects the connection of the second speaker, the switching unit is electrically connected so that an output signal of the second equalizer circuit is output to the second speaker. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5. In a module selection method of an information processing apparatus having a main body to which a speaker is detachable, a first equalizer circuit that outputs an acoustic signal to the speaker, and a second equalizer circuit,
Detecting that the speaker is connected to the main body,
A module selection method comprising: electrically connecting the speaker and the first equalizer circuit when the speaker is connected. A second speaker is detachable from the main body,
Detecting that the second speaker is connected to the main body,
The module selection method according to claim 7, wherein when the second speaker is connected, the second speaker and the second equalizer circuit are electrically installed.

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