TW202105163A - Automatic identification device for audio signal capable of enabling electronic devices with the enhanced audio return channel technology to output the corresponding audio signal according to the audio format supported by the acoustic device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is an automatic identification device for audio signal, which can be connected to one or more electronic devices and one or more acoustic devices, wherein the acoustic device includes a central processing unit, a voice output processor and a voice input processor. The central processing unit is used for processing the overall operation of the automatic identification device for audio signal. The voice input processor is connected to the central processing unit and is capable of determining the audio format supported by the connected acoustic device. Thereafter, when receiving the audio signal transmitted by the electronic device, the voice input processor decodes the received audio signal and then performs conversion processing according to the enhanced audio return channel specification. After the processed audio signal is sent to the voice output processor, the voice output processor can output the processed audio signal to the acoustic device for play. Moreover, the voice input processor is electrically connected to the electronic device. The electronic device can output the audio signal to the voice input processor. The voice input processor includes an audio receiving unit for receiving the audio signal output by the electronic device, and an audio decoding unit electrically connected to the audio receiving unit for decoding the audio signal output by the electronic device and generating the decoded audio signal. The voice output processor is connected to the acoustic device. The voice output processor includes an audio determination unit for determining the audio format supported by the connected audio device and transmitting the determined and supported audio format back to the central processing unit, and an audio processing unit electrically connected to the audio determination unit for converting the decoded audio signal to an output audio signal with the supported audio format according the supported audio format determined by audio determination unit. The voice output processor further includes a digital-to-analog conversion unit electrically connected to the audio processing unit for converting the audio signal and outputting it to the acoustic device.

Description

Audio signal automatic identification device

The present invention relates to an audio signal automatic identification device, in particular to a connection device capable of outputting corresponding audio from an electronic device with enhanced audio return channel technology based on the audio format supported by the audio device.

HDMI 2.1 is the latest HDMI standard, which can increase the video transmission speed by up to 300%, and further increase it by 300% through the compression function. The video bandwidth is 9 times higher than the 18Gbps of HDMI 2.0. The HDMI 2.1 standard adds a series of new features, including Dynamic HDR (Dynamic HDR), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and Quick Media Switching (Quick Media Switching).

The HDMI 2.1 standard has brought a new enhanced audio return channel (Enhanced Audio Return Channel, eARC) function, so the introduction of eARC technology can ensure the downward compatibility between the AVR and the TV, to achieve higher quality and more Good ease of use.

It can be seen from this that in the near future, HDMI eARC will purchase the necessary functions for consumers to purchase HDMI AVR or soundbars, which is the only guarantee for mutual compatibility between HDMI 2.1 devices in the future, in addition to the advantages of ensuring compatibility between devices Furthermore, eARC has substantial advantages in terms of ease of use, audio performance, and audio interface compatibility.

One of the main advantages of eARC is to support all home theater formats under the HDMI standard. Since the HDMI 1.4 ARC function only supports audio transmission at a rate of 1Mbps through a single pin, it is no longer applicable to the current high-end audio standards, especially when playing Blu-ray format audio. At times, audio often uses a higher frequency bandwidth that exceeds the range supported by TOSLINK and ARC, and eARC can provide all the required bandwidth, so audio can be played back with original audio.

However, not all audio devices can support eARC technology, especially the older the audio device, the less likely it is to support it. However, it is inevitable that today and even future electronic devices, in order to achieve higher quality audio playback effects , EARC technology will inevitably be used. For some old audio devices, they will face the end of replacement. However, good audio devices are of great value. It is a pity that they cannot be used because they cannot be supported.

Therefore, if a connection device can be developed that can connect an electronic device with an eARC port to an audio device that cannot support eARC technology, it will be able to continue to use the existing audio device without having to replace it with a new eARC technology. Audio playback device, therefore, the present invention should be an optimal solution.

An audio signal automatic identification device can be connected to one or more electronic devices and one or more audio devices, and the audio signal automatic identification device at least includes: a central processing unit for processing the audio signal automatic identification The overall operation of the device; a sound input processor is connected to the central processing unit, and the sound input processor is electrically connected to the electronic device, and the electronic device can output an audio signal to the sound input processor, The sound input processor includes an audio receiving unit for receiving the audio signal output by the electronic device; an audio decoding unit electrically connected with the audio receiving unit for the audio output from the electronic device The signal is decoded and a decoded audio signal is generated; a sound output processor is connected to the audio device and the central processing unit, and the sound output processor includes an audio judgment unit for judging all The audio format that the connected audio device can support, and can return the determined supported audio format to the central processing unit; an audio processing unit is electrically connected to the audio determination unit to be used according to the audio determination unit Determine the supported audio format, convert a decoded audio signal into an output audio signal that can support the audio format, and the audio processing unit can perform conversion processing in accordance with the specifications of an enhanced audio return channel technology; an audio The processing unit is electrically connected with the audio processing unit, and is used for outputting the output audio signal of the supported audio format to the audio device.

More specifically, the electronic device can directly output an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and the audio signal automatic identification device can receive the audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology transmitted by the electronic device , Can be decoded first, then converted into the output audio signal according to the audio format supported by the audio device, and finally output to the audio device.

More specifically, the audio device can directly receive an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and the audio signal automatic identification device can first receive the audio signal transmitted by the electronic device. After decoding, it is converted into an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and finally output to the audio device.

More specifically, the electronic device is a TV, a TV box, or a video and audio player.

More specifically, the sound output processor further includes a digital-to-analog conversion unit electrically connected to the audio processing unit, for digital/analog conversion of the audio signal, and then output to the audio device.

More specifically, the audio signal automatic identification device can be combined with the electronic device or the audio device.

Other technical content, features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the drawings.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 4, which are the overall structure diagram, internal structure diagram, sound output processor structure diagram, and sound input processor structure diagram of the audio signal automatic recognition device of the present invention. Among them, the audio signal automatic recognition device 1 is capable of One or more electronic devices 2 and one or more audio devices 3 are connected.

The audio signal automatic identification device 1 at least includes a central processing unit 11, a sound output processor 12, a sound input processor 13, one or more output ports 14 (capable of outputting image signals or/and audio signals), One or more input ports 15 (capable of inputting video signals or/and audio signals), wherein the central processing unit 11 is used to process the overall operation of the audio signal automatic identification device 3, and the input port 15 and the output port 14 Can be HDMI port (HDMI port can use HDMI 1.0~1.2a, 1.3, 1.4, 2.0, 2.1 according to demand);

The audio output processor 12 includes an audio determination unit 121, an audio processing unit 122, and a digital analog conversion unit 123. The audio determination unit 121 is used to determine the audio format supported by the connected audio device 3, and can The determined supported audio format is returned to the central processing unit 11; and the audio processing unit 122 is used to convert the supported audio format determined by the audio determining unit 121 using the enhanced audio return channel technology specifications. The decoded audio signal undergoes conversion processing (other audio formats are converted to audio signals with enhanced audio return channel technology, or audio signals with enhanced audio return channel technology are converted to other audio formats); and the digital-to-analog conversion unit 123 is used to perform digital/analog conversion of the converted audio signal, and then output to the audio device 3;

The audio input processor 13 is electrically connected to the electronic device 2 through the input port 15. The audio input processor 13 includes an audio receiving unit 131 and an audio decoding unit 132. The audio receiving unit 131 is used to receive the The audio signal transmitted by the electronic device 2; and the audio decoding unit 132 decodes the received audio signal, and then transmits the decoded audio signal to the sound output processor 12.

The electronic device 2 is a TV, a TV box or a video audio player, and the electronic device 2 or the audio device 3 can be equipped with an HDMI port with enhanced audio return channel technology (eARC) Among them, the audio formats that the eARC signal can support are as follows (HDMI does not define or limit the formats that can be used or cannot be used, so it is not possible to list all possible supported formats here): (1) Uncompressed format: a. 2 to 8 channels, all HDMI standard sampling rates, up to 192kHz frequency and 24-bit rate b. Up to 32 channels, using a reduced sampling rate, such as 16 channels 96kHz and 32 channels 48kHz (2) Dolby format: a. AC-4 b. Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3, 192kHz×2ch×16-bit bandwidth) c. Dolby TrueHD d. Dolby Atmos (3) DTS format: a. DTS b. DTS-HD Master Audio c. DTS: X (4) Fraunhofer format: a. MP3 b. AAC-LC c. HE-AAC d. HE-AACv2 e. AAC-LC and HE-AAC, equipped with MPEG surround support f. MPEG-H 3D audio

The first implementation application of this case, as shown in Figure 5, where the electronic device 21 is a television, and the electronic device 21 has an HDMI port 211 (with enhanced audio return channel technology (Enhanced Audio Return Channel)). , eARC) HDMI port), so it can be connected to the input port 15 through the HDMI port 211, and transmit an eARC signal to the audio signal automatic identification device 1;

At the same time, the audio signal automatic identification device 1 can be connected to the audio device 3 (the audio device 3 cannot directly receive eARC signals) through the output port 14, and can determine the audio format that the audio device 3 can support. The audio signal automatic identification device 1 can be connected to the HDMI port 211 through an HDMI cable, and receive the eARC signal output by the electronic device 21;

After that, the eARC signal is decoded first, and then the eARC signal is converted into an audio format that the audio device 3 can support, and then output to the audio device 3 (the audio signal automatic identification device 1 can also control the electronic The device 21 can only output a specific audio signal format), so even if the audio device 3 cannot be directly connected to the HDMI port 211, it can still receive the eARC signal output by the HDMI port 211 through the technology of the present application.

Therefore, when the user has an old audio device at home that cannot be directly connected to the HDMI port (with enhanced audio return channel technology), the solution can be solved only by the technology of this case, and there is no need to replace another audio device. This is a very good solution for users who have purchased expensive and high-quality audio equipment at home.

The second implementation application of this case, as shown in Figure 6, differs from the first implementation in that the electronic device 22 is a TV box or a video and audio player (the electronic device 22 cannot directly transmit eARC signals) ), so when the audio signal is transmitted to the input port 15, the audio signal automatic identification device 1 can first convert the received audio signal into an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and finally return the enhanced audio The audio signal of the channel technology is output to the HDMI port 31 (with enhanced audio return channel technology) of the audio device 3 through the output port 15.

The third implementation application of this case, as shown in Figure 7, is different from the first implementation in that the audio signal automatic identification device 1 is built in the electronic device 21, so the electronic device 21 does not require an external device. It can directly decode, convert and output audio formats supported by the audio device 3 (the audio device 3 cannot directly receive eARC signals) through the built-in audio signal automatic identification device 1, and the electronic device 21 is the audio The automatic signal identification device 1 can expose at least one HDMI port (with enhanced audio return channel technology) to connect with the audio device 3.

The fourth implementation application of this case, as shown in Figure 8, is different from the first implementation in that the audio signal automatic identification device 1 is built in the audio device 3, so the HDMI port 211 of the electronic device 21 can Transmit an eARC signal to the audio signal automatic identification device 1 inside the audio device 3, and the audio signal automatic identification device 1 can convert the received eARC signal according to the audio format supported by the audio device 3 and store it internally Directly output to the audio device 3.

The advantages of the audio signal automatic identification device provided by the present invention when compared with other conventional technologies are as follows: 1. The present invention can develop a connection device to connect electronic devices with HDMI ports (with enhanced audio return channel technology) to audio devices that cannot support eARC technology, so that existing audio devices can continue to be used instead of A new audio playback device needs to be replaced with a new specification of eARC technology. 2. The audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention has more than one input port and output port, so it can be configured with different devices for input and output.

The present invention has been disclosed above through the above-mentioned embodiments, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with this technical field with ordinary knowledge should understand the aforementioned technical features and embodiments of the present invention and understand the spirit and spirit of the present invention. Within the scope, no changes and modifications can be made. Therefore, the patent protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to what is defined by the claims attached to this specification.

1: Audio signal automatic recognition device 11: Central Processing Unit 12: Sound output processor 121: Audio Judgment Unit 122: audio processing unit 123: Digital analog conversion unit 13: Sound input processor 131: Audio receiving unit 132: Audio Decoding Unit 14: output port 15: Input port 2: electronic device 21: Electronic device 211: HDMI port 22: Electronic device 221: HDMI port 3: Sound device 31: HDMI port 4: TV installation

[Figure 1] is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 2] is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 3] is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sound output processor of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 4] It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the voice input processor of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 5] is a schematic diagram of the first implementation of the connection application of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 6] is a schematic diagram of the second implementation of the connection application of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 7] is a schematic diagram of the third implementation of the connection application of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention. [Figure 8] is a schematic diagram of the fourth implementation of the connection application of the audio signal automatic identification device of the present invention.

1: Audio signal automatic recognition device

2: electronic device

3: Sound device

Claims (6)

An audio signal automatic identification device is capable of connecting one or more electronic devices and one or more audio devices, and the audio signal automatic identification device at least includes: A central processing unit for processing the overall operation of the audio signal automatic identification device; A sound input processor is connected to the central processing unit, and the sound input processor is electrically connected to the electronic device, and the electronic device can output an audio signal to the sound input processor, wherein the sound input processing The system includes: An audio receiving unit for receiving the audio signal output by the electronic device; An audio decoding unit is electrically connected to the audio receiving unit for decoding the audio signal output by the electronic device and generating a decoded audio signal; A sound output processor is connected to the audio device and the central processing unit, and the sound output processor includes: An audio judging unit for judging the audio format that the connected audio device can support, and can return the judged supported audio format to the central processing unit; An audio processing unit is electrically connected to the audio judging unit to convert a decoded audio signal into an output audio signal that can support the audio format according to the supported audio format judged by the audio judging unit, and The audio processing unit can perform conversion processing in accordance with the specifications of an enhanced audio return channel technology; An audio processing unit is electrically connected to the audio processing unit, and is used for outputting the output audio signal of the supported audio format to the audio device. The audio signal automatic identification device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device can directly output an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and the audio signal automatic identification device can receive the enhanced audio signal transmitted by the electronic device The audio signal of the audio return channel technology can be decoded first, then converted into the output audio signal according to the audio format supported by the audio device, and finally output to the audio device. The audio signal automatic identification device according to claim 1, wherein the audio device can directly receive an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and the audio signal automatic identification device receives the audio signal transmitted by the electronic device , The audio signal can be decoded first, then converted into an audio signal with enhanced audio return channel technology, and finally output to the audio device. The audio signal automatic identification device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a television, a television box, or a video audio player. The audio signal automatic identification device according to claim 1, wherein the sound output processor further includes a digital-to-analog conversion unit electrically connected to the audio processing unit for performing digital/analog conversion on the audio signal and then Output to the audio device. The audio signal automatic identification device as described in claim 1 can be combined with the electronic device or the audio device.

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