Sony Corporation

Sony United Kingdom Limited

Simon Irving Harrison

Paul Anthony Frindle

John William East

William Edmund Kentish

Tetsuya Konishi

A capacitive touch detection system, which can be used to inhibit motorized faders in an audio mixing system, includes touch detection circuits each having a respective conductive area for touch determination by detection of increased capacitance at the conductive area. The touch detection circuits are operable during predetermined active periods initiated by a clock generator which activates a pulse generator to produce an enable pulse EP1 for one detection circuit. The trailing edge of that enable pulse EP1 generates a non-overlapping enable pulse EP2 for the next detection circuit, and the process continues so that no more than one detection circuit is active at any time. This minimizes interaction between detection circuits if more than one conductive area is touched simultaneously.

Capacitive touch detection

Audio recording apparatus comprises a multichannel audio recorder in which recording channels are selectable between a recording mode and a non-recording mode; and a gain controller for altering the level of an audio signal for recording on all recording channels currently in the recording mode, in dependence on the number of recording channels of the multichannel audio recorder in the recording mode.

Multichannel Audio recording method and apparatus

An audio mixing console provides for a selected group of channels to be assigned to a bank of channel controls for a channel function (e.g., a solo mode) with a global function indicator for indicating that the predetermined channel function has been selected for at least one channel. A global function cancel button for canceling the channel function in all channels is provided. Various solo modes can be selected. A logic button includes a button member moveable between a raised position and a depressed position, a switch contact open in the raised position and closed in the depressed position and a logical latch (e.g., software-implemented) responsive to a first closing of the switch on a first depression of the button to change from an inactive state to an active state and to a second opening of the switch on a second release of the button to change from the active state to the inactive state. An automation mode controller is operable, in a first pass, to store on-going switch timing at which the user operable control is switched from off to on and off-going switch timings at which the switch is switched from on to off for automatically reproducing the control switchings in a subsequent pass.

Audio mixing console

An audio mixing console includes user controls which can be dynamically allocated to respective processing channels enabling a compact audio mixing console to be provided with full functionality, but with only a relatively small number of user operable controls including allocatable channel faders and allocatable audio signal processing control knobs and buttons, etc. Individual control values for the user operable control can be updated, maintained and retained for each of the processing channels which can be allocated to the individual user operable controls. Also, a single processing channel can be allocated to a user operable control on two sub-panels of the control panel and the user operable controls on both sub-panels can be used separately to control the processing within that channel. The resulting changes in the user operable control 'positions' are displayed as a result of the dual control of a processing function within a processing channel by respective user operable controls on the respective sub-panels.

An audio mixing console for processing a plurality of audio channels, in each of which a plurality of audio processing functions are to be performed, has a control panel including a plurality of input fields for selecting audio processing functions, displaying an audio processing function selected and indicating a selected order of audio processing functions for the audio processing channel stages. A stereo mode which can be selected at an input field links adjacent channels. Grouped side chain processes can be defined. A recording input matrix provides a track bounce facility for preserving a channel mix on re-recording a mix of previously recorded tracks. Values for cue faders can be loaded automatically from the main channel faders. Selectable delays can be provided at each processing stage to maintain channel alignment. Also, the chaining of analogue audio functions is provided.

Digital signal processing apparatus, such as a digital audio mixing console, comprising a control panel having a plurality of user-operable data input devices for specifying signal processing parameters to be applied to an input digital signal. The apparatus further includes a detecting device for detecting the status of the data input devices and for writing control data indicative of the status of the data input devices into a data memory at respective memory addresses associated with each data input device, and a signal processing device for reading the control data from the data memory and for processing the input digital signal in response to parameters represented by the control data.

Digital signal processing for audio mixing console with a plurality of

An amplifier comprises a variable gain analog amplifier for amplifying an input analog signal to generate an intermediate analog signal, the gain of the analog amplifier being switchable between two or more discrete gain values. An analog to digital converter converts the intermediate analog signal into a corresponding intermediate digital signal and a variable gain digital amplifier amplifies the intermediate digital signal. A gain control circuit, responsive to a required gain, selects one of the discrete gain values of the analog amplifier and a gain value of the digital amplifier so that the sum of the selected gain values is substantially equal to the required gain; and whether the required gain is increasing or decreasing is detected. If the required gain is decreasing, a delay circuit delays, by a predetermined period longer than a gain switching period of the analog amplifier, a step change in the gain value of the digital amplifier when the gain control circuit changes the selected discrete gain value for the analog amplifier. This can avoid subjectively disturbing transient boosts in the overall system gain when the analog amplifier's gain is switched.

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Stanton Harcourt, United Kingdom

Simon Irving Harrison