JPH0637563A - Automatic sound volume adjusting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an automatic sound volume adjusting device capable of eliminating sound volume adjustment at every channel selection, or in the broadcast of CM, or every exchange of a CD, and being comprised inexpensively by automatically adjusting a sound volume level based on the one set by a user when the sound volume levels of audio signals inputted to an acoustic device and a receiver are different from each other. CONSTITUTION:The sound volume level of an audio output signal So outputted from a sound volume adjusting circuit 2 is detected by a sound volume detection circuit 3 at need, and it is compared with a preset sound volume level stored in a sound volume level memory circuit 4 by a sound volume level comparator 5. When difference between both sound volume levels exists, a differential sound volume level is adjusted by the sound volume adjusting circuit 2. In other words, the sound volume adjustment so as to increase the sound volume level of an audio input signal Si by the differential sound volume level is performed when a preset sound volume level set at a user side exceeds the sound volume level. As a result, the signal So with sound volume level set in advance is outputted from the sound volume adjusting circuit 2 in spite of the size of the audio input signal Si.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic volume adjusting device for automatically adjusting the volume level of an input audio signal based on a preset volume level.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In current television broadcasts and radio broadcasts, the volume level of an audio signal varies from broadcast station to broadcast station. Then, the user who receives this obtains an appropriate volume by adjusting the volume with a receiving device such as a television or a radio. Further, there is a difference in volume level between music tapes and CDs, and the user obtains an appropriate volume by adjusting the volume with the audio device.

[0003]

However, as described above, in TV broadcasting and radio broadcasting, the volume level of the audio signal is different for each broadcasting station. Therefore, on the user side, the channel currently selected is selected. Even if the volume is optimally set, when the channel of another station is selected, the volume of the receiving device such as the television or radio must be adjusted again, and the volume must be adjusted for each channel. It was annoying. Even in the same station, the volume levels of day and night may be different, or the volume may change abruptly during CM (commercial). Especially at midnight, the volume must be adjusted for each CM. There is

Further, since there is a difference in volume level between music tapes and CDs, the user side
It was necessary to adjust the volume every time the music tape or CD was replaced. Furthermore, as described above, when there is a difference in the setting of the volume level for each broadcasting station, the volume setting level of the user can be stored for each broadcasting station by a microcomputer or the like to obtain the volume desired by the user. Although it is possible to do so, when the number of stations such as CATV broadcasting in the United States increases, the memory capacity increases, the cost increases and there is a problem that it can not realistically cope with it. There is an inconvenience that cannot be dealt with when the volume level is different.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the volume level of the audio signal input to the audio device or the receiving device is different, the volume level is automatically adjusted based on the volume level set by the user, so that each channel selection or CM time is performed. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic volume adjusting device which can be achieved at low cost by eliminating the trouble of adjusting the volume every time the CD is replaced.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a volume adjusting section for adjusting the volume level of an audio signal, a volume level detecting section for detecting the volume level of the audio signal, and a set volume level. A volume level storage section for storing
By comparing the set volume level stored in the volume level storage unit with the detected volume level detected by the volume level detection unit, and controlling the volume adjustment unit based on the comparison result, the volume of the audio signal is increased. And a volume level comparison unit for adjusting the level.

Further, the present invention is an automatic volume adjusting device for an audio device, comprising a volume adjusting section for adjusting the volume level of a voice signal, a volume level detecting section for detecting the volume level of the voice signal, and a set volume level. And a set volume level stored in the volume level storage section and a detected volume level detected by the volume level detection section are compared, and the volume adjustment section is controlled based on the comparison result. And a volume level comparison unit for adjusting the volume level of the audio signal by controlling. Furthermore, the present invention is an automatic volume control device for a receiver,
A volume adjusting section for adjusting the volume level of the audio signal, a volume level detecting section for detecting the volume level of the audio signal, a volume level storage section for storing the set volume level, and a setting stored in the volume level storage section. And a volume level comparison unit that adjusts the volume level of the audio signal by comparing the volume level with the detected volume level detected by the volume level detection unit and controlling the volume adjustment unit based on the comparison result. It is characterized by that.

[0008]

When the user sets the volume level of the receiving device such as a television or radio or the acoustic device such as a CD using the volume adjusting section, the set volume level is stored in the volume level storing section. Then, the volume level of the audio signal detected by the volume level detection unit is compared with the set volume level in the volume level comparison unit. In the volume level comparison section,
If there is a difference between the volume levels of both, or if the volume level of the audio signal detected by the volume level detection unit is higher than the set volume level, the volume adjustment unit of the TV receiver or audio device is controlled, and the set volume A level voice is obtained.

As a result, in a receiving device such as a television or a radio, the volume is uniform even if another station is selected, and the volume does not increase sharply even during the CM even in the same station. It eliminates the hassle of making adjustments one by one. Also, in an audio device such as a CD, the volume does not change even when the CD is replaced.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an automatic volume control device 1 of this embodiment. Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a volume adjusting circuit (volume adjusting unit) of a receiving device such as a television receiving device. In this volume adjusting circuit 2, the volume is changed by a trigger signal output from a hand switch or the like by a user operation. The level is set, and the speaker emits sound based on the sound output signal output from the sound volume adjusting circuit 2 and having the set sound volume level.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic volume control device 1 has a voice output signal Si output from the volume control circuit 2.
Volume level detection circuit (corresponding to a volume level detection unit) 3 for detecting the volume level of the audio output signal So, and the volume level of the audio output signal So detected by the volume level detection circuit 3 after the volume level is set by the user's hand switch 6 or the like. A volume level storage circuit (corresponding to a volume level storage unit) 4 for storing the volume level is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the automatic volume adjusting device 1 further includes the volume level detecting circuit 3 based on the audio output signal So output from the volume adjusting circuit 2.
A volume level comparison circuit (corresponding to a volume level comparison unit) 5 that compares the volume level detected at any time with the preset volume level stored in advance and controls the volume adjustment circuit 2 according to the level difference between the two. Is equipped with.

In such an automatic volume control device 1,
When the user sets the volume, the volume level of the volume adjusting circuit 2 is set by the trigger signal output from the hand switch 6, and the volume level after setting is set to the volume adjusting circuit 2.
Is detected by the volume level detection circuit 3 on the basis of the audio output signal So output from, and the detected volume level is stored in the volume level storage circuit 4 as a set level. In this case, the volume level storage circuit 4 performs the storage operation by the trigger signal from the hand switch 6. That is,
Every time the user manually adjusts the volume, the set volume level is updated. After that, in the volume adjusting circuit 2,
The sound volume is adjusted based on the set sound volume level of the sound input signal Si, and the sound output signal So that changes corresponding to the magnitude of the sound input signal Si input to the receiving device is output.

Further, the sound output signal So output from the sound volume adjusting circuit 2 has its sound volume level detected by the sound volume level detecting circuit 3 at any time. The detected sound volume level is compared with the set sound volume level stored in the sound volume level storage circuit 4 in the sound volume level comparison circuit 5, and if there is a difference between both sound volume levels, the difference sound volume level is the sound volume adjustment circuit. Adjusted by 2. That is, the volume level detected at any time is compared with the set volume level set in advance by the user side, and when the set volume level increases, the volume level of the audio input signal Si increases by the difference volume level. When the set volume level decreases, the volume adjustment is performed so that the volume level of the audio input signal Si decreases by the volume level of the difference.

As a result, the sound volume adjusting circuit 2 outputs the sound output signal So of the sound volume level preset by the user, regardless of the size of the sound input signal Si inputted to the apparatus such as the television receiver. For example,
Even in television broadcasting, the volume does not suddenly increase during commercials. Also, even if the channel is switched, the volume of the set volume level will be output.
Even if it is applied to a sound device such as a music tape or a CD, even if the tape or CD is exchanged, the output is at the same set volume level, and it becomes unnecessary to set the volume level each time the CD or the like is exchanged. Freed from the hassle of the past.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The system control microcomputer 7 installed in various devices (television receiver, audio device) is used, and the automatic volume control works only when switching channels or switching sources such as CDs. It was done.

That is, in this embodiment, the computer 7
The volume level is set by the user and the set volume level is stored through the user, and the volume is adjusted by the computer 7 based on the comparison result from the volume level comparison circuit 5. It has the same configuration as that of the embodiment.

In such an automatic volume control device,
When the user operates the volume level from the hand switch 6 or the like, the computer 7 sets the volume level adjustment in the volume adjusting circuit 2 as in the previous embodiment, and the volume level after the setting is set to the volume level detecting circuit. 3 and is stored in the volume level storage circuit 6 as the set volume level.

Further, in the present embodiment, the volume level of the audio output signal So output from the volume adjusting circuit 2 is detected only when the channel of the broadcasting station is selected or the sources such as CD are exchanged thereafter. The volume level detected by the circuit 3 is compared with the preset volume level in the volume level comparison circuit 5 and the detected volume level is compared, and the volume adjustment circuit 2 through the computer 7 adjusts the volume at any time so that the difference between them is eliminated. Be done. Such volume adjustment is continued until the user again sets the volume and replaces the source such as CD.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, even when the channel of the broadcasting station is changed or the source of the CD or the like is exchanged, the volume is adjusted so as to reach the preset volume level. There is no need to set the volume.

Next, an example of the sound level detection and the sound level comparison timing in the first and second embodiments will be described. First, the detection timing of the volume level is
After the volume setting by the user is completed, the average volume level is detected for 30 seconds and stored as the set volume level. As the comparison timing, the average volume is detected several times every 10 seconds, the average volume is compared with the stored volume, and the volume is adjusted based on the difference.

The detection timing when a user selects a channel or replaces a source such as a CD is set by storing an average volume in block units, which is detected several times every 10 seconds after the completion of channel selection or replacement. You may make it compare with a sound volume. Further, although the description has been given here of detecting the sound volume level based on the average sound volume, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sound volume level may be detected based on the frequency spectrum, or the sound volume may be detected directly from digital data in a CD or the like. You can also

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the present embodiment, the volume is adjusted based on the modulation factor of the FM modulation of the audio signal, and the case of application to a television receiver will be described as an example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the automatic volume control device 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 3, 11 is a tuner of the television receiver, 12 is a channel selection circuit, 6 is a hand switch, and 13 is an intermediate image. Frequency amplification circuit, 14 video detection circuit, 15 video amplification circuit, 16 horizontal water drop deflection circuit, 1
Reference numeral 7 indicates a CRT. Reference numeral 18 is an audio intermediate frequency amplifier circuit, 19 is an audio FM detection circuit, 20 is an audio amplifier circuit, 21 is a volume control, and 22 is a speaker.

The automatic volume control device 1 includes a modulation degree check circuit 2 for detecting the FM modulation degree of the audio FM detection circuit 19.
5, a statistical data circuit 26 that checks the channel selected by the user, accumulates the modulation degree detected by the modulation degree check circuit 25 as statistical data for each selected channel, and stores the statistical data. If the degree of modulation detected by comparing the degree and the statistical data is overmodulation, an attenuator provided in the preceding stage of the voice amplification circuit 20 (corresponding to a volume level attenuating means having a linear attenuation characteristic)
It is composed of a comparison circuit 27 for increasing the attenuation amount of 28.

In such an automatic sound volume adjusting device 1, the sound volume is adjusted based on the main routine shown in FIG. 4 and the subroutine shown in FIG. When the user selects a channel with the hand switch 6, as shown in FIG. 4, in step S1, the modulation degree check circuit 2
5, the FM modulation degree is read from the audio FM modulation circuit 19 at predetermined time intervals set in advance.

Next, in step S2, integrated data of the degree of modulation is created. To create the integrated data, the modulation degree is checked in step S201 of the subroutine shown in FIG. 5, and the statistical data circuit 26 is checked in step S202.
The selected channel to be input to is checked, the modulation factors for each channel are integrated in step S203, and steps S201 to S2 are performed until the modulation factor check parameter set in advance is reached in step S204.
By repeating 04, statistical data in which the degree of modulation is integrated for each channel is obtained and stored in step S205. The integrated statistical data of the modulation degree is obtained as the distribution A shown in FIG. 6 in the case of a general modulation degree.

Next, when the accumulated statistical data of the modulation degree is created, in step S3 of FIG. 4, the comparison circuit 27 determines whether or not the current modulated degree is higher than the accumulated statistical data. In step S4, the comparison circuit 27 operates the attenuator 28 to reduce the volume.
When the degree of modulation is not high, the volume is output as it is. In this case, in the case of overmodulation, a distribution characteristic B exceeding a certain value is obtained as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, even when the broadcasting station side is set to the modulation degree at which the volume suddenly increases, as in the case of CM in TV broadcasting, the data of the general modulation degree for each channel is set. In the case of overmodulation, the volume is adjusted to be the same as a general modulation degree, so that the user does not have to adjust the volume each time CM is performed even at midnight, and the same effect can be achieved by channel switching. The volume is adjusted.

Although an attenuator is used as the means for adjusting the volume in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the peak compression circuit 30 shown in FIG. 7 (corresponding to a volume level attenuation means having a non-linear attenuation characteristic) is used. ) May be provided instead of the attenuator. As shown in FIG. 7, the peak compression circuit 30 is composed of a capacitor 31, resistors 32, 33, 34, diodes 35, 36 and switches 37, 38. When both switches 37, 38 are turned on together, the input The peaks are rounded, the peaks of the signal are limited,
Along with this, the volume is reduced.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the volume level is adjusted based on the preset volume level set in advance, in a receiving device such as a television broadcast,
Even if the other station is selected, the output volume will be uniform, and the volume will not suddenly increase even during the CM even at the same station, eliminating the hassle of adjusting the volume one by one as in the past. Is possible. Further, in the audio device, it is possible to prevent the output sound volume from being changed even when the sources such as CDs are replaced. Further, since the judgment is made on the basis of one preset volume level, it is not necessary to prepare a memory for each station, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic volume control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic volume control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic volume control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a main routine of volume adjustment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a subroutine for creating data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of accumulated statistical data.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a peak compression circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Automatic Volume Control Device 2 Volume Control Circuit (Volume Control Section) 3 Volume Level Detection Circuit (Volume Level Detection Section) 4 Volume Level Storage Circuit (Volume Level Storage Section) 5 Volume Level Comparison Circuit (Volume Level Comparison Section) 25 Modulation Degree Check detection circuit (volume level detection section) 26 Statistical data circuit (volume level storage section) 27 Comparison circuit (volume level comparison section) 28 Attenuator (volume level attenuation means having a linear attenuation characteristic) 30 Peak compression circuit (non-linear) Volume level attenuation means having attenuation characteristics)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Amano 6-735 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A volume adjusting section for adjusting a volume level of an audio signal, a volume level detecting section for detecting a volume level of an audio signal, a volume level storing section for storing a set volume level, and the volume level storing section. A volume level for adjusting the volume level of the audio signal by comparing the set volume level stored with the detected volume level detected by the volume level detection unit and controlling the volume adjustment unit based on the comparison result. An automatic volume control device comprising: a comparison section. 2. The volume level storage section comprises a set volume level updating means for updating the set volume level when manual volume adjustment is performed.
The described automatic volume control device. 3. The volume level storage unit includes statistical processing means for statistically processing a detected volume level detected by the volume level detection unit a plurality of times to derive a set volume level. The automatic volume control device according to claim 1. 4. The automatic volume adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the volume adjusting unit includes volume level attenuation means for attenuating the volume level when the detected volume level is higher than the set volume level. 5. The volume level attenuating means is an attenuating means having a linear attenuation characteristic.
The described automatic volume control device. 6. The automatic volume adjusting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the volume level attenuation means is an attenuation means having a non-linear attenuation characteristic. 7. An automatic volume adjusting device for an audio device, comprising: a volume adjusting section for adjusting a volume level of an audio signal; a volume level detecting section for detecting a volume level of the audio signal; and a volume for storing a set volume level. By comparing the level storage unit with the set volume level stored in the volume level storage unit and the detected volume level detected by the volume level detection unit, and controlling the volume adjustment unit based on the comparison result. An automatic volume control device for an audio device, comprising: a volume level comparison unit for adjusting the volume level of a sound signal. 8. An automatic volume adjusting device for a receiving device, comprising: a volume adjusting section for adjusting a volume level of an audio signal; a volume level detecting section for detecting a volume level of an audio signal; and a volume for storing a set volume level. By comparing the level storage unit with the set volume level stored in the volume level storage unit and the detected volume level detected by the volume level detection unit, and controlling the volume adjustment unit based on the comparison result. An automatic volume adjusting device for a receiving device, comprising: a volume level comparing unit for adjusting the volume level of an audio signal. 9. The automatic volume adjusting device for a receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the volume level detecting section includes means for detecting a volume level based on a modulation degree of an audio signal. 10. The automatic receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the volume level storage section includes a set volume level updating means for updating the set volume level when manual volume adjustment is performed. Volume control device. 11. The set volume level updating means comprises means for setting the average volume level over a predetermined period immediately after the manual volume adjustment is performed as the set volume level. Automatic volume control device for receiver. 12. The volume level detecting section comprises means for continuously detecting an average volume level for a predetermined time and setting the average volume level as a detected volume level. Automatic volume control device of the receiving device. 13. The reception volume according to claim 12, wherein the volume level detection section includes means for setting an average volume level over a predetermined time immediately after a channel selection operation as a detection volume level. Automatic volume control device.