JPH06131894A - Voice recording/reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the malfunctions of a voice recording/reproducing device caused by the misoperations like the misrecording of the index information, etc., and also to facilitate the operation of the recording/reproducing device. CONSTITUTION:A system microcomputer 5 records an EOD mark showing the address of a memory card 20 where the digital voice information is recorded last onto a memory card 20 when a recording mode is switched to a recording stop mode. Then an END mark showing that the address shown by the EOD mark shows the end of information is recorded on the card 20 if the index information recorded finally on the card 20 means the EOD mark when the card 20 is put into a device main body 100.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing voice by using a semiconductor memory as a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called cassette tape recorder using a magnetic tape as a recording medium has been generally known as an apparatus for recording and reproducing voice. A device using such a magnetic tape has the advantages that the magnetic tape itself is inexpensive and can record and reproduce for a long time. However, such a cassette tape recorder requires a mechanism for running the magnetic tape, which makes it difficult to reduce the size and weight of the device, causes mechanical noise, has a high failure rate, and has a further audio access. There was a drawback that it took a long time (fast forward and rewind).

As a device for eliminating such a drawback,
As a recording medium, a voice recording / reproducing apparatus using a semiconductor memory instead of the above-described magnetic tape has been developed.
Since this device does not require the above-mentioned mechanism, it is easy to reduce the size and weight of the device, and mechanical noise does not occur. In particular, a memory card in which a semiconductor memory can be attached to and detached from the main body of the device is convenient for use.

The voice recording / reproducing apparatus using such a memory card makes use of the characteristics of the semiconductor memory, and makes use of the characteristics of the semiconductor memory to divide the recording information recorded in the memory card into the delimiter address and the maximum recorded address (the address at which the recording information was recorded last) )
It is possible to record such as the index information at a specific address of the memory card together with predetermined code information (for example, END mark code). By using this index information, it is possible to instantaneously locate the recording information and the address of additional recording. There is an advantage that it is possible to perform instant positioning of the.

[0005]

However, since the memory card is removable, the user may accidentally remove the memory card without recording the index information. In such a case, Since the device cannot recognize the maximum recorded address, there is a problem that additional recording cannot be performed, and there is also a problem that the user cannot recognize the boundaries of the recording information.

The present invention has been conceived in view of such a situation, and provides a voice recording / reproducing apparatus capable of preventing an erroneous operation of the apparatus due to an erroneous operation such as forgetting to record index information and facilitating the operation. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus main body and a memory which is detachably attached to the apparatus main body and records digital audio information and index information. The apparatus main body includes a recording / reproducing means, a first index information recording means and a second index information recording means.

The recording / playback means performs a recording operation and a playback operation. The first index information recording means stores, in the memory, first index information indicating an address of the memory where the digital audio information is recorded lastly when the recording / reproducing means shifts from the recording state to the recording stop state. Record.

If the index information finally recorded in the memory when the memory is attached to the apparatus main body is the first index information, the second index information recording means is the first index information recording means. The second indicating that the address indicated by the index information of 1 is an information delimiter
The index information of is recorded in the memory.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the second index information recording means according to the first aspect is finally recorded in the memory when the memory is attached to the apparatus main body. When the index information is the first index information, the first index information is rewritten to the second index information indicating the information delimiter.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the recording / reproducing means shifts from the recording state to the recording stop state at the time of recording the voice, the first index information recording means makes the first
The index information of is recorded in the memory. Even if the memory is removed from the main body of the apparatus in this state, information indicating the address of the memory in which the digital voice information is last recorded remains in the memory. Then, when the memory is reattached to the main body of the apparatus, the first index information is finally recorded in the index information of the memory.
The second index information is recorded in the memory by the index information recording means. That is, even if the memory is removed without recording the information indicating the division of the digital audio information in the memory, the second index information indicating the division of the digital audio information is always recorded when the memory is reattached. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the second index information recorded by the second index information recording means is stored in the memory by rewriting the first index information into the second index information. Will be recorded,
The second index information will be recorded at the same address as the address of the first index information recorded before that. As a result, the address for recording index information in the memory can be efficiently used.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a voice recording / playback apparatus.

Inside the apparatus main body 100, a microphone 1, an amplifier 2, an AD converter 3, an audio compression circuit 4, a system microcomputer 5, an audio expansion circuit 6, a DA converter 7, an amplifier 8, a speaker 9, a key switch section 10, a card. The mounting state detector 11 and the display unit 12 are included. The memory card 20 can be attached to and detached from the apparatus body 100.

The microphone 1 converts the collected voice into an analog voice signal and gives it to the amplifier 2. The amplifier 2 amplifies the supplied analog audio signal and supplies it to the AD converter 3. The AD converter 3 converts the applied analog audio signal into a digital audio signal and applies it to the audio compression circuit 4. The audio compression circuit 4 compresses the digital audio signal and supplies the compressed signal to the system microcomputer 5 as compressed audio data.

The key switch section 10 having various key switches such as a record key, a play key, a stop key, a fast forward key, a return key, an END mark key and an erase key.
Gives a key input signal to the system microcomputer 5 for instructing an operation relating to recording and reproduction in response to an operation input of each key. The card mounting state detection key 11 is used for the memory card 2
0 detects the state of being attached to the apparatus main body 100, and gives the detection signal to the system microcomputer 5.

In the system microcomputer 5, the compressed voice data D, the address signal A, the write enable signal WE, the chip enable signal CE, to the memory card 20 are supplied in response to the key input signal given from the key switch section 10.
The erase E is given to the memory card 20. The system microcomputer 5 also reads the compressed audio data recorded in the memory card 20 and transfers the read data to the audio decompression circuit 6. Further, the system microcomputer 5 gives a control signal to the voice compression circuit 4 and the voice decompression circuit 6 and also gives display information to the display section 20 to show the operation status of the device.

The audio decompression circuit 6 decompresses the applied audio compression data to restore the original digital audio signal, and supplies the digital audio signal to the DA converter 7. DA
The converter 7 converts the digital audio signal into an analog audio signal and supplies the analog audio signal to the amplifier 8. The amplifier 8 amplifies the supplied analog audio signal and supplies it to the speaker 9. The speaker 9 converts the analog voice signal into voice and outputs it.

Next, the operation of the voice recording / reproducing apparatus will be described. First, the operation during recording will be described. When the recording key is operated in the key switch section 10, the analog audio signal output from the microphone 1 is amplified by the amplifier 2 and converted into a digital audio signal by the AD converter 3. This digital audio signal is compressed by the audio compression circuit 4, and is converted into compressed audio data by the system microcomputer 5
Read once. Then, the compressed audio data D and the address signal A are given to the memory card 20, and the compressed audio data D are sequentially recorded in the memory card 22 while the address is specified by the address signal A.

When the stop key is operated in the key switch section 10, the EOD mark, which is the first index information indicating the address of the memory card 20 in which the compressed audio data is finally recorded, is operated during the operation. , Is recorded as index information in a specific address area of the memory card 20. When the END mark key is operated in the key switch section 10, when the END mark key is operated, the END mark, which is the second index information indicating the address where the compressed audio data is finally recorded, is displayed on the memory card 20. It is recorded as index information in a specific address area.

Specifically, the EOD mark is composed of address information and an EOD mark code. The second index information includes address information and E
It is composed of an ND mark code.

Next, the operation during reproduction will be described. When the reproduction key is operated in the key switch unit 10, the address signal A is sent from the system microcomputer 5 to the memory card 2
Given to 0. Then, among the compressed audio data recorded in the memory card 20, the compressed audio data at the address specified by the address signal A is temporarily stored in the system microcomputer 5.
Is read, and the compressed audio data is transferred to the audio decompression circuit 6.

The compressed audio data is expanded into an original digital audio signal by an audio expansion circuit 6, and the digital audio signal is converted into an analog audio signal by a DA converter 7. Then, the analog audio signal is amplified by the amplifier 8 and given to the speaker 9, and the speaker 9 converts the amplified analog audio signal into voice. Also,
In the key switch unit 10, when the fast-forward key is operated, the address of the compressed audio data in END mark units can be skipped, and when the return key is operated, the compressed audio data in END mark units can be jumped back. Further, when the delete key is pressed, the compressed audio data recorded in the memory card 20 can be deleted.

Next, the internal structure of the memory card 20 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the memory card 20.

The memory card 20 includes an address decoder 2
1 and four ROM chips 22, 23, 24, 25 composed of a batch erasing programmable read only memory.

The address decoder 21 is supplied with the upper address of the address signal A from the address bus 26, and is also supplied with the card enable signal CE. Chip select signals CS1 to CS4 are applied from the address decoder 21 to the ROM chips 22 to 25, respectively.
The address decoder 21 decodes the upper address of the address signal A and sets any one of the chip select signals CS1 to CS4 to be true. These chip select signals CS1 to CS4 are respectively exclusive,
The compressed audio data can be written and read only to the ROM chip for which this signal becomes true. The card enable signal CE is a signal for disconnecting all of the ROM chips 22 to 25 from the data bus 27 described later. In the address decoder 21, when this signal becomes true, all the chip select signals CS1. ~ Decode so that CS4 is false.

In each of the ROM chips 22 to 25, in addition to the chip select signals CS1 to CS4, the lower address of the address signal A from the address bus 26,
Compressed audio data from the data bus 27, a write enable signal WE for writing the compressed audio data, and each ROM
An erase signal E for collectively erasing the data recorded on the chips 22 to 25 is applied.

In the memory card 20 having the above structure, the R selected by the chip select signals CS1 to CS4 is selected.
In the OM chip, the compressed audio data, the EOD mark and the END mark are recorded at the address designated by the address signal A.

Further, in this voice recording / reproducing apparatus, when the recording state is changed to the recording stop state, the EOD mark recording process for automatically recording the EOD mark in the memory card 20 and the memory card 20 in the apparatus main body 100. When the EOD mark is recorded at the end of the index information when mounted, the END mark is added to the memory card 2
An END mark recording process for automatically recording 0 is performed. These processes are performed under the control of the system microcomputer 5.

Next, the contents of the EOD mark recording process will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the EOD mark recording processing routine. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the recording state is changed to the recording stop state based on the key input signal given from the key switch unit 10, and when it is determined in step S1 that such a state is achieved. Records the EOD mark on the memory card 20 in step S2.

Next, the contents of the END mark recording process will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the END mark recording processing routine. First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the memory card 20 is attached based on the detection signal from the card attachment state detector 11, and if it is determined that the memory card 20 is attached, step S12
Proceed to.

Next, in step S12, it is determined whether or not the EOD mark is recorded at the end of the index information recorded in the memory card 20, and step S12
If it is finally determined that the EOD mark is recorded, the END mark is recorded in the memory card 20 in step S14, and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 13 that the EOD mark is not recorded at the end, the process ends as it is.

Such EOD mark recording processing and E
When the ND mark recording process is performed, the EOD mark is always recorded when the recording state is changed to the recording stop state, and the EOD mark is recorded at the end of the index information when the memory card 20 is attached. In this case, the END mark is recorded on the memory card 20, so even if the END mark is forgotten to be recorded by operating the END mark key before the memory card 20 is detached from the apparatus main body 100, The device body 1
The END mark is recorded on the memory card 20 when it is attached to 00, so even if you forget to operate the END mark key,
The END mark key is always recorded on the memory card 20.

When the END mark is recorded in the END mark recording process described above, the EOD mark is rewritten to the END mark by rewriting only the EOD mark mark code to the END mark code without using a new address. May be. However, when the memory card 20 is a batch erasing type memory, data cannot be overwritten. Therefore, the EOD mark code and the END mark code may be defined and the EOD mark code may be rewritten as described below. .

The batch erasing type memory has FFh (16
Decimal number). In such an erased state, FEh (1
Recording a hexadecimal number corresponds to removing the charge of the least significant bit of FFh, for example. Therefore, it is possible to write data from 00h to FEh at the same address without erasing the data. Therefore, for example, if the EOD mark is defined as FEh and the END mark is defined as FCh, the END mark can be overlapped with the address at which the EOD mark is recorded.

In the present embodiment, the system microcomputer 5 operates with a small current consumption even in the power-off state because of the time stamp function. In the case of a device that can be detected, but the system microcomputer 5 does not operate when the power is off, it is impossible to detect the mounting state of the memory card 20 as described above. Therefore, mechanically, there is provided a switch that is turned on when the memory card 20 is removed, and turned off when an operation other than when the memory card 20 is attached and when the memory card 20 is removed is performed,
When the power is turned on, even if the memory card 20 is already attached, it may be possible to detect that the memory card 20 is newly attached to the apparatus main body 100 based on the operating state of the switch.

[0037]

According to the present invention, the first index information is recorded in the memory when the recording / reproducing means shifts from the recording state to the recording stop state during recording of voice. The second index information is always recorded in the memory when the memory is reattached. As a result, it is possible to prevent a malfunction of the device due to a malfunction such as forgetting to record the index information and to facilitate the operation of the device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, when the second index information is recorded, the first index information is rewritten to the second index information, so the memory You can save your address.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a voice recording / playback apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a memory card.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an EOD mark recording processing routine.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an END mark recording processing routine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Microphone 2,8 Amplifier 3 AD converter 4 Audio compression circuit 5 System microcomputer 6 Audio expansion circuit 7 DA converter 9 Speaker 20 Memory card 100 Device body

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A recording / reproducing means for recording and reproducing digital audio information and index information, wherein the apparatus main body and a memory detachably provided to the apparatus main body are provided. And first index information for recording, in the memory, first index information indicating an address of the memory in which digital audio information is finally recorded when the recording / reproducing means shifts from the recording state to the recording stop state. When the index information finally recorded in the memory when the recording unit and the memory is attached to the apparatus main body is the first index information, the address indicated by the first index information is A second index information recording unit that records second index information indicating that the information is a delimiter in the memory. Including the door, sound recording and reproducing apparatus. 2. The second index information recording means, when the memory is attached to the apparatus main body, the index information finally recorded in the memory is the first index information. 2. The audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first index information is rewritten to second index information indicating a delimiter of information.