Patent · US Expired

Methods and apparatus for automatically synchronizing and regulating volume in audio component systems

US6026168A · kind A · utility

96Cited by
3References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 14, 1997
Grant dateFeb 15, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 14, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04S2400/13
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A signal regulator regulates an auxiliary signal based upon a primary signal scaled by an external amplifier. The signal regulator receives the primary signal with an unscaled level. Processing circuitry monitors the unscaled level of the primary signal. The primary signal is then output to the external amplifier for scaling, either by amplification or attenuation. The primary signal with a scaled level is in turn received by the signal regulator from the amplifier. The processing circuitry monitors the scaled level of the primary signal from the amplifier, and then generates a gain factor based upon the unscaled level and the scaled level of the primary signal. An auxiliary signal is received by the signal regulator. Adjusting circuitry receives the gain factor from the processing circuitry and adjusts a level of the auxiliary signal based upon the gain factor. The auxiliary signal with the adjusted level is then provided to an external component, for example, a loudspeaker. The signal regulator is particularly useful in regulating the volume of auxiliary audio channels in a surround-sound system based upon the volume of the main or front channels amplified by an audio/video recei…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.