Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
  • G11C—STATIC STORES
  • G11C7/00—Arrangements for writing information into, or reading information out from, a digital store
  • G11C7/16—Storage of analogue signals in digital stores using an arrangement comprising analogue/digital [A/D] converters, digital memories and digital/analogue [D/A] converters 
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
  • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
  • G11B20/00—Signal processing not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Circuits therefor
  • G11B20/00007—Time or data compression or expansion
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
  • G11B—INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER
  • G11B20/00—Signal processing not specific to the method of recording or reproducing; Circuits therefor
  • G11B20/10—Digital recording or reproducing
  • G11B20/10527—Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G11—INFORMATION STORAGE
  • G11C—STATIC STORES
  • G11C2207/00—Indexing scheme relating to arrangements for writing information into, or reading information out from, a digital store
  • G11C2207/16—Solid state audio

Definitions

• This invention relates to audio recorders in general and more particularly
• These integrated circuit recorders may record analog values representing
• microphone output may be digitized and stored as binary values.
• compression/decompression circuits may be employed to increase storage
• These recorders may operate on a first-in first-out basis so that the recorder stores the most recently captured sounds and discards signals or
• the present invention is directed towards such usages.
• the present invention takes the form of an audio recorder including a
• the sound responsive switch detects signals representative of speech or music
• microphone output is provided to an audio memory on a first-in first-out, queuing 3 basis. That is, when the memory is full the oldest signals are discarded or erased
• an operator controlled momentary contact switch which may be actuated when the operator desires that a statement just made or musical passage just
• the audio memory preferably has a capacity for storage of a limited number of these preserved signals so that the operator may
• the capture button which is
• actuated by the operator when it is desired to preserve the immediately preceding sound section may be located remotely from the recorder and communicate with
• the recorder via electromagnetic signals such as infrared.
• the signals received from the microphone are stored under
• the queue length is reduced by ten seconds each time a section is captured. Thus, a total of 30 ten second segments may be preserved.
• the queue length is only ten seconds long.
• the preferred embodiment of the invention includes a register storing the time length
• the recorder is provided with controls which allow
• the audio recorder may include a digital clock which generates signals
• the digital signals may be derived from the clock portion of the
• the operator controls further include a display assigning consecutive
• the display also provides the
• the queue length is constant and the signals in the queue are shifted by one memory location each time a new
• the memory section forming the queue may be
• the audio memory may constitute a digital tape or a multi-cell integrated circuit which stores the recorded signals in either digital or analog form. If the storage is in digital form an analog-digital converter is provided to convert the
• decompression circuit may be used to extend the storage time for a memory of
• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wrist worn device incorporating the
• Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the
• invention employing an addressable digital memory to store both the signals in 6 the memory queue and the signals designated by the operator to be captured from the queue for later review and reply;
• Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the invention in which the memory queue and the captured signals are stored in independent
• Audio recorders formed in accordance with the present invention may be any audio recorders formed in accordance with the present invention.
• Figure 1 illustrates a wrist unit, generally indicated at 10, incorporating a
• the microphone output signal is provided to a sound
• a speech or nonspeech signal is a speech or nonspeech signal.
• controlled on/off switch 22 allows the entire system, including the sound responsive switch to be deactivated.
• An optional operator controlled switch may be
• responsive switch detects a speech signal (or a music signal if it is appropriately
• the output of the microphone 16 is provided to an analog-to-digital
• the memory 30 may be of the flash variety.
• the memory may take
• the memory address control 28 acts to feed successive bits of the
• nonvolatile memory 30 will depend on economic considerations but a preferred
• embodiment may store 2-30 minutes of compressed audio. When the capacity of 8 the memory 30 has been reached the memory address control will operate to feed
• nonvolatile memory 30 is devoted to recording this queue of newly arriving sounds.
• the pushbutton is permanently
• the pushbutton 32 could be located remotely and could communicate with the balance of the
• audio recorder circuity via a suitable electromagnetic link such as infrared or RF.
• the remotely located preserve switch would be equipped with an appropriate
• the system may be programmed so that each time
• memory 30 has ten locations. Initially the signals from the compressor 26 are
• the queue length is locations 1-10.
• each memory section could be shifted to the subsequent memory
• the captured memory sections are provided with sequential identifying numbers. Any captured section can be replayed under appropriate signals entered into the
• the operator causes the captured memory section to be read out to a decompressor circuit 36 which feeds a digital-to-analog converter 38 to convert the digits back into an audio signal, and play back the captured signal
• the keypad 34 allows the operator
• a display 42 connected to the memory address control displays the number
• the display may show the date/time or a
• message number and the user may select a message for playback using the keypad or a voice responsive device.
• the memory address control preferably includes circuitry or a program
• FIG. 11 An alternative embodiment of the storage section of the present invention is illustrated in Figure 3. The circuitry of the two are identical through the
• first-in first-out shift memory 50 which may be volatile, so that its contents are not preserved when this switch 22 is turned to the off position.
• the compressed signals are fed into an initial section of the memory and each time a compressed signal is added to the memory all of the memory contents are
• pushbutton 52 is actuated sending a signal to a preserve memory address control
• the control unit 54 transfers an initial section of the contents of the
• first-in first-out memory 50 representing the most recently recorded sounds
• memory may constitute the entire contents of the FIFO memory, or alternatively,
• the operator may cause the transfer of a second section of the FIFO
• the FIFO memory may store 30 seconds of sound and
• decompressor 64 which feeds a digital-to-analog converter 66 and provides output to a loudspeaker 68.
• the keyboard 60 and display 62 may also be used to adjust
• the display 62 will also indicate the number of preserve

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Multimedia (AREA)
• Electric Clocks (AREA)
• Signal Processing For Digital Recording And Reproducing (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=22266257

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Citations (2)

• 1998
  • 1998-01-22 JP JP2000528978A patent/JP2002501224A/ja active Pending
  • 1998-01-22 AU AU59296/98A patent/AU5929698A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-01-22 CA CA002318552A patent/CA2318552A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-01-22 EP EP98902702A patent/EP1057171A4/de not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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