초록 ▼

A multimedia notebook or laptop personal computer (PC) has an enhanced audio system. An external audio controller in a docking station is connected to the laptop PC's audio system using a digital-audio link. The digital-audio link uses digital signals that have high noise immunity. The high noise im

A multimedia notebook or laptop personal computer (PC) has an enhanced audio system. An external audio controller in a docking station is connected to the laptop PC's audio system using a digital-audio link. The digital-audio link uses digital signals that have high noise immunity. The high noise immunity allows the digital-audio signals to be routed through the inexpensive docking connector, which has many other noisy, high-speed signals. Dedicated, expensive, noise-prone, and difficult-to-connect analog-audio connectors between the laptop PC and the docking station are eliminated. Analog-digital converter audio CODEC's are placed in both the docking station and in the laptop PC. A master mixer in the laptop PC mixes digital audio from the external audio controller in the docking station with digital audio from an external audio controller inside the laptop PC. The master mixer also connects to a zoom-video audio port and to an internal PCI bus for storing and retrieving audio clips. Audio from external docking-station sources and from internal sources can be freely mixed with the master mixer connected to local mixers in the audio controllers. Audio can be simultaneously played to both internal and external docking-station speakers.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An audio system for a portable personal computer (PC) comprising:an internal audio controller for generating internal digital audio; an internal analog-digital converter for converting internal digital audio from the internal audio controller to analog audio for playing on an internal speaker; a

1. An audio system for a portable personal computer (PC) comprising:an internal audio controller for generating internal digital audio; an internal analog-digital converter for converting internal digital audio from the internal audio controller to analog audio for playing on an internal speaker; a docking-station connector for connecting the portable PC to a docking station, the docking-station connector containing high-speed digital signals for communicating data, address, and control to an expansion bus in the docking station, the expansion bus for receiving expansion cards to expand functions performed by the portable PC when the portable PC is connected to the docking station through the docking-station connector; an external digital-audio link, using digital signals in the docking-station connector, for sending the internal digital audio generated by the internal audio controller to the docking station, and wherein digital-audio signals are sent over the external digital-audio link thorough the docking-station connector, whereby digital audio is generated inside the portable PC and transmitted as digital audio signals to the docking station.