The present invention relates to a technology for receiving volume level control for a plurality of audio devices.
Hitherto, there has been known a volume level control device capable of individually or collectively adjusting volume levels of a plurality of audio devices. For example, in a multi-zone system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a controller displays on a graphical user interface a control screen including a plurality of channel faders (audio volumes) associated with a plurality of multimedia players belonging to a zone group, respectively, and a master fader (group audio volume). The “channel fader” is a linear fader for individually receiving volume level control for a multimedia player associated with this channel fader. The controller outputs, to the multimedia player associated with the channel fader, a control signal for adjusting a volume level of the associated multimedia player to a volume level corresponding to a scale value indicated by this channel fader. Further, the “master fader” is a linear fader for collectively receiving volume level control for a plurality of multimedia players belonging to a zone group. The controller collectively moves all of the channel faders in the control screen in the same direction as a movement direction of the master fader along with movement of the master fader while keeping the difference between the scale values indicated by those channel faders (difference in volume level). In this system, the master fader is set to be arranged at a position indicating an averaged or median value of the scale values indicated by the plurality of channel faders in the control screen, respectively.
[PTL 1] U.S. Pat. No. 7,571,014 B1
As described above, in a multi-zone system disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the controller collectively moves all of the channel faders in the control screen in the same direction as the movement direction of the master fader along with the movement of the master fader while keeping the difference between the scale values indicated by those channel faders (that is, a positional relationship among those channel faders). In this system, the master fader is arranged at the position indicating the averaged or median value of the scale values indicated by the plurality of channel faders in the control screen, respectively. Accordingly, the movement of the master fader is stopped at a position of a scale value that is indicated by the master fader when a channel fader that indicates the minimum scale value among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen reaches a lower limit value of a scale. Similarly, the movement of the master fader is stopped at a position of a scale value that is indicated by the master fader when a channel fader that indicates the maximum scale value among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen reaches an upper limit value of the scale.
Therefore, despite the fact that the master fader does not reach the lower limit value or the upper limit value of the scale, the user cannot further move the master fader in a direction approaching the lower limit value or the upper limit value of the scale. It is thus difficult to intuitively grasp a range in which the master fader is movable on the scale. Moreover, all of the channel faders in the control screen cannot be moved to the lower limit value or the upper limit value of the scale only through the operation on the master fader, and hence it is necessary to individually operate those channel faders.
The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and it is an object of the present invention to improve operability of volume level control for a plurality of audio devices.
In order to solve the problems described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a minimum-value side end portion, which is one end portion of a master fader, is displayed at a position indicating the same scale value as a minimum value of scale values indicated by a plurality of channel faders in a control screen, respectively, and a maximum-value side end portion, which is another end portion of the master fader, is displayed at a position indicating the same scale value as a maximum value of the scale values indicated by the plurality of channel faders in the control screen, respectively, such that the master fader has a width corresponding to the minimum value and the maximum value of the scale values indicated by the plurality of channel faders in the control screen, respectively. With this configuration, when a channel fader indicating the minimum scale value among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen reaches a lower limit value of a scale, the minimum-value side end portion of the master fader also reaches a lower limit value of a scale, and when a channel fader indicating the maximum scale value among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen reaches an upper limit value of the scale, the maximum-value side end portion of the master fader also reaches an upper limit value of the scale.
In this case, when an operation of moving the maximum-value side end portion of the master fader toward the lower limit value of the scale is received under a state in which the minimum-value side end portion of the master fader has reached the lower limit value of the scale, a channel fader that has not reached the lower limit value of the scale among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen may be moved toward the lower limit value of the scale along with the movement of the maximum-value side end portion of the master fader. As another configuration, when a predetermined operation is performed on the master fader under the state in which the minimum-value side end portion of the master fader has reached the lower limit value of the scale, every channel fader that has not reached the lower limit value of the scale among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen may be moved to the lower limit value of the scale.
As still another configuration, when an operation of moving the minimum-value side end portion of the master fader toward the upper limit value of the scale is received under a state in which the maximum-value side end portion of the master fader has reached the upper limit value of the scale, a channel fader that has not reached the upper limit value of the scale among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen may be moved toward the upper limit value of the scale along with the movement of the minimum-value side end portion of the master fader. As yet another configuration, when a predetermined operation is performed on the master fader under the state in which the maximum-value side end portion of the master fader has reached the upper limit value of the scale, every channel fader that has not reached the upper limit value of the scale among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen may be moved to the upper limit value of the scale.
For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a program readable by a computer, the program causing the computer to function as a volume level control device,
According to the present invention, when the channel fader indicating the minimum scale value among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen reaches the lower limit value of the scale, the minimum-value side end portion of the master fader also reaches the lower limit value of the scale, and when the channel fader indicating the maximum scale value among the plurality of channel faders in the control screen reaches the upper limit value of the scale, the maximum-value side end portion of the master fader also reaches the upper limit value of the scale. Accordingly, the master fader can be moved to the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the scale while keeping a relative balance among the channels, and it is thus easy to intuitively grasp a range in which the master fader is movable on the scale. Therefore, according to the present invention, the operability of volume level control for a plurality of audio devices can be improved.
In the following, a description is given of an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The wireless network interface unit 20 is an interface for communicating, via the access point 4, to/from the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 and to/from the media server 3 connected to the network 5.
The graphical user interface unit 21 is an interface for displaying information and receiving various types of operations from the user.
The volume level control receiving unit 22 is configured to receive volume level control for the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 from the user via the graphical user interface unit 21.
The control signal outputting unit 23 is configured to output a control signal for adjusting a volume level to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 via the wireless network interface unit 20.
First, the volume level control receiving unit 22 acquires volume levels from the respective wireless network-compatible speakers 1 via the wireless network interface unit 20 (Step S1). Instead of acquiring the volume levels from the respective wireless network-compatible speakers 1, the volume level of each wireless network-compatible speaker 1, which is identified based on a control signal output last by the volume level control terminal 2, may be stored for each wireless network-compatible speaker 1, to thereby acquire the volume level of each wireless network-compatible speaker 1.
Next, the volume level control receiving unit 22 uses the volume levels of the respective wireless network-compatible speakers 1 to generate a control screen 25 for receiving volume level control for the wireless network-compatible speakers 1 from the user, and displays the control screen 25 on the graphical user interface unit 21 (Step S2).
On the control screen 25, each of the channel faders 26 is arranged at a position of a scale value on a corresponding scale 260 that is indicated by the channel fader 26, and in accordance with an operation on the channel fader 26 or the master fader 27, slides along the corresponding scale 260 within a scale range (from an upper limit value to a lower limit value) of the scale 260. Meanwhile, the master fader 27 is arranged at a position on a corresponding scale 270, and slides or expands/contracts along the corresponding scale 270 within a scale range (from an upper limit value to a lower limit value) of the scale 270 in accordance with an operation on the master fader 27 or anyone of the channel faders 26. The master fader 27 has a width W corresponding to a minimum value and a maximum value of the scale values indicated by the respective channel faders 26. The master fader 27 has one end portion (hereinafter referred to as “minimum-value side end portion”) 271 displayed at a position of the same scale value as the minimum value and has another end portion (hereinafter referred to as “maximum-value side end portion”) 272 displayed at a position of the same scale value as the maximum value. In
In this case, the scale 260 of each channel fader 26 and the scale 270 of the master fader 27 have the same scale range of from a common upper limit value to a common lower limit value (in
Next, the volume level control receiving unit 22 waits for a certain operation to be performed by the user via the graphical user interface unit 21 (Step S3). Then, when any one of the channel faders 26 of the control screen 25 is operated (“YES” in Step S3), channel fader updating processing described later is performed (Step S4), and when the master fader 27 is operated (“YES” in Step S5), master fader updating processing described later is performed (Step S6).
Then, when receiving an instruction to end the volume level control from the user via the graphical user interface unit 21 (“YES” in Step S7), the volume level control receiving unit 22 ends this flow.
First, the volume level control receiving unit 22 updates a display position on the scale 260 of the channel fader (hereinafter referred to as “operation target channel fader”) 26 operated by the user via the graphical user interface unit 21 in accordance with details of the user's operation (movement direction and movement amount) (Step S40).
Next, the volume level control receiving unit 22 identifies a scale value indicated by the operation target channel fader 26 and notifies the control signal outputting unit 23 of the scale value along with address information on the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 associated with the operation target channel fader 26. In response to this, the control signal outputting unit 23 generates a control signal for adjusting the volume level of the associated wireless network-compatible speaker 1 to a volume level corresponding to the scale value received from the volume level control receiving unit 22. The control signal outputting unit 23 then transmits via the wireless network interface unit 20 the control signal to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 that is identified by the address information received from the volume level control receiving unit 22 (Step S41).
Next, when the scale value indicated by the operation target channel fader 26 is the minimum value of the scale values indicated by the respective channel faders 26 (“YES” in Step S42), the volume level control receiving unit 22 updates a display position on the scale 270 of the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 to a position of the same scale value as the scale value indicated by the operation target channel fader 26, to thereby change the width W of the master fader 27 (Step S43). After that, the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
Further, when the scale value indicated by the operation target channel fader 26 is the maximum value of the scale values indicated by the respective channel faders 26 (“YES” in Step S44), the volume level control receiving unit 22 updates a display position on the scale 270 of the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 to a position of the same scale value as the scale value indicated by the operation target channel fader 26, to thereby change the width W of the master fader 27 (Step S45). After that, the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
On the other hand, when the scale value indicated by the operation target channel fader 26 is neither the minimum value of the scale values indicated by the respective channel faders 26 (“NO” in Step S42) nor the maximum value thereof (“NO” in Step S44), the volume level control receiving unit 22 does not change the width W of the master fader 27, and the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
First, the volume level control receiving unit 22 analyzes the movement direction of the master fader 27 operated by the user via the graphical user interface unit 21 (Step S600). When the movement direction of the master fader 27 is a direction toward the lower limit value of the scale 270 (“toward lower limit value” in Step S600), the processing proceeds to Step S610. Then, the volume level control receiving unit 22 examines whether or not, among the channel faders 26-1 to 26-4, there is a channel fader 26 that has reached the position of the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260. On the other hand, when the movement direction of the master fader 27 is a direction toward the upper limit value of the scale 270 (“toward upper limit value” in Step S600), the processing proceeds to Step S620. Then, the volume level control receiving unit 22 examines whether or not, among the channel faders 26-1 to 26-4, there is a channel fader 26 that has reached the position of the upper limit value of the corresponding scale 260.
When none of the channel faders 26 has reached the position of the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260 in Step S610 (“NO” in Step S610), or none of the channel faders 26 has reached the position of the upper limit value of the corresponding scale 260 in Step S620 (“NO” in Step S620), the volume level control receiving unit 22 updates the display position on the scale 270 of the master fader 27 in accordance with details of the user's operation (movement direction and movement amount) (Step S630).
Next, the volume level control receiving unit 22 moves the display positions of the respective channel faders 26 in the movement direction of the master fader 27 by the movement amount of the master fader 27 (Step S631). As a result, each channel fader 26 moves along with the movement of the master fader 27 in the movement direction of the master fader 27 while keeping the difference between the scale values indicated by the respective channel faders 26 (positional relationship among the channel faders 26-1 to 26-4).
Then, the volume level control receiving unit 22 identifies a scale value indicated by each channel fader 26, and for each channel fader 26, notifies the control signal outputting unit 23 of the scale value and address information on the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 associated with the channel fader 26. In response to this, for each channel fader 26, the control signal outputting unit 23 generates a control signal for adjusting the volume level of the associated wireless network-compatible speaker 1 to a volume level corresponding to the scale value received from the volume level control receiving unit 22, and transmits via the wireless network interface unit 20 the control signal to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 that is identified by the address information received from the volume level control receiving unit 22 (Step S632). After that, the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
On the other hand, in Step S610, when there is a channel fader 26 (in
In Step S611, when the master fader 27 has not been operated through selection of the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 (“NO” in Step S611), the volume level control receiving unit 22 does not change the display of the respective channel faders 26 and the master fader 27, and the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
Next, the volume level control receiving unit 22 identifies a scale value indicated by each channel fader 26 on the corresponding scale 260, and for each channel fader 26, notifies the control signal outputting unit 23 of the scale value and address information on the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 associated with the channel fader 26. In response to this, for each channel fader 26, the control signal outputting unit 23 generates a control signal for adjusting the volume level of the associated wireless network-compatible speaker 1 to a volume level corresponding to the scale value received from the volume level control receiving unit 22, and transmits via the wireless network interface unit 20 the control signal to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 that is identified by the address information received from the volume level control receiving unit 22 (Step S632). At this time, the control signal may not be transmitted to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 whose volume level is not to be changed. After that, the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
Further, in Step S620, when there is a channel fader 26 (in
In Step S621, when the master fader 27 has not been operated through selection of the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 (“NO” in Step S621), the volume level control receiving unit 22 does not change the display of the respective channel faders 26 and the master fader 27, and the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
Next, the volume level control receiving unit 22 identifies a scale value indicated by each channel fader 26, and for each channel fader 26, notifies the control signal outputting unit 23 of the scale value and address information on the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 associated with the channel fader 26. In response to this, for each channel fader 26, the control signal outputting unit 23 generates a control signal for adjusting the volume level of the associated wireless network-compatible speaker 1 to a volume level corresponding to the scale value received from the volume level control receiving unit 22, and transmits via the wireless network interface unit 20 the control signal to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 that is identified by the address information received from the volume level control receiving unit (Step S632). At this time, the control signal may not be transmitted to the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 whose volume level is not to be changed. After that, the processing proceeds to Step S7 of
In the above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described.
In this embodiment, the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 is displayed at the position indicating the same scale value as the minimum value of the scale values indicated by the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25, respectively, and the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 is displayed at the position indicating the same scale value as the maximum value of the scale values indicated by the plurality of channel faders 26, respectively, such that the master fader 27 has the width W corresponding to the minimum value and the maximum value of the scale values indicated by those channel faders 26. With this configuration, when the channel fader 26 indicating the minimum scale value among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 reaches the position of the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260, the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 also reaches the position of the lower limit value of the scale 270 (see
Further, in this embodiment, when the operation of moving the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 toward the lower limit value of the scale 270 is received under the state in which the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 has reached the position of the lower limit value of the scale 270, the channel faders 26 that have not reached the position of the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260 among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 are moved toward the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260 along with the movement of the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 (see
Still further, in this embodiment, when the operation of moving the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 toward the upper limit value of the scale 270 is received under the state in which the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 has reached the upper limit value of the scale 270, the channel faders 26 that have not reached the position of the upper limit value of the corresponding scale 260 among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 are moved toward the upper limit value of the corresponding scale 260 along with the movement of the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 (see
The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various changes may be made thereto within the scope of the gist of the invention.
For example, in the embodiment described above, when the operation of moving the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 toward the lower limit value of the scale 270 is received under the state in which the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 has reached the lower limit value of the scale 270, the channel faders 26 that have not reached the position of the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260 among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 are moved toward the lower limit value of the corresponding scale 260 along with the movement of the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. When a predetermined operation is performed on the master fader 27 under the state in which the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 has reached the lower limit value of the scale 270, every channel fader 26 that has not reached the position of the lower limit value of the scale 260 among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 may be moved to the lower limit value of the scale 260. The predetermined operation is, for example, operating the master fader 27 to temporarily separate the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 from the lower limit value of the scale 270 and then cause the minimum-value side end portion 271 to reach the lower limit value of the scale 270 again within a predetermined period of time, or double-clicking on the master fader 27. In this manner, operability in a case of a small display screen, for example, a touch panel of a smartphone, can be improved.
Further, in the embodiment described above, when the operation of moving the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27 toward the upper limit value of the scale 270 is received under the state in which the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 has reached the position of the upper limit value of the scale 270, the channel faders 26 that have not reached the upper limit value of the corresponding scale 260 among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 are moved toward the upper limit value of the scale 260 along with the movement of the minimum-value side end portion 271 of the master fader 27. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. When a predetermined operation is performed on the master fader 27 under the state in which the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 has reached the upper limit value of the scale 270, every channel fader 26 that has not reached the position of the upper limit value of the scale 260 among the plurality of channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 may be moved to the upper limit value of the scale 260. The predetermined operation is, for example, operating the master fader 27 to temporarily separate the maximum-value side end portion 272 of the master fader 27 from the upper limit value of the scale 270 and then cause the maximum-value side end portion 272 to reach the upper limit value of the scale 270 again within a predetermined period of time, or double-clicking on the master fader 27. In this manner, operability in the case of a small display screen, for example, a touch panel of a smartphone, can be improved.
Further, in the embodiment described above, the case where the volume level control terminal 2 is connected to the wireless network via the access point 4 is taken as an example for description, but the volume level control terminal 2 may be connected directly to the network 5 without the wireless network.
Further, in the embodiment described above, the media server 3 is connected to the network 5, but the media server 3 may be connected to the wireless network via the access point 4. Further, the media server 3 may be built into the volume level control terminal 2, or may be built into any one of the wireless network-compatible speakers 1.
Further, in the embodiment described above, the case where the volume level control terminal 2 controls the volume level of the wireless network-compatible speaker 1 is taken as an example for description, but the present invention is widely applicable to a case where volume levels of various types of audio devices having an audio outputting function, such as speakers compatible with a wired network, are controlled.
Further, in the embodiment described above, the case where the four channel faders 26 are arranged in the control screen 25 is taken as an example, but the number of channel faders 26 to be arranged in the control screen 25 may be set as appropriate. Further, in the embodiment described above, all of the channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 move along with the master fader 27, but only any two or more channel faders 26 in the control screen 25 that are selected by the user may move along with the master fader 27.
1, 1-1 to 1-4: wireless network-compatible speaker, 2: volume level control terminal, 3: media server, 4: access point, 5: network, 20: wireless network interface unit, 21: graphical user interface unit, 22: volume level control receiving unit, 23: control signal outputting unit, 25: control screen, 26, 26-1 to 26-4: channel fader, 27: master fader, 260: scale of channel fader 26, 270: scale of master fader 27, 271: minimum-value side end portion of master fader 27, 272: maximum-value side end portion of master fader 27
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2014-248151 | Dec 2014 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2015/075332 | 9/7/2015 | WO | 00 |