A video conference terminal

Abstract

A kind of video conference terminal belongs to video conference equipment field.It includes casing (3), be provided with digital mixer mainboard (15) in casing (3), digital mixer control circuit is arranged on digital mixer mainboard (15), and adjusting knob (2) for adjusting the volume of input or output of different ports is also provided on the surface of casing (3), it is characterized by: computer mainboard (16) is also provided in casing (3), computer mainboard (16) is located in the side of digital mixer mainboard (15), and computer mainboard (16) is connected with digital mixer mainboard (15).In the present video conference terminal, computer mainboard and digital mixer mainboard arranged with digital mixer control circuit are set in the same casing, and are connected in the casing, avoid the problem that digital mixer needs additional wiring when needing to connect computer in prior art, further simplifies the complexity of wiring.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] A video conferencing terminal, belonging to the field of video conferencing equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Video conferencing systems have become a mainstream method of remote communication in recent years. During video conferences, in addition to video images, audio interaction is also crucial, sometimes even more so than video images. When a meeting room needs to hold a video conference, the video conferencing hardware terminal or computer typically needs to interface with the mixing console or audio matrix processor in the meeting room's sound system.

[0003] When adjusting a mixing console (audio matrix processor), both the actual mixing console (audio matrix processor) equipment and the mixing console (audio matrix processor) software include input and output sections. The input section includes several channels, and each channel has many interfaces, knobs, buttons, and faders according to the signal flow path. These include MIC IN and LINE IN interfaces (many mixing consoles combine these two interfaces into a composite interface with a PAD attenuation button), GAIN gain adjustment knob, treble, midrange, and bass gain adjustment knobs, AUX 1-4 adjustment knobs, fader front and fader back buttons, sound direction adjustment knob, mute button, faders, group 1-4 buttons, send main output button, monitor button, etc. The output section is divided into main output channels and faders, AUX auxiliary output channels and master adjustment knobs, group output channels and faders, etc.

[0004] Therefore, mixing consoles lack dedicated volume control functions. Adjusting any volume requires adjusting multiple function knobs (buttons, faders), and the various buttons, faders, indicator lights of different colors, and interfaces with different functions make it quite difficult for non-audio professionals to operate. Furthermore, the user manuals are overly technical, the operation is complex, and there are other issues. Additionally, mixing consoles or audio matrices need to interface with the audio section of video conferencing terminals, making setup and debugging extremely cumbersome.

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, the applicant of this application filed a utility model patent application (application number 202223110684.X) on November 23, 2022, entitled "A Video Conferencing Terminal," which describes a technical solution. This solution uses only five adjustment knobs to adjust the local output volume and microphone volume, as well as the remote input / output volume and remote microphone volume, significantly reducing the difficulty of use for non-professional users. However, in practical use, this technical solution has the following drawbacks: In actual meeting room setups, the device often needs to be connected to a PC (including desktop and laptop computers) and run common software such as Tencent Meeting, DingTalk, and Zoom Meeting. This requires an additional USB connection to the PC, necessitating an extra USB cable. Furthermore, the transmission distance of USB cables is limited, making the process cumbersome and inflexible in practice. Utility Model Content

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a video conferencing terminal that houses the computer motherboard and the digital mixer motherboard with the digital mixer control circuit in the same chassis and connects them inside the chassis, thus avoiding the problem of additional wiring required when the digital mixer needs to be connected to a computer in the prior art, and further simplifying the wiring complexity.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve its technical problem is as follows: The video conferencing terminal includes a casing, a digital mixer motherboard is provided inside the casing, a digital mixer control circuit is arranged on the digital mixer motherboard, and input / output ports connected to the digital mixer control circuit are led out from the surface of the casing. An adjustment knob for adjusting the input or output volume of different ports is also provided on the surface of the casing. The feature is that a computer motherboard is also provided inside the casing, the computer motherboard is located on the side of the digital mixer motherboard, and the computer motherboard is connected to the digital mixer motherboard.

[0008] Preferably, a cooling fan is provided on the surface of the computer motherboard, and an air outlet and an air inlet are provided on the surface of the casing, with a dustproof mechanism provided at the air inlet.

[0009] Preferably, the dustproof mechanism includes a dustproof base facing downwards towards the cooling fan, and a dustproof mesh is removably provided on the surface of the dustproof base.

[0010] Preferably, the digital mixer control circuit includes a DSP unit, which includes an automatic mixer module, a noise gate module, an equalizer module, and a matrix mixer module connected in sequence. The microphone interface is connected to the input terminal of the automatic mixer module, the audio input interface is connected to the noise gate module, and the output terminal of the matrix mixer module is connected to the audio output interface. An MCU unit that is bidirectionally connected to the DSP unit is also provided, and the adjustment knob is connected to the input terminal of the MCU unit.

[0011] Preferably, there are five adjustment knobs, which are used to adjust the local microphone volume, local audio volume, sound volume of the remote venue, microphone volume sent to the remote venue, and audio volume sent to the remote venue, respectively.

[0012] Preferably, the microphone interface and audio input interface are connected to the automatic mixer module and noise gate module respectively through the analog-to-digital converter module.

[0013] Preferably, the matrix mixing module is connected to the audio output interface via a digital-to-analog converter module.

[0014] Preferably, a PAD signal attenuation button connected to the DSP unit is also provided.

[0015] Preferably, a dust cover is fastened to the surface of the dustproof base, and a sliding groove is opened in the dust cover, into which the dustproof net can be pulled out and placed.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0017] In this video conferencing terminal, the computer motherboard and the digital mixer motherboard containing the digital mixer control circuit are housed in the same chassis and connected within the chassis. This avoids the problem of needing additional wiring when the digital mixer needs to be connected to a computer, as is the case in the prior art, and further simplifies the complexity of wiring.

[0018] In this video conferencing terminal, the volume of the input or output ports can be adjusted using only a few volume control knobs. This eliminates the drawbacks of existing mixing consoles and audio matrix processors, which have complex and numerous knobs and audio matrix panels that cannot be directly adjusted. It greatly improves the complex operation of mixing consoles and audio matrices, effectively and significantly reducing the difficulty of use for non-professional users, and enabling the rapid setup of a video conferencing audio system.

[0019] The operation panel of this video conferencing terminal has only five adjustment knobs: local microphone volume control knob, local audio volume control knob, remote venue audio volume control knob, microphone volume control knob for sending to remote venue, and audio volume control knob for sending to remote venue. The operation is extremely simple and very easy to learn.

[0020] This video conferencing terminal only has the necessary interfaces. These interfaces can be directly connected to the audio input / output interfaces of the video conferencing terminal (the interfaces required by software such as Tencent Meeting are directly connected inside the chassis), and can be directly connected to most hardware video conferencing terminals, such as Polycom GROUP series, Huawei HDX series, Huawei TE, BOX series, etc. It also has local audio output interfaces for connecting local audio devices. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a front view of the video conferencing terminal.

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Top view.

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Sectional view along the AA direction.

[0024] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Sectional view along the BB direction.

[0025] Figure 5 for Figure 1 The left view.

[0026] Figure 6 for Figure 1 Rear view.

[0027] Figure 7 This is a block diagram of the control circuit for the digital mixer in a video conferencing terminal.

[0028] The components include: 1. Fixed ear plate; 2. Adjustment knob; 3. Housing; 4. Dust cover; 5. Dust filter; 6. Dustproof base; 7. Front air vent; 8. Slide rail; 9. Front USB port; 10. Power switch; 11. Top air vent; 12. Clip; 13. Cooling fan; 14. Side air vent; 15. Digital mixer motherboard; 16. Motherboard; 17. Power interface; 18. Rear air vent; 19. DP interface; 20. Rear USB port; 21. Motherboard audio interface; 22. 6.35mm audio output interface; 23. Audio input port; 24. Microphone interface; 25. Remote input interface; 26. Signal attenuation button; 27. Type-C interface; 28. Motherboard microphone interface; 29. ​​Network interface; 30. HDMI interface; 31. Wi-Fi antenna connection port; 32. Linear audio output interface. Detailed Implementation

[0029] Figures 1-7 This is the preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is described below in conjunction with the appendix. Figures 1-7The present invention will be further described below.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, a video conferencing terminal includes a rectangular housing 3, with mounting ears 1 on both sides of the housing 3. The video conferencing terminal can be installed in a standard cabinet by means of the mounting ears 1.

[0031] Multiple adjustment knobs 2 are arranged side-by-side on the front panel of the casing 3. In this video conferencing terminal, there are five adjustment knobs 2, used to adjust the local microphone volume, local audio volume, remote meeting room audio volume, microphone volume sent to the remote meeting room, and audio volume sent to the remote meeting room, respectively. Indicator lights are located on the sides of the adjustment knobs 2. A front air vent 7 is located to the side of the indicator lights, a front USB port 9 is located to the side of the front air vent 7, and a computer power switch 10 is located to the side of the front USB port 9.

[0032] Combination Figure 2 , Figure 5 as well as Figure 6 A top air outlet 11 is provided on the top of the housing 3, side air outlets 14 are provided on both sides of the housing 3, and a rear air outlet 18 is provided on the back of the housing 3. A dustproof mechanism is provided on one side of the top air outlet 11 on the top of the housing 3. The airflow for air cooling inside the housing 3 enters the housing 3 through the dustproof mechanism, and then exits through the top air outlet 11, the side air outlets 14 and the rear air outlet 18 respectively, forming a cooling air circulation.

[0033] like Figure 3 As shown, the dustproof mechanism includes a dustproof base 6, which is fixed to the opening at the top of the casing 3. A cooling fan 13 is installed inside the opening at the top of the casing 3, providing the power for airflow. Multiple clips 12 are provided on the surface of the dustproof base 6, and a hollow dustproof cover 4 is fastened to the surface of the dustproof base 6 by the clips 12.

[0034] On one end face of the dust cover 4, a groove 8 is formed inward on the surface of the end face. A dust filter 5 is inserted into the groove 8, so that the outside air is filtered by the dust filter 5 before entering the casing 3, effectively preventing external dust from entering the casing 3. In addition, the dust filter 5 adopts a pull-out design, so that it can be removed at any time for dust removal.

[0035] like Figure 4As shown, inside the casing 3, there are two motherboards: a digital mixer motherboard 15 and a computer motherboard 16. The digital mixer motherboard 15 has a digital mixer control circuit on its surface. The computer motherboard 16 is a commercially available PC motherboard, and its principle is common knowledge in the field, so it will not be elaborated further. The aforementioned cooling fan 13 is the cooling fan of the air-cooled heatsink on the surface of the computer motherboard 16, and the cooling fan 13 faces upwards directly towards the opening on the top surface of the casing 3.

[0036] Further integration Figure 6 A Wi-Fi antenna connector 31 is located at the end of the back of the casing 3, for connecting an external antenna. A power interface 17 is located on the side of the Wi-Fi antenna connector 31, and an HDMI interface 30 and a DP interface 19 are located to the side of the power interface 17. Two sets of rear USB ports 20 are located to the side of the DP interface 19, and a motherboard microphone interface 28 and a motherboard audio interface 21 are located to the side of the two sets of rear USB ports 20. A Type-C interface 27 is located to the side of the motherboard audio interface 21, and a network interface 29 is located between the two sets of rear USB ports 20.

[0037] The Wi-Fi antenna connector 31, HDMI port 30, DP port 19, network port 29, motherboard microphone port 28, motherboard audio port 21, Type-C port 27, rear USB port 20, and front USB port 9 are all built-in interfaces of the motherboard 16. They can be directly led out through openings on the surface of the casing 3 (similar to the interfaces on the back of a PC case), or they can be led out through wires (similar to the interfaces on the front panel of a PC case). The power supply connected to the power connector 17 can simultaneously power the motherboard 16 and the digital mixer motherboard 15.

[0038] The back of the housing 3 also features interfaces corresponding to the digital mixer motherboard 15, including an audio output area and an audio input area. The audio output area has two 6.35mm audio output jacks 22 arranged vertically side-by-side and two linear audio output jacks 32 arranged vertically side-by-side. Signal attenuation buttons 26 are located on the sides of the two 6.35mm audio output jacks 22. The audio input area has two remote input jacks 25 arranged vertically side-by-side, used to receive audio signals from the conference terminal. Two audio input ports 23 arranged vertically side-by-side are located on the sides of the two remote input jacks 25, used to receive local audio. Multiple microphone jacks 24 are also located on the sides of the two audio input ports 23.

[0039] like Figure 7As shown, the digital mixer control circuit, located on the surface of the digital mixer motherboard 15, includes a DSP unit and an MCU unit. The input / output ports of the DSP unit and the MCU unit are bidirectionally connected. The aforementioned adjustment knobs 2—the first knob, the second knob, ..., the fifth knob—are each connected to different input terminals of the MCU unit via their respective analog-to-digital conversion modules: the first knob analog-to-digital converter, the second knob analog-to-digital converter, ..., the fifth knob analog-to-digital converter. The output terminals of the MCU unit are connected to the aforementioned indicator lights. The MCU unit can be implemented using commercially available microprocessors, such as the ST32 series microprocessors.

[0040] The DSP unit includes an automatic mixer module, a noise gate module, an equalizer module, and a matrix mixer module. The microphone interface 24 is connected to the input of the first analog-to-digital converter module. The output of the first analog-to-digital converter module is connected to the input of the automatic mixer module, and the output of the automatic mixer module is connected to the input of the noise gate module. The output of the noise gate module is connected to the input of the equalizer module, the output of the equalizer module is connected to the input of the matrix mixer module, the output of the matrix mixer module is connected to the input of the digital-to-analog converter module, and the output of the digital-to-analog converter module is connected to the audio output interfaces (including a linear audio output interface 32 and a 6.35" audio output interface 22).

[0041] The audio input interface (including audio input port 23 and remote input interface 25) is connected to the input terminal of the second analog-to-digital converter module, and the output terminal of the second analog-to-digital converter module is connected to the other input terminal of the noise gate module. The USB controller module includes a USB audio codec, a USB video codec, and a USB I / O port, and is connected to the USB port on the computer motherboard 16 via a wire (not shown in the figure) inside the housing 3 through the USB I / O port.

[0042] The signal attenuation button 26 is also connected to the MCU unit and acts on devices connected through the 6.35 audio output interface 22 and the linear audio output interface 32, respectively.

[0043] In the DSP unit, the automatic mixer module operates on the principle of sound reinforcement. For each additional microphone activated in the venue, the microphone input gain increases by 3dB. As the number of activated microphones increases, feedback between the microphones and speakers can easily occur. The automatic microphone mixing module can automatically control the gain of multiple microphones (including but not limited to four microphones) in real time. Even when multiple speakers are speaking simultaneously, it maintains the overall output of the automatic mixing module equal to the gain when only one microphone is activated. This significantly reduces feedback caused by positive feedback, as well as ambient noise and comb filtering from adjacent microphones, without altering the sound quality.

[0044] In the noise gate module of the DSP unit, the signal-to-noise ratio remains unchanged after multiple microphone signals are automatically mixed. The signal sent from the microphone to the automatic mixing module includes the microphone's own background noise and ambient noise. Although these noises are small in volume, they are still present. The noise gate is a volume valve between the automatic mixing module and the ADC conversion module. Its main function is to block background noise from entering the local or remote venue's sound reinforcement system. Simply put, when the microphone input signal is high, the volume valve opens; when it is low, it closes.

[0045] When the microphone is on but no speaker is present, the noise level is below the set threshold and the noise gate cannot be opened. At this time, the noise gate can block the background noise and the ambient noise picked up by the microphone. When the speaker speaks, the volume exceeds the threshold, and the noise gate opens. The signal will then pass through the noise gate to the next module. The presence of the noise gate greatly improves the microphone input signal-to-noise ratio.

[0046] The equalizer in the DSP unit is designed to modify the sound and compensate for defects caused by the acoustic environment. Since this invention is mainly designed for conferences, the primary goal is to reproduce human voices. Therefore, the equalizer does not modify the sound. Instead, it compensates for defects caused by the acoustic environment. Simply put, it handles feedback points and prevents feedback from occurring.

[0047] The main function of the matrix mixing module in the DSP unit is to send one or more audio input signals to one or more output interfaces. The matrix mixing module sends audio inputs to both local and remote audio output interfaces.

[0048] The specific working process and working principle are as follows:

[0049] In practical use, when volume adjustment is required, the operator rotates the corresponding adjustment knob 2. After rotation, the resistance of knob 2 changes, causing a change in the electrical signal (voltage or current value) input to the MCU unit. Upon receiving this volume signal adjustment value, the MCU unit sends a corresponding adjustment command to the DSP unit. The DSP unit then adjusts the output interface volume accordingly based on the volume signal adjustment value from the MCU unit. Specifically, when adjusting the microphone volume sent to a remote meeting room, the corresponding adjustment knob 2 is rotated. Rotating knob 2 causes a corresponding change in the potentiometer resistance. This resistance value is acquired by the MCU system and converted into a digital signal by the ADC module. The converted digital signal enters the MCU system module and is then sent to the DSP system module. The DSP system module receives the digital signal from the MCU, adjusts the microphone volume (input via microphone interface 24), and outputs it to the matrix mixer. This signal is then sent to the DAC module for conversion into an analog signal, and finally output through the 6.35mm audio output interface 22.

[0050] When it is necessary to adjust the audio volume sent to the remote venue, rotate the corresponding adjustment knob 2. When adjusting knob 2 is rotated, the resistance value of the potentiometer inside knob 2 also changes accordingly. This resistance value is acquired by the MCU system and converted into a digital signal by the ADC module. After the converted digital signal enters the MCU system module, the MCU system sends the digital signal to the DSP system module. The DSP system module receives the value of the digital signal sent by the MCU, adjusts the volume of the linear signal entering the DSP system module, and then outputs it to the matrix mixer. After that, it is sent to the DAC module to be converted into an analog signal, and finally output through the 6.35 audio output interface 22.

[0051] When adjusting the local audio volume, rotate the corresponding adjustment knob 2. As knob 2 is rotated, the potentiometer resistance value inside knob 2 changes accordingly. This resistance value is acquired by the MCU system and converted into a digital signal by the ADC module. The converted digital signal enters the MCU system module and is then sent to the DSP system module. The DSP system module receives the digital signal from the MCU, adjusts the volume of the linear audio signal or the USB audio signal from the computer, and outputs it to the DAC module for conversion into an analog signal. Finally, it is output through the 6.35mm audio output interface 22.

[0052] When the local microphone volume needs to be adjusted, rotate the corresponding adjustment knob 2. When the adjustment knob 2 is rotated, the resistance value of the potentiometer inside the adjustment knob 2 also changes accordingly. This resistance value is acquired by the MCU system and converted into a digital signal by the ADC module. After the converted digital signal enters the MCU system module, the MCU system sends the digital signal to the DSP system module. The DSP system module receives the value of the digital signal sent by the MCU, adjusts the microphone volume (input through microphone interface 24) in the DSP system module, and then outputs it to the matrix mixer. After that, it is sent to the DAC module to be converted into an analog signal, and finally output through the linear audio output interface 32.

[0053] When the computer motherboard 16 and the digital mixer motherboard 15 need to work simultaneously, press the computer power switch 10 to start it, and then run the software installed on the hard drive to work in conjunction with the digital mixer motherboard 15.

[0054] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model and is not intended to limit the utility model in any other way. Any person skilled in the art may make changes or modifications to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments. However, any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of this utility model without departing from its technical solution shall still fall within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A video conferencing terminal, comprising a housing (3), a digital mixer motherboard (15) disposed within the housing (3), a digital mixer control circuit disposed on the digital mixer motherboard (15), input / output ports connected to the digital mixer control circuit being led out from the surface of the housing (3), and an adjustment knob (2) for adjusting the input or output volume of different ports being disposed on the surface of the housing (3), characterized in that: A computer motherboard (16) is also installed inside the casing (3). The computer motherboard (16) is located on the side of the digital mixer motherboard (15) and is connected to the digital mixer motherboard (15).

2. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cooling fan (13) is provided on the surface of the computer motherboard (16), and an air outlet and an air inlet are provided on the surface of the casing (3). A dustproof mechanism is provided at the air inlet.

3. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 2, characterized in that: The dustproof mechanism includes a dustproof base (6), which faces downwards and directly towards the cooling fan (13). A dustproof net (5) is removably installed on the surface of the dustproof base (6).

4. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that: The digital mixer control circuit includes a DSP unit, which includes an automatic mixer module, a noise gate module, an equalizer module, and a matrix mixer module connected in sequence. The microphone interface (24) is connected to the input terminal of the automatic mixer module, the audio input interface is connected to the noise gate module, and the output terminal of the matrix mixer module is connected to the audio output interface. An MCU unit that is bidirectionally connected to the DSP unit is also provided, and the adjustment knob (2) is connected to the input terminal of the MCU unit.

5. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that: The adjustment knob (2) has five knobs, which are used to adjust the local microphone volume, local audio volume, sound volume of the remote venue, microphone volume sent to the remote venue, and audio volume sent to the remote venue.

6. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that: The microphone interface (24) and audio input interface are connected to the automatic mixer module and noise gate module respectively through the analog-to-digital converter module.

7. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that: The matrix mixing module is connected to the audio output interface via a digital-to-analog converter module.

8. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a PAD signal attenuation button connected to the DSP unit.

9. The video conferencing terminal according to claim 3, characterized in that: A dust cover plate (4) is attached to the surface of the dust cover plate (6), and a groove (8) is provided inside the dust cover plate (4). The dust net (5) can be pulled out and placed in the groove (8).

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