JP5729504B2 - Speaker device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a speaker device for connecting a portable audio player.

  Portable audio players are widely used. A portable audio player is a player used by a user to listen to music while walking or on a train, and is an audio player dedicated to an earphone that reproduces music stored in a built-in hard disk or flash memory and outputs it to the earphone. .

  However, in scenes where there is no need to listen to music with earphones, such as in a room, there is a need to listen to music reproduced by a portable audio player through a speaker. For this reason, a speaker device that connects a portable audio player wirelessly, amplifies music reproduced by the portable audio player, and emits sound from the speaker has been put into practical use.

JP-A-6-162746

  As described above, the main application of the portable audio player is a device that is carried by a user and plays music with an earphone, and the speaker device is only used with a portable audio player connected from time to time. For this reason, since it is inefficient to use the speaker device dedicated to the portable audio player, an audio input terminal (AUX terminal) is further provided in addition to the connection portion (dock) for connecting the portable audio player, and other devices are provided. It is conceivable that the audio signal reproduced by can be emitted from the speaker.

  For example, it is conceivable to connect a notebook computer and use it as an external speaker of the notebook computer. As a result, the sound of the notebook computer can be emitted from the high-quality speaker of the speaker device instead of the cheap speaker built in the notebook computer.

  In this way, when the speaker device is a device that can also emit sound from a device other than the portable audio player that is sometimes connected, it matches the sound output by the other device while the portable audio player is not connected. When the volume of the speaker device is adjusted and a portable audio player is connected, the music is emitted at an unexpectedly high volume, or played with a sound that is so small that it cannot be heard.

  Even when the volume is changed in accordance with the sound of another device, the present invention is suitable for a music played by a portable audio player when the portable audio player, which is a high priority device, is connected wirelessly. An object of the present invention is to provide a speaker device capable of resetting the volume value.

  As an apparatus that precedes in this field, as shown in Patent Document 1, adjustment values of functions (volume, sound quality, balance, etc.) are stored for each input source, and stored according to the selected source. Some functions are read and set.

  The present invention relates to a communication unit that communicates with an audio playback device to receive an audio signal, a volume adjustment unit that adjusts the volume of an audio output, a volume adjustment operator that accepts a user volume value adjustment operation, and communication by the communication unit And a control unit for controlling a volume value set in the volume adjustment unit in accordance with an operation of the volume adjustment operator, and a volume value storage unit for storing the volume value set in the volume adjustment unit Device. When the communication state with the audio playback device is released, the control unit stores the volume value set in the volume adjustment unit in the volume value storage unit. Further, when the control unit starts communication with the audio playback device in a predetermined procedure, the control unit compares the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time with the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, and When the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is larger than the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit before the reception of the audio signal is started. When the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time is smaller than the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is stored after the audio signal reception is started. To the volume value stored in the section.

  In the above invention, the audio playback device can be attached to and detached from a player container having a built-in communication circuit, and communicates with the communication unit via the communication circuit of the player container when the audio playback device is connected to the player container. You may do it.

  In the above invention, when the control unit lowers the volume value of the volume adjustment unit to the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit is immediately stored in the volume value storage unit. When the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is increased to the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is gradually directed toward the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit. May be raised.

  In the above invention, when the control unit starts communication with the audio playback device and the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time is smaller than the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the control unit A process of setting the volume value stored in the value storage unit in the volume adjustment unit is not performed.

  According to the present invention, even when the volume value is changed in accordance with another audio source while not communicating with the audio reproducing device, the communication is performed immediately before the communication with the audio reproducing device is started. Therefore, the music can be prevented from being played at an unexpectedly high volume or low volume.

The block diagram of the speaker apparatus which is embodiment of this invention The figure which shows the establishment procedure of the communication state of the speaker apparatus and portable audio player The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part of the speaker apparatus The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control part of the speaker apparatus The figure explaining the control aspect of the electronic volume circuit by a control part

  A speaker device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the speaker device.

  The speaker device 1 includes an amplifier 12 that amplifies an input audio signal, and a control unit (microcomputer) 10 that controls the operation of the speaker device 1 such as controlling the gain (volume, volume) of the amplifier. A communication unit 13 and an audio input terminal (AUX terminal) 14 are connected to the amplifier 12. In addition, a volume value storage unit 11 is connected (or built in) to the control unit 10 and a volume adjustment button 15 is connected. A speaker 16 is connected to the amplifier 12. The audio input terminal 14 is connected to another audio playback device (notebook personal computer in this embodiment) 3.

  The speaker device 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing. Speakers 16 are provided on the left and right of the front panel of the housing, respectively, and a volume adjustment button 15 is provided at the center of the front panel. An audio input terminal 14 is provided on the rear panel of the housing.

  The communication unit 13 communicates with the portable player dock 4 using 2.4 GHz band radio waves. The portable player dock 4 has a connector portion 40. A connection terminal 2 </ b> A provided on the bottom surface of the portable audio player 2 is directly inserted into the connector portion 40. The portable player dock 4 transmits and receives data and commands to and from the portable audio player 2 via the connector unit 40 and the connection terminal 2A. The portable player dock 4 has a function of transmitting an audio signal reproduced by the portable audio player 2 using a 2.4 GHz band radio wave and a charging function of charging the portable audio player 2. The operation of the portable player dock 4 is controlled by the portable audio player 2.

  An audio signal is input to the amplifier 12 from a communication unit 13 and an audio input terminal (AUX terminal) 14. The amplifier 12 amplifies the audio signal reproduced by the portable audio player 2, that is, the audio signal received from the portable audio player 2 by the communication unit 13 via the portable player dock 4, and outputs the amplified signal to the speaker 16. 14 amplifies the audio signal reproduced by the audio reproducing device 3 connected to the output device 14 and outputs it to the speaker 16.

  When the speaker device 1 is in communication with the portable audio player 2 and the audio reproducing device 3 is connected, the audio signal reproduced by both devices is mixed and output to the speaker 16. When the other audio playback device 3 is a notebook computer, the audio signal such as an alert sound generated by the notebook computer and the audio signal of the music played by the portable audio player 2 hardly conflict with each other. Because.

  In this case, all the audio signals may be added and combined at 100%, and the audio signals may be combined at 50% (voltage ratio) so that the total volume is 100%. Also good. The synthesis ratio is not limited to 50%.

  The control unit 10 monitors the communication state of the communication unit 13 so that the portable audio player 2 is connected to the portable player dock 4, that is, the portable audio player 2 communicates with the speaker device 1 via the portable player dock 4. Detect if it is in a state. Further, the control unit 10 monitors the impedance of the audio input terminal 14 to detect whether or not the audio playback device 3 is connected to the audio input terminal 14.

  The amplifier 12 has an electronic volume circuit 12A. The electronic volume circuit 12A is controlled by the control unit 10. When the volume adjustment button 15 is operated by the user, the control unit 10 controls the volume value of the electronic volume circuit 12A up and down according to the operation. As a result, the gain (volume) of the audio signal output from the amplifier 12 is controlled up and down.

  When the portable audio player 2 is detached from the portable player dock 4 and the communication state with the communication unit 13 is released, the volume setting value at that time is stored in the volume value storage unit 11 as the storage value M. When the portable audio player 2 is again connected to the portable player dock 4 and communication with the communication unit 13 is started, the volume value (volume storage value M) stored in the volume value storage unit 11 is read out and electronically stored. The volume circuit 12A is set. As described above, the portable audio player 2 communicating with the communication unit 13 is treated as an audio device having priority over the audio playback device 3 connected to the audio input terminal 14. Thereby, no matter what volume control is performed while communication with the portable audio player 2 is not performed, the portable audio player 2 is connected to the portable player dock 4 and starts communicating with the communication unit 13. The music of the portable audio player 2 can be reproduced with the volume value at the time of connection immediately before, and sudden loud and small sounds can be prevented.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, a procedure for establishing a communication state between the speaker device 1 and the portable audio player 2 (portable player dock 4) will be described. The communication unit 13 of the speaker device 1 and the portable player dock 4 communicate using one channel among a plurality of transmission channels. The communication unit 13 and the portable player dock 4 execute a search operation for searching for a partner device while moving through the channel. By this search operation, a physical level link is established between the communication unit 13 and the portable player dock 4 (S101).

  When the physical level link is established, the speaker device 1 and the portable audio player 2 establish an application level link (S102). Application level link establishment is performed in the following procedure. First, identification information such as device IDs is mutually exchanged, and link establishment processing such as confirming that the other device can exchange audio packets is started (S110). Then, transmission of the audio packet is started from the portable audio player 2 (S111). It is confirmed that audio packets are normally transmitted and received without packet loss exceeding a predetermined rate, and application level link establishment is completed (S112). Through the above processing, an application level link is established, and thereafter, an audio transmission process (S103) is executed. The audio transmission process (S103) is a process (S120) in which an audio signal of music is transmitted from the portable audio player 2 to the speaker device 1 as an audio packet. Note that audio packet transmission / reception is started in step S111, and from this time, the audio signal of the portable audio player 2 is emitted from the speaker 16 of the speaker device 1.

  3 and 4 are flowcharts showing the operation of the control unit 10 of the speaker device 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a control mode of the electronic volume circuit 12A by the control unit 10.

  FIG. 3A is a flowchart showing an operation when the communication state with the portable audio player 2 is released. The control unit 10 executes this process when detecting that the application level link with the portable audio player 2 has been released. The control unit 10 stores the volume value set in the electronic volume circuit 12A of the amplifier 12 at that time in the volume value storage unit 11 (S11). Then, it is determined whether or not the audio playback device 3 is connected to the audio input terminal 14 (S12). If the audio playback device 3 is connected (YES in S12), the operation is terminated as it is (while the power is on). If the audio playback device 3 is not connected (NO in S12), it is not necessary to operate the amplifier 12, so the power of the amplifier 12 is turned off (S13), and the operation ends.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when communication with the portable audio player 2 is started. The control unit 10 executes this process when it detects that the application level link establishment process with the portable audio player 2 is started. First, it is determined whether the power of the amplifier 12 is on (S21). This is because the amplifier 12 is powered off when neither the portable audio player 2 nor the audio playback device 3 is connected. If the power is off (NO in S21), the power of the amplifier 12 is turned on (S22), and the process proceeds to S23. If the amplifier 12 is powered on (YES in S21), the process proceeds directly to S23.

  In S23, the volume value (volume storage value M) stored in the volume value storage unit 11 is read. At the same time, the volume value (volume setting value N) currently set in the electronic volume circuit 12A is read (S24). Then, the volume storage value M and the volume setting value N are compared (S25).

  If both values are the same as a result of the comparison, the operation is terminated without doing anything. If the volume setting value N is greater than the volume storage value M as a result of the comparison, the volume value of the electronic volume circuit 12A is immediately lowered from the volume setting value N to the volume storage value M (S26: FIG. 5 (A)). That is, in the communication state establishment procedure of FIG. 2, when the process shifts to the application level link establishment process (S102) and the link establishment process (S110) is started, the volume value is set without waiting for the start of audio packet transmission. Lower. This is to prevent the music of the portable audio player 2 from sounding at an unexpectedly large volume in advance.

  If the volume setting value N is smaller than the volume storage value M as a result of the comparison, if the difference is within a certain control range (for example, within −10 dB) (YES in S27), the mobile phone Waiting for the establishment of an application level link with the audio player 2 (S28), the volume value of the electronic volume circuit 12A is gradually increased from the volume setting value N to the volume storage value M (S29: FIG. 5B). reference). That is, in the communication state establishment procedure of FIG. 2, the process waits for the process to complete S112 (S102) and shift to S120 (S103), and then starts increasing the volume value. The reason why the volume value (volume) is gradually increased is to prevent the user from being surprised when the volume suddenly increases.

  On the other hand, if the volume setting value N is smaller than the volume storage value M but the difference is outside the control range (NO in S27), the operation is terminated without changing the volume value (see FIG. 5C). This is because when the current volume value is extremely small, there may be a special reason such that the sound cannot be increased, so it is better not to increase the volume without user operation. Even in this case, the volume value of the electronic volume circuit 12A may be increased from the volume setting value N to the volume storage value M by a specific user operation. The specific user operation is, for example, pressing the + button and the − button of the volume adjustment button 15 at the same time.

  FIG. 3B is a flowchart showing an operation when the volume adjustment button 15 is operated. This operation is executed when the operation of the volume adjustment button 15 is detected. In this flowchart, the volume value of the electronic volume circuit 12A is increased from the volume setting value N to the volume storage value M when it is detected that the + button and the − button of the volume adjustment button 15 are simultaneously pressed.

  First, it is determined whether or not fading is in progress (S14). Here, the fade is a process of gradually increasing the volume of S29. If not fading (NO in S14), the process proceeds to S16. If it is during fading, that is, while the volume is being gradually increased (YES in S14), the fading is stopped (S15) and the process proceeds to S16. In S16, it is determined whether or not the current operation is simultaneous pressing of the + button and the-button (S16). If not simultaneously pressed (NO in S16), the volume value of the electronic volume circuit 12A is set to be higher or lower in accordance with the operation of the + button or the-button (S17). On the other hand, if the + button and the − button are pressed simultaneously (YES in S16), the volume value (volume storage value M) is read from the volume value storage unit 11 (S18), and this value is set in the electronic volume circuit 12A. (S19). Thereby, whatever the volume value at that time can be restored to the volume value when the portable audio player 2 is connected (when the previous connection is released).

  In the present embodiment, the (other) audio playback device 3 connected to the audio input terminal 14 is not limited to a notebook computer. In addition, the speaker device 1 according to the present embodiment includes an audio input terminal 14 so that the audio playback device 3 can be connected, and audio signals other than the music played by the portable audio player 2 can be input from the outside. Alternatively, only the communication unit 13 may be used as the audio signal input unit from the other and other audio signals may be reproduced by a built-in circuit (for example, FM tuner).

  In the above embodiment, the determination as to whether or not the audio playback device 3 is connected to the audio input terminal 14 is performed based on the resistance value (impedance) between the terminals. Good. If it is determined by the resistance value, if the audio playback device 3 is connected, it can be determined that it is connected even if its power is off. If it is determined by the voltage between terminals, it is connected. It can be determined that the connection is established only when the power of the device is turned on.

  Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of audio signals are mixed, but a selector that selectively selects any one of the audio signals is provided, and when the playback device is connected to the priority audio input unit, The selection of the audio signal may be switched to the playback device and the volume value may be controlled.

  When communication with the portable audio player 2 is started, it is not necessary to restore only the volume value to the previous setting. For example, the setting contents of the equalizer may be restored to the previous setting contents.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Speaker apparatus 2 Portable audio player 2A Connection terminal 3 (Other) audio reproduction apparatus 4 Portable player dock 10 Control part 11 Volume value memory | storage part 12 (Audio) amplifier 12A Electronic volume circuit 13 Communication part 14 Audio input terminal (AUX terminal)
15 Volume adjustment button 16 Speaker 40 Connector

Claims (4)

A communication unit that communicates with an audio playback device and receives an audio signal;
A volume adjustment unit for adjusting the volume of the audio output;
A volume control operator for accepting a user volume value adjustment operation;
A control unit that controls communication by the communication unit and controls a volume value set in the volume adjustment unit in accordance with an operation of the volume adjustment operator;
A speaker device comprising:
A volume value storage unit for storing a volume value set in the volume adjustment unit;
The control unit stores the volume value set in the volume adjustment unit in the volume value storage unit when the communication state with the audio playback device is released,
Furthermore, when the control unit starts communication with the audio playback device in a predetermined procedure, the control unit compares the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time with the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit,
If the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time is larger than the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is stored in the volume value before starting reception of the audio signal. To the volume value stored in the
When the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time is smaller than the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is changed to the volume value storage unit after starting reception of the audio signal. A speaker device that raises the volume value stored in the speaker.   2. The audio playback device is detachably connected to a player container having a built-in communication circuit, and communicates with the communication unit via the communication circuit of the player container when connected to the player container. The speaker device according to 1. The controller is
When the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is lowered to the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is immediately lowered to the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit,
When increasing the volume value of the volume adjustment unit to the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit, the volume value of the volume adjustment unit is gradually increased toward the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit The speaker device according to claim 1 or 2.   When the control unit starts communication with the audio playback device and the volume value of the volume adjustment unit at that time is smaller than the volume value stored in the volume value storage unit by a predetermined value or more, the volume value The speaker device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a process of setting a volume value stored in a storage unit to the volume adjustment unit is not performed.

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