TWI795704B - Electronic apparatus and a mute method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an electronic apparatus and a mute method thereof. The electronic apparatus includes an audio/video input device, a switch, a processing circuit, a button and a control circuit. The first terminal of the switch is coupled to the output terminal of the audio/video input device. The processing circuit is coupled to the second terminal of the switch. When the switch is turned on, the processing circuit receives and processes the audio/video signal of the audio/video input device. The control circuit is coupled to the control terminal of the switch. When the button is pressed, the control circuit is configured to selectively turn off the switch according to the operation of the button.

Description

Electronic equipment and its method of muting

The invention relates to an electronic device and a sound-silencing method thereof.

Notebook computers or other electronic devices are equipped with microphones, cameras, and/or other audio-visual input devices. The user can use the audio-video input device to communicate with another remote user via the network. In any case, a remote hacker may remotely control (use) the audio-visual input device through the back door. Without the user's knowledge, remote hackers may eavesdrop (or peep) through the audio-visual input device, which is a serious information security problem.

In normal mode (software-based control), the codec (codec) transmits the processed audio-visual stream corresponding to the audio-visual signal of the audio-video input device to the next-level circuit. In order to prevent eavesdropping (or peeping) by remote hackers, the software running on the electronic device can mute (mute) the audio-visual input device according to the user's operation. In mute mode (software-based control), the codec does not stop the audiovisual signal on the transmission path between the audiovisual input device and the codec, but replaces the processed audiovisual stream with mute words . Because the mute operation of the audio-visual input device is performed remotely by software, a remote hacker may still unmute without the user's knowledge. How to prevent remote hackers from unmuting the audio-video input device is one of the important issues in this field.

It should be noted that the content of the "Prior Art" paragraph is used to help understand the present invention. Some (or all) of the content disclosed in the "Prior Art" paragraph may not be known to those with ordinary skill in the art. The content disclosed in the "Prior Art" paragraph does not mean that the content has been known to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field before the application of the present application.

The invention provides an electronic device and a mute method thereof, so as to prevent remote hackers from un-muting an audio-visual input device as much as possible.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electronic equipment includes a first video-audio input device, a first switch, a processing circuit, a first key and a control circuit. The first terminal of the first switch is coupled to the output terminal of the first audio-video input device. The processing circuit is coupled to the second terminal of the first switch. When the first switch is turned on, the processing circuit receives and processes the audio-visual signal of the first audio-visual input device. The control circuit is coupled to the control terminal of the first switch. The control circuit is configured to selectively turn off the first switch according to the first operation of the first key.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above mute (mute) method includes: when the first switch is turned on, the processing circuit receives and processes the video signal of the first video input device; The first operation selectively turns off the first switch.

Based on the above, the first switch in the embodiments of the present invention is configured in the audio-video signal transmission path between the first audio-video input device and the processing circuit. Based on the control of the local hardware (the control circuit and the first button), that is, it is not controlled by software, the first switch can selectively close the transmission path between the first audio-visual input device and the processing circuit, that is, mute the The first audio-visual input device. Because software cannot control the first switch, the electronic equipment described in the embodiments of the present invention can effectively prevent remote hackers from unmuting the first audio-visual input device.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail together with the accompanying drawings.

The term "coupled (or connected)" used throughout the specification of this case (including the patent claims) may refer to any direct or indirect means of connection. For example, if it is described in the text that a first device is coupled (or connected) to a second device, it should be interpreted that the first device can be directly connected to the second device, or the first device can be connected to the second device through other devices or certain A connection means indirectly connected to the second device. The terms "first" and "second" mentioned in the entire description of this case (including the scope of the patent application) are used to name elements (elements), or to distinguish different embodiments or ranges, and are not used to limit the number of elements The upper or lower limit of , nor is it used to limit the order of the elements. In addition, wherever possible, elements/components/steps using the same reference numerals in the drawings and embodiments represent the same or similar parts. Elements/components/steps using the same symbols or using the same terms in different embodiments can refer to related descriptions.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an audio-video input device 110 , a switch 120 , a processing circuit 130 , a control circuit 140 and a key 150 . According to design requirements, the audio-visual input device 110 may include a camera, a microphone, and/or other audio-visual input devices. A first terminal of the switch 120 is coupled to the output terminal of the audio-video input device 110 , and a second terminal of the switch 120 is coupled to the input terminal of the processing circuit 130 . That is, the switch 120 is arranged in the transmission path of the video and audio signals between the video and audio input device 110 and the processing circuit 130 .

Fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for muting an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. The control circuit 140 is coupled to the control terminal of the switch 120 . According to the user's operation on the button 150 , the control circuit 140 can receive an instruction from the processing circuit 130 to generate a corresponding control signal to the switch 120 to selectively turn off or turn on the switch 120 . When the control circuit 140 turns on the switch 120 (step S210 ), the processing circuit 130 can receive and process the audio-video signal of the audio-video input device 110 (step S220 ). Therefore, the electronic device 100 (or the user) can use the video and audio input device 110 to perform multimedia applications. For example, the user can use the audio-visual input device 110 to communicate with another remote user via the network.

In some situations, the user may need to mute the audio-video input device 110 . The user can press the button 150 to mute the audio-video input device 110 . The control circuit 140 can check whether the button 150 is pressed in step S230. When the control circuit 140 determines that the button 150 is not pressed (the determination result of the step S230 is “No”), the control circuit 140 may return to the step S210 (continue to turn on the switch 120 ). When the button 150 is pressed (the determination result of the step S230 is "Yes"), the control circuit 140 may proceed to the step S240. In step S240 , the control circuit 140 may turn off the switch 120 . When the switch 120 is turned off, the audio-video signal transmission path between the audio-video input device 110 and the processing circuit 130 will be cut off, that is, the audio-video input device 110 is muted. At this time, even though the remote hacker may remotely control (use) the processing circuit 130 of the audio-visual input device 110 through the system back door, the remote hacker still cannot obtain the audio-visual signal of the audio-visual input device 110 .

Based on the control of local hardware (the control circuit 140 and the button 150 ), ie not controlled by software, the switch 120 can selectively close the transmission path between the audio-video input device 110 and the processing circuit 130 . Since the software cannot control the switch 120 , the electronic device 100 can effectively prevent remote hackers from un-muting the video input device 110 .

In some situations, the user may need to unmute the video input device 110 . The user can press the button 150 again to unmute the audio-video input device 110 . The control circuit 140 can check whether the button 150 is pressed again in step S250. When the control circuit 140 determines that the button 150 is not pressed (the determination result of step S250 is "No"), the control circuit 140 may return to step S240 (continue to close the switch 120, that is, continue to keep the mute). When the button 150 is pressed (the determination result of the step S250 is “Yes”), the control circuit 140 may return to the step S210 to turn on the switch 120 (that is, release the mute).

FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram illustrating the processing circuit 130 and the control circuit 140 shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device shown in FIG. 3 further includes a keyboard 160 , and the key 150 shown in FIG. 1 may be a key (such as a function key) in the keyboard 160 shown in FIG. 3 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the processing circuit 130 includes a chipset 131 and a codec 132 . The input end of the codec 132 is coupled to the second end of the switch 120 . When the control circuit 140 turns on the switch 120 , the codec 132 can receive and process the video signal from the video input device 110 to generate video data. The chipset 131 is coupled to the codec 132 to receive video and audio data.

According to design requirements, in some implementations, the chipset 131 may include a platform controller hub (Platform Controller Hub, PCH), an I/O controller hub (I/O Controller Hub, ICH for short) or other chipsets. The chipset 131 can work together with a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU, not shown). In other implementations, the chipset 131 can be integrated into the CPU. The chipset 131 may control the operation of the codec 132 . Therefore, software running on the CPU can control the codec 132 through the chipset 131 .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 , the control circuit 140 includes an embedded controller (Embedded Controller, EC) 141 and a flip-flop (flip-flop) 142 . The embedded controller 141 can drive the keyboard 160 , a mouse (not shown) or other peripheral input devices, and then transmit the input data corresponding to the peripheral input devices to the chipset 131 . The embedded controller 141 can learn the operation of the key 150 (keyboard 160 ), and generate a control signal to the flip-flop 142 according to the operation. The input terminal of the flip-flop 142 is coupled to the embedded controller 141 to receive the control signal. The output terminal of the flip-flop 142 is coupled to the control terminal of the switch 120 . According to design requirements, the flip-flop 142 may include SN74LVC1G175 or other flip-flops. When the key 150 of the keyboard 160 is pressed, the embedded controller 141 can turn off the switch 120 through the flip-flop 142 to block the transmission path of the audio-visual signal. When the key 150 of the keyboard 160 is pressed again, the embedded controller 141 can turn on the switch 120 through the flip-flop 142 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the keyboard 160 shown in FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The keyboard 160 shown in FIG. 4 includes a keyboard matrix 161 , a keyboard scanning circuit 162 and a prompt circuit 163 . The key 150 shown in FIG. 1 may be a key (for example, a function key) in the keyboard matrix 161 shown in FIG. 4 . The keyboard scanning circuit 162 is coupled to the keyboard matrix 161 for scanning. The keyboard scanning circuit 162 can provide the scanning result to the embedded controller 141 . The prompt circuit 163 is coupled to the output terminals of the keyboard scanning circuit 162 and the flip-flop 142 . When the key 150 of the keyboard matrix 161 is pressed, the prompt circuit 163 can disable the light signal, and the embedded controller 141 can turn off the switch 120 through the flip-flop 142 . When the key 150 of the keyboard matrix 161 is pressed again, the prompt circuit 163 can enable the light signal, and the embedded controller 141 can turn on the switch 120 through the flip-flop 142 . Therefore, the user can know whether the audio-video input device 110 is muted or unmuted according to the light signal of the prompt circuit 163 .

FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the keyboard scanning circuit 162 and the prompting circuit 163 shown in FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The keyboard scanning circuit 162 shown in FIG. 5 includes a keyboard scanner 162a and a logic gate 162b. The keyboard scanner 162a can output a plurality of scan signals to the keyboard matrix 161 through the scanning bus B1, and sense the keyboard matrix 161 through the sensing bus B2. Wherein, the scan signals of the scan bus B1 include corresponding scan signals corresponding to the keys 150 . The keyboard scanner 162a may provide the scan results to the embedded controller 141 . The embedded controller 141 can provide the enable signal EN1 corresponding to the switch 120 to the prompt circuit 163 through the keyboard scanner 162a.

The first input end of the logic gate 162 b is coupled to the scan bus B1 to receive the corresponding scan signal corresponding to the key 150 . The second input terminal of the logic gate 162 b is coupled to the sensing bus B2 to receive the corresponding sensing signal corresponding to the key 150 . The output terminal of the logic gate 162 b is coupled to the prompt circuit 163 to provide a sensing result corresponding to the key 150 .

The prompting circuit 163 shown in FIG. 5 includes a pulse generating circuit 163a, a flip-flop 163b and a light signal circuit 163c. The pulse generating circuit 163a is coupled to the logic gate 162b to receive the sensing result. The pulse generating circuit 163 a is coupled to the output terminal Q of the flip-flop 142 to receive the control signal of the switch 120 . The pulse generating circuit 163a can selectively generate a trigger pulse (or a trigger clock) according to the sensing result and the control signal. The trigger terminal (clock terminal) of the flip-flop 163b is coupled to the pulse generating circuit 163a to receive the trigger pulse. The input terminal D of the flip-flop 163b is coupled to the keyboard scanner 162a to receive the enable signal EN1. The signal circuit 163c is coupled to the output terminal of the flip-flop 163b to receive the latch result. The light signal circuit 163c is configured to selectively provide a light signal according to the latch result.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the pulse generating circuit 163 a includes a pull-up resistor R51 , a capacitor C51 , a switch SW51 and a switch SW52 . A first terminal of the pull-up resistor R51 is coupled to the power supply voltage VCC. The level of the power supply voltage VCC can be determined according to design requirements. The second terminal of the pull-up resistor R51 is coupled to the trigger terminal (clock terminal) of the flip-flop 163b. The first terminal of the switch SW51 and the first terminal of the capacitor C51 are coupled to the second terminal of the pull-up resistor R51. The second end of the switch SW51 and the second end of the capacitor C51 are coupled to a reference voltage (such as the ground voltage GND). The control terminal of the switch SW51 is coupled to the output terminal of the logic gate 162b to receive the sensing result. The first end of the switch SW52 is coupled to the trigger end of the flip-flop 163b. The second end of the switch SW52 is coupled to a reference voltage (such as the ground voltage GND). The control terminal of the switch SW52 is coupled to the output terminal Q of the flip-flop 142 to receive the control signal of the switch 120 .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the light signal circuit 163c includes a pull-up resistor R52, a transistor T51, a transistor T52, a current limiting resistor R53, and a light emitting element LE1. A first end of the pull-up resistor R52 is coupled to the power supply voltage VLED. The level of the power supply voltage VLED can be determined according to design requirements. The first terminal of the transistor T51 is coupled to the second terminal of the pull-up resistor R52. The second end of the transistor T51 is coupled to a reference voltage (such as the ground voltage GND). The control terminal of the transistor T51 is coupled to the output terminal Q of the flip-flop 163b to receive the latch result. A first end of the current limiting resistor R53 is coupled to the power supply voltage VLED. A first end of the light emitting element LE1 (for example, an anode of a light emitting diode) is coupled to a second end of the current limiting resistor R53 . A first terminal of the transistor T52 is coupled to a second terminal of the light emitting element LE1 (eg, a cathode of a light emitting diode). The second end of the transistor T52 is coupled to a reference voltage (such as the ground voltage GND). The control terminal of the transistor T52 is coupled to the second terminal of the pull-up resistor R52.

When the key 150 in the keyboard matrix 161 is not pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 162 b is at a high level, so that the switch SW51 is turned on. Therefore, the voltage level of the trigger terminal of the pull-up resistor flip-flop 163b is pulled down. When the key 150 in the keyboard matrix 161 is pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 162b is low level so that the switch SW51 is closed, and the embedded controller 141 pulls the enable signal EN1 high through the keyboard scanner 162a. At this time, when the switch SW52 is turned off, the pull-up resistor pulls up the voltage level of the trigger terminal of the flip-flop 163b, so that the flip-flop 163b latches the high-level enable signal EN1. Since the output terminal Q of the flip-flop 163b is at a high level, the transistor T51 and the transistor T52 are turned on, so that the light emitting element LE1 is illuminated. When the light-emitting element LE1 is on, the embedded controller 141 also turns on the switch 120 through the flip-flop 142 , so that the codec 132 can receive and process the audio-visual signal of the audio-video input device 110 .

When the key 150 in the keyboard matrix 161 is pressed again, the embedded controller 141 pulls the enable signal EN1 low through the keyboard scanner 162a, and the output voltage of the logic gate 162b changes from a high level to a low level again. , that is, the voltage level of the trigger terminal of the flip-flop 163b changes from a low level to a high level again. Therefore, the flip-flop 163b can latch the enable signal EN1 at a low level. Since the output terminal Q of the flip-flop 163b is at a low level, the transistor T51 and the transistor T52 are turned off, so that the light emitting element LE1 does not light up. During the period when the light-emitting element LE1 is not lit, the embedded controller 141 also turns off the switch 120 through the flip-flop 142, so that the transmission path of the audio-visual signal between the audio-visual input device 110 and the codec 132 will be cut off. That is, the audio-video input device 110 is muted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an electronic device 600 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 600 shown in FIG. 6 includes an audio-video input device 611 , an audio-video input device 612 , a switch 621 , a switch 622 , a processing circuit 630 , a control circuit 640 and a key 650 . The audio-visual input device 611 and the audio-visual input device 612 shown in FIG. 6 can be deduced by referring to the related descriptions of the audio-visual input device 110 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 , and the switch 621 and the switch 622 shown in FIG. The relevant description of the switch 120 shown in FIG. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the audio-video input device 611 may include a microphone, and the audio-video input device 612 may include a camera.

The control terminal of the switch 621 and the control terminal of the switch 622 are coupled to the control circuit 640 . The control circuit 640 and the button 650 shown in FIG. 6 can be analogized with reference to the related descriptions of the control circuit 140 and the button 150 shown in FIG. 1 , so details are not repeated here. The control circuit 640 can synchronously control the switch 621 and the switch 622 according to the operation of the button 650 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the control circuit 640 includes an embedded controller 641 , a flip-flop 642 and a flip-flop 643 . The embedded controller 641 shown in FIG. 6 can be analogized with reference to the relevant description of the embedded controller 141 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 , and the flip-flop 642 and flip-flop 643 shown in FIG. The relevant description of the flip-flop 142 is analogized, so it is not repeated here. When the key 650 is pressed, the embedded controller 641 can turn off the switches 621 and 622 through the flip-flops 642 and 643, so as to block the transmission path of the video and audio signals. When the button 650 is pressed again, the embedded controller 641 can turn on the switches 621 and 622 through the flip-flops 642 and 643 .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the processing circuit 630 includes a chipset 631 , a codec 632 and a codec 633 . The chipset 631 shown in FIG. 6 can be deduced by referring to the relevant description of the chipset 131 shown in FIG. 3 , and the codec 632 and codec 633 shown in FIG. , so no more details. When the control circuit 640 turns on the switches 621 and 622 , the codecs 632 and 633 can receive and process the audio and video signals of the audio and video input devices 611 and 612 . Therefore, the electronic device 600 (or the user) can use the video and audio input devices 611 and 612 to perform multimedia applications. For example, the user can use the video and audio input devices 611 and 612 to conduct a video conference with another remote user via the network.

FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an electronic device 700 according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 700 shown in FIG. 7 includes an audio-visual input device 611 , an audio-video input device 612 , a switch 621 , a switch 622 , a processing circuit 630 , a control circuit 740 , a button 751 and a button 752 . Audio-visual input device 611 shown in Figure 7, audio-visual input device 612, switch 621, switch 622, processing circuit 630, control circuit 740, button 751 and button 752 can refer to audio-visual input device 611 shown in Figure 6, audio-visual input device 612, switch 621 , the switch 622 , the processing circuit 630 , the control circuit 640 , and the keys 650 are described in analogy, so they are not repeated here. The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is that the electronic device 700 shown in FIG. 7 is configured with a key 751 and a key 752 . The control circuit 640 can control the switch 621 according to the operation of the button 751 , and the control circuit 640 can control the switch 622 according to the operation of the button 752 . That is, the mute (unmute) operation of the video input device 611 and the mute (unmute) operation of the video input device 612 can be independent of each other.

FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating a keyboard 760 of an electronic device 700 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The keyboard 760 shown in FIG. 8 can be analogized with reference to the related description of the keyboard 160 shown in FIG. 3 . The keyboard 760 shown in Figure 8 includes a keyboard matrix 761, a keyboard scanner 762a, a logic gate 762b, a logic gate 762c, a pulse generating circuit 763a, a pulse generating circuit 763d, a flip-flop 763b, a flip-flop 763e, a lamp signal circuit 763c and a lamp. No. circuit 763f. The button 751 and the button 752 shown in FIG. 7 may be two buttons (for example, function keys) in the keyboard matrix 761 shown in FIG. 8 . The keyboard matrix 761 shown in FIG. 8 can be deduced by referring to the relevant descriptions of the keyboard matrix 161 shown in FIGS. 4 to 5 , so details are not repeated here.

The keyboard scanner 762a shown in FIG. 8 can be deduced by referring to the related description of the keyboard scanner 162a shown in FIG. 5 , and the logic gate 762b and the logic gate 762c shown in FIG. So no more details. When the key 751 in the keyboard matrix 761 is not pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762b is a high level. When the key 751 in the keyboard matrix 761 is pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762b is a low level. When the key 752 in the keyboard matrix 761 is not pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762c is a high level. When the key 752 in the keyboard matrix 761 is pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762c is a low level.

The pulse generating circuits 763a and 763d shown in FIG. 8 can be deduced by referring to the related description of the pulse generating circuit 163a shown in FIG. 5 , and the flip-flops 763b and 763e shown in FIG. By analogy, the light signal circuit 763c and 763f shown in FIG. 8 can be deduced by referring to the related description of the light signal circuit 163c shown in FIG. 5 , so no more details are given here. When the key 751 in the keyboard matrix 761 is pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762b changes from a high level to a low level so that the light signal circuit 763c lights up, and the embedded controller 741 also passes through the flip-flop 742 The switch 621 is turned off, so that the codec 632 can receive and process the video and audio signal of the audio and video input device 611 . When the key 751 in the keyboard matrix 761 is pressed again, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762b turns from a high level to a low level again so that the light signal circuit 763c does not light up, and the embedded controller 741 also The flip-flop 742 is used to close the switch 621 to cut off the transmission path of the audio-visual signal of the audio-video input device 611 .

In the same way, when the key 752 in the keyboard matrix 761 is pressed, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762c changes from a high level to a low level so that the light signal circuit 763f lights up, and the embedded controller 741 also The switch 622 is turned on through the flip-flop 743 , so that the codec 633 can receive and process the audio-video signal of the audio-video input device 612 . When the key 752 in the keyboard matrix 761 is pressed again, the sensing result output by the logic gate 762c turns from a high level to a low level again so that the light signal circuit 763f does not light up, and the embedded controller 741 also The flip-flop 743 is used to close the switch 622 to cut off the transmission path of the video and audio signals of the video and audio input device 612 .

To sum up, the above-mentioned embodiments configure a physical switch in the transmission path of audio-visual signals between the audio-video input device (such as a microphone or a camera) and the processing circuit (such as a codec). Based on the control of local hardware (control circuit and buttons), that is, non-software control, the physical switch can selectively close the transmission path between the audio-visual input device and the processing circuit, that is, mute the audio-video input device. Because the software cannot control the physical switch, the electronic device can effectively prevent remote hackers from unmuting the audio-video input device.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field may make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the scope of the appended patent application.

100, 600, 700: electronic equipment 110, 611, 612: audio and video input device 120, 621, 622, SW51, SW52: switch 130, 630: processing circuit 131, 631: chipset 132, 632, 633: codec 140, 640, 740: control circuit 141, 641, 741: Embedded controllers 142, 163b, 642, 643, 742, 743, 763b, 763e: flip-flops 150, 650, 751, 752: buttons 160, 760: keyboard 161, 761: keyboard matrix 162: Keyboard scanning circuit 162a, 762a: keyboard scanner 162b, 762b, 762c: logic gate 163: Prompt circuit 163a, 763a, 763d: pulse generating circuit 163c, 763c, 763f: lamp circuit B1: Scan bus B2: Sensing bus C51: capacitor D: input terminal EN1: enable signal GND: ground voltage LE1: light emitting element Q: output terminal R51, R52: pull-up resistors R53: current limiting resistor S210～S250: Steps T51, T52: Transistor VCC, VLED: supply voltage

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a method for muting an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a circuit block diagram illustrating the processing circuit and the control circuit shown in FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating the keyboard shown in FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram illustrating the keyboard scanning circuit and the prompting circuit shown in FIG. 4 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an electronic device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an electronic device according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating a keyboard of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

100: Electronic equipment

110: Audio-visual input device

120: switch

130: processing circuit

140: control circuit

150: button

Claims (18)

An electronic device comprising: a first audio-visual input device; A first switch having a first end coupled to an output end of the first audio-video input device; A processing circuit, coupled to a second end of the first switch, wherein when the first switch is turned on, the processing circuit receives and processes an audio-visual signal from the first audio-visual input device; a first button; and A control circuit, coupled to a control end of the first switch, is configured to selectively turn off the first switch according to a first operation of the first button. The electronic device according to claim 1 further includes a keyboard, wherein the first key is a key of the keyboard, and the at least one audio-video input device includes at least one of a camera and a microphone. The electronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processing circuit includes: a codec, having an input end coupled to the second end of the first switch, configured to process the audio-visual signal to generate an audio-visual data; and A chipset, coupled to the codec to receive the video and audio data, is configured to control the codec. The electronic device as claimed in item 1, wherein the control circuit includes: an embedded controller configured to learn the first operation of the first key, and generate a control signal according to the first operation; and A first flip-flop having an input end coupled to the embedded controller to receive the control signal, wherein an output end of the first flip-flop is coupled to a control end of the first switch, wherein When the first button is pressed, the embedded controller closes the first switch through the first flip-flop to block a transmission path of the audio-visual signal, and When the first button is pressed again, the embedded controller turns on the first switch through the first flip-flop. The electronic device as described in claim 4, further comprising: a keyboard matrix; a keyboard scanning circuit coupled to the keyboard matrix for scanning, wherein the keyboard scanning circuit provides a scanning result to the embedded controller; and a prompt circuit, coupled to the keyboard scanning circuit and the output end of the first flip-flop, wherein When the first button is pressed, the prompt circuit disables a light signal, and When the first button is pressed again, the prompt circuit enables the light signal. The electronic device as described in claim 5, wherein the keyboard scanning circuit includes: A keyboard scanner configured to output a plurality of scan signals to the keyboard matrix through a scan bus, and to sense the keyboard matrix through a sensing bus, wherein the scan signals include the keys corresponding to the first key a corresponding scanning signal, and the keyboard scanner provides the scanning result to the embedded controller, and the embedded controller provides an enabling signal corresponding to the first switch to the prompt circuit through the keyboard scanner; as well as A logic gate having a first input end coupled to the scanning bus to receive the corresponding scanning signal, wherein a second input end of the logic gate is coupled to the sensing bus to receive the corresponding first button A corresponding sensing signal, and an output terminal of the logic gate is coupled to the prompt circuit to provide a sensing result corresponding to the first button. The electronic device as described in claim 6, wherein the prompt circuit includes: a pulse generating circuit, coupled to the logic gate to receive the sensing result, and coupled to the output terminal of the first flip-flop to receive the control signal of the first switch, wherein the pulse generating circuit is configured selectively generating a trigger pulse according to the sensing result and the control signal; a second flip-flop having a trigger end coupled to the pulse generating circuit to receive the trigger pulse, wherein an input end of the second flip-flop is coupled to the keyboard scanner to receive the enabling signal; and A light signal circuit, coupled to the output terminal of the second flip-flop to receive a latch result, is configured to selectively provide the light signal according to the latch result. The electronic device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the pulse generating circuit includes: a pull-up resistor having a first end coupled to a power supply voltage, wherein a second end of the pull-up resistor is coupled to the trigger end of the second flip-flop; A second switch having a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the pull-up resistor, wherein a second terminal of the second switch is coupled to a reference voltage, and a control terminal of the second switch is coupled connected to the output terminal of the logic gate to receive the sensing result; and a third switch having a first terminal coupled to the trigger terminal of the second flip-flop, wherein a second terminal of the third switch is coupled to the reference voltage, and a control terminal of the third switch coupled to the output end of the first flip-flop to receive the control signal of the first switch. The electronic device as claimed in item 7, wherein the light signal circuit includes: a pull-up resistor having a first terminal coupled to a power supply voltage; A first transistor having a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the pull-up resistor, wherein a second terminal of the first transistor is coupled to a reference voltage, and a first terminal of the first transistor is coupled to a reference voltage a control terminal coupled to the output terminal of the second flip-flop to receive the latch result; a current limiting resistor having a first end coupled to the power supply voltage; a light emitting element having a first end coupled to a second end of the current limiting resistor; and A second transistor having a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the light emitting element, wherein a second terminal of the second transistor is coupled to the reference voltage, and a control of the second transistor terminal is coupled to the second terminal of the pull-up resistor. The electronic device as described in claim 1, further comprising: a second audio-visual input device; and A second switch has a first end coupled to an output end of the second audio-visual input device, wherein a second end of the second switch is coupled to the processing circuit, and a control end of the second switch is coupled to connected to the control circuit, and the control circuit is configured to control the second switch according to the first operation of the first button. The electronic device as described in claim 1, further comprising: a second button; a second audio-visual input device; and A second switch has a first end coupled to an output end of the second audio-visual input device, wherein a second end of the second switch is coupled to the processing circuit, and a control end of the second switch is coupled to connected to the control circuit, and the control circuit is configured to control the second switch according to a second operation of the second button. A method for muting electronic equipment, wherein the electronic equipment includes a first audio-visual input device, a first switch, a processing circuit, a first button and a control circuit, and a first end of the first switch is coupled to the An output end of the first audio-visual input device, the processing circuit is coupled to a second end of the first switch, the control circuit is coupled to a control end of the first switch, and the mute method includes: When the first switch is turned on, the processing circuit receives and processes an audio-visual signal from the first audio-visual input device; and The first switch is selectively closed by the control circuit according to a first operation of the first button. The method for muting sound according to claim 12, wherein the electronic device further includes a keyboard, the first button is a button in the keyboard, and the at least one audio-video input device includes at least one of a camera and a microphone. The mute method as described in claim item 12, further comprising: processing the audiovisual signal by a codec of the processing circuit to generate audiovisual data, wherein an input terminal of the codec is coupled to the second terminal of the first switch; and The codec is controlled by a chipset of the processing circuit, wherein the chipset is coupled to the codec to receive the video and audio data. The mute method as described in claim item 12, further comprising: receiving the first operation of the first button from an embedded controller of the control circuit, and generating a control signal according to the first operation; When the first button is pressed, the embedded controller closes the first switch through a first flip-flop of the control circuit to block a transmission path of the video signal, wherein the first flip-flop An input terminal of the embedded controller is coupled to the embedded controller to receive the control signal, and an output terminal of the first flip-flop is coupled to a control terminal of the first switch; and When the first button is pressed again, the embedded controller turns on the first switch through the first flip-flop. The mute method as described in claim item 15, further comprising: scanning a keyboard matrix by a keyboard scanning circuit, and providing a scanning result to the embedded controller; When the first button is pressed, a signal is disabled by a prompt circuit; and When the first button is pressed again, the prompt circuit enables the light signal. The mute method as described in claim item 12, further comprising: A second switch is controlled by the control circuit according to the first operation of the first button, wherein a first end of the second switch is coupled to an output end of a second audio-visual input device, and a second switch of the second switch A second terminal is coupled to the processing circuit, and a control terminal of the second switch is coupled to the control circuit. The mute method as described in claim item 12, further comprising: The second switch is controlled by the control circuit according to a second operation of a second button, wherein a first end of the second switch is coupled to an output end of a second audio-visual input device, and a second switch of the second switch A second terminal is coupled to the processing circuit, and a control terminal of the second switch is coupled to the control circuit.

Images