JP5549843B2 - Mixing console - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique that makes it possible to conveniently use a plurality of monitor outputs in a mixer system that processes an acoustic signal.

  Conventionally, acoustic signals from various acoustic signal sources such as microphones are input, mixing processing, effect imparting processing, volume level control processing, etc. are performed, and the processed acoustic signals are output devices such as amplifiers and speakers. There is known a mixer device that outputs to the output. In recent years, digital mixers that perform internal signal processing by digital processing have been developed. There are two types of digital mixers: a console operated by the user and a mixer engine that performs mixing processing of input signals, which are configured as separate devices and connected by a cable, and those in which these are integrated. .

  Such a digital mixer has a function of monitoring various acoustic signals in the device. For example, in the mixing console of Non-Patent Document 1 below, a plurality of output terminals to headphones and a monitor speaker are provided, and each monitor system outputs a signal of a selected monitor source. .

  FIG. 8 is an external view of an operation panel (part) of an operator related to a monitor function in a conventional mixing console. Here, an example where two monitor outputs of monitors A and B can be used will be described. Reference numeral 801 denotes five switches for selecting the monitor source of the monitor A. By turning on any one of these, it is possible to switch the signal to be monitored by the monitor A system. Reference numeral 802 denotes a volume for setting the output level of the monitor A, and reference numeral 803 denotes a switch for switching on / off the output of the monitor A. Reference numeral 804 denotes a volume for setting the output level of the headphone terminal of the monitor A. Similar operators are provided for the monitor B system. However, the switch 811 for selecting the monitor source of the monitor B is provided with a “Monitor A” button indicating that the monitor B monitors the same signal as the monitor A.

  FIG. 9 is a setting screen for selecting a signal to be output when “Define” is turned on among the monitor source selection buttons 801 and 811 in FIG. 8. Reference numeral 901 denotes a screen for selecting a signal to be a monitor source when the Define button of the monitor A is turned on. When, for example, MATRIX ch2 is selected on this screen 901, the matrix bus signal is output to the monitor when the Define button of the monitor A is turned on.

DIGITAL AUDIO MIXING SYSTEM PM1D, CONSOLE SURFACE CS1D, Operation Manual (Basic Operation) Chapter 10 Monitor (p.109-113), 2002, Yamaha Corporation

  In the monitor function in the conventional mixing console as described above, a fixed operation element as shown in FIG. 8 is provided on the operation panel, and there are two systems of monitors A and B, but they are directly used as monitor sources. The signals that can be selected are limited. Therefore, it is difficult for different operators to use each monitor system independently.

  For example, the operator of monitor A only needs to monitor Vocal, but when the operator of monitor B wants to monitor many different channels, the monitor source selection button of monitor B is limited as shown at 811 in FIG. Therefore, it is often impossible to meet the operator's request. Although it is possible to monitor various channels using the Define function, it is necessary to repeat the operation of turning on the Define button after setting on the screen of FIG. The same applies to the case where it is desired to listen and compare the MIX1 signal and the MIX2 signal on a monitor, for example.

  An object of this invention is to implement | achieve the monitor function which can switch a monitor source flexibly for every some monitor system.

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, in a mixing console having a display unit that can be input by a pointing device, the number of channel candidates to be monitored by the monitor system can be designated for each of the plurality of monitor systems. To. Then, for each of the plurality of monitors systems, may be set the correspondence relationship between each monitor source selection button and switch Yan'neru number of the designated and displays the monitor source selection button number of the specified on the display unit. When one of the monitor source selection buttons displayed on the display unit is turned on, a channel corresponding to the monitor source selection button is determined as a monitor target channel, and monitor output is performed by the monitor system of the monitor output means.

  For specifying the number of channel candidates to be monitored for each monitor system, N is the number of monitor source selection buttons that can be displayed on the display unit in the whole of the plurality of monitor systems, n is the number of monitor systems, A1, A2 such that A1 + A2 +. ,..., An may be created in advance, and one of the combinations may be selected to designate the number of candidates for each monitor system.

  In addition, a means for setting a user-defined name for a channel to be assigned to the monitor source selection button is further provided, and when the monitor source selection button is displayed on the display unit, the monitor source selection button is displayed in the vicinity of each monitor source selection button. You may want to display the user-defined name of the assigned channel. As the display unit, a pointing device such as a touch panel may be used.

  According to the present invention, for each of a plurality of monitor systems, channel candidates to be monitored by the monitor system can be determined in advance, and a channel to be monitored can be designated from among these candidates. It is possible to construct a monitor system. Since the number of candidates can be arbitrarily determined for each monitor system, a monitor system that can be expected to have a small number of channels that can be monitored has a small number of candidates, and the number of channels that can be monitored is small. A monitor system can be flexibly constructed, such as a large number of candidates in a monitor system that can be expected to be large. The operation for actually selecting the channel to be monitored is simply to turn on the monitor source selection buttons corresponding to the number of candidates displayed on the display unit, so that the monitor source selection operation is also easy. In addition, a user-defined name can be set for each channel and displayed near the monitor source selection button, so that it is possible to display at a glance which channel is the monitor source selection button, and a user-friendly monitor system is provided. Can be built.

The hardware block diagram of the mixer system to which the mixing console which is embodiment of this invention is applied External view of operation panel (part) of mixer system of embodiment The figure which shows the example of the display contents of a touch panel (LCD) Figure showing a display example of the monitor setting screen Figure showing a display example of the channel name setting screen The figure which shows the details of the monitor setting management table Flow chart of item setting process and monitor sound output process External view of monitor panel (part) in a conventional mixing console The figure which shows the example of the display of the conventional Define setting screen

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a mixer system to which a mixing console according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. A central processing unit (CPU) 101 is a processing device that controls the operation of the entire mixer system. A read only memory (ROM) 102 is a non-volatile memory that stores various programs executed by the CPU 101 and various data. A random access memory (RAM) 103 is a volatile memory used for a load area and a work area of a program executed by the CPU 101. The display unit 105 is a display (LCD) for displaying various information provided on the operation panel of the console of the mixer system. The display unit 105 is a touch panel, and can perform an operation input such as turning on / off by touching a button displayed on the screen with a finger or the like. The display interface (IF) 104 is an interface for connecting the display unit 105 to the communication bus 121. The operator 107 is various operators that are provided on the operation panel and are operated by the user. The detection IF 106 is an interface that connects the operation element 107 to the communication bus 121. The communication I / O 109 is an input / output unit for connecting to various external devices. The communication IF 108 is an interface for connecting the communication I / O 109 to the communication bus 121.

  The signal processing unit (DSP) 110 executes various micro programs based on instructions from the CPU 101 to perform mixing processing, volume level control processing, and the like of the input digital acoustic signal, and output the processed acoustic signal. . An AD unit 112, a DA unit 113, and a DD unit 114 are connected to the DSP 110 via an audio bus 122. The AD unit 112 includes a plurality of analog / digital converters that convert an analog sound signal input from a microphone or the like into a digital sound signal and output the digital sound signal to the DSP 110 via the audio bus 122. The DA unit 113 includes a plurality of digital / analog converters, converts the digital audio signal output from the DSP 110 into an analog audio signal, and outputs the analog audio signal to an audio device such as a live amplifier or a speaker. The DD unit 114 is a digital input / output device that inputs a digital signal from an external device and passes it to the DSP 110 or outputs a digital acoustic signal that is the output of the DSP 110 to an external device. The EFX 111 is a signal processing device (DSP) for performing an effect imparting process on the input digital acoustic signal.

  FIG. 2 shows a partial external view of the operation panel of the mixer system of FIG. On the operation panel, a display unit 201 (105 in FIG. 1) is provided in addition to various operators. On the right side of the display unit 201, a monitor A knob 202A and a monitor B knob 202B are provided. The knobs 202A and 202B function as volumes for adjusting the volume levels of the monitor signals assigned to the monitors A and B, respectively.

  In the mixer system of this embodiment, when a predetermined operation is performed (for example, when the knobs 202A and 202B are pushable knobs, and any of these knobs is pushed), the display unit 201 has the monitor A and A selection button for selecting a monitor source to be output by each of the B monitor systems is displayed. In each of the monitors A and B, the monitor source can be easily switched by touching this selection button. The displayed options can be arbitrarily set on a monitor setting screen (FIG. 4) described later. In particular, the number of options (monitor source selection buttons) that can be selected on the monitor A and the number of options (monitor source selection buttons) that can be selected on the monitor B can be changed.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of monitor source selection buttons for monitors A and B displayed on the display unit 201. FIG. 3A shows a display example when eight options for monitor A and eight options for monitor B are designated. Reference numeral 301 denotes a headline display indicating that the button displayed below the monitor source selection button of the monitor A. 311, 312, 313,... Are monitor source selection buttons of the monitor A. A user-defined name indicating a channel that can be selected by the button is displayed below each button. For example, “Recorder.L” below the monitor source selection button 311 indicates that the signal of Recorder.L can be monitored by the system of monitor A by turning this button 311 on. Reference numeral 302 denotes a heading indicating that the button displayed below the monitor source selection button of the monitor B. 321, 322,... Are monitor source selection buttons for the monitor B.

  The user-defined name will be described later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The user-defined name is a name arbitrarily given by a user who uses the monitor function. Therefore, by displaying a user-defined name under each monitor source selection button, it is possible to recognize at a glance which channel signal is the monitor source that can be selected by that button.

  FIG. 3B shows a display example when 6 options for monitor A and 10 options for monitor B are designated. .. Are displayed below the heading 303, and monitor source selection buttons 341, 342,... Of the monitor B are displayed below the heading 304. FIG. 3C shows a display example when four options for monitor A and 12 options for monitor B are designated. .. Are displayed below the heading 305, and monitor source selection buttons 361, 362,... For the monitor B are displayed below the heading 306.

  The user can select a signal to be monitored by the system of monitor A by touching one of the monitor source selection buttons for monitor A displayed on the touch panel as shown in FIG. The same applies to the monitor B. Since one signal can be monitored in each system, for example, when another first monitor source selection button is touched while the first monitor source selection button is selected on monitor A, the second monitor source selection button is touched. The monitoring of the signal corresponding to the first monitor source selection button is canceled, and the monitoring of the signal corresponding to the second monitor source selection button is started. It should be noted that the monitor source selection button in the selected state is displayed in such a display manner that it can be seen that it is turned on, and the monitor source selection button that is not in the selected state is displayed in such a manner that it can be seen that it is turned off. .

  FIG. 4 is an example of a monitor setting screen for displaying the monitor source selection button as described in FIG. The user can display the monitor setting screen 400 of FIG. 4 on the display unit 201 by performing a predetermined operation.

  Reference numeral 401 denotes a list box for designating how many options each of the monitors A and B are to be provided. By touching the downward triangle on the right side of the list box 401, the choices are displayed in a pull-down manner, and it is possible to specify how many buttons are to be displayed on each of the monitors A and B. In the present embodiment, when the number of options of the monitors A and B is expressed by A: B, “2:14” “4:12” “6:10” “8: 8” “10: 6” “12 : 4 "and" 14: 2 "can be selected from seven. FIG. 3 shows three display examples of “8: 8”, “6:10”, and “4:12”. In the present embodiment, a total of 16 monitor source selection buttons are displayed on the monitors A and B. This is because the display balance when the monitor source selection button is displayed on the display unit 201 is taken into consideration.

  Reference numeral 402 denotes an array of 14 list boxes for setting the monitor source selection button for the monitor A. This list box arrangement corresponds to the arrangement of the monitor source selection buttons described in FIG. For example, the list box 421 is for setting a monitor source corresponding to the button 311 in FIG. 3A (further, the button 331 in FIG. 3B and the button 351 in FIG. 3C), and is adjacent thereto. The list box 423 for setting the monitor source corresponding to the button 312 (further, the button 332 and the button 352). By touching the downward triangular part on the right side of the list box 421, options that can be set as the monitor source are displayed in a pull-down menu. By selecting one of them, the monitor source to be set to the corresponding monitor source selection button is selected. You can choose. The name displayed as an option in the list box 421 is a ch name (channel name). Reference numeral 422 denotes a display of the user-defined name of the channel selected in the list box 421. Reference numeral 424 denotes a display of the user-defined name of the channel selected in the list box 423. The channel name is a name given for use in patching or mixing settings. The user-defined name is such that an operator who directly uses the monitor function can give a name that is easy for the operator to understand. A method for assigning a user-defined name will be described later with reference to FIG.

  Here, since A: B = 10: 6 is selected in the list box 401, in the list box array 402 on the monitor A side, ten buttons can be set, and subsequent list boxes ( That is, the eleventh list box 425 and later) is displayed in gray out so that it cannot be operated.

  A list box 403 is used to set buttons on the monitor B side. Here, since A: B = 10: 6 is selected in the list box 401, it is displayed so that six buttons can be defined on the monitor B side. The list boxes corresponding to the seventh and subsequent buttons (that is, Mix 27 and later) are displayed in gray out and cannot be operated.

  On the monitor setting screen 400, the monitor source selection button on the monitor A side and the monitor source selection button on the monitor B side are set, and the OK button 411 is touched to confirm the setting. A cancel button 412 can also be used to cancel.

  FIG. 5 shows a display example of a user-defined name setting screen 500 displayed on the display unit 201 by a predetermined operation. Reference numeral 511 denotes a text box for setting a user-defined name of Mix1 (mixing bus 1). The user sets a cursor in this text box 511 and can input an arbitrary user-defined name corresponding to Mix1. Similarly, 512 is a text box for Mix2, and 513 is a text box for Mix n. User-defined names are arbitrarily entered in these text boxes, and are confirmed with an OK button 501. It is also possible to cancel with the cancel button 502.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the contents of the monitor setting management table. The monitor setting management table is a table that is provided on the RAM 103 in FIG. 1 and manages the channels corresponding to each of the 16 monitor source selection buttons in total displayed as described in FIG. No. Reference numeral 601 denotes the number of 16 buttons displayed on the display unit 201. For example, referring to the button in FIG. 3A, the button 311 No is “1” and the button 312 No is “2”. Reference numeral 602 denotes whether each No button is assigned to the monitor A or B. Ch603, ChName 604, and DefineName 605 indicate the ch, ch name, and user-defined name set for each button. For example, no. In the record 601 of “1”, the first button (311 in FIG. 3A, button 331 in FIG. 3B, button 351 in FIG. 3C) is set as the monitor source selection button for monitor A The channel name is currently assigned to Mix1, the channel name is RecOut.L, and the user-defined name is Recorder.L. The contents of the monitor setting management table are changed according to the setting on the monitor setting screen of FIG. 4 and the setting on the user-defined name setting screen of FIG.

  FIG. 7A shows a flow of item setting processing executed when the monitor setting screen 400 of FIG. 4 is displayed. In step 701, the setting of the number of buttons used in each of the monitors A and B is input from the list box 401, and the number is determined. In step 702, the list box corresponding to the unused button is grayed out. Next, in step 703, item setting by a list box corresponding to each button is accepted. If the OK button 411 is touched in step 704, the process is terminated. When setting for another button is performed, the process returns to step 703. When the cancel button 412 is touched, the item setting contents so far are canceled and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 7B shows a flow of monitor sound output processing executed when one of the monitor source selection buttons displayed as described with reference to FIG. 3 is touched. In step 711, channel information corresponding to the touched button is acquired from the monitor setting management table. As a result, the monitoring system on the A side or the B side and the monitoring target channel are determined. In step 712, the channel assignment from the monitor target channel to the monitor bus of the determined monitor system is performed on the DSP performing the acoustic signal processing. In step 713, the audio signal output to the monitor bus is output as a monitor.

In the above embodiment, as described in the list box 401 on the monitor setting screen in FIG. 4, the number of buttons that can be assigned to the monitors A and B is set to seven types. An arbitrary number of assignments may be performed on the A side and the B side. Further, as described with reference to FIG. 3, a total of 16 monitor source selection buttons are displayed on the monitors A and B. However, the total number is not limited to 16 and may be an arbitrary number.

  In the above embodiment, the example of mainly monitoring the mixing ch has been described, but naturally, any ch such as the input ch and the output ch may be monitored. In the above embodiment, the example of two systems of monitors A and B has been described. However, the present invention can be applied even when there are three or more monitor systems.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which a touch panel is used as the display unit 105 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the touch panel, and other pointing devices may be used. For example, input means such as a mouse and a touch pad used in a general-purpose personal computer may be used.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Central processing unit (CPU), 102 ... Read-only memory (ROM), 103 ... Random access memory (RAM), 104 ... Display interface (IF), 105 ... Display part, 106 ... Detection IF, 107 ... Operator, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 108 ... Communication IF, 109 ... Communication I / O, 110 ... Signal processing part (DSP), 112 ... AD unit, 113 ... DA unit, 114 ... DD unit.

Claims (4)

A mixing console having a display unit capable of input operation using a pointing device,
Monitor output means having a plurality of monitor systems;
For each of the plurality of monitor systems, means for designating the number of channel candidates to be monitored by the monitor system;
For each of the plurality of monitor systems, means for setting a correspondence between each monitor source selection button and switch Yan'neru number of said specified,
Means for displaying the designated number of monitor source selection buttons on the display unit for each of the plurality of monitor systems;
When one of the monitor source selection buttons displayed on the display section is turned on for each of the plurality of monitor systems, a channel corresponding to the monitor source selection button is determined as a monitor target channel, and the monitor output means A mixing console comprising: means for outputting a monitor according to the above. The mixing console according to claim 1.
The means for designating the number of channel candidates to be monitored for each of the monitor systems is such that the number of monitor source selection buttons that can be displayed on the display unit is N and the number of monitor systems is n. , Where A1 is the number of candidates in the first monitor system, A2 is the number of candidates in the second monitor system, and An is the number of candidates in the nth monitor system, A1 + A2 +. A plurality of such combinations of A1, A2,..., An are prepared, and one of the combinations is selected to designate the number of candidates for each monitor system. Mixing console. The mixing console according to claim 1 or 2,
Means for setting a user-defined name for the channel assigned to the monitor source selection button;
When the monitor source selection button is displayed on the display unit, a user-defined name of a channel assigned to the monitor source selection button is displayed in the vicinity of each monitor source selection button. . The mixing console according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The mixing console, wherein the display unit is a touch panel.

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