Method and system for controlling amplifiers

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention is generally related to the area of audio technologies. In particular, the invention is related to controlling of audio amplifiers in devices based upon data traffic detection.

[0003] 2. The Background of Related Art

[0004] Automatic power shutdown is an important feature in many electrical appliances. One of the appliances commonly seen is a stereo system that includes a powered subwoofer. The subwoofer is automatically shutdown when the stereo system is powered off or produces no sound (e.g., in CD mode with no CD is played). On the other end, the subwoofer is automatically tuned on when the stereo system is powered on, thus eliminating the need of turning on or off two devices manually or sequentially. Another example is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) supporting a computer system. The UPS provides power in an event that regular power to the computer system is suddenly off. As an automated preventative measure, the computer system is configured to shut down itself when the UPS is running on a low battery level or beyond a predetermined time so as to avoid corrupting files, or damaging other parts in the computer system.

[0005] The implementation of the automatic power shutdown feature is largely based upon special circuitry or analog control circuits to detect a signal level against a predetermined level. In the stereo system example, if audio signals to the subwoofer are not detected or substantially lower than a fixed level for a period of time, the subwoofer is sent a signal to be powered off. Likewise, when audio signals to the subwoofer are detected, the subwoofer is sent a signal to be powered on. In the UPS example, the detection mechanism is similar. The battery in the UPS is constantly or periodically measured against a predetermined level or the operation time thereof is measured. When either one of the measurements is below a certain level, the computer system receives a signal or an instruction that triggers the automatic shutdown process.

[0006] The analog solution of automatic power shutdown is not effective when used in a distributed system comprising multiple devices that need to automatically shut down while not in use. For example, a plurality of networked audio devices each of which has or associated with one or more power amplifiers share audio sources. The detection of an analog signal to one of the audio devices on a data network would be difficult and ineffective. Additional hardware (i.e., circuitry), if needed, would increase the cost and complexity of such system. There is, therefore, a need for solutions of automatic shutdown suitable for such system without adding extra hardware.

[0007] This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the present invention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions in this section as well as in the abstract or the title of this description may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of this section, the abstract and the title. Such simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0008] In general, the present invention pertains to controlling one or more audio amplifiers in or associated with a device coupled on a local area network and receiving at least one selected source from other devices also coupled on the network. The device may be an audio device for playing back audio resources stored on the other devices. According to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic shutdown control module is provided in the device to power down the audio amplifiers when there is no audio data flow coming to the device or power up the audio amplifiers when there is audio data flow coming to the device.

[0009] All types of traffic may present on a local area network, including data other than those from an audio source. The present invention relies upon traffic of only the data from one or more audio sources to control the operation of audio amplifiers. When audio traffic to a device is absent for a defined time, an audio amplifier in or associated with the device is automatically powered down. The defined time may be a fixed time or derived from a set of data collected over a time period regarding a time lapse not intended for powering down the audio amplifier.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, the procedure to power down or power up the amplifiers is in accordance with a hysteresis, wherein the hysteresis, being lagging of an effect behind its cause, protects the amplifiers and makes the powering-down or powering-up procedure unnoticeable to a user. As such, the implementation of the hysteresis protects the amplifiers from being turned on or off in quick succession.

[0011] The present invention may be implemented in many forms including software, hardware or a combination of both. According to one embodiment, the present invention is an apparatus for controlling an audio amplifier, the apparatus comprises: a network interface communicating with a data network, a control module, coupled to the network interface, configured to detect any data packets coming from the data network; when none of the data packets is detected relating to an audio source for a defined time, the control module causing the audio amplifier to be powered down; when the data packets is detected relating to an audio source, the control module causing the audio amplifier to be powered on.

[0012] According to another embodiment, the present invention is a method for controlling an audio amplifier, the method comprises detecting any data packets coming from a network; when none of the data packets is detected relating to an audio source for a defined time, causing the audio amplifier to be powered down; when the data packets is detected relating to an audio source, causing the audio amplifier to be powered on.

[0013] One of the objects, features, advantages of the present invention is to use data traffic pertaining only to the data of the audio source to control audio amplifiers.

[0014] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon examining the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

[0023] The present invention pertains to designs of controlling one or more audio amplifiers in or associated with a device coupled on a local area network and receiving at least one selected source from other devices also coupled on the network. The device may be an audio device for playing back audio resources stored on the other devices. According to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic shutdown control module is provided in the device to power down the audio amplifiers when there is no audio data flow coming to the device or power up the audio amplifiers when there is audio data flow coming to the device. In one embodiment, the procedure to power down or power up the amplifiers is in accordance with a hysteresis, wherein the hysteresis, being lagging of an effect behind its cause, protects the amplifiers and makes the powering-down or powering-up procedure unnoticeable to a user.

[0024] The detailed description of the present invention is presented largely in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, or other symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations of devices or systems that can be used in networks. These descriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled in the art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art.

[0025] Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Further, the order of blocks in process flowcharts or diagrams representing one or more embodiments of the invention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply any limitations in the invention.

[0026] Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration 100 in which the present invention may be practiced. The configuration may represent, but not be limited to, a part of a residential home, a business building or a complex. There are a number of audio devices of which three examples 102, 104 and 106 are shown. Each of the audio devices may be installed or provided in one particular area or zone and hence referred to as a zone player herein.

[0027] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, an audio source or audio sources are in digital format and can be transported over a data network. A term “power down” or “power off” an audio amplifier does not necessarily mean that a power supply to the audio amplifier is completely disconnected and in most cases mean that the audio amplifier operates in a sleeping mode so as to consume a minimum amount of power.

[0028] To facilitate the understanding of the present invention, it is assumed that the configuration 100 represents a home. Thus, the zone player 102 and 104 may be in two bedrooms respectively while the zone player 106 may be in a living room. All of the zone players 102, 104 and 106 are coupled to a data network 108. In addition, a computing device 110 is shown to be coupled on the network 108. In reality, any other devices such as a home gateway device, a storage device, or an MP3 player may be coupled to the network 108 as well.

[0029] The network 108 may be a wired network, a wireless network or a combination of both. In one example, all devices including the zone players 102, 104 and 106 are coupled to the network 108 by wireless means based on an industry standard such as 811.02 or WiFi. In another example, all devices including the zone players 102, 104 and 106 are part of a local area network that communicate with a wide area network (e.g., the Internet).

[0030] Many devices on the network 108 are configured to download and store audio sources. For example, the computing device 110 can download audio sources from the Internet and store the downloaded sources locally for sharing with other devices on the Internet or the network 108. The computing device 110 can also be configured to receive streaming audios. Shown as a stereo system, the device 112 is configured to convert an analog source (e.g., from broadcasting) to a digital audio source or retrieve an audio source (e.g., from a compact disk). In accordance with the present invention, the audio source may be shared among the devices on the network 108. Although each of the zone players may be configured to be able to download or store audio resources, the following description is based on the assumption that the zone players are pure players and need to retrieve selected audio sources from other devices (e.g., the compute system 110) for playback.

[0031] FIG. 2A shows an exemplary functional block diagram of a zone player 200 in accordance with the present invention. The zone player 200 includes a network interface 202, a processor 204, a memory 206, an audio processing circuit 208, an automatic shutdown control module 210, and an audio amplifier 212. The audio amplifier 212 may represent multiple amplifiers. The network interface 202 facilitates a data flow between a data network (i.e., the data network 108 of FIG. 1) and the zone player 200 and typically executes a special set of rules (i.e., a protocol) to send data back and forth. One of the common protocols is TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) commonly used in the Internet. In general, a network interface manages the assembling of an audio source or file into smaller packets that are transmitted over the data network or reassembles received packets into the original source or file. In addition, the network interface 202 handles the address part of each packet so that it gets to the right destination or intercepts packets destined for the zone player 200.

[0032] FIG. 2B shows an exemplary panel configuration 220 of the zone player 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention. It can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, the zone player 200 is configured to be able to communicate with other devices via the data ports 222 and share the audio sources with other zone players. In particular, the data ports 222 allow the zone player 200 to retrieve a selected song or a selected piece of music from a device on the network 108.

[0033] The processor 204 is configured to control the operation of other parts in the zone player 200. The memory 206 may be loaded with software modules that can be executed by the processor 204 to achieve desired tasks. According to one aspect of the present invention, a software module implementing one embodiment of the present invention is executed, the automatic shutdown control module operates in accordance with the software module to control the operation of the audio amplifier 212 so as to turn the audio amplifier 212 off when the zone player 200 is not in use or turn the audio amplifier 212 on when the zone player 200 is to play back a selected audio source.

[0034] The audio processing circuit 208 resembles most of the circuitry in an audio playback device and includes one or more digital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing part, an audio enhancement part or a digital signal processor and others. In operation, when an audio source is retrieved via the network interface 202, the audio source is processed in the audio processing circuit 208 to produce analog audio signals. The processed analog audio signals are then provided to the audio amplifier 212 for playback on nearby speakers.

[0035] The audio amplifier 212 is typically an analog circuit that powers the provided analog audio signals to drive one or more speakers. The audio amplifier 212, which may be a separate unit outside of the zone player 200, is a primary source to draw most of the power to drive the system. Prolonged operation of the audio amplifier 212 without actually amplifying anything, namely when no analog audio signals are provided, is not desirable. Leaving the audio amplifier 212 on, even if it is not actually in use, consumes the power, shortens the operating life thereof, and may generate excessive heat that can cause damage to nearby parts. In other words, it is desired at all times that the audio amplifier 212 is powered down when the zone player 200 is not receiving any audio sources for playback.

[0036] The RF interface 214 provides wireless means for the zone player 200 to communicate with a controller, preferably a portable. An example of the controller 240 is shown in FIG. 2C. According to one embodiment, the wireless means is based on an industry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wireless standard 802.11b or 802.11g). The controller 240 may be used to facilitate a selection of a plurality of audio sources available on the network, controlling operation of the zone player 200 through the RF interface 214. When a particular audio source is being played in the zone player 200, a picture, if there is any, associated with the audio source may be transmitted from the zone player 200 to the controller 240. As shown in FIG. 2C, many operations of the zone player 200 can be remotely controlled via the RF interface 214.

[0037] FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show respectively a flowchart or process 300 and 330 of a module implementing one embodiment of the present invention. The process 300 and 330, which is preferably understood in conjunction with the previous figures, may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination of both. According to one embodiment, the module is embedded in a zone player (e.g., in the memory 206 in FIG. 2A) and can be executed to control the automatic shutdown of the audio amplifier in the zone player or associated with the zone player.

[0038] The process 300 of FIG. 3A implements an automatic turn-on (i.e., power up) capability. At 302, the process 300 detects if there is any audio source received. Depending on implementation, such detection may be implemented in a few places including the network or within the zone player. According to one embodiment, the module is configured to detect whether there is any data packets (e.g., part of the audio stream) in the network interface or other layers thereof. When no data flow is detected, the process 300 stays where it is at 302, namely, no action would be taken. When a data flow is detected, the process 300 moves onto 304.

[0039] It should be noted that the criteria of detecting the presence of data may vary depending on an exact implementation of the distributed digital audio system. In one embodiment, the zone player may be configured to receive data other than the audio data, where the audio data represents the audio source and the data other than the audio data may include commands or control information. Accordingly, a data packet may be analyzed to determine whether it represents part of an audio source. If the data packet is other than the audio data, the process 300 stays where it is at 302. The process 300 moves onto 304 only when one or more audio data packets are detected.

[0040] At 304, the status of the amplifier is determined. The amplifier may be already powered on and is operating, in which case the process 300 does nothing by going to 312. This happens usually in the middle of playing back a piece of music or in an interim (i.e., a temporary lapse) that happens, for example, when a new audio source is selected or to be started after a current one is just finished or jumping ahead of a few tracks in an audio source. In another case, however, the amplifier has been powered off and now needs to be turned back on to facilitate the playback of a received audio source. The process 300 now goes to 306 to power up the amplifier.

[0041] To avoid a sudden noise coming out from speakers when the amplifier is tuned on or off, the control of the amplifier is performed in accordance with a hysteresis, wherein the hysteresis, being lagging of an effect behind its cause, protects the amplifiers and makes the powering-down or powering-up procedure unnoticeable to a user. In other words, the hysteresis mutes or smoothes out possible noises or frequency as a result of the amplifier being “ON” from “OFF” or being “OFF” from “ON”.

[0042] In one embodiment, the amplifier is always put into mute mode first when powered off. The mute mode can be realized in several ways that are known to those skilled in the art. For example, a connection from the amplifier to the speakers can be electronically disconnected. Hence, a preferable sequence of turning on an amplifier is to power on the amplifier first and then unmute or activate the amplifier. Accordingly, after the amplifier is powered on at 306, the process 300 moves to 308 to activate the amplifier.

[0043] In one embodiment, to control the operation of the amplifier precisely, one or more parameters about the status of the amplifier are used. The parameters may be referred to when the status of the amplifier is determined. At 310, the status of the amplifier is set to be “ON”. The process 300 then goes to 312 where the amplifier operates in working mode, namely amplifying processed analog audio signals to drive speakers.

[0044] On the other end, the process 330 of FIG. 3B implements an automatic turn-off (i.e., power down). At 332, the process 330 detects if there is any audio source received. As described before, depending on implementation, such detection may be implemented in a few places including the network or within the zone player. According to one embodiment, the module is configured to detect whether there is any data packets (e.g., part of the audio stream) in the network interface or other layers thereof. When a data flow is detected, the process 330 stays where it is at 332, namely, no action would be taken. When no data flow is detected, the process 330 moves onto 333. There are certain situations in which no (audio) data flow can be detected, for example, during two separate songs. To ensure a proper shut-down process, at 333, a time lapsed for no data flow is measured. In one embodiment, the time is compared to a predetermined time, for example, 3 seconds, if the time is shorter than the predetermined time, namely before the predetermined time is lapsed, the process 330 goes back to 332 to continue the detection of the data flow. When the time is longer than the predetermined time, the process 330 moves onto 334.

[0045] According to one embodiment, to avoid powering the amplifier down during an interim (e.g., switching from one music to another, browsing a collection of songs), the time to determine whether the amplifier shall be powered down is implemented intelligently. For example, using the predetermined time as a base or a reference point, historical data on the durations between two consecutive pieces of music beyond the predetermined time is collected. Accordingly, an appropriate time can thus be derived from the data. As the process 300 as well as 330 can be implemented in software, various algorithms to determine such appropriate time are known to those skilled in the art and can be adopted relatively easy in the software implementation. It may be appreciated by now that the current invention provides the flexibility to determine how to control the amplifier, while the prior art shutdown systems obviously lack such control flexibility and must be equipped with additional circuitry.

[0046] It should be noted that the data flow herein pertain to an audio source. In one embodiment, the zone player may be configured to receive data other than the audio data, where the audio data represents the audio source and the data other than the audio data may include commands or control information). Accordingly, a data packet may be analyzed to determine whether it represents part of an audio source that is selected for playback. If the data packet is indeed the audio data, the process 330 stays where it is at 332. The process 330 moves onto 334 only when no audio data is detected.

[0047] At 334, the status of the amplifier is checked. If the status of the amplifier shows that it is already off, there is no further action needed. If the status of the amplifier shows that the amplifier has been “ON”, the process 330 goes to 336 to first mute the amplifier and then power down the amplifier at 338. After the amplifier is powered down or the status of the amplifier has changed, the process 330 goes to 340 to update the status of the amplifier by resetting one or more parameters representing the status thereof to “OFF” at 340. Consequently, the amplifier goes to rest mode at 342.

[0048] Referring now to FIG. 4, there shows an exemplary implementation 400 of controlling an audio amplifier 402. The automatic shutdown control module 412 operates in response to the detection of the audio data packets. At least two electronic connections 406 and 408 are controlled by the automatic shutdown control module 412. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the electronic connections 406 and 408 are not necessarily switches. Functionally, signals from the audio amplifier to speakers 410, power from a power supply 404 to the audio amplifier 402 or vice versa are controlled by the automatic shutdown control module 412.

[0049] In one embodiment, there is a small amount of power supplied to the audio amplifier 402 via an uncontrolled electronic connection 414 to keep a portion of the audio amplifier 402 to operate or to react to an instruction for the status of the audio amplifier to change. In operation, when the audio amplifier 402 is powered down, the audio amplifier 402 is to be deactivated or muted first and then powered down. This may be achieved by disconnecting the electronic connection 406 or preventing any signal from going to the speakers 410, and followed by disconnecting the electronic connection 408. Likewise, when the audio amplifier 402 is powered up to operate in working mode, the audio amplifier 402 is powered up and then activated. This may be achieved by restoring the electronic connection 408 and followed by restoring the electronic connection 406.

[0050] The present invention can be implemented in many ways, each of which may yield one or more of the following benefits, advantages or features. First, the control of an audio amplifier is based on a data flow of an audio source. The audio source is retrieved and comes from a network that has other data traffics. The present invention uses data traffic pertaining only to the data of the audio source to control the audio amplifier. Second, a flexible mechanism in terms of time of the absence of an audio data flow is provided, which could be hardly realized in a prior art system involving hardware. Third, the software-based implementation of controlling one or more amplifiers makes it possible to determine an appropriate define time, with a more sophisticated algorithm, to power down or up the amplifiers. In reality, it is desirable to control the amplifiers intelligently so as to achieve a longer operating lifespan of the amplifiers and save more power. Other benefits, advantages or features can be appreciated by those skilled in the art given the detailed description herein.

[0051] While the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications to the present invention can be made to the preferred embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim. For example, the present invention may also be applied to other forms of amplifiers that operate on signals from digital sources. One application is pertains to digital video, in which a visual amplifier (e.g., a display) consumes most of the power. Evidently, the present invention can be readily applied to prolong the operating lifespan of the amplifier as well as save substantially the power. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing description of embodiments.