Audio Mixer Apparatus

• US 20070263884A1
• Filed: 05/09/2006
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bedingfield, James
• Application Number:
  US11/382,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20070263884A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/119
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/00 Indicating arrangements; Control arrangements, e.g. balance control

Abstract

An audio mixer module is configured to receive audio input signals from audio input modules and to provide audio output signals to audio output modules. The audio mixer module may be configured to selectively mix the input audio signals to produce the respective audio output signals. The audio mixer module may be configured to support wireless and/or wireline audio signal coupling with the audio input modules and/or the audio output modules. The audio mixer module may be configured to provide analog and/or digital mixing of audio signals from the audio input modules.

Claims

1. An audio mixer module configured to receive audio input signals from audio input modules and to provide audio output signals to audio output modules, the audio mixer module configured to selectively mix the input audio signals to produce the respective audio output signals.

2. The audio mixer module of claim 1, configured to support wireless and/or wireline audio signal coupling with the audio input modules and/or the audio output modules.

3. The audio mixer module of claim 1, configured to mechanically support the audio input modules and/or the audio output modules.

4. The audio mixer module of claim 3, configured to attach audio input modules and audio output modules thereto along respective substantially orthogonal directions.

5. The audio mixer module of claim 3, configured to attach audio input modules and audio input modules thereto along a common direction.

6. The audio mixer module of claim 3, comprising a power supply circuit configured to be electrically coupled to audio input modules and/or the audio output modules attached thereto for provision of power to the audio input modules and/or audio output modules.

7. The audio mixer module of claim 1, wherein the audio mixer module is comprises a plurality of user input devices configured to receive respective mixer command inputs and arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein respective ones of the user input devices control coupling between respective pairs of audio input and audio output modules.

8. The audio mixer module of claim 7, wherein the plurality of user input devices comprises a plurality of arrayed physical input devices and/or an array of input device representations depicted on a display.

9. The audio mixer module of claim 1, wherein the audio mixer module is configured to receive mixer command inputs from a remote user input device.

10. The audio mixer module of claim 1, wherein the audio mixer module is configured to provide analog and/or digital mixing of audio signals from the audio input modules.

11. An audio input module configured to interoperate with the audio mixer module of claim 1.

12. The audio input module of claim 11, comprising signal processing circuitry configured to convert audio input signals provided to the audio input module to a common audio input signal format used by the audio mixer module to communicate with audio input modules.

13. An audio output module configured to interoperate with the audio mixer module of claim 1.

14. The audio output module of claim 13, comprising signal processing circuitry configured to convert output signals from the audio mixer that conform to a common audio output signal format used by the audio mixer module to communicate with audio output modules to a signal format compatible with an external audio device.

15. A modular audio mixer system comprising the audio mixer module of claim 1 and at least one audio input module and/or audio output module.

16. A residential audio mixer system flexibly configurable to receive audio input signals from a variety of residential audio sources and flexibly configurable to provide audio output signals to a variety of residential audio output devices, the residential audio mixer configured to selectively mix the audio input signals to produce the respective audio output signal responsive to a mixer command input.

17. The system of claim 16, comprising a mixer module and a selection of audio input modules and/or audio input modules having various different external audio signal connection configurations and configured to interoperate with the mixer module.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the mixer module is configured to electrically and/or optically couple to and mechanically support audio input modules and/or audio output modules.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the audio input modules and/or the audio output modules comprise signal processing circuitry configured to convert between an external signal format and a common signal format used by the audio mixer module to communicate with audio input modules and/or audio output modules.