Master digital mixer with digital-audio links to external audio in a docking station and to internal audio inside a portable PC
US6007228A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 21, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 28, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 21, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04R2205/021
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multimedia notebook or laptop personal computer (PC) has an enhanced audio system. An external audio controller in a docking station is connected to the laptop PC's audio system using a digital-audio link. The digital-audio link uses digital signals that have high noise immunity. The high noise immunity allows the digital-audio signals to be routed through the inexpensive docking connector, which has many other noisy, high-speed signals. Dedicated, expensive, noise-prone, and difficult-to-connect analog-audio connectors between the laptop PC and the docking station are eliminated. Analog-digital converter audio CODEC's are placed in both the docking station and in the laptop PC. A master mixer in the laptop PC mixes digital audio from the external audio controller in the docking station with digital audio from an external audio controller inside the laptop PC. The master mixer also connects to a zoom-video audio port and to an internal PCI bus for storing and retrieving audio clips. Audio from external docking-station sources and from internal sources can be freely mixed with the master mixer connected to local mixers in the audio controllers. Audio can be simultaneously played t…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.