JP2001042899A - Information recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make recordable an attribute information corresponding to main information without generating a useless area, by sequentially recording the main information from one end toward the other end of a semiconductor storage device, and sequentially recording the attribute information corresponding to the main information from one end toward the other end. SOLUTION: This device sequentially records main information from one end toward the other end of a semiconductor storage device, and also sequentially records attribute information corresponding to the main information from one end toward the other end. In this device, a system microcomputer 7 repeats such an operation that fetching data from a speech compression circuit 5 and writing them in a memory card 6. And, in the case of insertion recording, this device records the speech as plural separated units, and also records an index, sub-information of each document, and records in the index an address data or the like indicating an end of one document. The index uses, for example, 8 bytes for one unit, and the speech data uses, for example, 34 bytes for one unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording or reproducing information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an apparatus for recording and reproducing information,
2. Related Art A cassette tape recorder that uses a magnetic tape as a recording medium and records or reproduces audio information is generally known. The advantages of using a magnetic tape in a cassette tape recorder include that the cost of the magnetic tape itself is low, and that the long tape length enables long-time recording and reproduction. On the other hand, since sound is recorded on the magnetic tape by the relative movement of the magnetic head and the magnetic tape, a mechanism for moving the magnetic tape is required. As a result,
As disadvantages, it is difficult to reduce the size and weight of the device, and since it operates mechanically, there are problems such as occurrence of mechanical noise, high failure rate, and low access speed. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an audio recording / reproducing apparatus using a semiconductor storage device instead of a magnetic tape as a recording medium has been developed.

[0004] This device does not record or reproduce sound using a magnetic recording phenomenon due to mechanical relative movement as in a device using a magnetic tape, but uses an electric charge accumulation state. To record audio.
Therefore, since the above-mentioned mechanism is unnecessary in this device, it is easy to reduce the size and weight of the device, no mechanical noise is generated, and the reliability can be improved. In addition, since all recording and reproducing operations are performed electrically, the access speed for searching for a desired voice becomes high,
It is possible to instantaneously search for a desired sound. On the other hand, semiconductor storage devices are generally somewhat expensive and have the drawback of requiring a backup power supply to hold stored data, but in recent years, with the development of semiconductor manufacturing methods, they have been relatively inexpensive. A non-volatile batch erasing memory which can be manufactured and does not require a power supply for backup has been put to practical use, and the above-mentioned problems have been overcome.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional information recording / reproducing apparatus, a method of managing main information recorded in a semiconductor memory device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-36799.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3 (1993) -3, a method has been proposed in which an auxiliary semiconductor memory element for recording attribute information is attached to and built in an IC card provided with a semiconductor memory element for recording main information. Since the information corresponds to the main information, and the amount of the attribute information changes according to the main information, it is sufficient to take into account the necessity to prevent a situation where the attribute information cannot be written to the auxiliary semiconductor memory element. Must have a large storage capacity, and if the auxiliary semiconductor memory element has a large storage capacity,
There is a problem that a useless area that is not actually stored occurs.

An object of the present invention is to provide an information recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording attribute information corresponding to main information without generating useless areas. And

[0007]

According to the present invention, while main information and attribute information corresponding to the main information are recorded in a semiconductor memory device, the main information is reproduced based on the attribute information recorded in the semiconductor memory device. In the information recording / reproducing apparatus, the main information is sequentially recorded from one end to the other end of the storage area of the semiconductor storage device, and the attribute information is stored from the other end to the one end of the storage area of the semiconductor storage device. , Means for sequentially recording data is provided.

Therefore, in the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the main information is sequentially recorded from one end of the semiconductor storage device to the other end, and the attribute information corresponding to the main information is stored in the other end of the semiconductor storage device. By recording sequentially from one side to one end side, no unnecessary area is generated,
Attribute information corresponding to the main information can be recorded in the semiconductor storage device.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An information recording / reproducing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the information recording / reproducing apparatus includes a main body 1 and a memory card 6. The memory card 6 has a configuration detachable from the main body 1.

The main body 1 includes a microphone 2, an amplifier 3,
10, an AD converter 4, an audio compression circuit 5, a system microcomputer 7, an audio expansion circuit 8, a DA converter 9, a speaker 11, a key switch 12, and a display unit 13.

The operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus will be described below. At the time of recording, the sound is converted into an electric signal (analog signal) by the microphone 2, amplified by the amplifier 3, and then converted from an analog signal to a digital signal by the AD converter 4. The converted digital audio signal is compressed by the audio compression circuit 5 to reduce the amount of information to several tenths to tenths and output to the system microcomputer 7. The system microcomputer 7 reads the compressed data once, and writes the compressed data into the memory card 6 by designating a predetermined address. The system microcomputer 7 repeats the operation of successively taking in data from the audio compression circuit 5 and writing it into the memory card 6 while incrementing the address. With the above operation, the compressed audio data is recorded on the memory card 6.

Next, at the time of reproduction, the system microcomputer 7 reads data from the memory card 6 by designating a predetermined address, and transfers the read data to the audio decompression circuit 8.
The audio decompression circuit 8 decompresses the data compressed by the audio compression circuit 5 into an original digital audio signal. The expanded digital audio signal is converted from a digital signal to an analog signal by the DA converter 9, amplified by the amplifier 10, and then reproduced from the speaker 11 as audio. With the above operation, the compressed data recorded on the memory card 6 is reproduced as audio.

The above-described operation such as recording or reproduction is performed by the key switch 1 connected to the system microcomputer 7 by the user.
It is controlled by pressing the 2 predetermined key. Also,
The operation status of the apparatus is displayed on a display unit 13 connected to the system microcomputer 7.

Next, an outline of a recording or reproducing operation will be described. At the time of recording, when the user presses the recording key, the voice input from the microphone 2 is recorded on the memory card 6 by the system microcomputer 7. When the D mark key is pressed during recording, the voice data up to that point is recognized as one document, and this information (hereinafter referred to as an index) is recorded in the memory card 6 together. Until the stop key is pressed, the sound is recorded on the memory card 6 as one or a plurality of documents as described above. Also,
At the start or end of insertion or overwrite recording, the corresponding index is similarly recorded.

At the time of reproduction, when the play key is pressed, voice data is read from the memory card 6 and reproduced by the speaker 11. By pressing the fast forward key or the rewind key, it is possible to jump or rewind in document units using the above index. A feature of the semiconductor memory is that this fast-forward or rewind operation can be performed instantaneously.

Next, the memory card shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the memory card.

In FIG. 2, a memory card includes an address decoder 14, a batch erase type programmable read only memory (hereinafter abbreviated as F-EEPROM) 15, 16,
17 and 18. The memory card shown in FIG. 2 includes four F-EEPROMs 15 to 18. Each FE
The lower addresses of the address bus and the data bus are connected in parallel to the EPROMs 15 to 18, respectively. The F-EEPROMs 15 to 18 have a write enable signal WE for writing data, an erase signal ERASE for collectively erasing data, and an F-EEPRO.
Chip select signals CS1 to C for selecting M15 to M18
S4 has been input. Chip select signal C
S1 to CS4 are signals obtained by decoding the upper address of the address bus by the address decoder 14, and the chip select signals CS1 to CS4 are exclusive, respectively, and the signals F1 to CS4 when the chip select signals CS1 to CS4 become true.
-Only the EEPROM can write or read data.

The address decoder 14 has an F-EEPR
A card enable signal CE for disconnecting all of the OMs 15 to 18 from the data bus is input. When the card enable signal CE becomes true, all the chip select signals CS1 to CS4 are decoded to be false.

Next, the operation of insertion recording of the information recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the insertion recording. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of insertion recording. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the state of the index during insertion recording. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, audio is recorded as a plurality of divided units (hereinafter, referred to as documents), and an index which is sub-information for each document is recorded. Data, elapsed time data, codes indicating the attributes of the index, and the like are recorded. The index is, for example, one unit of 8 bytes, and the audio data is, for example, one unit of 34 bytes. The indexes are sequentially recorded from the highest address side of the memory card 6 to the lowest address side. The voice data uses 1 byte of the 34 bytes as a flag byte.

Referring to step S1 of FIG. 3 and (a) of FIG. 4, first, the information recording / reproducing apparatus is in an initial state.
The initial state refers to, for example, a state where reproduction is stopped at an arbitrary position. Next, in step S2, the system microcomputer 7 determines whether or not the recording is the insertion recording by the key switch 12. When recognizing that it is insertion recording, in step S3, the following pre-processing of insertion recording is performed.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the system microcomputer 7 first writes the jump flag J1 in the flag byte of the audio frame at the address of the recording start position, and also jumps to the flag byte of the audio frame at the jump destination. Write the flag j1.

Referring to FIG. 5, system microcomputer 7 comprises:
The index X1 includes a jump mark code, a recording start position address (J1 address), and a jump destination address (j
One address, where the jump destination is the same as the physical EOD (end of data) address) is recorded. Next, the time mark code and the start time (TIME t1) are recorded in the index X2. Insertion section time (TIM
Et2) is recorded at the end of recording. The above time index is used for adjusting the elapsed time after the insertion position in the skip function, and is not directly related to the insertion recording.

Referring again to FIG. 4B, I-REC
In step S4 of FIG. 3, the system microcomputer 7 records the insertion data in the unrecorded portion of the memory card 6, as indicated by the arrow. Here, the recording start position is the physical EO
Record from D.

Next, referring to FIG. 4C, in step S5 in FIG. 3, the system microcomputer 7 checks whether or not the insert button of the key switch 12 has been released. Upon confirming that the insert button has been released, the system microcomputer 7 executes the post-processing of the insertion recording as described below.

First, the system microcomputer 7 writes the jump flag J2 in the flag byte of the frame at the address of the recording end position. Next, the jump mark code and the recording end position address (J2
Address) and return address (J1 address, where
The return destination is the same address as the recording start position. ). Next, the insertion section time (TIME t2) is recorded in the time adjustment index X2. Next, the physical EOD position is recorded in the index X4.

Next, in step S7 of FIG. 3, the system microcomputer 7 completes the recording and shifts to the stop mode.

Next, the operation of reproducing the inserted portion will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the playback operation of the insertion recording.

Referring to FIG. 4D, in step S11 of FIG. 6, the system microcomputer 7 executes the processing of FIG.
The audio is reproduced from IP1.

Next, in step S12, the system microcomputer 7 checks the flag byte of the audio frame.

When the system microcomputer 7 detects the jump flag in the flag byte, in step S13,
Only the index of the jump mark code is searched from the index shown in FIG. 5, and the address currently being reproduced is compared with the address written in the index. That is, the J1 address and the J2 address are compared. Since the address currently being reproduced is equal to the J1 address, the system microcomputer 7 sets the index X shown in FIG.
The address of the jump destination (j1 address) is extracted from 1. Next, in step S14, the IP of FIG.
A jump is performed as shown in FIG. Here, the jump flag J1 at the jump destination is set to be ignored.

Thereafter, similarly, steps S11 to S14 are repeated, and when the system microcomputer 7 detects the next jump flag J2 during reproduction at IP3 in FIG. 4D, the system microcomputer 7 uses the index in FIG. address)
And performs a jump as shown in IP4,
As shown in FIG. 5, reproduction is started again from the insertion position.

Next, the operation at the time of rewind will be described with reference to FIG. At the time of rewind,
The difference from the time of reproduction is that the relationship between the comparison target, ie, the address of the jump source and the address of the jump destination is reversed when only the index is searched.

For example, the system microcomputer 7 continues rewinding from IR1 in FIG. 4E while checking the flag byte. Next, upon detecting the jump flag in the flag byte, the system microcomputer 7 searches only the index of the jump mark code from the index of FIG. 5 and compares the current address with the address written in the index. That is, the j1 address and the J1 address of the index X3 are to be compared. In this case, the current address is equal to the J1 address of the index X3. Perform a jump to. Here, the jump flag J2 at the jump destination is set to be ignored.

Next, when the next jump flag j1 is detected during rewinding by IR3, the system microcomputer 7 extracts the jump destination address (J1 address) from the index in FIG. And the rewind is continued as indicated by IR5.

By the above-described insertion recording operation, an insertion voice can be equivalently inserted into an arbitrary position of already recorded audio information, and this operation is performed in real time, so that operability is greatly improved. Be improved.

Next, the recording operation of overwrite recording will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a recording operation of overwrite recording. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the overwrite recording operation. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the state of the index during overwrite recording.

First, in step S21 of FIG. 7, the information recording / reproducing apparatus is in an initial state. Here, the initial state refers to a state where reproduction is stopped at an arbitrary position, for example, as shown in FIG.

Next, in step S22, the system microcomputer 7 checks whether or not the key switch 12 has shifted to overwrite recording.

After confirming that the recording has shifted to overwriting,
In step S23, the system microcomputer 7 performs the following preprocessing of overwrite recording.

First, as shown in FIG. 8B, the system microcomputer 7 writes the jump flag K1 in the flag byte of the frame at the address of the recording start position, and also jumps to the flag byte of the audio frame to which the jump is made. Write the flag k1.

Next, the jump mark code, the recording start position address (K1 address), and the jump destination address (k1 address, the jump destination is the physical EOD address) are recorded in the index X1 shown in FIG.

Next, in step S24 of FIG. 7, the system microcomputer 7 records the audio data in the unrecorded portion of the memory card 6, as indicated by the solid arrow in FIG. 8B. At this time, the system microcomputer 7 counts up the address of the portion to be overwritten by an amount corresponding to the overwrite recording time, as indicated by the dashed arrow.

Next, in step S25, the system microcomputer 7 checks whether or not the key switch 12 has shifted to the end of recording.

When recognizing that the recording has ended, in step S26, the system microcomputer 7 executes the following overwrite recording elimination processing.

First, as shown in FIG. 8C, the system microcomputer 7 writes the jump flag K2 in the flag byte of the frame at the address of the recording end position, and also jumps to the flag byte of the return audio frame. Flag k2
To write. Next, a jump mark code, a recording end position address (K2 address), and a jump destination address (k2 address) are also recorded in the index x2 of FIG. Here, the k2 address is an address of a portion corresponding to the overwriting time.

Next, the physical E is added to the index x3 in FIG.
Record the OD position. Next, in step S27, the system microcomputer 7 ends the recording, and shifts to the stop mode.

Next, the reproduction operation of the overwritten portion will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a reproduction operation of overwrite recording.

First, in step S31, the system microcomputer 7 reproduces audio data from EP1 in FIG. 8D.

Next, in step S32, the system microcomputer 7 checks the flag byte of the audio frame and detects a jump flag.

When a jump flag is detected, step S
At 33, the system microcomputer 7 searches only the index of the jump mark code from the index of FIG. 9, and compares the current address with the address written in the index. That is, the K1 address and the k2 address are compared. The current address is K1
Since it is equal to the address, the jump destination address (k1 address) is extracted from the index x1.

Next, the system microcomputer 7 executes a jump as shown in EP2 of FIG. Here, the jump flag k1 at the jump destination is set to be ignored.

Thereafter, steps S31 to S34 are similarly repeated, and when the system microcomputer 7 detects the next jump flag K2 during reproduction in EP3 of FIG. 8D, the jump destination address (from the index in FIG. 9) After the jump is executed as shown in EP4, the reproducing operation is continued as shown in EP5.

Next, the operation at the time of rewinding will be described with reference to FIG. At the time of rewind,
The difference from the time of reproduction is that the relationship between the comparison target, ie, the address of the jump source and the address of the jump destination is reversed when only the index is searched.

The system microcomputer 7 continues rewinding while checking the flag byte from ER1 in FIG. 8 (e).

Next, upon detecting the jump flag in the flag byte, the system microcomputer 7 searches only the index of the jump mark code from the index in FIG. 9 and compares the current address with the address written in the index. . That is, the k1 address and the k2 address are to be compared. Since the current address is equal to the k2 address, the jump destination address (K2 address) is extracted from the index x2, and the jump is executed as indicated by ER2. Here, the jump flag K2 at the jump destination is set to be ignored.

Next, when the system microcomputer 7 detects the next jump flag k1 during rewinding in ER3, the system microcomputer 7 extracts the jump destination address (K1 address) from the index in FIG. After executing the jump, rewinding is continued as indicated by ER5.

By the above-described overwrite recording operation, the overwrite audio data can be overwritten at an arbitrary position of the already recorded audio data, and the overwrite recording operation can be executed in real time. Operability is greatly improved.

Next, the structure of data recorded in the memory card by the above-described overwriting recording or insertion recording will be described. FIG. 11 shows a data structure of the memory card. As shown in FIG. 11, the audio data is recorded sequentially from the lowest address side of the memory card in units of 34 bytes as one unit (frame). The index is recorded in units of 8 bytes in order from the maximum address side of the memory card. Here, the system microcomputer records an audio frame, which is first recorded on a memory card in which nothing is written yet, for example, FN1 in FIG. 11, after recording audio data once, and thereafter inserting recording or overwriting recording. It is assumed that the system microcomputer 7 manages the data so as not to change.

Next, the index will be described. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an index. Here, for example, an index recorded in one overwrite recording by the above overwrite recording operation is shown. FIG.
9 stores the same data as the data of the index shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, X3tailadr, which is the last address of the index X3, is the last pointer of the index of the memory card.

Next, a method for specifying a memory card will be described. First, audio frame data recorded first from among the audio data of the inserted memory card, for example, FN1 shown in FIG. 11 and index data recorded first, for example, IN1 shown in FIG.
Is temporarily recorded in a work RAM (not shown) provided in the system microcomputer 7. Thereafter, the memory card is specified using the above frame data and index data.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method for specifying a memory card. This flowchart is performed by a ROM provided in the system microcomputer 7 as a program.
(Not shown), and the system microcomputer 7 reads out the program and executes the subsequent processes as necessary.

First, in step S41, the frame data stored in advance by the above operation is compared with the first recorded frame data of the newly inserted memory card. If the respective frame data match, the process proceeds to step S42; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S46.

Next, in step S42, the index data stored in advance by the above operation is compared with the index data recorded first in the newly inserted memory card. If the data match, the process proceeds to step S43. If the data do not match, the process proceeds to step S46.

If it is determined in steps S41 and S42 that the data do not match, the flow advances to step S4.
In 6, it is determined that the newly inserted card is a card different from the card in which data has been recorded in advance.
In the frame data recorded first, various audio data are recorded depending on the situation, and it is very unlikely that this data matches on different cards. In addition, it is rare that the first recorded index data such as the address pointer and the mark code match. Therefore, the probability that these two data are all the same is almost equal, and by specifying the memory card as described above, it is possible to specify a highly reliable memory card.

Next, if it is determined in step S42 that the respective data match, in step S43, the last pointer of the previously stored index and the index of the newly inserted memory card are read. Is compared with the last pointer. If the pointers match, the process proceeds to step S45. If the pointers do not match, the process proceeds to step S47.

If it is determined in step S43 that the pointers do not match, in step S45, the newly inserted memory card is the same as the card that previously stored each data, and It can be seen that no new recording operation has been performed since the data was stored in advance. That is, if a new recording operation is being performed, the position of the pointer at the end of the index should be shifted.

If it is determined in step S43 that the pointers do not match, step S4
In FIG. 7, it can be seen that the newly inserted memory card is the same card that previously stored the data, and that the recording operation was performed after the data was stored.

According to the above-described method for specifying a memory card, it can be determined whether or not the newly inserted memory card is the same card, and whether or not a recording operation has been performed since data was previously stored. Can be determined.

In the above-described embodiment, the non-volatile batch erasing type memory has been described as the semiconductor memory device provided in the memory card. However, the same applies when another semiconductor memory device such as an SRAM (static random access memory) is used. The effect of can be obtained. The same effect can be obtained by storing other data such as video data as well as audio data to be stored.

The capacity of data used to specify a memory card is not limited to the above-mentioned capacity. In the case of different memory cards, similar data can be used if the probability that two data coincide with each other is extremely small. The effect can be obtained. Further, although the frame data and index data recorded first are used, the same effect can be obtained by using data at other positions as long as the data is not rewritten.

[0072]

According to the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention,
Since the main information is sequentially recorded from one end of the semiconductor storage device to the other end, and the attribute information corresponding to the main information is sequentially recorded from the other end of the semiconductor storage device to the one end, wastefulness is obtained. The attribute information corresponding to the main information can be recorded in the semiconductor storage device without generating a region. Moreover, even if the main information and the attribute information are recorded in the semiconductor memory device in this way, the access time in the semiconductor memory device is more instantaneous than that of the magnetic tape or the disk, and thus the main information and the attribute information recorded in the semiconductor memory device are stored. The information can be smoothly reproduced based on the attribute information recorded in the semiconductor storage device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the memory card shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a recording operation of insertion recording.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an operation of insertion recording.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of an index during insertion recording.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a playback operation of insertion recording.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a recording operation of overwrite recording.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an operation of overwriting recording.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state of an index during overwrite recording.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a playback operation of overwrite recording.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a data structure of a memory card.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an index.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method for specifying a memory card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body part 2 Microphone 3, 10 Amplifier 4 AD converter 5 Audio compression circuit 6 Memory card 7 System microcomputer 8 Audio expansion circuit 9 DA converter 11 Speaker 12 Key switch 13 Display part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06K 19/07 G06K 19/00 N

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording main information and attribute information corresponding to the main information in a semiconductor memory device and reproducing the main information based on the attribute information recorded in the semiconductor memory device, Means for sequentially recording information from one end to the other end of the storage area of the semiconductor storage device, and means for sequentially recording the attribute information from the other end to the one end of the storage area of the semiconductor storage device. An information recording / reproducing device, characterized in that it is provided.