JP2002215191A - Voice recorder/reproducer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a voice recorder/reproducer with which a user himself/ herself who is the owner of a voice file can safely manage the erasing and modification of the voice file. SOLUTION: User ID recorded on the header of the voice file is read when there is an erasing operation, overwrite recording operation, insert recording operation, or header information modification operation for a voice file recorded on a flash memory card 8. The user ID is compared with user ID recorded on and read from a memory provided in the system control part 6 of the voice recorder/player. Only when both coincide, implementation operations related to the operations are permitted. When both do not coincide, the implementation operations are prohibited, and the warning of the operations being prohibited is performed with a display part 9 and a loudspeaker 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an audio recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to an audio recording / reproducing apparatus for recording or reproducing audio as an audio file.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various types of audio recording / reproducing apparatuses, such as so-called digital recorders, for converting an audio signal into digital data and then recording or reproducing the data on a recording medium such as a rewritable solid-state memory, have been proposed. Has been put to practical use.

In such a digital recorder, a rewritable solid-state memory is used so as to be detachable. For example, a memory card generally used for a personal computer or the like may be used. Also, in order to facilitate data transfer between a plurality of devices and data transfer between a plurality of users, the compressed voice data has a voice file identification signal and a file management number. A file name of 1 to 8 characters by adding an index information area and 3
A technology has been proposed in which an audio file having a character extension is created so that file management can be performed clearly without confusion. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-305644 discloses a technique. A technique such as that described in the above section is proposed.

[0004] In addition, audio recording / reproducing devices such as the digital recorders described above often include a display device for displaying a reproduction time, a name of an audio file being reproduced, and the like. Without displaying the index information, only the file numbers arranged in ascending order of the management number are displayed.

[0005]

However, when the above-described file management is performed, there is an advantage that the file management can be performed clearly without confusion, but a so-called multi-user used by a plurality of users. It did not fully consider the user environment. That is, for example, when lending a memory card to another user, there is a possibility that a user other than the creator of the audio file deletes the audio file in the memory card or changes the header information. Will be.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an audio recording / reproducing apparatus in which the user who owns the audio file can safely manage the deletion or change of the audio file. It is intended to be.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an audio recording and reproducing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an audio recording and reproducing apparatus having a memory in which ID information is recorded. A recording medium for recording, reading means for reading ID information recorded in a header portion of the audio file, comparing means for comparing ID information recorded in the memory with ID information of the audio file, Prohibiting means for prohibiting a change operation of the audio file when the ID information recorded in the memory is different from the ID information of the audio file.

[0008] The audio recording and reproducing apparatus according to the second invention is the audio recording and reproducing apparatus according to the first invention.
The ID information includes at least one of information for identifying a user and information for identifying an individual audio recording / reproducing device.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the audio recording and reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the prohibiting means includes an ID recorded in the memory.
When the information and the ID information of the audio file are different, while the reproduction operation for the audio file is permitted, the deletion operation, the overwrite recording operation,
At least one of the insertion recording operation and the header information changing operation is prohibited.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein when a change operation is to be performed on the audio file, the change operation is prohibited by the prohibiting means. If the operation has been performed, a warning unit for warning that effect is further provided.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 14 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the audio recording / reproducing device. FIGS. 3 to 6 show various operations arranged on the audio recording / reproducing device. It is a front view, a right side view, a left side view, and a plan view showing the layout of buttons and switches.

The audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 serves as both an audio recording apparatus and an audio reproducing apparatus. As shown in the figure, the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 is formed in an outer shape which can be easily held by hand. LCD that displays various information visually
A speaker unit 14a having a built-in speaker 14 described below is provided slightly below the LCD 9a.
An erase instruction button 22 corresponding to an erase instruction button ERASE to be described later is provided near the upper side of the LCD 9a, and an up button U to be described later is sequentially arranged from the top to the lower right of the LCD 9a.
P, down button DOWN, menu button MENU, respectively corresponding up / set button 23, down /
A select button 24 and a menu button 25 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, a recording button REC, a stop button STOP, a reproduction button PLAY, and a fast-return button REW, which will be described later, are arranged in this order from top to bottom on the right side of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21. , Fast forward button FF
, A record button 26, a stop button 27, a play button 28, a fast rewind button 29, and a fast forward button 30 are provided, respectively.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, on the left side of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21, the order is from top to bottom.
A voice-activated recording mode setting switch VCVA, an encoding mode switching switch RATE, a voice-activated recording mode setting button 32 corresponding to a hold mode setting switch HOLD, an encoding mode switching button 33, a hold mode setting button 34, and a recording mode described later. Eject button 35 for removing flash memory card 8 as a medium
And a DC-IN 36 for inputting from an external DC power supply.
A part of the lid member 31 for opening and closing to insert and remove the flash memory card 8 is visible.

As shown in FIG. 6, an I mark button 37 corresponding to an I mark button I to be described later is provided on the upper surface of the audio recording / reproducing device 21.
An LED 38 that emits light to indicate that 1 is in a recording state;
An earphone jack 39, a microphone / remote jack 40 for connecting an external microphone or the like, and a microphone 1 described later.
Is provided.

The audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 configured as shown in the figure has a small size and excellent portability, as well as being easy to fit in the hand and excellent in operability.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21.

The sound recording / reproducing apparatus 21 includes a microphone 1 for converting sound into an electric signal, and the microphone 1
(AMP) to amplify the analog signal obtained from
2 and a low-pass filter (LPF) 3 for passing only a signal in a predetermined band on the low frequency side of the output of the amplifier 2
And an analog / digital (A / D) converter 4 for converting the output of the low-pass filter 3 into a digital signal, and a digital signal processor (DSP) for compressing audio during a recording operation and extending audio during a reproducing operation. 5) and the digital signal processing unit 5 and the memory card control unit 7 described below in accordance with the operation of a plurality of operation buttons and switches described later.
And a system control unit 6 serving as a comparison unit for controlling the entire system including the operation of the flash memory card 8, and a proper address signal from the system control unit 6. 8 for recording audio data supplied from the digital signal processing unit 5 via the system control unit 6 based on a predetermined format, or reading out the recorded data and reading the recorded data. A memory card controller 7 serving as reading means for supplying to the digital signal processor 5 via the memory card controller 6;
And a flash memory card 8 which is detachably attached to the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 as a recording medium made of, for example, a semiconductor memory, and a digital / analog which converts read data expanded by the digital signal processing unit 5 into an analog signal. (D / A) converter 11, a band-pass filter (BPF) 12 for cutting an unnecessary frequency band out of the output of this digital / analog converter 11, and an amplifier for amplifying the output of this band-pass filter 12 ( AMP) 13
And a speaker 14 that outputs an electric signal output from the amplifier 13 as an audio signal and also outputs an alarm and the like, and displays various information such as an operation mode and a file number under the control of the system control unit 6. The display unit 9 is a warning unit that also displays a warning, and the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 2 is controlled by the system control unit 6.
A power supply unit 10 for supplying power to the control unit 1 and an operation unit 1 including buttons, switches, and the like connected to the system control unit 6
5 is provided.

The operation unit 15 includes a recording button REC for instructing recording start, a stop button STOP for stopping recording and reproduction, a reproduction button PLAY for instructing reproduction start, a recording position and reproduction. A fast-return button REW for returning a position, a fast-forward button FF for fast-forwarding a recording position or a playback position, a menu button MENU used for selecting various option menus, an up button UP, a down button DOWN, and a recorded button. An erase instruction button ERASE used when erasing audio information;
Each button of an I mark button I for recording an instruction mark, which is an index mark for instruction, as a cue signal, and a voice-activated recording mode setting switch for cutting a silent portion during recording and recording only a sound portion on a recording medium. VCVA, encoding mode changeover switch RAT for changing the compression method and bit rate of audio data
E, each of which has a change-over switch of a hold mode setting switch HOLD for preventing a button from being carelessly operated when not in use.

Further, the system control section 6 has a memory for recording a user ID, which is ID information relating to the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21, so that a user operates a button of the operation section 15. Can be set.

Next, the operation of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 having such a configuration will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system control unit 6.

When power is supplied from the power supply unit 10 to the system control unit 6, the system control unit 6 starts the operation shown in FIG.

That is, first, the external conditions of the system control unit 6 and the initial setting of the internal storage unit are set, and the display is displayed on the display unit 9 (step S1).

After completing the initial setting, the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 is stopped (step S2), and it is detected whether or not the removable flash memory card 8 is mounted (step S3).

If the flash memory card 8 is not mounted, the process returns to the step S2. If the flash memory card 8 is mounted, the information of the file recorded therein is read (step S4). Only valid audio files are counted and the number is displayed on the display unit 9 (step S5).

At this time, in order to determine that the file is a valid file, all of the following three conditions must be satisfied. 1. The file name extension must be dss. 2. A file identification signal dss is written at a predetermined position of the index information recording section where the index information of the file is recorded. 3. Numerical values from 0001 to 9999 are written as file management numbers at predetermined positions in the index information recording section.

Here, the extension of the file name and the file identification signal are dss, but may be dds. Furthermore, these dss and dds may be versatile as long as they are described in ASCII code.

Here, the operation for judging the above three conditions will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation when acquiring file information of the flash memory card 8.

When this operation is started, first, the number of valid files is set to 0 (step S21), and a valid file information table is initialized (step S22).

Next, a search is made for a file in the flash memory card 8 (step S23), and it is determined whether or not the file exists (step S24). If the file does not exist, the process ends.

If a file exists, it is determined whether or not the extension of the file is dss (step S25). If the file is dss, a file identification signal is further detected (step S26). ).

Then, it is determined whether or not the detected identification signal is dss (step S27). If it is dss, a file management number is detected (step S2).
8).

Subsequently, when the detected file management number is 00
It is determined whether the value is within the range of 01 to 9999 (step S29). If the value is within the range, a file number is set in the valid file information table (step S30), and the process returns to step S23.

If the extension is not dss in step S25, if the identification signal is not dss in step S27, or if the file management number is not a numerical value in the range of 0001 to 9999 in step S29, Also returns to step S23.

In this way, it is determined whether the file is a valid file.

Next, what information is recorded in the index information area will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram conceptually showing a breakdown of information recorded in the flash memory card 8.

As shown, the flash memory card 8
The recording area is divided into an index information area having a storage capacity of, for example, 512 bytes, and an audio data area in which audio data is recorded.

The index information area among these fields further includes a system version number, a file identification signal, a file management number, a user ID code, a recording start date and time, a recording end date and time, a recording time, a priority level, a transferred flag, and an error flag. Erasure prevention flag, I mark address No. 1 to N
o. 16, divided into spare areas.

Returning to the operation of the system control unit 6 in FIG. 7, after displaying the information of the valid file on the display unit 9 in step S5, it is determined whether any of the operation buttons in the operation unit 15 has been pressed. Is detected (step S6).

If no operation button is pressed, the process returns to step S2. If it is detected that any operation button is pressed, then the hold mode setting switch HOLD is turned on. It is detected whether or not there is (step S7).

Here, the hold mode setting switch HOL
If D is on, the process returns to step S2. On the other hand, if it is off, it is first detected whether or not the operated button is the record button REC (step S8).
When the record button REC is pressed, the digital signal processor 5 is controlled to compress the audio information input from the A / D converter 4 and send the data to the memory card controller 7 to send the data to the flash memory. The recording process for recording on the card 8 is started (step S9).

This recording process will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the recording process, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another part of the operation of the recording process.

When the recording process is started, it is first determined whether or not the recording is a new recording (step S31). If the recording is not a new recording, the designated file is opened (step S32).

If it is determined in step S31 that the recording is a new recording, a new file management number is obtained from the file information in the flash memory card 8 (step S33), and the user ID code and the file management number are obtained. A new file name is created in combination (step S34), and the identification signal (dss) is recorded in the index information area (step S35).

A feature of the case where a new audio file is created when recording is newly started is that a number which does not overlap with a management number of a file already existing in the memory is selected (usually from 0001 to 9999 in order). Selected, 9
After 999, the process returns to 0001 again), and the number is recorded at a predetermined location in the index information area of the file.

Further, in this embodiment, the selection of the option menu by the menu button MENU causes
Since a four-digit user ID code (usually a four-letter alphabet name) can be set, this user ID code is also recorded at a predetermined location in the index information area. ing.

Then, an eight-character file name is created from the four-character user ID code and the four-digit file management number, and a three-character extension of dss is added to the file name.

Step S32 or step S35
Is completed, the recording position is read (step S
36) It is determined whether or not an encoding mode switch RATE for switching between two encoding systems A and B having different bit rates from the audio data compression system is on (step S37).

If it is on, the coding system A is selected (step S38); if it is off, the coding system B
Is selected (step S39).

Then, it is determined whether or not the voice activation recording mode setting switch VCVA is on (step S4).
0), if it is on, an energy calculation instruction is output to the digital signal processing unit 5 (step S41).

Subsequently, an energy value is input from the digital signal processing unit 5 (step S42), and the energy is compared with a threshold value (step S43). If the energy value is less than the threshold value, the process returns to step S37. , If the energy is greater than the threshold, or in step S40, the voice-activated recording mode setting switch VCV
If A is off, an encoding start instruction is output to the digital signal processing unit 5 (step S44).

Thereafter, an audio data block is input from the digital signal processing unit 5 (step S45), and an audio data block is output to the memory card control unit 7 (step S45).
46), the recording position is updated (step S47), and it is determined whether or not the stop button STOP has been operated (step S48).

If the stop button STOP has not been operated, the flow returns to step S37 to continue this recording operation. On the other hand, if the stop button STOP has been operated, the digital signal processor 5 A stop command is sent (step S49).

Then, the index information is updated (step S50), and the file is closed (step S50).
51), end.

Returning to the description of the operation of the system control unit in FIG. 7 again, if it is determined in step S8 that the operated button is not the record button REC, it is determined whether the play button PLAY is pressed next. Is detected (step S10). Here, when the play button PLAY is pressed, the recording data of the flash memory card 8 is read out via the memory card control unit 7 and sent to the digital signal processing unit 5 to perform the decompression processing, and the D / A conversion is performed. The reproduction process for sending audio information to the device 11 is started (step S11).

If it is determined in step S10 that the operated button is not the play button PLAY, it is detected whether or not the fast forward button FF has been operated (step S12). If the fast-forward button FF has been pressed, the process enters a fast-forward process for sequentially fast-forwarding the operating position at an appropriate speed (for example, 100 times the speed during playback) (step S13).

If it is determined in step S12 that the operated button is not the fast-forward button FF, it is detected whether or not the fast-return button REW has been operated (step S14). If the fast-return button REW has been pressed here, a fast-return process for sequentially moving the operating position in the direction opposite to that in the fast-forwarding at the same speed is entered (step S15).

If it is determined in step S14 that the operated button is not the rewind button REW, it is detected whether or not the erase instruction button ERASE has been operated (step S16). Here, delete instruction button ERASE
If is pressed, the process enters an erasing process for erasing the file corresponding to the file number currently displayed on the display unit 9 (step S17).

This erasing process will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the erasing process.

When the erasing process is started, the I information is deleted from the index information area of the audio file to be erased.
A user ID code as D information is obtained (step S61), and a user ID as ID information set in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 is obtained (step S6).
2) It is determined whether these two user IDs match (step S63).

Here, if the user IDs match,
After erasing the audio file recorded on the flash memory card 8 (step S64), if the user IDs do not match, the display unit 9 of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 indicates that the erasure is impossible. A warning is issued by displaying an alarm and outputting an alarm from the speaker 14 or the like (step S65), and the erasing process ends.

Returning to the description of the operation of the system control unit in FIG. 7 again, if it is determined in step S16 that the operation was not the erase instruction button ERASE, it is determined whether the option menu selection button MENU was operated. Is detected (step S18). If the option menu selection button MENU has been pressed here, menu switching processing for setting various options starts based on the instructions of the up button UP and the down button DOWN (step S19).

More specifically, this option menu is used to set an erroneous erasure prevention flag, set a transferred flag,
It is possible to set a priority level, a microphone sensitivity, a user ID code, a clock, and the like. The option menu selection button ME
If the UP / DOWN button is directly operated without pressing the NU, the UP / DOWN button operates as a volume for adjusting the reproduction volume.

This menu switching process is described in FIG.
This will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a menu switching process.

When the menu switching process is started, the user operates the up button UP and the down button DOWN
By changing the menu by operating, items such as "priority level", "transferred flag", and "erroneous erasure prevention flag" for which index information is to be changed are selected (step S71).

Then, it is determined whether or not an input operation for actually changing an item has been performed on these menus (step S72). If the input operation has been performed, the menu is to be changed. A user ID code is obtained from the index information area of the audio file (step S73), and a user ID set in the audio recording / reproducing device 21 is obtained (step S74). It is determined whether or not it is (step S75).

If the user IDs match, the index information of the audio file recorded on the flash memory card 8 is changed according to the operation (step S76).

If it is determined in step S75 that the compared user IDs do not match, it is displayed on the display unit 9 of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21 that it is impossible to change the audio file. A warning is issued by outputting an alarm from the speaker 14 or the like (step S77).

Thus, step S76 or step S77 is completed, or step S72 is performed.
If there is no change input from the user, the menu switching process ends.

Another example of the details of the menu switching process in step S19 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the menu switching process in step S19.

When the operation of the menu switching process is started, a user ID code is obtained from the index information area of the currently selected audio file (step S81), and is set in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus 21. A user ID is acquired (step S82), and it is determined whether or not these two user IDs match (step S83).

If the user IDs match, a menu for changing the index information of the audio file, such as "priority level", "transferred flag", and "erroneous deletion prevention flag" is displayed in the menu switching process. I do. (Step S84).

On the other hand, if the user IDs do not match,
In the menu switching process, the “priority level”,
A menu for changing the index information of the audio file such as the “transferred flag” and the “erroneous deletion prevention flag” is skipped without displaying the menu (step S85).

Thereafter, after performing processing according to the operation, the menu switching processing is terminated.

Returning again to the description of the operation of the system control unit in FIG. 7, the recording process in step S9 and the
In the reproduction process 11, the fast-forward process in step S <b> 13, and the fast-return process in step S <b> 15, the stop button STOP was pressed, the flash memory card 8 was removed, or the current position reached the end position or the end position of the memory. In this case, the process exits from each process and returns to the stop process in step S2.

When the erasing process in step S17 or the menu switching process in step S19 is completed, or when the option menu selection button MENU is turned off in step S18, the process returns to step S2. I have.

In the example of FIG. 12, the operation of deleting the audio file is prohibited as necessary, and the operation of FIG. 13 and FIG.
In the above example, the index information change operation (header information change operation) is prohibited as necessary. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is possible.

Further, the ID information may be information for identifying a user or information for identifying an individual audio recording / reproducing apparatus. At least one of these may be included.

According to such an embodiment, the user ID recorded in the file is compared with the user ID set in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus, and an erasing or changing operation can be performed for only those who match. Because we did not allow it,
This prevents the user from being inadvertently deleting or changing the file, and the user who is the owner of the audio file can safely manage the file.

Further, by not displaying the menu for the prohibited operation, there is no need to misunderstand that the user can operate the device, and the operability is improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0082]

As described above, according to the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the user who is the owner of the audio file can safely manage the deletion or change of the audio file.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary perspective view showing the appearance of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary front view showing a layout of operation buttons in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a right side view showing a layout of operation buttons in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a left side view showing a layout of operation buttons in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary plan view showing a layout of operation buttons in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system control unit of the audio recording / reproducing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of acquiring file information of a card in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram conceptually showing a configuration of an audio file in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation of the recording process in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another part of the operation of the recording process in the audio recording / reproducing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation of an erasing process in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of a menu switching process in the audio recording / reproducing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the menu switching process in the audio recording and reproducing device of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 ... Digital signal processing unit 6 ... System control unit (comparing means, prohibiting means) 7 ... Memory card control unit (reading means) 8 ... Flash memory card (recording medium) 9 ... Display unit (warning means) 14 ... Speaker (warning) Means) 21 ... Audio recording / reproducing device

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An audio recording / reproducing apparatus having a memory in which ID information is recorded, comprising: a recording medium for recording an audio file; and reading means for reading ID information recorded in a header of the audio file. And a comparing means for comparing the ID information recorded in the memory with the ID information of the audio file. If the ID information recorded in the memory is different from the ID information of the audio file, And a prohibition unit for prohibiting the operation of changing the audio file. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ID information includes at least one of information for identifying a user and information for identifying an individual audio recording / reproducing apparatus.
An audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. When the ID information recorded in the memory and the ID information of the audio file are different, the prohibiting means permits a reproduction operation on the audio file while erasing the audio file. The audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of an operation, an overwrite recording operation, an insertion recording operation, and a header information changing operation is prohibited. 4. When a change operation is performed on the voice file, if the change operation is an operation prohibited by the prohibition unit, a warning unit is further provided to warn the user of the change operation. The audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: