JP2000322091A - Sound recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sound recording device capable of easily supplying recorded sound data to a computer at high speed. SOLUTION: During recording of sound, a gate 38 connects a semiconductor memory 40 and a bus 42. Then digital music data produced by a microphone 16, an amplifier 34 and a digital-to-analog converter 36 is stored inside the semiconductor memory 40 by a controller 32. And during supplying of the digital music data to a host PC 46, the sound recording device 10 and the host PC 46 are connected via a PCMCIA connector 26. Also, the gate 38 connects the semiconductor memory 40 and the PCMCIA connector 26. Then, the digital music data is supplied from the semiconductor memory 40 to the host PC 46 via the PCMCIA connector 26 at high speed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an audio recording apparatus, and more particularly to an audio recording apparatus that converts audio into digital data and records the digital data in an internal semiconductor memory. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the improvement in the processing capability of computers, conversion processing of audio into text and the like have been performed using computers. In such processing, an audio recording device that records audio as audio data and supplies the recorded audio data to a computer may be used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, tape recorders have been widely used as audio recording devices. In a tape recorder,
Analog audio data is magnetically recorded on a magnetic tape by a recording magnetic head. Conventionally, an audio recording device that converts audio into digital data and records it in an IC memory has also been used.

[0003]

However, when audio data is supplied to a computer using a tape recorder,
It is necessary to perform the reproduction while reproducing the audio data in the analog format, and it takes a time equivalent to the recording time by the tape recorder to supply the audio data. This makes it difficult to speed up the supply of audio data to the computer.

When audio data is supplied to a computer using a conventional audio recording device that converts audio data into digital data and records the digital data in an IC memory, the audio recording device and the computer are connected by a dedicated connection cable. There is a need. For this reason, connection is time-consuming, resulting in an increase in cost. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an audio recording apparatus capable of easily supplying recorded audio data to a computer at a high speed.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital audio data generating section for generating digital audio data based on external audio, A semiconductor memory that stores digital audio data generated by the audio data generation unit, a connection unit that can be directly connected to a predetermined interface, and the semiconductor memory is any one of the digital audio data generation unit and the connection unit. A switching means for selectively connecting one of them is integrally formed.

In such an audio recording device, external audio is stored as digital audio data in a semiconductor memory. Then, the semiconductor memory is connected to the connection means, and further,
By directly connecting the connection means to an external interface, audio data can be supplied to the external interface. As described above, according to the audio recording device of the present invention, for the connected external interface,
Since the digital audio data can be supplied via the connection means, the speed of the audio data transfer can be increased.
Further, according to the present invention, since the audio recording device and the external interface are directly connected via the connection means, a dedicated connection cable is not required, cost reduction is realized, and audio data transfer is realized. It will be easier. Note that the configuration of the present invention corresponds to a first embodiment described later.

According to the present invention, there is provided an audio recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the audio output is based on digital audio data written in the semiconductor memory. Further, it may be configured to have an audio output unit for outputting an audio based on the digital audio data read from the semiconductor memory. In addition,
The configuration of the present invention corresponds to a second embodiment described later.

Further, from the viewpoint of ensuring that the sound to be recorded is recorded from the beginning, the present invention provides the sound recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, A delay unit for delaying the digital audio data generated by the digital audio data generation unit; and when the end of the generation of the digital audio data is instructed, the digital audio data delayed by the delay unit is written to the semiconductor memory. Recording control means for stopping recording in the semiconductor memory later may be provided.

In the audio recording apparatus of the present invention, the corresponding digital audio data is stored in the semiconductor memory with a delay of a predetermined time from the actual audio by the delay means.
That is, digital audio data in the past for a predetermined period of time from the time when the start of recording was instructed is also stored in the semiconductor memory included in the audio recording device of the present invention. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the timing of the start of recording by the user is delayed, the sound to be recorded is reliably recorded from the beginning.

In the audio recording apparatus according to the present invention, when the end of the generation of the digital audio data is instructed, the control section records all the digital audio data held by the delay means in the semiconductor memory. Therefore, according to the present invention, all sounds to be recorded are stored in the semiconductor memory without interruption. The configuration of the present invention corresponds to third and fourth embodiments described later.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a voice recording device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the audio recording device 10 is a PCMCIA (Perso
nal Computer Memory Card International Associatio
n) It comprises a main body 12 in the form of a compliant IC card and a battery case 14. Upper surface 1 of main body 12
A microphone 16 is provided at 0a. Also, the main body 1
On one side surface 10b, recesses 18 and 20 are formed.
2 and a recording / stop switch 24 are provided.
In the main body 12, a side surface 10 different from the side surface 10b is used.
The PCMCIA connector 26 is provided at c.
Further, in the main body 12, the side 1 facing the side 10c
0d is formed with a storage section 28 for storing the battery case 14.

When the voice recording device 10 is used, a button type battery 30 is placed on the battery case 14 and stored together with the battery case 14 in a storage portion 28 formed in the main body 12. When the battery case 14 on which the battery 30 is mounted is stored in the storage unit 28 and the power switch 22 is turned on, the audio recording device 10 is in a recordable state. Then, when the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on while the voice recording device 10 is in a recording enabled state, recording is started, and the voice around the microphone 16 is recorded in the voice recording device 1.
It is recorded by 0. When the recording / stop switch 24 is turned off, the recording by the audio recording device 10 is stopped.

Next, the internal configuration of the audio recording device 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the audio recording device 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the audio recording device 10 includes a microphone 16, a power switch 22, a recording / stop switch 24, a PCMCIA connector 26, a controller (MPU = MicroProcessor Unit) 32, an amplifier 34, and an A / D converter 36. , Gate 38, semiconductor memory 40, and the like.

In the audio recording apparatus 10, a controller 32, an A / D converter 36, and a gate 38 are connected to a bus 4
2 connected. The controller 32 and the gate 38 are connected by a control line 44. Audio recording device 1
At 0, when the power switch 22 is turned on, power is supplied from the battery 30 to each of the above devices. Microphone 16
When the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on, the audio around the microphone 16 is captured as analog audio data. The amplifier 34 amplifies the analog audio data captured by the microphone 16 and then
6 The A / D converter 36 converts the supplied analog audio data into digital audio data.

When the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on or off, the controller 32 operates a gate 38.
, A control signal is applied via a control line 44 to operate the gate 38. When a control signal is supplied from the controller 32, the gate 38 connects the semiconductor memory 40 to the bus 42 and the P
It is connected to one of the CMCIA connectors 26. Note that the semiconductor memory 40 is a memory capable of both writing and reading data.

Next, a routine executed by the controller 32 at the time of recording by the voice recording device 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a routine executed by the controller 32 during recording. The routine shown in FIG. 3 is started when both the power switch 22 and the recording / stop switch 24 are turned on. When the routine shown in FIG. 3 is started, first, the process of step 100 is executed.

In step 100, a control signal is supplied to the gate 38, and the semiconductor memory 40 and the bus 42 are connected via the gate 38. And then, step 10
2 is executed. In step 102, the digital audio data generated by the A / D converter 36 is read. Then, the read digital audio data is stored in the semiconductor memory 40 via the gate 38. When the process of step 102 is completed, next, the process of step 104 is executed.

In step 104, it is determined whether or not the recording / stop switch 24 has been turned off. As a result, if it is determined that the recording / stop switch 24 has been turned off, then the process of step 106 is performed. recording/
When the stop switch 24 is turned off, the operations of the microphone 16, the amplifier 34, and the A / D converter 36 are stopped. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 104 that the recording / stop switch 24 has not been turned off,
The processing of step 102 is executed again. That is, the processing of steps 102 and 104 is performed by the recording / stop switch 2
It is repeatedly executed until 4 is turned off.

In step 106, a control signal is supplied to the gate 38, and the semiconductor memory 40 is connected to the PCMCIA connector 26 via the gate 38. Then, the current routine ends. By the way, the audio recording device 1
0 can directly supply digital audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 to a computer by being directly connected to an external computer (for example, a notebook personal computer).

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a host personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a host PC) 46 which is an example of a computer to which audio data is supplied from the audio recording device 10. As shown in FIG.
A PC card slot 48 (hereinafter, referred to as slot 48) compliant with PCMCIA is provided on the side of the PC card 6.
When digital audio data is supplied from the audio recording device 10 to the host PC 46, the audio recording device 10
The PCMCIA connector 26 shown in FIG.
It is inserted into the slot 48 with its side facing. As a result, the connector pins (not shown) of the host PC 46 in the slots 48 are fitted with the PCMCIA connectors 26,
The audio recording device 10 and the host PC 46 are directly connected.

FIG. 5 shows the audio recording device 10 and the host PC 4
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a state in which 6 is directly connected. As described above, when the recording / stop switch 24 is turned off after the digital audio data is recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 in the audio recording device 10, the semiconductor memory 40 and the PCMCI
The A connector 26 is connected via a gate 38. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
When the C46 is connected, digital audio data can be directly supplied from the semiconductor memory 40 in the audio recording device 10 to the host PC 46.

Host PC to which the audio recording device 10 is connected
When a predetermined operation is performed on the host PC 46,
The control unit (not shown) provided in the audio recording device 10
The digital audio data is acquired from the semiconductor memory 40 in the PC 46, and the digital audio data is stored in a memory unit (not shown) in the host PC 46. As a result, it is possible to convert voice data recorded by the voice recording device 10 into a text sentence, create a document based on voice data using word processing software, and the like.

As described above, the audio recording apparatus 10 of the present embodiment
According to the above, the PCM connected to the connected host PC 46
Since the digital audio data is supplied via the CIA connector 26, the speed of the audio data transfer is increased. Also, the audio recording device 10 and the host PC 46
Since the connection is directly made via the MCIA connector 26, a dedicated connection cable is not required, so that the cost can be reduced and the transfer of the audio data is facilitated.

Next, an audio recording apparatus 50 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 shows the sound recording device 5.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the ０0 ’. As shown in FIG. 6, the audio recording device 50 includes a microphone 16, a power switch 2
2, recording / stop switch 24, PCMCIA connector 2
6, battery 30, controller 32, amplifier 34,
A / D converter 36, gate 38, semiconductor memory 4
0, a reproduction switch 52, a speaker 54, an amplifier 56, a D / A converter 58, and the like. Audio recording device 5
0, the controller 32, the A / D converter 3
6, the gate 38, and the D / A converter 58 are connected by the bus 42.

When the reproduction switch 52 is turned on, D /
The digital audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 is supplied to the A converter 58. And D / A
The converter 58 converts the supplied digital audio data into analog audio data. The amplifier 56 amplifies the analog audio data generated by the D / A converter 58 and supplies the amplified analog audio data to the speaker 54. Speaker 54
Performs audio output according to the supplied analog audio data.

The appearance of the audio recording device 50 is the same as that of the audio recording device 10 of the first embodiment. In the audio recording device 50, the microphone 16, the power switch 22, the recording / stop switch 24, the PCMCIA connector 26, the battery 30, the controller 32, the amplifier 34, the A / D
Converter 36, gate 38, and semiconductor memory 40
Are the same as those provided in the audio recording device 10 of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the routine executed by the controller 32 when reproducing the audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 in the audio recording device 50 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a routine executed by the controller 32 during reproduction. The routine shown in FIG.
It is started when both the power switch 22 and the reproduction switch 52 are turned on. When the routine shown in FIG. 7 is started, first, the process of step 200 is executed.

In step 200, a control signal is supplied to the gate 38, and the semiconductor memory 40 and the bus 42 are connected via the gate 38. And then, step 20
2 is executed. In step 202, the digital audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 is read through the gate 38. Then, the read digital audio data is supplied to the D / A converter 58. Then, as described above, the digital audio data supplied to the D / A converter 58 is amplified after being converted into analog audio data, and is output from the speaker 54 as audio. When the processing of step 202 is completed, next, the processing of step 204 is executed.

In step 204, it is determined whether or not the reproduction switch 52 has been turned off. As a result, if it is determined that the reproduction switch 52 has been turned off, then the process of step 206 is executed. Step 204
If it is determined that the reproduction switch 52 has not been turned off, the process of step 202 is executed again. That is, the processing of steps 202 and 204
It is repeatedly executed until the reproduction switch 52 is turned off.

In step 206, a control signal is supplied to the gate 38, and the semiconductor memory 40 and the PCMCIA connector 26 are connected via the gate 38. Then, the current routine ends. Note that the audio recording device 50 of the present embodiment is similar to the audio recording device 10 of the first embodiment,
By being directly connected to the external host PC 46,
Digital audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 can be supplied to the host PC 46 at high speed.

By the way, the user of the voice recording device 10 or 50 recognizes the voice to be recorded, and the recording / stop switch 2
By the time you start recording by turning on 4,
It takes some time. For this reason, the audio recording device 1
In the case of 0 and 50, there is a possibility that the timing of the ON operation of the recording / stop switch 24 is delayed and the beginning of the sound to be recorded is not recorded.

Therefore, in the audio recording device 60 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, audio data is recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 from audio data that is a predetermined time before the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on. . FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the audio recording device 60 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, the audio recording device 60
Microphone 16, power switch 22, recording / stop switch 2
4, PCMCIA connector 26, battery 30, controller 32, amplifier 34, A / D converter 36, gate 38, semiconductor memory 40, reproduction switch 52, speaker 54, amplifier 56, D / A converter 58, and
It has a FIFO (First-In First-Out) memory 62 and the like.
In the audio recording device 50, the controller 32, the gate 38, the D / A converter 58, and the FIFO 62
They are connected by a bus 42.

The appearance of the audio recording device 60 is the same as that of the audio recording device 10 of the first embodiment. In the audio recording device 60, the microphone 16, the power switch 22, the recording / stop switch 24, the PCMCIA connector 26, the battery 30, the controller 32, the amplifier 34, the A / D
Converter 36, gate 38, semiconductor memory 40, reproduction switch 52, speaker 54, amplifier 56, and D /
The A-converter 58 is the same as that included in the audio recording device 50 of the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the audio recording device 60, the microphone 16
When the power switch 22 is turned on, the voice around the microphone is captured as analog voice data. Amplifier 3
4 amplifies the analog audio data captured by the microphone 16 and supplies the amplified analog audio data to the A / D converter 36. The A / D converter 36 converts the supplied analog audio data into digital audio data. The digital audio data generated by the A / D converter 36 is supplied to a FIFO memory 62 which is a main part of the present embodiment.

The FIFO memory 62 stores the digital audio data supplied from the A / D converter 36 for a predetermined time t.
(For example, for 60 seconds), and then sequentially supplied to the controller 32. That is, the controller 32 is always supplied with digital audio data delayed by the predetermined time t. When the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on, the controller 32 stores the supplied digital audio data in the semiconductor memory 40 via the gate 38. For this reason, the recording / stop switch 2 is provided in the semiconductor memory 40.
The digital audio data is sequentially recorded from the past one for a time t from the time when 4 is turned on.

When the recording / stop switch 24 is turned off, the controller 32 immediately stores all the digital audio data stored in the FIFO memory 62 in the semiconductor memory 40. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing audio data A recorded by the audio recording device 10 of the first embodiment without the FIFO memory 62 and audio data B recorded by the audio recording device 60 of the present embodiment. .

As shown in FIG. 9, when the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on at time t0, the audio recording device 10 records only the audio data generated after time t0 in the semiconductor memory 40. That is, the audio data before time t0 is lost without being recorded in the internal semiconductor memory 40. On the other hand, the audio recording device 60
By the function of the O memory 62, the corresponding digital audio data is recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 with a delay of a predetermined time t from the actual audio. That is, the audio recording device 6
0 is also recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 provided for a predetermined time t from the time t0. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, even if the timing of turning on the recording / stop switch 24 by the user is delayed, the sound to be recorded is reliably recorded from the beginning.

As described above, when the recording / stop switch 24 is turned off in the audio recording device 60, the controller 32 immediately stores all the digital audio data held in the FIFO memory 62 in the semiconductor memory 40. I do. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, all sounds to be recorded are recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 without interruption. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a voice recording device 70 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 10, the audio recording apparatus 70 of this embodiment is characterized in that an analog delay line 72 is provided between the amplifier 34 and the A / D converter 36. Other configurations are the same as those of the audio recording device 60 of the third embodiment,
The description is omitted. The analog delay line 72 is connected to the amplifier 3
After holding the analog audio data supplied from 4 for a predetermined time t, the analog audio data is sequentially supplied to the A / D converter 36. Then, the A / D converter 36 converts the supplied analog audio data into digital audio data and supplies the digital audio data to the controller 32. That is, the controller 3
2, digital audio data is always supplied with a delay of a predetermined time t.

When the recording / stop switch 24 is turned on, the controller 32 stores the supplied digital audio data in the semiconductor memory 40 via the gate 38. For this reason, the recording / stop switch 2 is provided in the semiconductor memory 40.
The digital audio data is sequentially recorded from the past one for a time t from the time when 4 is turned on. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the recording / stop switch 24 by the user
Even if the timing of the ON operation is delayed, the sound to be recorded is reliably recorded from the beginning.

In the sound recording device 70, recording /
When the stop switch 24 is turned off, the A / D converter 36 quickly converts all analog audio signals held by the analog delay line 72 into digital audio signals and supplies the digital audio signals to the controller 32. Then, the digital audio signal is stored in the semiconductor memory 40 by the controller 32.
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, all sounds to be recorded are recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 without interruption.

The audio recording devices 60 and 70 of the third and fourth embodiments output the audio output corresponding to the audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40, similarly to the audio recording device 50 of the second embodiment. This can be performed via the speaker 54.
Similarly to the audio recording device 10 of the first embodiment, the audio recording devices 60 and 70 are directly connected to the external host PC 46 to supply digital audio data recorded in the semiconductor memory 40 to the host PC 46 at high speed. can do.

In the above embodiment, the microphone 16, the amplifier 34, and the A / D converter 36 correspond to the "digital audio data generating unit" described in the claims, and the controller 32 corresponds to the claims described in the claims. "Recording control means"
And the host PC 46 corresponds to a “predetermined interface” described in the claims. PCM
The CIA connector 26 corresponds to “connection means” described in claims, and the gate 38 corresponds to “switching means” described in claims. Further, the speaker 54, the amplifier 56, and the D / A converter 58 correspond to “audio output means” in the claims, and the FIFO memory 62
And the analog delay line 72 corresponds to “delay means” described in the claims.

[0045]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the digital audio data is supplied to the connected external interface via the connection means, the speed of the audio data transfer is increased. Can be realized. Further, according to the present invention, since the audio recording device and the external interface are directly connected via the connection means, a dedicated connection cable is not required, so that the cost can be reduced and the audio data can be transmitted. Transfer can be facilitated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform audio output based on digital audio data written in the semiconductor memory. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the sound to be recorded can be reliably recorded from the beginning. Further, according to the invention of claim 4, P
An audio recording device in the form of an IC card conforming to CCMIA can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a voice recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the audio recording device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a routine executed by a controller during recording.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a host PC to which audio data is supplied from the audio recording device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a state in which the audio recording device of the first embodiment is directly connected to a host PC.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an audio recording device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for describing a routine executed by a controller during reproduction.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a voice recording device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing audio data A recorded by the audio recording device of the first embodiment having no FIFO memory and audio data B recorded by the audio recording device of the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a voice recording device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 50, 60, 70 Audio recording device 12 Main body 14 Battery case 16 Microphone 22 Power switch 24 Recording / stop switch 26 PCMCIA connector 30 Battery 32 Controller 34, 56 Amplifier 36 A / D converter 38 Gate 40 Semiconductor memory 46 Host PC 52 Reproduction switch 54 Speaker 58 D / A converter 60 FIFO memory 72 Analog delay line

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A digital audio data generator for generating digital audio data based on external audio, a semiconductor memory for storing digital audio data generated by the digital audio data generator, and a direct connection to a predetermined interface An audio recording device, wherein a connection unit capable of connecting the semiconductor memory and a switching unit for selectively connecting the semiconductor memory to one of the digital audio data generation unit and one of the connection units are integrally configured. . 2. The audio recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising audio output means for outputting an audio based on digital audio data read from said semiconductor memory. . 3. The audio recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein delay means for delaying the digital audio data generated by the digital audio data generation unit, and termination of generation of the digital audio data are instructed. And a recording control unit for stopping the recording to the semiconductor memory after writing the digital audio data delayed by the delay unit to the semiconductor memory. 4. The audio recording device according to claim 1, wherein the audio recording device is in the form of an IC card conforming to PCMCIA.