Electronic volume device and remote controller thereof

• US 20040058654A1
• Filed: 09/15/2003
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Access Corp. (Honda Motor Company), Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Hino, Masashi, Katayama, Mutsumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,457,424 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/92
• CPC Class Codes: H03G 1/02 Remote control of amplification, tone or bandwidth combined with remote tuning or selection of resonant circuits H03J
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/202 by remote control

Abstract

An electronic volume device of an invention includes a common volume I/O 371 for receiving an i-th common volume level Dcom[i] (i=1 to N) on a common scale of N steps, a volume converter 373 for converting the Dcom[i] into a j-th unique volume level Dvol[j] on a unique scale of n steps; and a volume controller 372 for controlling an electronic volume based on the unique volume. The volume converter 373 includes a volume memory for storing an offset between the Dcom[i] and the Dvol [j] and a volume controller that controls at least one of the Dvol[j] and the offset such that the received Dcom agrees with the sum of the Dvol[j] and the offset and controls the Dvol[j] on a higher priority than the offset.

Claims

1. An electronic volume device remotely controlled by a remote controller, the electronic volume device comprising:

means for receiving an i-th common volume level Dcom[i] (i=1 to N) on a common scale of N steps;

means for converting received Dcom[i] into a j-th unique volume level Dvol[j] on a unique scale of M steps (M<

N); and

means for controlling an attenuation factor based on the Dvol[j], wherein the converting means includes;

means for storing an offset value Doff set between the Dcom[i] and the Dvol[j]; and

means for adjusting at least one of the Dvol[j] and the Doffset such that the received Dcom[i] agrees with a sum of the Dvol[j] and the Doffset, wherein the adjusting means adjusts the Dvol[j] on a higher priority than the Doffset.

2. The electronic volume device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for previously transmitting a sum of the unique volume level Dvol[j] and the offset value Doffset to the remote controller.

3. The electronic volume device as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the common volume level Dcom[i] transmitted from the remote controller is a predetermined mute level, a present offset value Doffset is saved and the common volume level Dcom[j] is decreased to a predetermined level.

4. The electronic volume device as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the common volume level Dcom[i] is transmitted in a mute state, the saved offset value Doffset is recovered and the unique volume level Dvol[j] is set at a sum of the transmitted Dcom[i] and the Doffset.

5. The electronic volume device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the electronic volume device conducts radio communications with the remote controller according to a communication procedure complying with a Blue tooth standard.

6. An electronic volume device remotely controlled by a remote controller, the electronic volume device comprising:

means for managing a correspondence relationship between an i-th common volume level Dcom[i] on a common scale of N steps and a j-th unique volume level Dvol1[j] on a unique scale of M steps;

means for receiving Dcom from the remote controller;

means for storing the Dcom;

an electronic volume whose attenuation factor is controlled based on the stored Dcom;

a volume switch for directing Dvol1 on the unique scale;

means for converting the directed Dvol1 into Dcom based on the correspondence relationship; and

means for updating the converted Dcom in the storing means.

7. The electronic volume device as claimed in claim 6, further comprising means for transmitting the converted common volume level Dcom to the remote controller.

8. The electronic volume device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the volume switch includes a first switch for increasing the unique volume level Dvol1 and a second switch for decreasing the unique volume level Dvol1, and wherein the converting means includes:

means for selecting Dvol1 whose corresponding common volume level Dcom is nearest to the present Dcom on an increasing side from among M Dvol1s in response to an operation of the first switch;

means for selecting Dvol1 whose corresponding common volume level Dcom is nearest to the present Dcom on a decreasing side from among M Dvol1s in response to an operation of the second switch; and

means for converting the selected Dvol1 into Dcom.

9. A remote controller for remotely controlling an electronic volume device, the remote controller comprising:

means for managing a correspondence relationship between an i-th common volume level Dcom[i] on a common scale of N steps and a k-th unique volume level Dvol2[k] on a unique scale of L steps;

means for storing a present Dcom;

a volume switch for directing Dvol2 on the unique scale;

means for converting the directed Dvol2 into Dcom based on the correspondence relationship;

means for updating and registering the converted Dcom in the storing means; and

means for transmitting the converted Dcom to the electronic volume device.

10. The remote controller of an electronic volume device as claimed in claim 9, further comprising means for receiving the common volume level Dcom from the electronic volume device and means for updating and registering the received Dcom in the storing means.

11. The remote controller of an electronic volume device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the volume switch includes a first switch for increasing volume and a second switch for decreasing volume, and wherein the converting means includes:

means for selecting Dvol2 whose corresponding common volume level Dcom is nearest to the present Dcom on an increasing side from among L unique volume level Dvol2s in response to an operation of the first switch;

means for selecting Dvol2 whose corresponding common volume level Dcom is nearest to the present Dcom on a decreasing side from among L Dvol2s in response to an operation of the second switch; and

means for converting the selected Dvol2 into Dcom.