KR102077156B1 - Potable auido apparatus for saving power and method saving power thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

We unveil balanced audio cables for portable audio devices. The present invention provides a balanced port for outputting a 4-pole analog signal in a balanced manner, an earphone port for outputting a ground signal and at least one sound source signal in an unbalanced manner, a digital signal corresponding to a digital sound source, and receiving the received digital signal. DA converter for converting and outputting 4-polar analog signals corresponding to the balanced method, a first amplifier for amplifying and outputting 4-polar analog signals, and converting 4-polar analog signals into at least one sound source signal to the earphone port. Determine whether or not a terminal is inserted into the switch unit, the balance port, and the earphone port for outputting the second amplifying unit and the four-pole analog signal applied from the first amplifying unit to the balanced port and the second amplifying unit. And a controller for activating the first and second amplifiers according to the result.

Description

Portable audio devices can reduce power consumption and how to reduce power consumption {POTABLE AUIDO APPARATUS FOR SAVING POWER AND METHOD SAVING POWER THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a portable audio device and a method of reducing power consumption thereof, and more particularly, to a method of reducing power consumption of a portable audio device capable of balanced output.

In response to users' demands for listening to high quality music, the performance of high quality sound reproduction of audio systems has been continuously developed. In traditional audio systems, high-quality sound reproduction could only be provided in large audio systems. However, due to advances in technology, the performance of portable audio devices has also been dramatically improved. Portable audio devices are basically limited to low power consumption and small size so that users can listen to music regardless of time and space. Therefore, portable audio devices are mostly developed for the purpose of listening to music using earphones or headsets, and sound output devices such as speakers are often classified into separate devices.

On the other hand, the conventional portable audio device basically has only a port for transmitting a signal in an unbalanced manner, but recently, a port for transmitting a signal in a balanced manner is often additionally provided. The balanced method is a signal transmission method developed to overcome the disadvantage of the unbalanced method which is greatly affected by noise.

In addition to unbalanced ports as well as unbalanced ports, portable audio devices have balanced signals as compared to unbalanced ones, but most earphones and headsets that receive signals only support unbalanced methods. Portable audio devices that support the scheme generally have ports for both schemes for versatility.

However, since the signals transmitted in the balanced and unbalanced methods are different from each other, portable audio devices providing both methods amplify and output the signals through two ports. However, the actual user connects to an audio output device such as an earphone or a headset only to one of two ports, and thus amplifies the signal unnecessarily, thereby wasting power.

Korean Patent No. 1290961 (Registration Date 2013.07.23) confirms to the user whether to continue playing music by generating a predetermined alarm sound using a silent section between playing a new music file after finishing playing one music. There is disclosed a technology for reducing battery power consumption by controlling the operation of the system according to whether to play the next song, but this is a technology for determining the user to play music, the technology for an audio device having a plurality of ports and Is irrelevant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a portable audio device capable of reducing power consumption by outputting an acoustic signal to only one port into which an unbalanced port and a balanced port are inserted.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for reducing power consumption of a portable audio device for achieving the above object.

Portable audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a balance port for outputting a 4-polar analog signal in a balanced manner; An earphone port for outputting a ground signal and at least one sound source signal in an unbalanced manner; A DA converter which receives a digital signal corresponding to a digital sound source, converts the received digital signal into the quadrupole analog signal corresponding to a balance scheme and outputs the analog signal; A first amplifier for amplifying and outputting the four-polar analog signal; A second amplifier converting the 4-polar analog signal into the at least one sound source signal and outputting the converted signal to the earphone port; A switch unit for branching the 4-polar analog signal applied from the first amplifier unit and transferring the analog signal to the balance port and the second amplifier unit; And a controller for determining whether a terminal is inserted into the balance port and the earphone port, and activating the first and second amplifiers according to the determination result. It includes.

The controller determines whether the terminal is inserted into at least one of the balance port and the earphone port, and when the at least one port is inserted, activates the first amplifier.

The control unit may activate the second amplifying unit when the terminal is inserted into the earphone port.

The switch unit selectively transmits the 4-polar analog signal to one of the second amplifier and the balance port according to a determination result of whether the terminal is inserted into the balance port and the earphone port of the controller. It is done.

The first amplifying unit may include two first amplifiers each amplifying two signals paired with each other among the four polar analog signals.

The second amplifier receives two signals paired with each other among the four polar analog signals, amplifies the difference between the two signals, and outputs the two sound source signals to the earphone port. It characterized in that it comprises two amplifiers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of reducing power consumption of a portable audio device in which a balanced port outputs a 4-pole analog signal in a balanced manner, and a ground signal and at least one sound source signal in an unbalanced manner. An earphone port, a DA converter, a first amplifier, a switch, a second amplifier, and a controller; A method of reducing power consumption of a portable audio device comprising: receiving, by the DA converter, a digital signal corresponding to a digital sound source, converting the received digital signal into the quadrupole analog signal corresponding to a balance scheme and outputting the digital signal; step; Determining, by the controller, whether a terminal is inserted into at least one of the balance port and the earphone port, and activating the first amplifier if at least one port is inserted; Amplifying and outputting the 4-polar analog signal by the activated first amplifier; Branching the quadrupole analog signal applied from the first amplifier by the switch unit and transferring the analog signal to the balance port and the second amplifier; Determining, by the controller, whether the terminal is inserted into the earphone port, and activating the second amplifier when the terminal is inserted into the earphone port; And converting, by the second amplifier, the quadrupole analog signal into the at least one sound source signal and outputting the same to the earphone port. It includes.

The amplifying and outputting the quadrupole analog signal may include amplifying and outputting two signals paired with each other among the quadrupole analog signals.

The outputting to the earphone port may include receiving two signals, which are paired with each other, among four analog signals; And amplifying the difference between the two signals applied to generate two sound source signals. It characterized by including.

The transmitting may include selectively transmitting the 4-polar analog signal to the second amplifier and the balance port according to a result of determining whether a terminal is inserted into the balance port and the earphone port of the controller of the controller. Characterized in that.

Therefore, the portable audio device and the power consumption reduction method of the present invention can reduce the power consumption of the balanced port and the unbalanced port to recognize the port in which the user inserted the terminal to use the earphone, only the port is inserted into the terminal It amplifies and outputs the signal, and does not output the signal to the remaining ports, thereby reducing power consumption. Therefore, the usage time of the battery powered portable audio device can be increased.

1 illustrates the appearance of a portable audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 shows an example for comparing a sound source signal in an unbalanced manner with a sound source signal in a balanced manner.
Fig. 3 shows a noise removing method of the balance method.
4 shows an example of the configuration of the portable audio device of FIG.
FIG. 5 shows another example of the configuration of the portable audio device of FIG.

In order to fully understand the present invention, the operational advantages of the present invention, and the objects achieved by the practice of the present invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and the contents described in the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In addition, in order to clearly describe the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and the same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same members.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, it means that it may further include other components, without excluding other components unless otherwise stated. In addition, the terms "... unit", "... group", "module", "block", etc. described in the specification mean a unit for processing at least one function or operation, which is hardware or software or hardware. And software in combination.

1 shows the appearance of a portable audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the portable audio device of FIG.

FIG. 1 illustrates a port configuration among the external appearance of the portable audio device 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the portable audio device 10 includes an earphone port EP, a balanced earphone port BP, and a power port (see FIG. PP).

As described above, the earphone port EP is a port to which a terminal of a mono or stereo earphone or a headset that most of the portable audio device 10 supports is connected and transmits signals in an unbalanced manner. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, it is assumed that the earphone includes a headset.

In the earphone port EP of the portable audio device 10, a 2-pole to 4-pole terminal earphone terminal having a diameter of 3.5 φ or 2.5 φ is inserted. The earphone having a 2-pole terminal is a mono earphone that receives one sound source signal S and a ground signal GND, and converts the received sound source signal S into an audio signal of an audible frequency band that can be heard by the user. Output The earphone having a three-pole terminal is a stereo earphone, and receives two sound source signals SL and SR and a ground signal GND for each of the left and the right so that different sounds are output to both ears of the user. The earphone having a 4-pole terminal has a structure in which a signal for providing a microphone or a remote controller function is added to the signal of the 3-pole earphone. In rare cases earphones with 5-pole terminals are provided for noise cancellation, but are not generally used. The arrangement of each signal according to the number of polarity of the earphone jack is different from each manufacturer because there is no standard currently specified.

In the portable audio device 10, the earphone port EP determines the polarity of the port and the arrangement of the signals in correspondence to the terminals of the designated earphone. That is, the polarity of the port and the earphone must match so that the sound signal can be transmitted normally. However, as described above, the general earphones include a ground signal GND to receive a sound source signal and output a sound signal regardless of the number of polarities. This is because a typical earphone reproduces a sound signal by using a change of the ground signal GND and one sound source signal S, SL, or SR. Here, one sound source signal is called a positive (+) sound source signal.

As described above, a method of transmitting the ground signal GND and the positive (+) sound source signals S, SL, and SR, which are reference signals, is called an unbalanced method and is the most widely used method. The unbalanced method is a signal transmission method that is typically used within a distance of 1 ~ 1.5m because of the large influence of noise depending on the transmission distance.

On the other hand, the balanced port BP is a port into which a terminal of a balanced armature earphone (BA) is inserted to transmit a high-quality sound signal in a balanced manner. The BA earphone is a balanced earphone. The balanced earphone is a signal transmission scheme developed to overcome the disadvantage of the unbalanced scheme, which is greatly affected by noise.

In FIG. 1, the balance port BP and the earphone port EP are shown to be the same size. However, if the balance port BP and the earphone port EP are implemented in the same size, the terminal may be inserted into the wrong port due to a user's mistake or error. In order to prevent such a problem, the sizes of the balance port BP and the earphone port EP may be different from each other. For example, the balance port BP may be implemented with a diameter of 2.5 φ, and the earphone port EP may be implemented with a diameter of 3.5 φ. If the size of the balance port BP and the earphone port EP is different from each other, the possibility of a user incorrectly inserting each terminal into the wrong port can be greatly reduced.

2 shows an example for comparing a sound source signal in an unbalanced manner with a sound source signal in a balanced manner, and FIG. 3 shows a noise removal method of a balanced manner.

In FIG. 2, (a) shows an unbalanced scheme, and (b) shows a balanced scheme. As shown in (a) of FIG. 2, the unbalanced scheme used in most existing earphones transmits only the ground signal GND and the positive (+) sound source signal as reference signals. However, the balance method shown in (b) transmits not only the positive (+) source signal and the ground signal (GND), which is a reference signal, but also the negative (-) source signal, which is a reverse phase signal, to the positive (+) source signal. That's the way.

In this balanced method, in which a positive (+) sound source signal and a negative (-) sound source signal are transmitted in pairs, when noise is introduced during signal transmission, the introduced noise is positive (+) sound source signal and negative (-) sound source. It is reflected in the signal in common. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the apparatus receiving the balanced signal subtracts the negative (−) sound signal from the positive (+) sound source signal, the noise signal commonly included in the two sound source signals is removed, and the signal Can increase the size. That is, the sound source signal that is robust against noise can be transmitted.

BA earphones are balanced but do not require a ground signal (GND). This is because the BA earphone reproduces sound by using the difference between the positive sound source signal and the negative sound source signal without having to match the signal level. Therefore, BA earphones that reproduce stereo sound are generally quadrupoles of the light negative sound source signal (R-), the light positive sound source signal (R +), the left positive sound source signal (L +), and the left negative sound source signal (L-). It is composed.

And the balance port BP is comprised with four polarities corresponding to the terminal of BA earphone.

The power port PP receives a power to insert the power cable to supply the portable audio device 10. The power port PP is also configured to correspond to the terminal type of the power cable to be inserted, and the micro USB port is a commonly used terminal.

4 shows an example of the configuration of the portable audio device of FIG.

In FIG. 4, for convenience of description, the configuration of a signal output unit for outputting a sound signal from the portable audio device 10 is shown mainly. In FIG. 4, the portable audio device 10 includes a DA converter DAC, a first amplifier Amp1, a switch SW, a second amplifier Amp2, and a controller CON.

The DA converter DAC receives a digital signal, converts it into an analog signal, and outputs the analog signal. Most modern audio devices use digital sound sources as source signals, which must be converted to analog signals so that sound output devices such as earphones, headphones, and speakers can output sound. The DA converter DAC converts a digital signal into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal. The portable audio device may further include a storage unit for storing a digital sound source at a previous stage of the DA converter (DAC), a digital signal converter for generating a digital signal from the digital sound source, and a filter unit for removing noise. As described above, it is omitted for convenience of description.

The DA converter (DAC) of the present invention converts a digital signal to output a signal corresponding to the balance port (BP), so that the light negative sound source signal R-, the light positive sound source signal R +, and the left positive Assume that a 4-pole analog signal of the sound source signal L + and the left negative sound source signal L- is output. The DA converter DAC may output the ground signal GND together with the 4-pole analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R-. In addition, in a portable audio device having only a balanced port BP, since the BA earphone receives signals of four polarities L +, L-, R +, and R-, the ground signal GND is not required. In the case of transmitting a signal, the ground signal GND is absolutely necessary, so the DA converter DAC may output the ground signal GND.

In general, in a portable audio device, the DA converter (DAC) converts a digital signal into two sound source signals (SL, SR) and a ground signal (GND) for each of the left and right sides to transmit stereo analog signals to the earphone port (EP). Convert to and print it out. However, in a portable audio device having a balance port BP, a four-pole analog signal must be output to the balance port BP, and the signals SL, SR, and GND for the earphone port EP and the balance port BP are used. The quadrupole analog signals (L +, L-, R +, R-) are interchangeable. Therefore, having a separate DA converter for the earphone port EP and a DA converter for the balance port BP is not suitable in view of the characteristics of a portable audio device that requires small power consumption. In the present invention, it is assumed that the portable audio device 10 includes only the DA converter DAC for the balance port BP. This is because the balance method is resistant to noise, and it is more efficient to convert the four polar analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R- generated by the balance method into two sound source signals SL and SR. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In some cases, only the DA converter for the earphone port EP is provided, and the two sound source signals SL and SR output from the DA converter correspond to the balance port BP. You can also convert.

The controller CON determines whether a terminal corresponding to each of the earphone port EP and the balance port BP is inserted, and when the terminal is inserted into at least one of the earphone port EP and the balance port BP, The first control signal C1 is transmitted to the first amplifier Amp1 to activate the first amplifier Amp1. In addition, when a terminal is inserted only in the balance port BP among the earphone port EP and the balance port BP, the control unit CON transmits the second control signal C2 to the second amplifying unit Amp2, thereby providing a second terminal. Deactivate the amplifier Amp2. The controller CON may determine whether a terminal is inserted into each of the earphone port EP and the balance port BP by using a physical switch (not shown) or a sensor (not shown) separately provided in the port. Since a switch or a sensor for determining whether a port is inserted may be implemented in various forms, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted herein.

The first amplifier Amp1 is activated in response to the first control signal C1 applied from the controller CON, and the 4-pole analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R output from the DA converter DAC. Amplify and output-). The first amplifier Amp1 receives two signals (L +, L-), (R +, and R-) paired with each other among the four polar analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R-. Two amplifiers each amplifying, the two amplifiers being activated in response to the first control signal C1 and amplifying the applied signals. That is, since the first amplifier Amp1 is activated in response to the first control signal C1, when the terminal is not inserted into at least one of the earphone port EP and the balance port BP, the first amplifier Amp1 is deactivated to consume power. I never do that. The two amplifiers are not powered.

On the other hand, the switch SW receives the 4-pole analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R- amplified by the first amplifier Amp1 to the balance port BP and the second amplifier Amp2. Branch and transmit. The switch unit SW may be implemented as an analog switch, and not only branches and transmits four-pole analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R-, but also a balance port BP or an earphone port ( EP) can be configured to transmit a signal depending on whether the terminal is inserted. In addition, when the terminal is inserted, it may be configured to transmit only one of the four-pole analog signals L +, L-, R +, R- or the balance port BP and the second amplifier Amp2 according to the port into which the terminal is inserted. It may be. At this time, the switch unit SW is one of the balance port BP and the second amplifier Amp2 in response to the switching signal SS transmitted from the control unit CON, and the 4-pole analog signals L +, L-, and R +. , R-). To this end, when the terminal is inserted into one of the balance port BP and the earphone port EP, the controller CON may output the switching signal SS to the switching unit SW according to the port into which the terminal is inserted. have. The switch unit SW transmits the analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R- to the balance port BP when a terminal is inserted into the balance port BP in response to the switching signal SS. When the terminal is inserted into the earphone port EP, the analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R- may be transmitted to the second amplifier Amp2.

The second amplifying unit Amp2 is activated in response to the second control signal C2 to output the quadrupole analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R- output from the DA converter DAC to the earphone port EP. Is converted into two sound source signals SL and SR corresponding to the " The second amplifier Amp2 also has two amplifiers similar to the first amplifier Amp1, each of which has a pair of four-pole analog signals L +, L-, R +, and R-. Two signals (L +, L-) and (R +, R-) are applied and amplified. However, the two amplifiers of the second amplifier Amp2 do not amplify the signals of the two input signals (L +, L-, and (R +, R-)), but do not amplify the difference between the two signals. It amplifies and outputs two sound source signals SL and SR. Since the second amplifier Amp2 is also activated in response to the second control signal C2, if the terminal is not inserted into the earphone port EP only, the second amplifier Amp2 is inactivated to reduce power consumption.

In the above description, the controller CON activates or deactivates the first and second control signals C1 and C2 by applying the first and second control signals C1 and C2 to the first and second amplifiers Amp1 and Amp2, respectively. The first and second amplifiers Amp1 and Amp2 may be activated or deactivated by applying or blocking power to the first and second amplifiers Amp1 and Amp2.

In the above description, the ground signal GND is transmitted from the DA converter DAC to the earphone port EP through the first amplifier Amp1, the switch SW, and the second amplifier Amp2. The signal GND may be directly applied to the earphone port EP as a ground power source.

5 illustrates a method of reducing power consumption of a portable audio device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a method of reducing power consumption of the portable audio device 10 of FIG. 5 will be described. First, when a user command is applied, the portable audio device reproduces a sound source in response to the user command (S10). The sound source may be pre-stored in a portable audio device or may be transmitted by an external device in a wired or wireless manner. And reproducing the sound source means that the DA converter (DAC) converts the sound source, which is a digital signal, into an analog signal.

The control unit CON of the portable audio device 10 determines whether the terminal is inserted into at least one of the balance port BP and the earphone port EP (S20). When the terminal is inserted into at least one of the balance port BP and the earphone port EP, the controller CON outputs the first control signal C1 to the first amplifier Amp1 and outputs the first amplifier. Amp2) is activated (S30). Then, it is determined whether the terminal is inserted into the earphone port EP (S40). If it is determined that the terminal is inserted into the earphone port EP, the controller CON outputs the second control signal C2 to the second amplifier Amp2 to activate the second amplifier Amp2 (S50). ). The user command determines whether an end command is authorized. If the end command is not applied, the sound source continues to be played (S10).

The method according to the invention can be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of the recording medium include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, and the like, and also include a carrier wave (for example, transmission through the Internet). The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible.

Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (10)

A balance port for outputting a 4-polar analog signal in a balanced manner;
An earphone port for outputting a ground signal and at least one sound source signal in an unbalanced manner;
A DA converter which receives a digital signal corresponding to a digital sound source, converts the received digital signal into the quadrupole analog signal corresponding to the balance scheme and outputs the analog signal;
A first amplifier for amplifying and outputting the four-polar analog signal;
A second amplifier converting the 4-polar analog signal into the at least one sound source signal and outputting the converted signal to the earphone port;
A switch unit for branching the 4-polar analog signal applied from the first amplifier unit and transferring the analog signal to the balance port and the second amplifier unit; And
A controller for determining whether a terminal is inserted into the balance port and the earphone port, and activating the first amplifier and the second amplifier according to a determination result; Portable audio device comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit
And determining whether the terminal is inserted into at least one of the balance port and the earphone port, and when the at least one port is inserted, activate the first amplifier. The method of claim 2, wherein the control unit
And the terminal is inserted into the earphone port, activating the second amplifier. The method of claim 2, wherein the switch unit
Portable audio, characterized in that for selectively transmitting the 4-polar analog signal to the second amplifier and the balance port according to the determination result of whether the terminal is inserted into the balance port and the earphone port of the controller. Device. The method of claim 1, wherein the first amplification unit
And two first amplifiers each amplifying two signals paired with each other among the four polar analog signals. The method of claim 5, wherein the second amplification unit
Two second amplifiers receiving paired signals from each of the four polar analog signals, amplifying a difference between the applied two signals, and outputting the two sound source signals to the earphone port; Portable audio device, characterized in that. A balanced port for outputting a 4-polar analog signal in a balanced manner, an earphone port for outputting a ground signal and at least one sound source signal in an unbalanced manner, a DA converter, a first amplifier, a switch, a second amplifier, and a controller; In the power consumption reduction method of a portable audio device comprising:
Receiving, by the DA converter, a digital signal corresponding to a digital sound source, converting the received digital signal into the 4-polar analog signal corresponding to the balance method and outputting the digital signal;
Determining, by the controller, whether a terminal is inserted into at least one of the balance port and the earphone port, and activating the first amplifier if at least one port is inserted;
Amplifying and outputting the quadrature analog signal by the activated first amplifier;
Branching the quadrupole analog signal applied by the first amplifying unit to the balance port and the second amplifying unit;
Determining, by the controller, whether the terminal is inserted into the earphone port, and activating the second amplifier if the terminal is inserted into the earphone port; And
Converting, by the second amplifier, the quadrupole analog signal into the at least one sound source signal and outputting the converted signal to the earphone port; Method for reducing power consumption of a portable audio device comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein the amplifying and outputting the 4-polar analog signal
And amplifying and outputting two paired signals of the four polar analog signals, respectively. The method of claim 7, wherein the outputting to the earphone port
Receiving two signals paired with each other among the four polar analog signals; And
Amplifying the difference between the applied two signals to generate two sound source signals; Method for reducing power consumption of a portable audio device comprising a. The method of claim 7, wherein said delivering step
The switch unit selectively transmits the 4-polar analog signal to one of the second amplifier and the balance port according to a result of determining whether a terminal is inserted into the balance port and the earphone port of the controller. How to reduce power consumption in portable audio devices.

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