Patent ID: 7539317

Claim:
A drive apparatus for volume control devices, comprising: a first volume control device, an operation position thereof is driven automatically and operated manually for controlling a first gain of an audio signal; a position control device provided correspondingly to the first volume control device; a second volume control device, an operation position thereof is driven automatically and operated manually for controlling a second gain of the audio signal, so that a total gain applicable to the audio signal is determined by the operation positions of the first and second volume control devices; a controller for automatically setting, when the position control device is operated, the operation position of the first volume control device to a pre-specified standard position, and for automatically setting the operation position of the second volume control device to a position where a previous total gain before the position control device is operated is maintained; and an assigner for assigning a plurality of audio signals corresponding to arbitrary ones of the second volume control devices to the first volume control device, wherein a plurality of the second volume control devices are provided corresponding to a plurality of audio signals assigned to a plurality of channels, respectively, and the controller is further characterized by setting the operation positions of the second volume control devices to respective positions where previous total gains before the position control device is operated are maintained.