KR100268467B1 - Apparatus for volume control and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus and a method for controlling volume are provided to maximize an efficiency of a microcomputer and decrease a cost based on one crystal oscillator using a microcomputer as a control circuit for controlling a video and audio level and an edge detection method which is strong with respect to noises. CONSTITUTION: An audio volume input unit(60) controls a volume based on a user's operation. A volume and video signal controller(70) receives an output signal of the volume input unit(60) as a part of an input signal and outputs an output signal for controlling the volume and video signals. A sound card(30) receives an output signal and audio signal of the volume and video signal controller(70) and processes a signal like an audio combination. An amplifier(40) amplifies an output signal of the sound card(30) and outputs through a speaker(50). The volume and video signal controller(70) includes a video signal control block and a volume control block. The video signal control block receives a signal for controlling the video signal. An input signal of the volume control block includes first and second volume control input pulses for controlling the volume and a mute pulse for muting an audio signal. Each input signal is inputted into input terminals, and an output signal is formed of first and second volume control output pulses for controlling the volume and are outputted to output terminals.

Description

Volume control device and method

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling the volume of a device for outputting video and audio signals.

More specifically, the volume of the audio signal is also controlled by the edge detection method using a microcomputer for controlling the video signal in a device that outputs video and audio signals such as a computer device, thereby improving the efficiency of the microcomputer as a control element. The present invention relates to a device and a method for improving noise and signal loss as well as preventing noise and signal loss caused by a level detection method.

In general, the volume control device in the conventional audio output device employing a digital method, when a user or the like manipulates the volume control means to adjust the volume, one or more predetermined pulse signals are output from the volume control means. This output pulse was controlled to be synthesized with the audio signal, converted to an analog signal, amplified, and then output to the final audio signal through the speaker.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of such a conventional volume control device applied to a computer device.

As shown in the drawing, a volume control device applied to a conventional computer device receives a volume and power input unit 10 for controlling a volume and power by a user or the like and an output signal from the volume and power input unit 10. And a sound volume for outputting an output signal for controlling power and a power controller 20 in the display device, and receiving a volume signal and an output signal and a voice signal from the power controller 20 to perform signal processing such as voice synthesis. The card 30 and the amplifier 40 to amplify the output signal of the sound card 30 to be output through the speaker 50.

The volume control device applied to the conventional computer device configured as described above is configured to control the volume in the display device of the computer device composed of the display device and the main body, and generally uses a digital signal method. The operation is as follows. .

First, when a user or the like manipulates the volume and power input unit 10 to adjust the volume or to turn on or off the power of the display device, one or more pulses are generated therefrom and applied to the volume and power control unit 20. .

Here, the volume and power input unit 10 may adopt an encoder to implement digital volume control, and the encoder outputs two pulse trains whose phases differ depending on the rotation direction of the rotation axis. do.

According to other operations such as pressing operation, another pulse is outputted, a mute pulse for muting the voice and a power on / off pulse for turning on or off the display device.

The volume and power control unit 20 which receives the volume and the plurality of signals inputted from the power input unit 10 are typically composed of a flip-flop IC or a dedicated microcomputer and increase the volume according to a combination of input pulse signals. It generates one or more output pulses for volume control and pulse for voice mute, and also generates and outputs pulses for power on / off.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the types of input / output signals when the volume and power control unit 20 of FIG. 1 is actually implemented, and FIG. 2A is an example in which the volume and power control unit 20 is implemented by a flip-flop IC. Figure 2b shows an example implemented with a dedicated microcomputer.

As shown, the input signal of the volume and power control unit 20 includes first and second volume control input pulses for adjusting the volume, mute pulses for muting the voice, and power supply for turning on / off the power of the display device. It consists of on / off input pulses, and each input signal is input to the corresponding input terminals (IN1-IN4), and the output signals are output pulses for controlling the volume and power on / off output pulses. Each output signal is output to the corresponding output terminal (OUT1-OUT3).

3 is an input / output waveform of the volume and power control unit 20, and shows waveforms when the volume is increased and decreased, when the volume is muted, and when the power is turned on / off.

3A is a waveform diagram illustrating input and output signals of the volume and power control unit 20 when the volume is increased.

As shown, the volume and power control unit 20 receives the first and second volume control input pulses, which are two volume control pulse strings input from the encoder, to a predetermined input terminal IN1 (IN2). The signal level of the control input pulse IN2 is detected.

When the rising edge of the first volume control input pulse IN1 is detected at the detected high potential level of the second volume control input pulse IN2, the first volume control output pulse is generated to generate a predetermined output terminal OUT1. Through the sound card 30).

As such, the sound card 30 receiving the first volume control output pulse converts the pulse signal into an analog value and synthesizes it with an image signal input to another input terminal to output the result. The volume of the audio signal output to the speaker 50 is increased.

Meanwhile, FIG. 3B is a waveform diagram illustrating input and output signals of the volume and power control unit 20 when the volume is reduced, and the first volume control is performed at the high potential level of the second volume control input pulse IN2 detected as opposed to FIG. 3A. When the falling edge of the input pulse IN1 is detected, a second output pulse for volume control is generated and applied to the sound card 30 through the predetermined output terminal OUT2.

Therefore, in this case, the volume of the audio signal output to the speaker 50 through the amplifier 40 is reduced.

3C is a waveform diagram illustrating input and output signals of the volume and power control unit 20 when the volume is muted. When a mute pulse is applied to a predetermined input terminal IN3, the first and second volume control output pulses are output pulses. At the same time, the respective output terminals OUT1 and OUT2 are output to the sound card 30, in which case the output audio signal is muted.

FIG. 3D is a waveform diagram illustrating the volume and input / output signals of the power controller 20 when the power is turned on and off. When the power on / off input pulse is applied to the corresponding input terminal IN4, the power on / off output pulse is output. It is applied to the power supply unit of the display device through OUT3 to control the power on and off.

The pulse width ΔW of the first volume control output pulse and the second volume control output pulse may be arbitrarily determined by a flip-flop IC or a microcomputer constituting the volume and power control unit 20.

The volume control device applied to the conventional computer device having the configuration and function as described above has implemented a microcomputer and an audio signal control circuit for controlling the video signal, respectively. Also, as a method for controlling voice signals, the levels and edges of two pulse strings output from an encoder were compared.

Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that the price increases due to the separate circuit for controlling the video and audio.

In addition, if the voice control circuit is composed of flip-flop IC, the output pulse width is inaccurate, and the input signal may be skipped because there is no memory, and when using a dedicated microcomputer, two crystal oscillators must be used. There was.

In addition, the level detection method that compares the level and the edge of the two pulse trains as a method of comparing the input signal has a weakness to the noise.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to use only one microcomputer as a control circuit for controlling video and audio, and only one crystal oscillator is required, and not only can maximize the efficiency of the microcomputer, but also reduce the cost, The present invention provides a volume control device and method using a strong edge detection method.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a volume control device applied to a conventional computer device;

FIG. 2A is a configuration diagram illustrating an example in which the volume and power controller of FIG. 1 is implemented using a flip-flop IC, and types of input / output signals;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing an example in which the volume and power control unit of FIG.

3A is a waveform diagram showing input / output signals of the volume and power control unit of FIG. 1 when the volume is increased;

3b is a waveform diagram showing input / output signals of the volume and power control unit of FIG.

3c is a waveform diagram showing input / output signals of the volume and power control unit of FIG.

3d is a waveform diagram showing the volume of FIG.

4 is a block diagram showing an example in which the volume control device according to the present invention is applied to a computer device,

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the volume and image signal controller of FIG. 4 is implemented as a single microcomputer, and types of input and output signals.

6A is a waveform diagram showing input and output signals of the volume control block of FIG. 5 when the volume is increased;

6b is a waveform diagram showing input and output signals of the volume control block of FIG.

6c is a waveform diagram showing input and output signals of the volume control block of FIG.

7 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a volume control method according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

30: sound card 40: amplifier

50: speaker 60: volume control means

70: volume and video signal controller

A feature of the volume control device and method according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to control the image signal and the volume using a single microcomputer, using the edge detection method as a comparison method of the input signal for controlling the volume Is in.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the volume control device and method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a block diagram showing an example in which the volume control device according to the present invention is applied to a computer device.

As shown, the volume control apparatus according to the present invention applied to a computer device receives a volume input unit 60 for controlling a volume by a user or the like and an output signal from the volume input unit 60 as part of an input signal. And a volume and video signal controller 70 for outputting an output signal for controlling the video signal, and being provided with a display device, and receiving a volume and an output signal and an audio signal from the video signal controller 70 to process a signal such as voice synthesis. And amplification unit 40 for amplifying the output signal of the sound card 30 so as to be output through the speaker 50.

The volume control device applied to the computer device according to the present invention configured as described above is also configured to control the volume in the display device of the computer device composed of the display device and the main body, and usually uses a digital signal method. Same as

First, when a user or the like manipulates the volume input unit 60 to adjust the volume, one or more pulses are generated therefrom and applied to the volume and image signal controller 70.

Here, in order to implement digital volume control, the volume input unit 60 outputs two pulse strings whose phases differ according to the rotational direction of the rotating shaft like the conventional volume control apparatus, and generates a mute pulse by pressing operation. Apply.

The volume and the image signal controller 70 which receives the plurality of signals input from the volume input unit 60 are constituted by one dedicated microcomputer, and the volume for increasing or decreasing the volume in accordance with the combination of the input pulse signals. One or more output pulses for control and audio mute are generated, and for the input signal for video signal control, the video output signal for controlling the final output video signal is output.

5 illustrates an example in which the volume and image signal controller 70 is actually implemented as a dedicated microcomputer.

As shown, the volume and video signal controller 70 is divided into a video signal control block and a volume control block, and the video signal control block inputs and outputs a signal for controlling the video signal.

The input signal of the volume control block is composed of first and second volume control input pulses for adjusting the volume and mute pulses for muting the voice, and each input signal is input to a corresponding input terminal (IN1-IN3), The output signal is composed of first and second volume control output pulses for controlling the volume, and each output signal is output to the corresponding output terminals OUT1-OUT2.

FIG. 6 is an input / output waveform of the volume and image signal controller 70 and shows waveforms of volume increase and decrease, volume mute and power on / off, respectively.

6A is a waveform diagram illustrating input and output signals of the volume and image signal controller 70 when the volume is increased.

As shown in the drawing, the volume and video signal controller 70 receives the first and second volume control input pulses, which are two volume control pulse strings input from the encoder, to predetermined input terminals IN1 (IN2). The falling edge of the volume control input pulse IN2 is detected.

When the rising edge IN1 of the first volume control input pulse is detected after the falling edge of the second volume control input pulse IN2 is detected, one or more output pulses for the first volume control are generated to generate a predetermined output terminal OUT1. Through the sound card 30.

Thus, the sound card receiving the first volume control output pulse converts the pulse signal into an analog value and synthesizes it with an image signal input to another input terminal, thereby outputting the speaker 50 through the amplifier 40. Increase the volume of the audio signal output by).

6B is a waveform diagram illustrating input and output signals of the volume and the image signal controller 70 when the volume is reduced. In contrast to FIG. 6A, the first volume after the falling edge of the second volume control input pulse IN2 is input. When the falling edge of the control input pulse IN1 is input, one or more second volume control output pulses are generated and applied to the sound card 30 through the predetermined output terminal OUT2.

Therefore, in this case, the volume of the audio signal output to the speaker 50 through the amplifier 40 is reduced.

6C is a waveform diagram illustrating input and output signals of the volume and video signal controller 70 when the volume is muted. When a mute pulse is applied to a predetermined input terminal IN3, an output pulse for first volume control and an output pulse for second volume control is shown. Is simultaneously output to the sound card 30 through the corresponding output terminals OUT1 and OUT2, in which case the output audio signal is muted.

At this time, wait for the mute pulse input using a debounce algorithm or the like to maintain a stable signal level (Δt), and then output the first volume control output pulse and the second volume control output pulse at the same time. Can be prevented.

The pulse width ΔW of the first volume control output pulse and the second volume control output pulse output as described above may be arbitrarily determined by a dedicated microcomputer constituting the volume and image signal controller 70.

7 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a volume control method according to the present invention, which is controlled by the volume and image signal controller 70 of FIG. 4, and the input / output signals for controlling each process are shown in the waveform diagram of FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, the volume control method according to the present invention includes a polling process (S10) for continuously polling the presence or absence of a signal input to a predetermined second input terminal, and a falling edge during polling process (S10). As a result of the determination in the falling edge input determination process (S20) and the falling edge input determination process (S20) to determine whether the input, the edge of the pulse input to the predetermined first input terminal when the falling edge input is detected According to the determination result in the volume control process (S30) and the falling edge input determination process (S20) to output the volume control signal according to the result, if the falling edge is not input to the level change of the input signal to the predetermined third input terminal According to the volume mute process (S40) that controls the mute of the volume is controlled.

Here, the volume control step (S30) is a rising edge input determination step (S31) for determining whether the signal input to the predetermined first input terminal is the rising edge of the pulse, and in the rising edge input determination step (S31) As a result of the determination, when the rising edge is input, the determination result in the first volume control pulse output process S32 for outputting one or more first volume control output pulses to the predetermined first output terminal and the rising edge input determination process S31. If the rising edge is not input, the second volume control pulse output process S33 outputs one or more second volume control output pulses to the predetermined second output terminal.

The volume mute process S40 includes a first input signal level change determination step S41 for determining whether there is a change in the input signal level of a predetermined third input terminal, and an input signal level change determination step S41. As a result of the determination, if there is a level change of the input signal, whether the debounce algorithm performs the debounce algorithm (S42) and the debounce algorithm performs (S42), and whether the level of the input signal remains changed. In the second input signal level change determination process (S43) for determining whether or not, and as a result of the determination in the second input signal level change determination process (S43), the predetermined first output terminal when the changed level of the input signal is continuously maintained And a mute pulse output process S44 for outputting one or more pulses simultaneously with the second output terminal.

According to the volume control apparatus and method according to the present invention as described above, the volume of the audio signal is also used in the edge detection method using a microcomputer for controlling the video signal in a device that outputs video and audio signals, such as a computer device. By controlling it, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the microcomputer as a control element, to reduce the price of the applied product, and to prevent the noise and signal loss caused by the level detection method.

Claims (6)

A volume input unit for outputting a volume mute pulse signal or first and second volume control pulse signals having a predetermined phase difference according to an external operation; A volume and video signal controller configured to generate and output first and second volume control output pulse signals according to volume mute pulse signals or first and second volume control input pulse signals applied from the volume input unit; A sound card for outputting up / down the volume of an audio signal according to the volume and output pulse signals for the first and second volume control of the video signal controller; An amplifier for amplifying and outputting an output signal of the sound card; And a speaker configured to receive an output signal of the amplifier and output a voice signal, wherein the volume video signal controller comprises a microcomputer capable of controlling not only the volume of the audio signal but also the video signal. 2 After the falling edge of the volume control input pulse is input, when the rising edge of the first volume control input pulse is input, one or more output pulses for the first volume control output are output, and after the falling edge of the second volume control input pulse is input, And a second volume control output pulse is output when the falling edge of the first volume control pulse is input. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the volume and image signal controller comprises: a; And a first volume control output pulse and a second volume control output pulse at the same time according to the mute pulse input. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the volume and image signal controller comprises: a; And a first volume control output pulse and a second volume control output pulse simultaneously while waiting for a time when the input mute pulse maintains a stable signal level. A volume control method for adjusting a volume by receiving a volume mute pulse signal generated by an external operation or a first or second volume control pulse signal having a predetermined phase difference, wherein the second volume control pulse signal is continuously Polling to poll; A falling edge input determining process of determining whether the falling edge is input during the polling process; A volume control process of controlling volume control according to an edge of the first volume control pulse signal when a falling edge is input as a result of the determination in the falling edge input determination process; And a volume control process of controlling the muting of the volume according to the level change of the volume mute pulse signal when the falling edge is not input as a result of the determination in the falling edge input determination process. According to claim 4, The volume control process; A rising edge input determining step of determining whether a rising edge of the first volume control pulse signal is input; A first volume control pulse signal output process of controlling the adjustment of the volume by outputting one or more first volume control output pulses when the rising edge is input as a result of the determination in the rising edge input determining process; And a second volume control pulse signal output process of controlling the adjustment of the volume by outputting one or more second volume control output pulses when the rising edge is not input as a result of the determination in the rising edge input determination process. Control method. The method of claim 4, wherein the volume mute process; A first input signal level change determination step of determining whether there is a change in the volume mute pulse signal level; A debounce algorithm performing a debounce algorithm when the level change of the volume mute pulse signal occurs as a result of the determination in the first input signal level change determination process; A second input signal level change determining step of determining whether the level of the volume mute pulse signal is continuously changed as a result of the debounce algorithm; And muting outputting one or more output pulses for the first volume control and one output pulse for the second volume control when the level of the volume mute pulse signal is continuously maintained as a result of the determination in the second input signal level change determination process. Volume control method characterized in that controlled by the pulse output process.

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