Abstract:
A sound control system and method applicable to an electronic device having a timing unit. A setting module is provided to set predetermined conditions and corresponding sound volume parameters. A time session control module retrieves the sound volume parameter corresponding to a present condition obtained by the timing unit. Then, a corresponding sound output signal to be outputted by a speaker unit connected to the sound control system is set via a sound effects module according to the sound volume parameter and a sound signal around the electronic device that is received and recognized by a sound recognition module. By such arrangement, the sound control system and method allow the electronic device to provide the user with optimal sound effects depending on the environment and the user&#39;s preferences.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to sound control systems and methods, and more particularly, to a sound control system and method applicable to an electronic device having a timing unit.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Consumer electronic products such as televisions are very widespread. Nowadays, watching TV programs is a principal leisure time activity associated with family life. Along with the blooming development of digital television technology, the role of TV in daily life is gradually becoming more important.  
         [0003]     A sound control system of a traditional electronic device is based on simulation techniques, by which sound volume is adjusted via manual operation, and a user is able to adjust the sound volume depending on personal requirements. However, such sound control system is inherent with a significant drawback. The electronic device is unable to automatically adjust the sound volume according to the background noise in an environment where the electronic device is located. For example, when the user answers a phone, the sound volume needs to be decreased via manual operation. Also, there is no relationship established between the sound control of the electronic device and show times of programs played by the electronic device. For example, excessively large sound volume may disturb other people&#39;s sleep when the user listens to or watches programs at late night. The current sound control system for the electronic device does not provide a function for setting limitations on maximum sound volume according to different time sessions of a day. Additionally, there is no relationship established between the sound control and the environment where the electronic device is located. For example, it is obvious that an electronic device located in a living room would have different criteria in terms of tone quality as compared to the one located in a bedroom. However, no electronic device is currently available to automatically set or suggest optimal sound effects based on the environment. Furthermore, no relationship is established between the sound control and the user&#39;s personalized characteristics. For example, some may favor the sound effects of classical music, and some would prefer the sound effects of modern music. However, there is no electronic device being provided with a function to automatically select or suggest the optimal sound effects according to the user&#39;s personalized characteristics.  
         [0004]     Therefore, the problem to be solved here is to provide a sound control system, which can avoid the drawbacks discussed above in the prior art.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     In light of the above prior-art drawbacks, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a sound control system and method with a self-adaptive ability.  
         [0006]     Another objective of the present invention is to provide a sound control system and method applicable to an electronic device having a timing unit, so as to provide a user with optimal sound effects according to an environment where the electronic device is located and the user&#39;s preferences.  
         [0007]     In accordance with the above and other objectives, the present invention proposes a sound control system applicable to an electronic device having a timing unit. The sound control system comprises: a setting module for a user to set maximum sound volume parameters, an environmental characteristics parameter and a personalized characteristics parameter, corresponding to different time sessions of a day, an environment where the electronic device is located, and the user&#39;s personality, respectively; a parameter memory unit for storing the maximum sound volume parameters, the environmental characteristics parameter, and the personalized characteristics parameter, which are set by the user via the setting module; a time session control module for retrieving from the parameter memory unit a corresponding time session and a maximum sound volume parameter corresponding to the retrieved time session in accordance with time indicated by the timing unit; a sound recognition module for receiving and recognizing a sound signal around the electronic device; and a sound effects setting module for setting a corresponding sound output signal to be outputted by a speaker unit connected to the sound control system according to the environmental characteristics parameter, the personalized characteristics parameter, the maximum sound volume parameter retrieved by the time session control module, and the sound signal recognized by the sound recognition module.  
         [0008]     The present invention also proposes a sound control method performed through the foregoing sound control system. The sound control method comprises the steps of: providing the setting module for a user to set maximum sound volume parameters, an environmental characteristics parameter, and a personalized characteristics parameter, corresponding to different time sessions of a day, an environment where the electronic device is located, and the user&#39;s personality, respectively; and storing the maximum sound volume parameters, the environmental characteristics parameter, and the personalized characteristics parameter in the parameter memory unit; then, retrieving via the time session control module from the parameter memory unit a corresponding time session and a maximum sound volume parameter corresponding to the retrieved time session in accordance with time indicated by the timing unit; subsequently, receiving and recognizing a sound signal around the electronic device via the sound recognition module; and finally, setting a corresponding sound output signal via the sound effects setting module according to the maximum sound volume parameter retrieved by the time session control module, the environmental characteristics parameter, the personalized characteristics parameter, and the sound signal recognized by the sound recognition module.  
         [0009]     Compared to the prior art, the sound control system and method proposed in the present invention are advantageously capable of automatically adjusting the sound volume according to sounds in the surrounding environment, setting the maximum sound volume according to the time session of a day, and setting the tone quality according to environmental and personalized characteristics, such that the system provides the electronic device with a self-adaptive ability to control sound effects based on the objective environment and subjective preferences. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1A  is a schematic block diagram showing a basic structure of a sound control system according to the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIGS. 1B  to  1 E are schematic diagrams showing operation of the sound control system according to the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are flowcharts showing a sound control method performed through the sound control system according to the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are flowcharts showing a method of recognizing a sound in a surrounding environment via a sound recognition module shown in  FIG. 1A ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing a method of setting a sound via a sound effects setting module shown in  FIG. 1A ; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 5  is a table of time session versus maximum sound volume. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram showing a basic structure of a sound control system  1  according to the present invention, which is applicable to an electronic device having a timing unit  2 . Referring to  FIG. 1A , the sound control system  1  comprises: a setting module  10  for a user to set maximum sound volume parameters, an environmental characteristics parameter, and a personalized characteristics parameter, corresponding to different time sessions of a day, an environment where the electronic device is located, and the user&#39;s personality, respectively; a parameter memory unit  20  for storing the maximum sound volume parameters, the environmental characteristics parameter, and the personalized characteristics parameter, which are set by the user via the setting module  10 ; a time session control module  30  for retrieving from the parameter memory unit  20  a corresponding time session and a maximum sound volume parameter corresponding to the retrieved time session in accordance with time indicated by the timing unit  2 ; a sound recognition module  40  for receiving and recognizing a sound signal around the electronic device; and a sound effects setting module  50  for setting a corresponding sound output signal to be outputted via a speaker unit  3  connected to the sound control system  1  according to the maximum sound volume parameter retrieved by the time session control module  30 , the environmental characteristics parameter, the personalized characteristics parameter, and the sound signal recognized by the sound recognition module  40 .  
         [0018]     The time session control module  30  comprises a time session recognition module  300  and a table  301  of time session versus maximum sound volume. The time session recognition module  300  recognizes a corresponding time session according to the time indicated by the timing unit  2  and retrieves a maximum sound volume parameter corresponding to the retrieved time session from the table  301  of time session versus maximum sound volume (shown in  FIG. 5 ). In the table  301 , the maximum sound volume parameters corresponding to different time sessions of a day are set via the setting module  10  and proportional to the performance of sound volume of the electronic device.  
         [0019]     The sound recognition module  40  comprises a sound reception module  400  for receiving sounds around the electronic device; an A/D converting module  401  for converting the sounds received by the sound reception module  400  to a digital signal and outputting the digital signal; a signal processing module  402  for performing a filtering process on the digital signal outputted from the A/D converting module  401 ; and a ring recognition module  403 , a noise recognition module  404  and a subtraction operating module  405 , which are respectively for recognizing a filtered signal outputted from the signal processing module  402  and outputting a sound volume control signal based on the recognition result.  
         [0020]     The signal processing module  402  comprises a high pass filtering module  402   a,  a band pass filtering module  402   b,  and a low pass filtering module  402   c,  which simultaneously perform the filtering process on the digital signal outputted from the A/D converting module  401 . There is a direct positive relationship between a filtering parameter for each of the filtering modules  402   a,    402   b,    402   c  and the present sound volume of the electronic device. If the present sound volume is relatively high, each of the filtering parameters is dynamically adjusted to a relatively large value. Conversely, if the present sound volume is relatively low, each of the filtering parameters is dynamically adjusted to a relatively small value.  
         [0021]     The high pass filtering module  402   a  filters the digital signal to retrieve a high frequency sound signal. The ring recognition module  403  recognizes the high frequency sound signal such as a telephone ring generated in the environment and outputs a first sound volume control signal according to the recognition result.  
         [0022]     The band pass filtering module  402   b  filters the digital signal to retrieve successive background sounds in the environment. The subtraction operating module  405  processes the filtered signal outputted from the band pass filtering module  402   b  to subtract a signal generated by the electronic device from the successive background sounds in the environment, so as to obtain successive background noises in the environment. The noise recognition module  404  recognizes and calculates the background noises in the environment, and outputs a second sound volume control signal according to the recognition result.  
         [0023]     The low pass filtering module  402   c  filters the digital signal to retrieve successive noises outside the environment. The noise recognition module  404  recognizes the intensity of the noises outside the environment and outputs a third sound volume control signal according to the recognition result.  
         [0024]     The sound effects setting module  50  comprises a tone quality setting module  500  such as a built-in sound expert digital signal processor (Sound Expert DSP) chip. The tone quality setting module  500  comprises a program memory unit  500   a  and a sound effects memory unit  500   b.  The program memory unit  500   a  performs a match calculation according to the environmental characteristics parameter and the personalized characteristics parameter set via the setting module  10 , and retrieves a corresponding sound effects setting parameter from the sound effects memory unit  500   b  to determine a sound effects parameter corresponding to the characteristics of the environment and the user&#39;s personality.  
         [0025]     Preferably, a professional tone quality program is preset in the program memory unit  500   a  and the sound effects memory unit  500   b  of the tone quality setting module  500 . Referring to  FIGS. 1B and 1C , the tone quality setting module  500  allows the user to select audio-visual environmental parameters including the environment where the electronic device is located (such as a living room, bedroom, or study room, etc.), the dimensions of the environment (such as length, width, and height, etc.), and/or the location of the electronic device. After the user has entered the audio-visual environmental parameters via the sound control system  1 , the tone quality setting module  500  is capable of automatically setting the sound effects parameter for the environment according to the entered audio-visual environmental parameters.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 1D and 1E , on the other hand, the tone quality setting module  500  allows the user to select the user&#39;s personalized characteristics parameters including the user&#39;s age group, the user&#39;s sensitivity to sounds (such as high-, moderate- or low-sensitivity), and/or the user&#39;s favorite musical types. Similarly, after the user has entered the user&#39;s personalized characteristics parameters via the sound control system  1 , the tone quality setting module  500  is able to automatically set the sound effects parameter according to the entered user&#39;s personalized characteristics parameters.  
         [0027]     The sound effects setting module  50  further comprises a sound volume control module  501  for setting the sound volume of the electronic device according to the first, second and third sound volume control signals outputted from the ring recognition module  403  and the noise recognition module  404 ; and an acoustic processing module  502  for setting a corresponding sound output signal to be outputted by the speaker unit  3  according to the sound effects parameter outputted from the tone quality setting module  500  and a sound signal of the electronic device outputted from the sound volume control module  501 . Once the ring recognition module  403  has recognized a telephone ring from the high frequency sound signal, the sound volume control module  501  is capable of automatically decreasing the sound volume of the electronic device based on the first sound volume control signal, such that it would be more convenient for the user to answer the phone.  
         [0028]     The ring recognition module  403  further comprises a ring memory module  403   a  for storing a telephone ring used by the user, such that the stored telephone ring can be used as a basis for the ring recognition module  403  to recognize an incoming telephone ring. The ring memory module  403   a  can store a plurality of different rings used by the user (such as traditional sound frequencies and pulses, or other customized-recorded rings such as music or human voices), wherein each of the different rings can be inputted several times. The ring recognition module  403  is able to identify the characteristics of each of the different rings for use as a basis in successful ring recognition. It should be understood that, the sound or voice recognition method suitable in the present invention is not limited to that disclosed in this embodiment, and the ring recognition module  403  may be applied with any sound or voice recognition method.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  show flowcharts of a sound control method performed through the sound control system  1  according to the present invention. The sound control method comprises the following steps. In Step S 1 , the setting module  10  allows a user to set maximum sound volume parameters, an environmental characteristics parameter, and a personalized characteristics parameter, corresponding to different time sessions of a day, an environment where the electronic device is located, and the user&#39;s personality, respectively. The maximum sound volume parameters, the environmental characteristics parameter, and the personalized characteristics parameter are stored in the parameter memory unit  20 . Then, it proceeds to Step S 2 .  
         [0030]     In Step S 2 , the time session control module  30  retrieves from the parameter memory unit  20  a corresponding time session and a maximum sound volume parameter corresponding to the retrieved time session in accordance with time indicated by the timing unit  2  of the electronic device. Then, it proceeds to Step S 3 .  
         [0031]     In Step S 3 , the sound recognition module  40  receives and recognizes a sound signal around the electronic device. Then, it proceeds to Step S 4 .  
         [0032]     In Step S 4 , the sound effects setting module  50  sets a corresponding sound output signal to be outputted by the speaker unit  3  according to the maximum sound volume parameter retrieved by the time session control module  30 , the environmental characteristics parameter, the personalized characteristics parameter, and the sound signal recognized by the sound recognition module  40 .  
         [0033]     Referring to  FIG. 2B , Step S 2  comprises the following steps. In Step S 20 , the time session recognition module  300  recognizes the time session corresponding to the time indicated by the timing unit  2 . Then, it proceeds to Step S 21 .  
         [0034]     In Step S 21 , the time session recognition module  300  retrieves the maximum sound volume parameter corresponding to the retrieved time session from the table  301  of time session versus maximum sound volume.  
         [0035]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  show flowcharts of a method of recognizing a sound in a surrounding environment via the sound recognition module  40  shown in  FIG. 1A . Referring to  FIG. 3A , Step S 3  comprises the following steps. In Step S 30 , the sound reception module  400  receives sounds around the electronic device. Then, it proceeds to Step S 31 .  
         [0036]     In Step S 31 , the A/D converting module  401  converts the sounds received by the sound reception module  400  to a digital signal. Then, it proceeds to Step S 32 .  
         [0037]     In Step S 32 , the high pass filtering module  402   a,  the band pass filtering module  402   b  and the low pass filtering module  402   c  simultaneously perform a filtering process on the digital signal outputted from the A/D converting module  401 .  
         [0038]     Referring to  FIG. 3B , Step S 32  comprises the following steps. In Step S 32   a,  the ring recognition module  403  recognizes a filtered signal outputted from the high pass filtering module  402   a  and outputs a first sound volume control signal according to the recognition result. In Step S 32   b,  the subtraction operating module  405  and the noise recognition module  404  process and recognize a filtered signal outputted from the band pass filtering module  402   b  so as to output a second sound volume control signal via the noise recognition module  404  according to the recognition result. In Step S 32   c,  the noise recognition module  404  recognizes a filtered signal outputted from the low pass filtering module  402   c  and outputs a third sound volume control signal according to the recognition result. In this embodiment, Steps S 32   a,  S 32   b  and S 32   c  are simultaneously performed. However, it should be understood that these steps can also be successively performed depending on practical requirements.  
         [0039]      FIG. 4  shows a flowchart of a method of setting a sound via the sound effects setting module  50  shown in  FIG. 1A .  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , Step S 4  comprises the following steps. In Step S 40 , the sound volume control module  501  adjusts the sound volume of the electronic device according to the first, second and third sound volume control signals outputted in Step S 3 . Then, it proceeds to Step S 41 .  
         [0041]     In Step S 41 , the program memory unit  500   a  performs a match calculation according to the environmental characteristics parameter and the personalized characteristics parameter set via the setting module  10  and retrieves a corresponding sound effects setting parameter from the sound effects memory unit  500   b.  Then, it proceeds to Step S 42 .  
         [0042]     In Step S 42 , the acoustic processing module  502  sets the sound output signal to be outputted by the speaker unit  3  according to the sound effects setting parameter and a sound signal of the electronic device generated in Step S 40 . The first sound volume control signal has priority over the second and third sound volume control signals. Thus, once the ring recognition module  403  has recognized a telephone ring and outputted the first sound volume control signal, the sound volume control module  501  is capable of automatically decreasing the sound volume of the electronic device. In this embodiment, steps S 40 , S 41  and S 42  are simultaneously performed. However, it should be understood that these steps can also be successively performed depending on practical requirements.  
         [0043]     The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.