U.S. patent application number 14/100573 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-03 for sound mixing console.
This patent application is currently assigned to Red Chip Company Ltd.. The applicant listed for this patent is Red Chip Company Ltd.. Invention is credited to Alex Cooper.
Application Number | 20140090545 14/100573 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36384272 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-03 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140090545 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cooper; Alex |
April 3, 2014 |
SOUND MIXING CONSOLE
Abstract
A sound mixing console operative for combining or processing
sound signals of a plurality of input channels is described. The
sound mixing console comprises a plurality of sound signal input
channels, an input channel fader control system having a plurality
of input channel faders which can be selectively coupled to
respective ones of said plurality of sound signal input channels. A
master section has a plurality of control group faders each for
collective control of a different selected group of sound signal
input channels. Means are provided for coupling the sound signal
input channels of one of said selected groups to respective input
channel faders thereby to permit individual adjustment of the sound
signals of the input channels of said selected group.
Inventors: |
Cooper; Alex;
(Worcestershire, GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Red Chip Company Ltd. |
Tortola |
|
VG |
|
|
Assignee: |
Red Chip Company Ltd.
Tortola
VG
|
Family ID: |
36384272 |
Appl. No.: |
14/100573 |
Filed: |
December 9, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12294335 |
Apr 8, 2009 |
8611562 |
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PCT/GB2007/000846 |
Mar 12, 2007 |
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14100573 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
84/625 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G10H 1/08 20130101; H04H
60/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
84/625 |
International
Class: |
G10H 1/08 20060101
G10H001/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 28, 2006 |
EP |
0606119.6 |
Claims
1. A sound mixing console comprising: a plurality of input
channels; a plurality of input channel faders configured to be
selectively coupled to respective input channels, the plurality of
input channels being greater in number than the plurality of input
channel faders and having no fixed one-to-one relationship between
input channels and input channel faders; a plurality of control
group faders; an assignment circuit configured to enable user
assignment of groups of input channels to a respective control
group fader of the plurality of control group faders, and a
coupling circuit configured to enable a user to electrically couple
individual input channels of a group of input channels associated
with a given control group fader to a respective input channel
fader of the array of input channel faders to enable individual
adjustment by a user of each input channel.
2. The sound mixing console of claim 1, wherein the coupling
circuit includes a plurality of switches and each switch of the
plurality of switches is associated with a respective control group
fader to enable coupling of input channels to respective input
channel faders.
3. The sound mixing console of claim 1, comprising a scrolling
device configured to scroll the coupling of the input channels of
the selected group to the input channel faders to accommodate more
channels in the selected group than input channel faders within the
input channel fader control section.
4. The sound mixing console of claim 1, wherein each of the control
group faders is configured to control the input channels of their
respectively assigned group of input channels simultaneously.
5. The sound mixing console of claim 1, wherein the plurality of
control group faders are touch sensitive and the plurality of input
channel faders are touch sensitive.
6. An apparatus, comprising: a first plurality of input channels; a
first sub-panel that includes: a first plurality of channel faders,
each channel fader configured to control an input channel, wherein
the first plurality of channel faders is less in number than the
first plurality of input channels and there is no fixed one-to-one
relationship between the first plurality of channel faders and the
first plurality of input channels; and a master panel that
includes: a plurality of group faders, each group fader configured
to be assigned a group of input channels of a desired number and
composition from the first plurality of input channels and
configured to control the respective input channels of the group of
input channels simultaneously; and a first plurality of switches,
each switch of the plurality of switches associated with a
respective group fader of the plurality of group faders and
configured to enable assignment of the group of input channels
associated with the respective group fader to the plurality of
channel faders.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising one of: a first
visual display configured to display information about the first
sub-panel and the master panel; and a first visual display
configured to display information about the first sub-panel and a
second visual display configured to display information about the
master panel.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein each of the channel faders and
group faders has an associated visual display.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: a second plurality
of input channels a second sub-panel having: a second plurality of
channel faders; and a second plurality of switches configured to
couple the second plurality of channel faders to the second
plurality of input channels.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the number of input channels
in the group of input channels is less than the number of channel
faders in the first plurality of channel faders.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein channel faders that are not
assigned to one of the input channels of the group of input
channels are not utilized.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein channel faders that are not
utilized are disposed furthest away from a user's normal working
position.
13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the group of input channels
has more input channels than channel faders in the first plurality
of channel faders.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a scrolling
device configured to scroll the coupling of the input channels of
the group of input channels to the channel faders.
15. A method, comprising: selecting a plurality of input channels
to form a group of input channels of a desired size and
composition; assigning the group of input channels to a group
fader, the group fader being configured to control the group of
input channels simultaneously; and activating a first switch
associated with the group fader, the switch being configured to
assign the group of input channels to a plurality of input channel
faders, wherein there is no one-to-one relationship between the
plurality of input channels and plurality of input channel faders;
and controlling the input channels of the group of input channels
individually with the respective input channel fader.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the number of input channels in
the group of input channels is greater than the number of input
channel faders.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: scrolling of the
input channels of the group of input channels to assign the greater
number of input channels in the group of input channels to the
input channel faders.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising directly assigning
at least one of the plurality of input channels to at least one of
the plurality of input channel faders.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] This invention relates to sound mixing consoles and in
particular but not exclusively, to those of the type used in live
music performances, etc., to simultaneously process input signals
from a multiplicity of sound sources.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Prior art sound mixing consoles are used in live music
performances as well as in recording studios to process and combine
input signals from the various sections of, for example, a rock
band. These may include a drum kit, keyboards, guitars, brass
instruments and vocalists. Each individual instrument may have a
microphone associated with it or other means of connection to the
mixing console. The mixing console allows the operator to adjust
the sound character of each individual sound source (for example
changing its frequency response or dynamic range) and then to
combine the individual sounds together at the desired relative
levels to create the overall sound of the band. This balancing
process is normally controlled by a slider control or "fader" for
each sound source--the position of the fader sets the volume. As
music productions have become more complex, the number of input
sound sources to be adjusted has grown, and mixing consoles with in
excess of one hundred input channels are now common. This makes the
operator's task very complex, and creates practical difficulties in
providing the large number of controls necessary to control each
input sound channel. Various attempts have been made to address
this difficulty and otherwise improve the user interface for audio
mixing. These include touch sensitive screens, and the use of a
single control to operate many different parameters.
[0005] WO 9937046 relates to a sound mixing control console with a
master control section having motorized knobs for controlling
variable parameters such as input gain, pan, frequency equalization
and the like of individual input channels. Each of plural input
channels includes a dedicated fader for controlling output level
and a selector switch for applying the master control section to
that channel for controlling other variable parameters besides
output level. A memory subsystem stores and recalls the positions
of the knobs.
[0006] GB 2 330 669 relates to an audio mixing console having a
fader panel comprising an array of touch-sensitive controls. Each
control corresponds to a channel strip on a display screen, which
shows the processing controls and devices for that channel, and the
current control settings. Proximity sensing apparatus associated
with the controls detects whether a user's hand is within a
predetermined distance of one or more of the controls.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,940,521 relates to an audio mixing console
having 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.
[0008] Recent technological developments include the use of digital
instead of analogue mixers, the former enabling the doubling up of
controls to reduce the overall number on the operator's control
surface. The operator is required to navigate his way though the
control layers to access the control faders desired.
[0009] One prior art attempt to solve this problem is the concept
of fader paging or "layering". FIG. 1 of the drawings illustrates a
table showing an arrangement of 48 input channels in a conventional
paged console having only 12 sets of controls on its control
surface. In this concept, instead of providing all the controls to
the operator at all times, a smaller number of controls are
provided, that is, the 48 channels are divided into 4 pages.
[0010] The user then selects with a series of buttons whether he
wishes to view and adjust the channel faders 1-12, 13-24, 25-36 or
37-48 on pages 1 to 4 respectively. As can be seen from FIG. 1, 10
drum channels might be assigned to the first 10 channels with the
bass guitar and one keyboard taking channels 11 and 12
respectively. In this case, the 12 channels on the control surface,
and so accessible to the operator, are the 10 drum faders, the bass
guitar and keyboard faders. By switching over to the next 12
faders, the operator accesses the second `page` of assigned faders,
namely keyboards 2-6, guitars 1-4, and brass 1-3. The remaining
brass 4-8 channels need to be allocated to the next `page`.
Although table 1 illustrates a sequential allocation of music
sections to the channel faders, the user may design `custom` pages
having a random collection of channels as well as blocks of
sequential ones.
[0011] These prior art layering systems have the disadvantage that
they force the user to think in terms of channel numbers and fixed
`pages` with, in this example, 12 channels on each page. As can be
seen from the example of FIG. 1, this does not align well with the
musical arrangement of the band. In this case the keyboard and
brass sections respectively are split between two different pages
and so neither can be brought to the surface of the console at the
same time. The channels of page 4 are completely unallocated. The
user is required to remember which channel number and page number a
particular instrument is on.
[0012] Another technique for managing the complexity of the mixing
process is through the use of VCA faders, so-called because their
earliest implementation used Voltage Controlled Amplifiers (VCA).
These are additional slider controls, typically positioned in the
"master" section of the console, and are used to provide overall
control of a number of the channel faders simultaneously. In other
words, they can be used to control groups of channel faders
together. This allows the operator to have, for example, a single
fader to control all of the drums, another for the keyboard section
and so on. A VCA fader does not achieve this by summing the
channels and then passing the result through a fader (this would be
termed an audio group or audio sub-group). The VCA fader operates
by applying a control offset to the individual channel faders to
which it is assigned so the effect is the same as if each fader had
been moved by the same amount from its current "apparent" position.
In typical consoles, software and digital processing rather than an
actual VCA mechanism may provide this function. However, the term
"VCA" fader is still the conventional nomenclature for these
controls, which could also be referred to as "control group
faders".
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0013] It is an aim of the present invention to alleviate some of
the aforementioned difficulties.
[0014] According to the present invention, there is provided a
sound mixing console having a plurality of sound signal input
channels, the console being operative for combining or processing
the sound signals of said plurality of input channels, the console
comprising an input channel fader control section having a
plurality of input channel faders which can be selectively coupled
to respective ones of said plurality of sound signal input
channels, a master section having a plurality of control group
faders each for collective control of a different selected group of
sound signal input channels, and means for coupling the sound
signal input channels of one of said selected groups to respective
input channel faders thereby to permit individual adjustment of the
sound signals of the input channels of said selected group.
[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the
console comprises a manually operable transducer associated with
each one of the control group faders for facilitating user
selection of a group of sound signal input channels associated with
a given control group fader and coupling thereof to the input
channel faders. The transducer may be a switch positioned in the
vicinity of the associated control group fader or the control group
faders may be touch sensitive to provide the manual operable
transducer function. The selected group of sound signal input
channels may advantageously be coupled to the input channel faders
in order of channel number.
[0016] Embodiments may further include means for user assignment of
sound signal input channels to the control group faders.
[0017] In a case where there are fewer channels in one of said
selected groups of sound signal input channels than input channel
faders within said input channel fader control section, inoperative
faders are preferably disposed furthest away from the console
operator's normal working position. Embodiments may advantageously
be provided with a scrolling device for scrolling the coupling of
the sound signal input channels of the selected group to the input
channel faders in the event that there are more channels in the
selected group than input channel faders within said input channel
fader control section.
[0018] The coupling means may be implemented by way of logic gates
or by way of a microprocessor based system.
[0019] Each control group fader and input channel fader control
section may have an associated display operative for indicating the
selected group of sound signal input channels. The display(s) may
be provided locally relative to the control group faders and input
channel fader control section or alternatively provided on a
central screen or LCD. The display(s) may be operative for
displaying different colored indications representing different
control group faders and their corresponding sound signal input
channels. The display associated with an inoperative fader may be
maintained blank.
[0020] The console may be provided with a plurality of input
channel control sections, each comprising a plurality of input
channel faders which can be selectively coupled to respective ones
of said plurality of sound signal input channels, each of the
plurality of input channel control sections representing a
designated control area. Switching means may be provided for
switching each of said plurality of input channels between one
designated control area and another. Means may also be provided for
allocating each one of the control group faders to one of said
plurality of input channel control sections.
[0021] According to the present invention, there is further
provided a method of operating a sound mixing console comprising:
assigning groups of sound signal input channels to respective
master section control group faders, and coupling a group of sound
signal input channels associated with a given control group fader
to an array of input channel faders. The method may advantageously
include activating a switch associated with said given control
group fader to couple said group of sound signal input channels to
said array of input channel faders.
[0022] According to the present invention, there is further
provided a sound mixing console comprising: means for assigning
groups of sound signal input channels to respective master section
control group faders, and means for coupling a group of sound
signal input channels associated with a given control group fader
to an array of input channel faders. In a preferred embodiment,
means is provided for activating a switch associated with said
given control group fader to couple said group of sound signal
input channels to said array of input channel faders.
[0023] Embodiments of the present invention are advantageous in
that they can provide a way for an operator to select which sources
are to be adjusted, based on the natural musical groupings of the
performers, instead of conventional techniques that rely on manual
organization of the operator.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] The invention will now be further described by way of
example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0025] FIG. 1 is a table illustrating how input channels might be
allocated in a page layering system according to the prior art;
[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a sound mixing
console for audio signal processing embodying the present
invention;
[0027] FIG. 3 shows an input channel fader control section and
master section of the sound mixing console of FIG. 2;
[0028] FIGS. 4A and 4B together show a table illustrating how input
channels might be allocated in an embodiment of the present
invention; and
[0029] FIG. 5 shows two input channel fader control sections and
one master section of an alternative embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates a sound mixing console indicated
generally by the reference numeral 1 for simultaneously processing
input signals from a multiplicity of sound sources (not shown),
including for example, drums, bass guitar, keyboards, guitars,
brass, vocals and so on. Each of these represents a sound signal
input channel 2a, 2b, 2c . . . . The console includes a control and
signal processing unit 3 which interfaces with a sound mixer
operator's front panel or desk 8. The sound signal input channels
2a, 2b, etc., are fed to the control and signal processing unit 3
via an I/O interface 5. The front panel 8 comprises an array of
operator controls including faders, switches, rotary controllers,
video display units, lights and other indicators as will be
described in more detail below.
[0031] The console 1 is connected to other devices for the
communication of audio and control data between the control and
signal processing unit 3 and various input/output devices (not
shown) such as, for example, speakers, microphones, recording
devices, musical instruments and so on. Operation of the music
performance network can be controlled by the front panel or mixing
desk 8 and the implementation of the necessary processing functions
is performed by the control and signal processing unit 3 in
response to operation of the panel controls.
[0032] As can be seen in FIG. 2, the control panel 8 of the mixing
console is divided into two main sub-panels 10 and 12 with a master
section 14. The sub-panels 10 and 12 are preferably configured in
the same manner so that the user may use either the left hand or
right hand sub-panel without having to adapt his or her mode of
operation. The master section 14 contains centralized functions,
which are applicable to the overall operation of the control panel
and to the operation of the individual sub-panels 10 and 12.
[0033] Each sub-panel 10 and 12 is arranged with a bank of channel
faders 16 adjacent to the user. These channel faders 16 are
operative for adjusting the gain of selected sound input channels.
Above each bank of faders 16 is a control area 18 containing a
plurality of user input devices such as rotary control knobs 20 and
control buttons 22. The control knobs 20 are used for adjusting
control parameters and the control buttons 22 are typically used
for switching in and out control functions. The master panel 14 is
provided with a bank of VCA faders 17. The various user operable
controls can be arranged on the control area 18 in a manner
appropriate for the typical audio signal processing functions to be
performed. By arranging the controls on the control area in a
logical manner user operation of those controls is facilitated.
[0034] Each of the sub-panels 10 and 12 and the master section 14
includes visual displays 24, 26 for representing desired
information. Also, visual indicators are associated with the
buttons 22 (e.g., lights in the buttons) to indicate when they are
activated and visual displays are associated with the control knobs
22 to indicate the current "position" thereof.
[0035] FIG. 3 is a detailed drawing of the input channel fader
control section 10 or 12 and the master section 14 of the sound
mixing console 1 of FIG. 2. Banks of switches 34 and 36 (which
correspond to control buttons 22 of FIG. 2) are provided above each
of the control and master sections 10, 14 to allow the operator to
switch control functions that are assigned to them as will be
described in more detail below. The control section 10 has 8 input
channel faders 37a to 37h which are selectively coupled to
respective ones of the input channels 2a, 2b . . . , etc. The
master section 14 has 12 control group faders 39a to 39j
collectively designated by the reference numeral 16 in FIG. 2. Each
of these faders, often referred to in the art as Voltage Controlled
Amplifiers (VCAs), is connected to circuitry which provides for
collective control of a selected group of sound signal input
channels 2a, 2b, 2c . . . , etc., as will be described in more
detail below. Each control group fader 39a-39j is provided with a
corresponding select switch 40a-40j, designated collectively by
reference numeral 36. Each select switch 40a-40j is connected to
logic gates or a microprocessor-based system that is operative for
recalling those sound input channels 2a, 2b, 2c, etc., associated
with its corresponding control fader 39a-39j to the input channel
faders 37a-37h of the control section 10. That is, for example, on
activation of select switch 40a, the sound input channels assigned
by the operator during setup prior to the music performance to the
corresponding control fader 39a are coupled to the input channel
faders 37a to 37h. The select switches 40a-40j may alternatively be
provided by touch sensitive controls on the control group
faders.
[0036] The control section 10 has buttons 42 which are operative
for providing a scrolling function in cases where there are more
sound input channels assigned to the selected control group fader
39a than input channel faders 37a-37h. So, for example, if there
were 12 sound input channels 2a-2l assigned to the control group
fader 39a and this fader is selected by the operator by activation
of its corresponding select switch 40a, then 8 of the 12 sound
input channels would be coupled to the 8 input channel faders
37a-37h. The operator can scroll the sound input channels to the
left or right in order to access those sound input channels that
are not already coupled to the input channel faders. This
functionality is enhanced by coupling the sound input channels to
the input channel faders in order of channel number, which if
displayed on the display 24, helps the operator scroll to the
desired channel. In cases where there are fewer sound input
channels than input channel faders, inoperative faders are disposed
furthest away from the console operator's normal working position.
The corresponding display 24 is blank for the inoperative
faders.
[0037] FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of an allocation of
sound signal input channels in an embodiment of the present
invention. When setting up the console for a music production, the
operator decides how he wants to group the various participants of
the production. For example, the production may consist of 10
drums, one bass guitar, 6 keyboards, 4 guitars, 8 brass players,
two lead vocals and three backing vocals. His first task is to
decide how he wishes to group these players together and allocate
them to the various control group faders 39a-39j.
[0038] One allocation is depicted in FIGS. 4A and 4B, in which the
10 drums are all allocated to the first VCA 1 or control group
fader 39a. The bass guitar is allocated to the second VCA 2
(control group fader 39b), the keyboards to the third VCA 3 or
fader 39c, guitars to the fourth VCA 4 or fader 39d, brass to the
fifth VCA 5 or fader 39e and vocals to the sixth VCA 6 or fader
39f. This allocation is advantageous over the prior art in that
none of the music sections are split across different pages. The
operator therefore does not need to remember which sound input
channel is allocated to which channel of which page as in the prior
art illustration of FIG. 1. Instead, the operator can recall to the
surface of the input control fader section 10 the group of sound
input channels assigned to a selected VCA or group control fader
39a-39j that he allocated during the pre-performance procedures.
So, if something in the brass section requires attention, pressing
the select switch button on the "brass" VCA, that is, VCA 5, the
system will recall all the individual brass section channels to the
console surface allowing them to be adjusted.
[0039] If there are more channels in the VCA group than there are
physical control sets on the surface then the lowest-numbered
channels associated with that VCA will be brought to the surface.
Additional buttons then allow the channels to be "scrolled" left or
right to display the remaining channels.
[0040] Each VCA or control group fader 39a-39j and input channel
fader 37a-37h could be provided with a display (not shown) capable
of lighting up in different colors. This could be provided locally
to the fader or on a centralized screen such as the display 24. The
operator can then choose a different color for each control group
fader, which is then automatically copied to the input channel
faders associated with that control group fader. For example, the
drum control group fader might be red, the keyboard VCA green and
so on. This provides the user with a very fast visual indication of
which faders are currently active on the surface.
[0041] FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment in which two input
channel fader control sections A and B and one master section 14 is
provided on the console. This embodiment effectively separates the
sets of input channel control faders into two input fader control
sections, although more than two groups are also within the scope
of the present invention. Each VCA or control group fader 39a-39j
can then be provided with a selector switch 44a-44j that allows the
user to pre-set which input channel fader control section A or B
will be used to display that VCA's associated sound input channels.
Assignment of an input channel fader control section as the area A
or area B could also be dynamically controlled by select switch 46
associated with that area. This concept allows the user to keep the
"most important" channels--typically the vocalists--permanently on
the surface on one section (area A), while paging all the other
channels onto the other section (area B).
[0042] The various embodiments described above can be combined to
provide further embodiments. Aspects of the embodiments can be
modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents,
applications and publications to provide yet further
embodiments.
[0043] These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in
light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the
following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit
the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the
specification and the claims, but should be construed to include
all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents
to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not
limited by the disclosure.
* * * * *