JPS6240673B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic watch with a recording/playback function having a voice recording/playback function.

[Prior Art] In conventional audio storage devices, a magnetic tape recording method has generally been used. On the other hand, as calculators, radios, etc. have become smaller in size, there has been an increasing demand for smaller audio recording devices, ie, tape recorders.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional tape recording method is not suitable for small size. First, advanced mechanisms such as motors that control the rotation of the tape are difficult to reduce in size and weight. Second, driving mechanisms such as motor relays consumes a considerable amount of power, and the lifespan of batteries, which are the power source for portable devices, is too short, reducing commercial value. Thirdly, miniaturization places a load on the mechanism, and at the same time, tapes are inevitably miniaturized, resulting in poor playback audio quality. Fourth, it takes time to search because the tape is fast forwarded or reversed.

[Purpose] The purpose of the present invention is to replace the conventional magnetic tape with a semiconductor memory as a storage medium, and to control it with a microcomputer with a clock function, thereby increasing the commercial value of a device having a recording and playback function associated with time information. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic watch with a high recording and playback function.

[Function] The block diagram in FIG. 1 shows the recording and reproducing apparatus of the present invention, and 1 is a memory area. The address of this memory is determined by an address counter 8 having the function of a microcomputer. The clock signal CL serves as a sampling clock for the A/D converter 4 and the D/A converter 5, and at the same time as an address counter clock, it controls data input/output of the memory in synchronization with the two converters. The audio signal input from microphone 2 is amplified by amplifier 3, and then
The data is digitized by the D converter 4 and stored in the memory 1. This is the recording operation. For reproduction, the data output from the memory is converted into an analog audio signal by the D/A converter 5, and the speaker 7 is driven by the amplifier 6. The I/O port 10 also receives signals from the keyboard or switch 9 to control recording, playback, and search, as well as outputting an address display to the display 11. When an address is specified using the keyboard 9, the specified address is immediately called up, and there is no need for fast forwarding or reversing functions as with a tape, so there is no waiting time. At this time, since the address counter 8 has the function of a microcomputer with a built-in program, more advanced functions are possible. For example, automatic recording, playback, repeat, automatic search, etc. Furthermore, if the I/O port 10 has a register function, it can hold the output from the clock circuit using a common clock signal, and can also notify the time on the display. In other words, the clock function is shared, and the recording time,
It is possible to simultaneously store the time in the memory 1 and display it on the display 11 during playback.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of the memory of the invention. Audio memory needs to be non-volatile in nature. When a CMOS memory like the one shown in Figure 2 is used, the quiescent current is very small, so it can be made non-volatile with extremely low power consumption. Also, the operating power is 10kHz at 1.5V since the addressing frequency is at most 10KHz.
It becomes less than μA. BZT is a data input/output line, and A is an address line that controls transistors 14 and 15. Inverters 12 and 13 constitute a flip-flop for storage.

Figure 3 shows another example of memory as an audio recording medium.
An example is shown below. A floating gate 16 is embedded in an insulating film 17. P
When a voltage higher than the voltage at which avalanche breakdown occurs with respect to the N-type substrate 23 is applied to the drain 22 of the type,
High-energy electrons cross the barrier of the gate film 17 and are injected into the floating gate, and the injected electrons are retained as they are for more than 10 years. Therefore, information can be stored by changing the presence or absence of injection or the amount of injection depending on the information to be stored. Reading is possible by detecting the channel resistance of the transistor, which changes depending on the amount of charge injected.

Figure 4 shows this relationship. That is, avalanche voltage
Channel resistance by applying more than Vav to the drain
Controls Reff. This injection time is approximately 100
It is μsec. Also, Vav can be up to about 5V.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of a recording/playback device using this nonvolatile memory cell. The audio input AIn is amplified by the amplifier 18, matched with the bias of the memory cell by the buffer 19, and input to the cell. The cell 22 is selected by an address signal A' composed of a memory transistor 23 and an address control transistor 24. E is a charge erasing signal. For reproduction, the transistor 25 is turned on by OE, the channel resistance Reff is directly detected by the load resistance Re, and the amplifier 20
is output to the speaker 21 via. The memory transistor used here does not have to be of the floating gate (FAMOS) type, but may be of any non-volatile type, such as tunnel injection MNOS. In the embodiment mentioned here, the amount of electrons corresponding to the analog signal is directly injected into the memory, and the A/D converter 4 and the D/A converter 5 in FIG.
Although this is omitted, there is no problem in digitally, for example, simply replacing 1 bit of CMOS memory in the previous example with 1 bit of non-volatile memory.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention uses a semiconductor as a memory element, and the required capacity is 16Kbit/1 for a digital memory system.
second, and in analog storage method it is 2Kbit/second. For example, by using a 256 Kbit/chip non-volatile memory using a 2 μm pattern, it is possible to record audio with a storage time of 15 minutes using 6 chips. This is so compact that it can even fit into a wristwatch. Therefore, the size can be sufficiently reduced and the weight can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, the power consumption during recording and playback is so low that even ordinary silver batteries can be used, since there is no motor power at all. With the above configuration, it became possible for the first time to add a recording and playback function to a portable watch.

In addition, in the present invention, the memory 1 other than the voice storage area is also used for storing time, time, calculation steps, or results, and since the controller has a microcomputer function, the clock function can be controlled by a series of software. , the same chip becomes possible. In addition, the display body was used to display voice addresses and clocks, and the entire circuit was made into semiconductors to make it more compact.A recording and playback function was added to the electronic clock, making it possible to use a recording and playback device associated with time information. This makes it possible to improve the marketability of electronic watches.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the invention. Figure 2 is
Shows a CMOS memory cell. Figure 3 shows an example of a floating gate type (FAMOS) nonvolatile memory transistor. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between drain applied voltage and channel equivalent resistance Reff. FIG. 5 shows an example of the configuration of an audio recording/playback device using nonvolatile memory cells 22. 1...Memory, 2...Mic, 3,6,1
8, 20...Amplifier, 4...A/D converter,
5...D/A converter, 7, 21...Speaker, 8...Address counter, 9...Keyboard or switch, 10...I/O port, 11...
Display body, 12, 13... Inverter, 14, 1
5, 25...Transistor, 16...Floating gate, 17...Insulating film, 19...Buffer, 22...Cell, 23...Memory transistor, 24...Address control transistor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An A/D converter that converts an input audio signal into a digital signal, a semiconductor storage device that stores the digital signal from the A/D converter, and converts the digital signal stored from the semiconductor storage device into an analog signal. a recording and reproducing device comprising a D/A converter and a speaker for reproducing the analog signal from the D/A converter as sound, and a microcomputer having a function of controlling the address of the semiconductor storage device; An electronic timepiece with a recording/playback function, characterized in that the semiconductor storage device also stores time or time information, and the microcomputer also has a clock function.