JPH07321574A - Method for displaying and adjusting sound volume and volume ratio - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To adjust a volume and a volume ratio by one operation and to confirm an adjusted value on a screen. CONSTITUTION:In an audio equipment provided with an audio output means, a display means capable of displaying icons and a position indication means capable of moving the position of the icon displayed on the display means, a reference point 0 for indicating the position of a user and the icons I1 and I2 for indicating the position of a sound source are displayed on the display means. When the positions of the icons I1 and I2 are moved by the position indicating means, the volume corresponding to the distance between the icons I1 and I2 and the reference point O is calculated, the volume ratio corresponding to an angle formed by straight lines connecting the positions of the icons I1 and I2 and the reference point O is calculated and the output of the audio output means is adjusted so as to attain the calculated volume and volume ratio.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method, and more particularly to a volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method in a device equipped with an audio function (hereinafter referred to as an audio device).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, audio equipment of this type is generally provided with a rotary knob and a slider knob as means for the user to adjust the volume. This also applies to the means for adjusting the volume ratio (balance) for the left and right speakers. Further, there is also a device in which the adjusted volume and volume ratio are electronically displayed to improve the user interface.

As described above, in the conventional audio equipment,
Since the means for adjusting the volume and the means for adjusting the volume ratio are different, it is necessary to operate at least two or more adjusting means in order to adjust the volume and the volume ratio. In addition, at least two display areas are required to display the volume and the volume ratio.

For example, in the volume adjusting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-301306, the adjusting means (rotating knob) and the displaying means (first display unit and second display unit) are separate. In addition, the volume and volume ratio could not be displayed simultaneously on one display unit (mode switching was required).

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional audio equipment, the volume adjusting means and the volume displaying means are separate, and the volume is displayed on the display means while the volume is adjusted by the adjusting means. There was a problem that the user interface was not good.

Further, the volume ratio adjusting means and the volume ratio display means are separate, and the user interface is not good because the display means confirms the display of the volume ratio while adjusting the volume ratio by the adjusting means. There was a point.

Further, since the volume and the volume ratio are adjusted separately, it takes time and effort to make the adjustment, and the volume and the volume ratio can be displayed simultaneously on one screen. Since there was not, there was a problem that it was difficult to confirm the adjusted value.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a volume display / adjustment method capable of adjusting the volume simply by moving the icon indicating the sound source displayed on the display means.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a volume ratio display / adjustment method capable of adjusting the volume ratio only by moving the icon indicating the sound source displayed on the display means. It is in.

Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method capable of adjusting the volume and volume ratio by one operation and confirming the adjusted value on one screen. To provide.

[0011]

According to the volume display / adjustment method of the present invention, a voice output means, a display means capable of displaying an icon, and a position of an icon displayed on the display means can be moved. In an audio device including position indicating means, a reference point indicating the position of the user and an icon indicating the position of the sound source are displayed on the display means, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means, The sound volume is calculated according to the distance between the position of the icon and the reference point, and the output of the audio output means is adjusted so that the calculated sound volume is obtained.

Further, in the volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present invention, at least two left and right audio output means, a display means capable of displaying an icon, and a position of the icon displayed on the display means can be moved. In the audio device including the position indicating means for displaying, a reference point indicating the position of the user and an icon indicating the position of the sound source are displayed on the display means, and the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means. It is characterized in that a volume ratio is calculated according to an angle formed by a straight line connecting the position of the icon and the reference point, and the output of the audio output means is adjusted so as to be the calculated volume ratio.

Furthermore, the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present invention comprises at least two left and right audio output means,
In an audio device comprising display means capable of displaying an icon and position indicating means capable of moving the position of the icon displayed on the display means, a reference point indicating the position of the user and a sound source of the sound source are displayed on the display means. An icon indicating a position is displayed, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means, the volume according to the distance between the position of the icon and the reference point is calculated, and the position of the icon and the position of the icon are calculated. The sound volume ratio is calculated according to the angle formed by the straight line connecting to the reference point, and the output of the audio output means is adjusted so that the calculated sound volume and the sound volume ratio are obtained.

[0014]

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an audio device to which the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. This audio device includes a sound reproducing device 1 and a CD (Compact Disc).
k) A device 2, a touch panel 3 as a display unit / position pointing unit, a left speaker 4 as a voice output unit, and a right speaker 5 as a voice output unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how to take the distance d and the angle θ on the touch panel 3. The distance d indicates the reference point O and the sound source (refers to the position where the user located at the reference point O recognizes as a virtual sound source when listening to the sound output from the left speaker 4 and the right speaker 5). The distance between the center of an icon (hereinafter referred to as a sound source icon) I and the angle θ is an angle formed by a straight line connecting the sound source icon I and the reference point O with a horizontal line on the screen of the touch panel 3, and is counterclockwise. From 0 radians to a maximum of π radians.
The screen of the touch panel 3 represents a virtual acoustic space.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image on the touch panel 3 for displaying and adjusting the volume and the volume ratio. In FIG. 1, a reference point O and two sound source icons I1 and I2 are displayed. On the screen,
The concentric circles mean volume contour lines (hereinafter referred to as isovolume lines). Further, the radial straight line serves as a guide when adjusting the volume ratio. For example, if the equal volume line of the designated volume of one sound source icon I1 is displayed in a different color, the volume of the other sound source icon I2 can be easily adjusted. Regarding the volume ratio, by displaying a radial straight line that is symmetrical to one sound source icon I1 in a different color, it is easy to specify the volume ratio of the other sound source icon I1.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are graphs showing the relationship between the distance d and the volume. Although not necessarily linear as shown in FIG. 4A, in order to intuitively display and adjust the volume, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, the gain (attenuation value) of the volume is changed. ) Is preferably an increasing function of the distance d. The user moves the sound source icon I farther from the reference point O when he / she wants to lower the volume, and moves the sound source icon I closer to the reference point O when he / she wants to increase the volume. By doing so, there is an advantage that the user's operation and the change in the output volume match, and the volume can be easily grasped visually.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the angle θ and the volume ratio of the left speaker 4 and the right speaker 5. Similarly to the relationship between the distance d and the volume, this is also preferably an increasing function in order to intuitively display and adjust the volume ratio. For example, when the angle θ is 3 / 4π radian, the sound source at that position outputs 75% of the output to the left speaker 4 and 25% of the output to the right speaker 5, respectively. When the angle θ is 0 radian, the right speaker 5 outputs only. By doing so, there is an advantage that the user's operation matches the left / right deviation of the sound actually heard, and the volume ratio can be easily grasped visually.

FIGS. 6A to 6D are views showing specific examples of screen images in the case of one channel (sound source). In FIG. 6A, the sound source icon I is in front of the reference point O (directly above).
Position, the 1-channel sound is output from the left speaker 4 and the right speaker 5 at the same volume, that is, a volume ratio of 50.
It is shown that the output is made in% to 50%. Figure 6 (b)
Indicates that the sound source icon I is farther from the reference point O than in FIG. 6A, and thus the volume is low. Further, FIG. 6C means that the left speaker 4 outputs at a volume of 75% of the whole volume, and the right speaker 5 outputs at a volume of 25% of the whole volume. Further, FIG. 6D means that only the right speaker 5 outputs. Therefore, it is possible to specify the two parameters of the volume and the volume ratio by one operation of moving the sound source icon I on the touch panel 3.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are views showing specific examples of screen images in the case of two channels (sound sources). FIG. 7A shows how the left speaker 4 outputs the sound of the first channel and the right speaker 5 outputs the sound of the second channel.

In FIG. 7 (b), the sound source icon I1 on the left side of the screen is at a position of 2 / 3π radians, and the sound source icon I2 on the right side is at 1 / 6π radians.
From the left speaker 4, 66.7% of the volume of the first channel and 16.7% of the volume of the second channel are mixed and output. From the right speaker 5, the volume of the first channel 33.
3% and 83.3% of the volume of the second channel are mixed and output. As a result, the reproduction is performed in which the volume ratio is slightly biased to the right.

Further, in FIG. 7 (c), since the sound source icon I1 on the left side is located farther away, the sound of the second channel is on the right side with respect to the volume of the sound of the first channel output from the left speaker 4. The volume output from the speaker 5 is reduced, and as a result, reproduction is performed with the volume ratio shifted to the left.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of a screen image when expanded to multiple channels. Indicates. In FIG.
MIDI (Musical Instrument D)
It is assumed to be an electronic audio system such as digital interface). That is, one channel corresponds to a voice sequence of one musical instrument (sound source), which is appropriately mixed and output.

In this example, by making the sound source icon Sx of the sax horn closer to the reference point O, the sound of the sax horn becomes louder and the user can make finer adjustments. Even if the number of channels is more than two as in this example, there is an advantage that the display area does not change only by increasing the number of displayed sound source icons.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a voice mixing process when there are a plurality of channels. When the position of the sound source icon I is specified, the number of channels n, the distance d, and the angle θ
Finally, the volume of each channel to be output from the left speaker 4 and the right speaker 5 is calculated. Specifically, first, n is set to the number of channels and i is set to 0 (step S1).
01), and n and i are compared (step S102). i
If is smaller, i is incremented by 1 (step S103), the volume Vi is calculated from the distance d between the position of the sound source icon I and the reference point O (step S104), and the volume of the left speaker 4 is calculated from the angle θ. Ratio Li and right speaker 5
Is calculated (step S105), the volume ViLi of the left speaker 4 and the volume ViRi of the right speaker 5 are calculated (step S106), and the control is returned to step S102. When i = n in step S102, the process ends.

FIGS. 10A to 10C are views for explaining a user interface for changing the overall volume without changing the volume ratio. In the initial state of FIG. 10A, the equal volume line having the maximum radius is displayed by the alternate long and short dash line in the position of the sound source icon. By moving this equal volume line, the overall volume is changed. Figure 10 (b)
Is an example in which the overall volume is attenuated by 2 scales. vice versa,
FIG. 10C is an example in which amplification is performed by two scales. These can be realized by moving the respective sound source icons on the radiation centered on the reference point O by the amount of movement of the equal volume line.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of an audio device to which a volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied. This audio device includes a central processing unit (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU) 1
1, a main memory 12, a disk device 13, a display 14 as a display unit, a mouse 15 as a position indicating unit, a left speaker D / A converter 16, and a right speaker D / A converter 17, It is composed of a left speaker 18 as an audio output means and a right speaker 19 as an audio output means.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image on the display 14 for the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of this embodiment. The display / adjustment window in FIG. 11 is the touch panel 3 shown in FIG.
Is similar to the screen image of. When changing the volume and volume ratio, as shown in FIG. 13, the mouse cursor M is moved onto the sound source icon I, the mouse button is pressed (steps S201 to S203), and the mouse button is moved to the desired position in the pressed state. (Drag move) (Step S204
~ S205). After that, when the mouse button is released (Yes in step S206), it is considered that the position of the sound source icon I has changed, and the volume output to the left speaker 18 and the right speaker 19 is calculated according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 (step S207). ).

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the reference point indicating the position of the user and the icon indicating the position of the sound source are displayed on the display means, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means. The volume is displayed and adjusted easily by calculating the volume according to the distance between the icon position and the reference point and adjusting the output of the audio output means so that the calculated volume is achieved, thus improving the user interface. There is an effect of doing.

Further, a reference point indicating the position of the user and an icon indicating the position of the sound source are displayed on the display means, and the position of the icon is connected to the reference point when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means. By calculating the volume ratio according to the angle formed by the straight line and adjusting the output of the audio output means so that the calculated volume ratio is achieved, it is possible to easily display and adjust the volume ratio and improve the user interface. effective.

Further, a reference point indicating the position of the user and an icon indicating the position of the sound source are displayed on the display means, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means, the distance between the position of the icon and the reference point. And the volume ratio according to the angle formed by the straight line connecting the position of the icon and the reference point, and the output of the audio output means is adjusted so as to be the calculated volume and volume ratio. As a result, the volume and volume ratio can be displayed and adjusted simultaneously with a single operation, which has the effect of improving the user interface.

Furthermore, since two values of the volume and the volume ratio can be simultaneously displayed and adjusted on one screen, there is an effect that the audio equipment can be made compact and the efficiency of user operation can be expected.

Furthermore, since the volume and volume ratio are calculated from the distance and the angle and set in the audio equipment, there is a sense of presence as if the user is at the reference point on the display means and the icon actually has a sound source. It has the effect of being obtained. Therefore, there is an advantage that the user can more intuitively display and adjust the volume and the volume ratio.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a screen image for displaying / adjusting a volume and a volume ratio in a volume / volume ratio displaying / adjusting method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an audio device to which the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating distances and angles in the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

4A to 4C are gains (attenuation values) of distance and volume in the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.
It is a graph which shows the relationship with.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relationship between an angle and a volume ratio in the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

6A to 6D are diagrams showing an example of reproduction of one channel by the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

7A to 7C are diagrams showing a reproduction example of two channels by the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of reproduction of a plurality of channels by the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing audio mixing processing in the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

10A to 10C are diagrams showing an example of changing the overall volume without changing the volume ratio in the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen image when a mouse is used as a position indicating means in a volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of an audio device to which a volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method according to another embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process of detecting movement of a sound source icon in the volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Audio Playback Device 2 CD Device 3 Touch Panel (Display Unit, Position Pointing Unit) 4 Left Speaker (Sound Output Unit) 5 Right Speaker (Sound Output Unit) 11 CPU 12 Main Memory 13 Disk Device 14 Display (Display Unit) 15 Mouse ( Position indicating means) 16 Left speaker D / A converter 17 Right speaker D / A converter 18 Left speaker (audio output means) 19 Right speaker (audio output means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An audio device comprising a voice output means, a display means capable of displaying an icon, and a position designating means capable of moving the position of the icon displayed on the display means, wherein: A reference point indicating the position of the user and an icon indicating the position of the sound source are displayed, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means, a volume corresponding to the distance between the position of the icon and the reference point is displayed. A method of displaying / adjusting a volume, which comprises calculating and adjusting the output of the audio output unit so that the calculated volume is obtained. 2. At least two left and right audio output means,
In an audio device comprising display means capable of displaying an icon and position indicating means capable of moving the position of the icon displayed on the display means, a reference point indicating the position of the user on the display means and a sound source An icon indicating a position is displayed, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means, a volume ratio is calculated according to an angle formed by a straight line connecting the position of the icon and the reference point, and is calculated. A method for displaying / adjusting a volume ratio, wherein the output of the audio output means is adjusted so that the volume ratio becomes high. 3. At least two left and right audio output means,
In an audio device comprising display means capable of displaying an icon and position indicating means capable of moving the position of the icon displayed on the display means, a reference point indicating the position of the user on the display means and a sound source An icon indicating a position is displayed, and when the position of the icon is moved by the position indicating means, the volume according to the distance between the position of the icon and the reference point is calculated, and the position of the icon and the position of the icon are calculated. Displaying a volume and a volume ratio characterized by calculating a volume ratio according to an angle formed by a straight line connecting to a reference point and adjusting the output of the audio output means so that the calculated volume and the volume ratio are obtained. Adjustment method. 4. The volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method according to claim 3, wherein a plurality of icons respectively corresponding to a plurality of sound sources are displayed on the display means. 5. The position indicating means allows the plurality of icons to be collectively moved on a straight line connecting the position of each icon and the reference point, and only the entire volume is changed once without changing the volume ratio. The method of displaying / adjusting the volume and the volume ratio according to claim 4, wherein the method is adjustable by operation. 6. The volume / volume ratio display / adjustment method according to claim 1, which is realized on a computer having an audio function.