MXPA01000986A - Semiconductor memory card, apparatus for recording data onto the semiconductor memory card, and apparatus for reproducing data of the semiconductor memory card - Google Patents

Abstract

A semiconductor memory card for storing audio information with corresponding text information and type information, the type information indicating a type of the text information. The type is classified into at least (a), (b), and (c) in which the text information respectively includes a 1-byte character code sequence, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a 1-byte character code sequence and a 2-byte character code sequence.

Description

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CARD, DEVICE FOR RECORDING DATA ON THE MEMORY CARD SEMICONDUCTOR, AND APPARATUS TO REPRODUCE DATA FROM THE SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CARD CARPO TtC JCO The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory card for recording digital data representing audio data or image data, an apparatus for recording data on the semiconductor memory card, and an apparatus for reproducing the data stored on the memory card semiconductor BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A recording or recording medium to rewrite typical to record digital data is MD (Mini Disk) which has come into wide use. Portable MD recording / playback devices that can record audio information from music CDs have also become prevalent.

Ref: 126827 Typical MDs have approximately 140 MB of storage capacity and can record approximately 74 minutes of music when recording digital, compressed audio data. MDs can also record up to approximately 1,700 characters of information to display tuning titles, a disc title and the like, as well as audio information. The information of recorded characters frequently includes a mixture of hankaku atakana characters (Japanese alphabet), alphabets, numbers, and signs. It should be noted here that katakana characters used for computers are classified in the characters hankaku katakana and zenkaku katakana. Katakana hankaku characters are represented by 1-byte character codes (octet) and visually displayed with an average width of zenkaku katakana. The zenkaku katakana is represented by 2-byte character codes. MD recording / playback devices that can record hiragana characters (Japanese alphabet) and kanj i characters (Chinese characters) have recently become commercially available. However, prior conventional techniques have a problem, that MD player apparatuses (of the types that do not have Chinese character fonts), which can visually display only katakana hankaku characters, alphabets, numbers, and signs, can not adequately display the hiragana and Chinese characters recorded on the recording or recording media. With such devices, users can not recognize the tuning titles and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor memory card which makes it possible for a recording / reproducing apparatus to visually display the character information on the semiconductor memory card adequately if the recording / reproducing apparatus can visually display only hankaku katakana characters and alphanumeric characters, or may also show hiragana characters and Chinese characters. The above objective is fulfilled by a semiconductor memory card for storing audio information with the corresponding text information and type information, the type information indicating a type of the text information, wherein the type is classified in at least (a), (b) and (c) in which the text information includes respectively a 1-byte character code sequence, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a 1-byte character code sequence. , and a 2-byte character code sequence. The above objective is also fulfilled by a recording apparatus for recording the audio information on a semiconductor memory card which can be inserted / removed in / from the recording apparatus, the recording apparatus comprising: a first recording medium for record the audio information on the semiconductor memory card; and a second recording medium for recording the text information and type information corresponding to the audio information on the semiconductor memory card, wherein the type information indicates a type of the text information, the type being classified into at least (a), (b) and (c) in which the text information respectively includes a character code sequence of 1 byte, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a 1-byte character code sequence and a 2-byte character code sequence. The above objective is also fulfilled by a reproducing apparatus for reading the audio information from a semiconductor memory card which can be inserted / removed within / from the reproducing apparatus, and reproducing the audio information read, including the reproductive apparatus : a reading means for reading the audio information, the text information and the type information from the semiconductor memory card, wherein the type information indicates a type of the text information, the type being classified in at least (a), (b) and (c) in which the text information includes respectively a 1-byte character code sequence, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a character code sequence of 1 byte and a 2-byte character code sequence; a reproducing means for reproducing the audio information read; and a control means for controlling a display unit to visually display either a 1-byte character code sequence and a 2-byte character code sequence, according to the read type information. With the above construction, the semiconductor memory card can record the text information suitably when the type of the text information is (a), (b) or (c). Therefore, the text information recorded on the semiconductor memory card is suitably displayed by a recording / reproducing device by reference to the type information, when the recording / reproducing apparatus supports (1) a character code sequence. 1 byte, (2) a 2-byte character sequence, or (3) a 1-byte character code sequence and a 2-byte character code sequence. In the aforementioned semiconductor memory card, the type information may include a first attribute and a second attribute, the first attribute showing if the text information includes a character code sequence of 1 byte, and the second attribute shows whether the Text information includes a 2-byte character code sequence, and the first attribute, the second attribute and a combination of the two attributes indicate respectively the types (a), (b) and (c). With the above construction, the reproductive apparatus can easily determine the type of the types that include (a) to (c) by reference to the first attribute, the second attribute, and a combination of the first attribute and the second attribute read from the card. semiconductor memory. In the aforementioned semiconductor memory card, the text information can be stored in a text storage area, which is a part of the semiconductor memory card, consecutively from the beginning of the text storage area, the information of type is a first finished code and a second finished code, which are included in the text information, the first finished code is stored at the beginning of the text storage area when the text information stored in the text storage area is not includes a 1-byte character code sequence, and is stored in the text storage area at the end of a 1-byte character code sequence, when the text information stored in the text storage area includes the sequence 1-byte character code, the second finished code is stored in the text storage area in a pos immediately after the first finished code when the text information stored in the text storage area does not include a 2-byte character code sequence, and is stored in the text storage area at the end of a code sequence. 2-byte character, when the text information stored in the text storage area includes the 2-byte character code sequence, and combinations of what is stored at the beginning of the text storage area, a storage position of the First finished code, and a storage position of the second finished code, indicate types (a), (b) and (c). With the above construction, the reproducing apparatus can easily determine the type of the types that include (a) to (c), from the combinations of what is stored at the beginning of the text storage area, a storage position of the first finished code, and a storage position of the second finished code. In the aforementioned semiconductor memory card, the 1-byte character code sequence may include pairs of a 1-byte mark or label and a plurality of 1-byte character codes, the 1-byte mark indicating a name of an article or entry, and a plurality of 1-byte character codes indicating an article or entry content, and the 2-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 2-byte mark and a plurality of 2-byte character codes, the 2-byte mark indicates a name of an article or entry, and the plurality of 2-byte character codes indicate a content of the article. With the above construction, each of the 1-byte character code sequences and the 2-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a mark and a character code sequence, the mark indicates a type of an item or entry , and the character code sequence indicates a content of the article. As a result, the area for storing character information is used efficiently.

BRE-VE- DESCR-IPCLQN D-E- L.QS PYRUAGES Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the semiconductor memory card, the recording apparatus, and the reproducing apparatus in the embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows the appearance of the semiconductor memory card (media card 1). Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the construction of the media card 1. Figure 4 shows the application layer of the media card 1. Figure 5 shows the construction of the storage area in the media card 1 Figures 6A and 6B show examples of constructions of the directories and files in the protected area and the user data area on the media card 1. Figure 7 shows the relationships between the default playlist, the handler of track, and the AOBs. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing a detailed structure of the track handler data.

Figure 8 is a block diagram showing a detailed structure of the track handler data. Figures 9A and 9B show the specific examples of a text attribute 1 and a text attribute 2. Figure 10 shows the storage area for the character information. Figure 11 shows the marks that indicate the types of items. Figure 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of a reproduction apparatus. Figure 13 shows an example of the characters displayed visually on the LCD unit, while the audio information is being reproduced, where the LCD unit is coupled to a portable playback device, and is approximately as long as 24 characters hankaku by 2 rows. Figure 14 shows an example of a playlist shown on the LCD unit coupled to a portable player. Figure 15 shows an example of characters displayed visually on the LCD unit, while the audio information is being reproduced, where the LCD unit is coupled to a car-type reproducing apparatus, and is approximately as large as of 48 hankaku characters by 4 rows. Figure 16 shows an example of characters displayed visually on a display unit, while the audio information is reproduced, where the display unit is as large as 12 characters of 2 bytes by 2 rows. Figure 17 shows an example of the playlist displayed visually. Figure 18 shows an example of the characters displayed visually on a display unit while the audio information is reproduced, where the display unit is as large as 24 characters of 2 bytes per 4 rows. Figure 19 is a flow chart showing the process of visual representation performed by the reproducing apparatus 3. Figure 20 is a flow diagram showing the process of visual representation performed by the reproductive apparatus 3.

Figure 21 shows a determination logic used to determine a type of character information from a combination of text attribute 1 and text attribute 2. Figure 22 shows a determination logic used to determine a type of visual representation based on the specification of either 1 byte and 2 bytes by the user, and the type of information of certain character. Figures 23A to 23D show the storage positions of the first and second finished codes. Figure 24 is a flow diagram showing the process of judging the type of character information based on the storage positions of the first and second finished codes. Figure 25 is a block diagram showing the construction of the recording / reproduction apparatus 2.

BEST MODALITY TO CARRY OUT THE INVENTION Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the semiconductor memory card (hereinafter, referred to as the media card), the recording apparatus, and the reproduction apparatus of the present invention. In Figure 1, the media card 1 can be inserted / removed within / from a recording / reproducing apparatus 2, the playing devices 3 to 5, and a recording / reproducing apparatus 6, and can record a plurality of information pieces of information. audio and a plurality of pieces of character information. Note that each piece of audio information is a musical tone, a section of a novel, a conversation lesson of English or similar. Each piece of character information corresponds to a piece of the audio information, and includes a first datum and a second datum. The first data is composed of a sequence of 1-byte character codes that represent attributes that include the name of the piece of audio information. The second data is composed of a sequence of 2-byte character codes that represent the same attributes as the first data. The first data includes 1-byte character codes, which each represent an alphanumeric character, a hankaku katakana character or the like. The second data includes 2-byte character codes which each represent a hiragana character, a Chinese character, a sequence of characters from other languages or the like. With this arrangement, the character information is displayed visually on both devices: a device that can visually display only the 1-byte character codes; and an apparatus that can also visually display the 2-byte character codes. The recording / reproducing apparatus 2, which is a personal computer, records / reproduces data stored in the media card 1 inserted into a slot of the recording / playback apparatus 2. For example, the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 obtains the audio or character information distributed by a music provider 7 via a telephone line or the Internet, generates audio information based on the music CDs, generates character information according to the user's operations, writes the information of audio or character to the media card 1 inserted into the slot, reads the audio or character information from the media card 1, or plays or edits the reading information. The reproducing apparatus 3 is a portable reproducing device having a slot into which the media card 1 can be inserted. The reproducing apparatuses 4 and 5 are respectively a table apparatus and an automobile-mounted apparatus, which read the audio information from the media card 1 to reproduce the audio information read and visually display the information. of read characters. Each of the player devices 3 to 5 reads and visually displays the first data when the apparatus contains a ROM (read-only memory) that pre-stores the sources for the 1-byte character codes, and visually reads and displays the second data when the device contains a ROM that pre-stores the fonts for the 2-byte character codes. The recording / reproducing apparatus 6 is a portable apparatus having a function of recording audio information and characters, in addition to the function of the reproducing apparatus 3.

The music provider 7 distributes the audio and character information via telephone lines or the Internet.

Semiconductor Memory Card Figure 2 shows the appearance of the media card 1. As shown in Figure 2, the media card 1 is 2.1 mm thick, 24 mm wide, and 32 mm deep, contains a semiconductor memory device non-volatile such as a flash memory, and includes terminals that are electrically connected to a player or recording device, when the media card 1 is inserted into such an apparatus. The media card 1 will be described in terms of a physical layer, a file system layer, and an application plate shown in Figure 4.

Physical layer Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the construction of the media card 1.

As shown in Figure 3, the media card 1 contains an IC control 302, a flash memory 303, and a ROM 304. The IC 302 control writes / reads the audio information or character information to / from memory 3.Q3 snapshot or reads such information from the ROM 304, according to the write command or the read command entered through the terminals from a recording apparatus or a playback apparatus. When doing so, when the command or command specifies the encoding, the IC 302 control encodes the audio information when it is written, and decodes the audio information when it reads it. As understood from this, the media card 1 can also prevent the illegal copying of the data that needs to be protected by copyright, by storing the data after the coding of the data. The flash memory 303 has a construction in sectors. Each sector stores digital data of 512 bytes. For example, when the media card 1 is of the 64 MB type, the storage capacity of the media card 1 is 67'188,854 (= 64 * 1024 * 1024) bytes, and the number of sectors is 131,072 (= 67 '188, 854/512).

When a certain number of alternating sectors are assigned in advance pending the appearance of bad sectors, the effective storage capacity of the media card 1 excluding the alternating sectors is 65'536,000 bytes and the number of sectors is 128,000 , for example. ROM 304 stores the data that is unique to the media card 1, and the external device can only read the data from ROM 304 but can not read the data for ROM 304.

Recording Area in the Physical Layer Figure 5 shows the construction of the storage area on the media card 1. As shown in Figure 5, the storage area on the media card 1 is divided into a system area, a protected area, and an area of user data. Of these, the system area belongs to the ROM 304 and the protected area and the user data area belong to the instant memory 303. The system area and the protected area are used for the protection of the copyright. The system area is a read-only area for storing the unique information to the media card 1 such as an ID (identity) of the medium, a name of the manufacturer, etc. The protected area stores a key which, while the media card 1 is inserted into a recording device or a reproducing device, is written or read by the device only when a mutual authentication with the device has been completed in the affirmative, being required the key for the encoding and decoding of the audio information, and generated from the medium ID, a random number or the like. The user data area stores audio information and character information that can be written or read if mutual authentication has been affirmatively affirmed or not. The data that needs to be protected by copyright is encoded and then stored in the user data area. fc File System Layer The file system of the media card 1 is a file system FAT (File Assignment Table) (ISO / IEC 9293), and the file system type is either FAT 12 or FAT 16. The protected area and the user data area of the media card, are converted to format (formatted) as FAT file systems. As shown in Figure 5, the file system of the protected area and the user data area is composed of a division trigger sector, a file allocation table, and a root directory entry, and an area of data. The division trigger sector stores the data that is read when the system is activated. The file allocation table is either from a FAT 12 file system for the 12 bit FAT file system or 16 FAT FAT file system, the FAT construction according to ISO / IEC 9293 standards. The root directory is information that shows the files that exist under the root directory. The root directory entry includes, for example: file names of the files that exist under the root directory; file attributes; year / month / day / time of file update; the group numbers of the groups that store the first parts of the files.

The data area stores a variety of files. The data area in the user data area stores the audio information files. The data area in the protected area stores the key files when the audio information has been encoded.

Application Layer The application layer is divided into presentation data and navigation data, as shown in Figure 4. The presentation data is composed of a plurality of pieces of audio information, or a plurality of audio objects (hereinafter further named as AOBs). Note that the AOBs are compressed audio data generated by the compression of digital audio data. The AOBs conform to MPEG2-AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), for example. MPEG2-AAC is detailed in "The Information Technology ISO / IEC 13818-7: 1997 (E) - generic coding of mobile images and associated audio information - Coding of Advanced Audio Part 7 (AAC) "and will not be described here In the present modality, it is defined that an AOB corresponds to a fixed period of time (approximately 8.5 minutes) for reproduction management purposes.A piece of audio information includes either an AOB or a plurality of AOBs depending on the length of the reproduction Figure 6A shows an example of the construction of the user data area In this example, the AOBs are stored with the file names "AOB001.SA1"to" AOB008.SA1"in the" SD_AUDIO "directory under the root directory In this example, the eight AOBs are recorded in the user data area, however, the number is not limited to eight and can be recorded up to 999 AOBs in the user data area A coded AOB is stored in the protected area with a file name, for example, "AOBSA1.KEY" as the key information, as shown in Figure 6B. includes two types of management data called a playlist handler and a track handler. The playlist handler includes one or more playlists that specify a playback order of a plurality of pieces of audio information. The playlist is either: a default playlist which specifies a playback order of all the pieces of audio information recorded on the media card 1; and a playlist which specifies an arbitrary playback order generated in accordance with the user's operations. The playlist manager is stored in the user data area with a file name, for example "SD AUDIO.PLM", as shown in Figure 6A. The track handler is information used to handle the audio information (for example, AOBs). The track handler includes, for example, the audio attribute information (bit rate, sample pick frequency, number of channels, etc.) of each AOB, and the character information related to the audio information. In the present document, the term "track" indicates a piece of audio information. More precisely, the track handler is a group of pieces of track information corresponding each to the AOBs stored in the user data area. When a track is composed of an AOB, the track information corresponding to the AOB includes: character information corresponding to the track; and the AOB information. When a track is composed of a plurality of AOBs, a piece of track information corresponding to the first AOB includes: the character information corresponding to the track; and the information of the first AOB, and the other pieces of the track information include the information of the second AOB and thereafter, respectively. The track handler is stored in the user data area with a file name, for example, "SD_AUDIO .TKM", as shown in Figure 6A. Figure 7 shows the relationships between a default playlist (represented as DPLI in the drawing), the track handler (represented as TKMG in the drawing), and the AOBs. In figure 7, AOB001.SA1, AOB002.SA1, AOB003.SA1, and AOB008.SA1 respectively constitute the tracks that are Songs A, B, C and E, and the four AOBs AOB004.SA1 to AOB007.SA1 constitute a track which is Song D. The track handler includes a plurality of pieces of track information (represented as TKIs in Figure 7) corresponding to the AOBs AOB001.SA1 to AOB008.SA1 on a one-to-one basis. Each piece of track information includes: a serial number (hereinafter referred to as track information number) only assigned to the piece of track information that is on the semiconductor memory card; a link flag indicating the next piece of track information when the AOB corresponding to the track information piece is one of a plurality of AOB constituting the track; and the character information composed of the first and second data as described at the beginning. In Figure 7, the track handler includes the track information TKI # 1 to TKI # 8 corresponding to AOB001.SA1 to AOB008.SA1, respectively. Of these, AOB004.SA1 to AOB007.SA1, which constitute a clue, are related to each other by link flags. The default playlist specifies a playback order for the tracks (Songs A, B, C, D and E in Figure 7) by the accommodated track search pointers respectively corresponding to the plurality of track information pieces. Each track search indicator includes a track information number assigned to only one piece of track information, which thereby indicates the piece of track information by the track information number. In Figure 7, the default playlist is composed of eight track search pointers # 1 through # 8 which are arranged in the order of track information numbers # 1 through # 8. As a result, the default playlist specifies a playback order for Songs A, B, C, D, and E in this order, since TKIs # 1 to # 8 included respectively in track search pointers # 1 to # 8 are arranged in this order. Note that track search pointers # 5 to # 7 between # 4 to # 7 corresponding to Song D may not include the track information numbers since track information # 4 to # 7 is related to a the other by the link bookmarks. Note also that although it is not shown in the drawings, the data structure of the playlist that specifies an arbitrary playback order generated according to the user's operations is the same as that of the default playlist. Since each playlist is comprised of a plurality of track search markers that each include only a track information number, the edition of the playlist, including the addition and removal of the track search pointers. , It is easy.

Track Manager Details Figure 8 shows a detailed data structure of the track handler. As shown in Figure 8, the track handler (represented as SD_AUDIO.TKM in Figure 6) is composed of a plurality of track information pieces # 1 to #n (ti to tn), the track information # 1 to #n which is also referred to as TKI # 1 to TKI #n. Each piece of track information has the same data structure. Here, the track information # 2 t2 will be used to explain the data structure of the track information. The track information # 2 t2 has a fixed length of 1,024 bytes in the present mode, and is composed of the general track information (also referred to as TKGI) t21 of 256 bytes, the character information (TKTXTI_DA) t22 of 256 bytes , and a track time search table (TKTMSRT) t23 of 512 bytes. The reason why the track information # 2 t2 has a fixed length of 1,024 bytes is that each piece of track information is stored in two sectors and the time search table in the track information is stored in a track sector. the two sectors. With this construction, the track information is read or written by having access to a group of two consecutive sectors, where the sector is the minimum access unit. This increases the access speed of the track information. The general track information t21 includes the track information identifier (TKI_ID) t211, the track information number (TKIN) t212, the link flag (TKI_LNK_PTR) t213, the block attribute (TKI_LK_ATR) t214, the attribute of text 1 (TKI_TI1_ATR) t215, and text attribute 2 (TKI_TI2_ATR) t216. The track information identifier t211 is common to all the pieces of the track information and is an identifier of the track information.

The track information number t212 is a serial number assigned only to the track information, as described at the beginning. A track information number is one of the values 1 to 999. The link flag t213 indicates the next piece of track information (by the track information number) when the AOB corresponding to the piece of track information that contains the link flag is one of a plurality of AOBs that constitute the track, as described at the beginning. Otherwise, the track flag t213 has invalid data (for example, 0). The block attribute t214 indicates that (i) the track is composed of an AOB and the current track information corresponds only to the AOB constituting the track, or (ii) the current track information is the head, the middle point, or the end of the track when the track is composed of a plurality of AOBs. For example, when the block attribute has a value "000 (binary)", it indicates that the current track information corresponds to the AOB, which is the only AOB that constitutes the track.; a value "001" indicates that the current track information corresponds to the head AOB when the track is composed of a plurality of AOBs; a value of "010" indicates that the current track information corresponds to the intermediate point AOB; and a value of "011" indicates that the current track information corresponds to the final AOB. The attribute t215 of text 1 indicates the type of the first data, or a sequence of 1-byte character codes that can be recorded in the character information t22. Figure 9A shows specific examples of the attribute t215 of the text 1. In Figure 9A, a value "000 (hex)" of the text attribute 1 indicates that no sequence of 1-byte character code is recorded in the character information t22 . The values "Olh" to "03h" of the text attribute 1 indicate respectively that the 1-byte character code sequences conforming to IS0646, JISX0201, and IS08859-1 are recorded in the character information t22. Here, IS0646 defines ASCII codes for alphanumerics and signs, JISX0201 defines hankaku katakana in addition to ASCII codes, and IS08859-1 defines Latin alphabets in addition to ASCII codes. The text attribute t216 indicates the type of the second data, or a 2-byte character code sequence that can be recorded in the character information t22. Figure 9B shows the specific examples of the text attribute t216 2. In Figure 9B, an "OOh (hex)" value of the text attribute 2 indicates that no 2-byte character code sequence is recorded in the character information t22. An "81h" value indicates that a 2-byte character code sequence according to "Music Shift JIS KANJI" (Recording Industry Association of Japan) is registered in the character information t22. The character information t22 is composed of the first data and the second data. The track time search table is used for fast forward playback and fast reverse playback, and stores the addresses of the AOBs that are played at intervals of approximately two seconds.

Details of the Character Information Figure 10 shows the storage area for the character information (TKTXTI DA) t22 shown in Figure 8.

The storage area for storing the character information (TKTXTI_DA) t22 is half of a sector (512 bytes) and has a fixed size of 256 bytes, the other half being used to store the general track information t21. As shown in the upper portion of Figure 10, the character information (TKTXTI__DA) is composed of the first data t221, the second data t222, and a free area t223. The free area t223 is generated when the total size of the first data t221 and the second data t222, both of variable length, does not reach 256 bytes. As shown in the lower portion of Figure 10, the first data t221 is composed of alternately arranged 1-byte character code marks and sequences. Brands are called brands or labels and indicate the types of items or entries. The 1-byte character code sequences indicate the contents of the articles. A finished code "OOh" is attached to the end of the first data. A finished code "OOOOh" is attached to the end of the second data. Figure 11 shows the types of brands or labels.

As shown in Figure 11, the marks for the first data are 1 byte. That is, the brand that indicates the title is "Olh", the artist "02h", the title of the album "03h", the lyric "04h", the composer "05h", the arranger "06h", the producer "07h" ", the recording company" 08h ", the artist's message" 09h ", the user's comment" OAh ", the comment of the provider" OBh ", the date (year, month, and day)" OCh ", the gender ODh ", the URL (Uniform Resource Locator)" OEh ", the free article (an article that the user can establish) 1" Ofh ", the free article 2" lOh ", the free article 3" llh ", the free article 4"12h", the free article 5"13h" and the free article 6"14h." The marks for the second data are 2-byte codes that are made by joining or coupling "OOh" to the upper portion of each mark for the first data As it is understood from the previous description, the character information (TKTXTI_DA) t22 includes the first data and the second data, where the first data and the second data represent the same data. As a result, playback devices that can reproduce only 1-byte character codes visually display the hankaku character code sequences that are 1-byte character codes, represented by the first data, and by reproducing the devices that can also play back the 2-byte character codes visually display the 2-byte character codes including alphanumeric, hiragana, and Chinese characters represented by the second data.

Construction of the Reproductive Apparatus Figure 12 is a block diagram showing the construction of the reproductive apparatus 3 shown in Figure 1. The reproducing apparatus 3 includes a source ROM 120, a microcomputer 121, a memory 122, an LCD unit 124, a unit operation 125, an interconnection unit 128 to the card, a grouping or rearranging unit 129, a decoder 130, and a D / A converter 131. The source ROM 120 is classified into three types and one of the three types is selected depending on the type of the reproductive system. The ROM 120 of the source of the first type stores only the source data corresponding to the 1-byte character codes. The ROM 120 of the source of the second type stores only the source data corresponding to the 2-byte character codes. The ROM 120 of the third type source stores the source data corresponding to the 1-byte and 2-byte character codes. The source data corresponding to the 1-byte character codes conform to at least one of IS0646, JISX0201, and IS08859-1. The data of the source corresponding to the 2-byte character codes is conformed for example to "Music Shift JIS KANJI". The microcomputer 121 contains a ROM or a RAM, and controls all the operations of the reproducing apparatus such as the reproduction of audio information and the visual representation of the character information on the LCD unit 124, when executing a program stored in the ROM. The program to visually display the character information operates differently depending on the type of ROM 120 of the source. That is, the microcomputer 121 reads the first data (a sequence of 1-byte character code) of the character information, and controls the representation of the read data on the LCD unit 124, based on the source data when ROM 120 is of the first type; the microcomputer 121 reads the second data (a sequence of 2-byte character code) of the character information, and controls the visual representation of the read data on the LCD unit 124 when the ROM 120 is the second type; and the microcomputer 121 selectively reads the first data or the second data based on, for example, the user settings when the ROM 120 is the third type. The memory 122 is a working memory for temporarily storing the audio information, the character information, etc., read from the media card 1 when the audio information is reproduced. As shown in Figure 12, the memory 122 includes a resident DPLI area, a PLI storage area, a TKI storage area, a file key storage area, and a buffer area. The DPLI resident area stores the default playlist as resident data. The PLI storage area stores a currently used playlist. The area of ^^ TKI storage stores the currently used track information. The file key storage area stores an encoding key which is used to decode the encoding of the audio information currently reproduced (AOB). The buffer area is used as a work area or buffer. The LCD unit 124 is a liquid crystal display panel for visually displaying character information or the like. Note that when the reproducing apparatus is of a portable type, the LCD unit 124 is so large as to visually display a row of 12 zenkaku characters or two rows of 12 hankaku characters; and when the reproducing apparatus is of a car-mounted type, the LCD 124 unit is so large as to visually display several rows of 24 zenkaku characters or as large as 320 x 240 pixels or 640 x 480 pixels. The operation unit 125 includes a play key, a stop key, a pause key, a fast forward movement key, a fast backward movement key, and a volume key, and receives the user's operations. The interconnect unit 128 with the card is a slot in / from which the media card 1 is inserted / removed, and includes a group of terminals that are electrically connected to the terminals of the inserted media card 1. The rearranging unit 129 is a rearranger or rearranger for decoding the audio information using the encoding key. That is, for reproduction, the reset unit 129 receives the encoded audio information from the media card 1 and decodes (rearranges) the received audio information. Here, for reproduction, the encryption key is read from the protected area on the media card 1, when the mutual authentication between the media card 1 and the reproducing apparatus 3 has been completed in the affirmative. The decoder 130 receives the rearranged audio information from the reset unit 129 or receives the uncoded audio information from the media card 1 via the memory 122, and decodes the audio information received in the digital audio data. The D / A converter 131 converts digital audio information to analog audio signals.

Operation of the Player Apparatus The operation of the previously constructed reproducing apparatus 3 will be described for each case where the ROM 120 of the source is (1) the first type, (2) the second type, or (3) the third type. It is presumed here that the media card 1 currently stores the audio information of Songs A through E as shown in Figure 7, the default playlist, and the track handler. (1) ROM of the First Type Source The microcomputer 121 reads the default playlist of the media card 1 and stores the read playlist by default, in the resident DPLI area of the memory 122 immediately after the playing apparatus 3 is turned on. When the player apparatus 3 additionally receives a playback instruction entered by the user, the microcomputer 121 reads the track information # 1 from the media card 1, according to the track search flag # 1 placed first in the default playlist, and stores the information # 1 of the track read, in the storage area TKI in the memory 122. The microcomputer 121 transfers the AOB (AOBOOl.SAl) corresponding to the track information # 1 (TKI # 1) to the reset unit 129 or to the decoder 130 via the memory 122, one by one. The transferred audio information is converted to an analog audio signal by passing through the reset unit 129 (only when the audio information has been encoded), the decoder 130, and the D / A converter 131 in sequence. As the audio information begins, to be transferred, the microcomputer 121 reads the character information in the interval from the start to the finished code (OOh) of the 1-byte character code from the information of the track, stored in the memory 122, reads the data of the source corresponding to the 1-byte character code from the ROM 120 of the source, and sequentially supplies the source data to the LCD unit 124, so that the characters are displayed visually on the LCD unit 124 to be unrolled or shown horizontally, for example. Figure 13 shows a specific example of the characters displayed on the LCD unit 124 while the audio information is being reproduced, where the LCD unit 124 is coupled to a portable playback device and is approximately as large as 24 hankaku characters per second. rows. Note that the number of characters changes depending on the type of the character font (for example, a proportional font, or a monospaced font). In Figure 13, the lapse time of the currently played track is displayed visually on the upper portion of the screen, and on the lower portion, the title, the artist, and the title of the album contained in the code sequence of 1-byte characters are repeatedly displayed, the characters being horizontally executed. A brand is only linked to each one of the title, the artist, and the -j ^^ f ^ - -jHH ^^ title of the album (*, *, and, respectively), and a delimiting mark (= >.} Is also appended to each one of them. specific example of a playlist displayed on the LCD unit 124 coupled to a portable playback device In Figure 14, a "playlist" of character sequence is displayed visually on the upper portion of the screen to show that the list Playback is being displayed On the lower portion of the screen, the titles contained in the 1-byte character code sequence are repeatedly displayed, with the characters being run horizontally A unique mark (~ k) to the titles and the mark delimiter (= >) are also appended to each of the titles.The above marks are shown visually with the following construction: A table showing the correspondence between the articles or clauses shown in Figure 11 and the marks on a one-to-one basis are stored in the memory contained by the microcomputer 121. The microcomputer 121 controls the visual representations shown in Figures 13 and 14 by reference to the table. Figure 15 shows a specific example of the characters displayed on the LCD unit 124, while the audio information is being reproduced, where the LCD unit 124 is coupled to a reproducing apparatus of the type mounted to a car, and is approximately as large as of 48 hankaku characters by 4 rows. In Figure 15, in the fourth row from above, the items contained in the 1-byte character code corresponding to the audio information currently reproduced are repeatedly displayed, the characters being horizontally executed. A unique mark to each of the articles or clauses (*, *, O, ®, ß, D,?, V and #) and the delimiting mark (= >) are also attached to each of the articles or clauses . (2) ROM of the Source of the Second Type The operation of reproducing audio information is the same as the first type, and will not be described here.

At the same time that the microcomputer 121 begins to transfer the audio information, the microcomputer 121 reads the character information in the range from the start to the finished code (OOOOh) of the 2-byte character code from the stored track information in the memory 122 when jumping the start to the finished code (OOh) of the 1-byte character code, it reads the source data corresponding to the 2-byte character code from the source ROM 120, and sequentially supplies the data from the source to the LCD unit 124, so that the characters are displayed visually on the LCD unit 124 to be horizontally run, for example. Figure 16 shows a specific example of the characters displayed visually on the unit 124, while the audio information is being reproduced, where the LCD unit 124 is coupled to a portable player and is as large as 12 characters zenkaku per 2 rows. In Figure 17, the elapsed playing time of the currently played track is displayed visually on the upper portion of the screen, and on the lower portion, the title, the artist, and the title of the album contained in the character code of 2 bytes are repeatedly displayed, the characters being horizontally executed. A mark is uniquely attached to each of the title, the artist, and the title of the album ("k,, and, respectively), and a delimiting mark { = >) is also attached to each of them. Figure 17 shows a specific example of a visually displayed playlist on the LCD unit 124 coupled to a portable reproducing apparatus In Figure 17, a sequence of characters "PLAYLIST" is displayed visually on the upper portion of the screen, to show that the playlist is being displayed.On the lower portion of the screen, the titles contained in the 2-byte character code sequence are repeatedly displayed, with the characters being run horizontally. the titles and the delimiting mark (= >;) are also attached to each of the titles. The previous marks are visually shown with the following construction. A table showing the correspondence between the paragraphs or items shown in Figure 11 and the marks on a one-to-one basis are stored in a memory contained by the microcomputer 121. The microcomputer 121 controls the visual representations shown in Figures 16 and 17 by reference to the table. Figure 18 shows a specific example of the characters displayed visually on the LCD unit 124, while the audio information is being reproduced, where the LCD unit 124 is coupled to a car-type type reproductive apparatus, and is so large as of 24 characters zenkaku by 4 rows. In Figure 18, in the fourth row from above, the articles or items contained in the 2-byte character code corresponding to the audio information currently reproduced, are repeatedly displayed, with the characters being horizontally executed. A unique mark for each of the articles or subsections (,, O, ®, B, D,?, V and #) and the delimiting mark (= >) and are also attached to each of the paragraphs or articles. (3) ROM of the Third Type Source When the ROM of the source is of the third type, the user selects whether the 1-byte character visual representation or the 2-byte character representation in advance, and the microcomputer 121, stores the mark indicating the selected character visual representation. . The microcomputer 121 operates as the first type when the mark indicates the 1-byte character screen, and operates in the same way as the second type when the mark indicates the 2-byte character representation.

Process of Detailed Visual Representation Figures 19 and 20 are flow diagrams showing the visual representation process performed by the reproducing apparatus 3. In these figures, the reproducing apparatus 3 is assumed to contain a source ROM of the third type, and performs a process of visual representation to achieve the visual representation examples or screen shown in Figures 15 and 18.

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In Figure 19, the microcomputer 121 in the reproducing apparatus 3 determines the type of character information (TKTXTI_DA) (Step 101). There are four types as follows. Type (a): the character information contains a 1-byte character code sequence and not a 2-byte character code sequence. Type (b): the character information contains a 2-byte character code sequence and not a 1-byte character code sequence. Type (c): the character information contains a 1-byte character code sequence and a 2-byte character code sequence. Type (d): character information does not contain a 1-byte character code sequence or a 2-byte character code sequence. More specifically, the microcomputer 121 reads the text attribute 1 (TKI_TI 1_ATR) and the text attribute 2 (TKI_TI2_ATR) shown in Figure 8, and detects the type of the character information (TKTXTI_DA) from the combination of the contents of these attributes according to the logic of determination shown in Figure 21. More specifically, as shown in Figure 21, the microcomputer 121 judges the character information as: (1) type (a) when the text attribute 1 is different from "OOh" and the text attribute 2 is "OOh"; (2) type (b) when the text attribute 1 is "OOh" and the text attribute 2 is different from "OOh"; (3) type (c) when the text attribute 1 is different from "OOh" and the text attribute 2 is different from "OOh"; and (4) type (d) when the text attribute 1 is "OOh" and the text attribute 2 is "OOh". The microcomputer 121 determines whether the characters should be displayed visually or not, and when the characters are to be displayed, which characters should be shown, 1 byte or 2 bytes (Step 101). This decision is made based on the specification of 1 byte and 2 bytes by the user and the determined type of the character information, and according to the logic of determination of type of visual representation, shown in Figure 22. It is say, as shown in Figure 22, the microcomputer 121 determines: (1) visually displaying 1-byte characters when the user specifies 1-byte characters and when the information is of type (a) or (c); (2) not visually displaying the characters (without representation) when the user specifies the 1-byte characters and when the character information is of type (b) or (d); (3) visually display the 2-byte characters when the user specifies the 2-byte characters and when the character information is of type (b) or (c); and (4) not displaying visually (without visual representation) the characters when the user specifies the 2-byte characters and when the character information is of type (a) or (d). The microcomputer 121 terminates the visual representation process when it has determined not to visually display the characters (Step 102). The microcomputer 121 sets the variable L to 1 when it has determined to visually display the characters of 1 byte, and adjusts the variable L to 2 when it has determined to visually display the 2-byte characters (Steps 103 to 105). Note that the variable L shows a quantity of data that will be read from the character information by a reading. Note also that when it has been determined not to visually display the characters, the microcomputer 121 can finish the process of visual representation after visually displaying "NO TITLE", for example.

The microcomputer 121 specifies the tags (TAG_Xi: i = 1, 2, ... n) indicating the items or articles that are going to be displayed visually, according to the type of the characters, namely depending on whether they are 1 Byte or 2 bytes (Step 106). The microcomputer 121 also adjusts the SARD variable by indicating a read address to the start address of the storage area, which stores the character information (TKTXTI_DA) (Step 106). More specifically, when L = 1, the microcomputer 121 specifies the labels Olh, 02h, ... 14h (TAG-Xi: i = lh, 2h, ... 14h) indicating the items or items shown in Figure 15; when L = 2, the microcomputer 121 specifies the tags OOOlh, 0002h, ..0014h (TAG_Xi: i = lh, 2h, ... 14h) indicating the items or clauses shown in Figure 18. The microcomputer 121 generates the data of visual representation in the work area in circuit 1 (Steps 108 to 118) as follows. The microcomputer 121 reads the L bytes of data from a site pointed to by the reading address SARD, and updates the read address (SARD = SRS + L) (Step 109). The microcomputer 121 then checks whether the L bytes read from the data match any finished code (Step 110). The microcomputer 121 then checks whether the L bytes of data reading agree with the TAG_Xi mark (Step 112). By repeating this process, it is judged whether the TAG_Xi mark is stored in the character information storage area. When the TAG_Xi mark is stored, the storage address is detected. When the L bytes read data match any finished code, the microcomputer 121 sets the reading direction SARD to the start address again since the mark TAG_Xi and the article or paragraph corresponding to the mark are not recorded (Step 111). The next TAG_Xi mark is then processed. When the L bytes of data reading agree with the TAG_Xi mark, this means that an entry or article corresponding to the TAG_Xi mark is recorded. As a result, the microcomputer 121 stores a mark corresponding to the item or article in the work area (Step 113). For example, the brand * that represents "title" corresponds to the brand Olh or OOOlh.

^^ UJ ^^ gj ^^^^ The microcomputer 121 repeats the reading of the L bytes of data and updates the reading address SARD (Step 114), and stores the L bytes of data reading in the work area (Step 116) until the other type of mark or any finished code is read (Step 115). Through the previous steps, an item or article corresponding to the TAG_Xi mark that has agreed with the L bytes of data reading, is stored in the work area. The microcomputer 121 then stores a delimiting mark (= >) within the work area (Step 117). With this step, the visual representation data related to a TAG_Xi brand has been stored in the work area. After this, the microcomputer 121 repeats steps 109 to 117 for each value of the tag TAG_Xi. After the above process in the cycle or loop 1 ends, the microprocessor 121 instructs the LCD unit 124 to visually display the visual representation data stored in the work area, running the data on the screen (Step 119). Figures 15 and 18 show examples of the screens shown by the LCD unit 124 when L = 1 and L = 2, respectively.

Note that. in step 100, the microcomputer 121 can determine the type of character information (TKTXTI_DA) based on the storage positions of the first finished code "OOh" and the second finished code "OOOOh". The storage positions are classified into four patterns shown in Figures 23A through 23D. Figure 24 is a flowchart that shows this kind of judgment process of type. Figure 24, microcomputer 121 searches for the storage positions of the first and second finished codes (Step 121), and adjusts the addresses indicating the storage locations to ADR_T1 and ADR_T2, respectively (Step 122). The microcomputer 121 then checks whether ADR_T1 matches the start address of the character information storage area (Step 123). The microcomputer 121 then checks whether ADR_T1 and ADR_T2 are adjacent (Steps 124, 127), and determines the type of the character information (TKTXTI_DA), which is one of the types (a) to (d) (Steps 125 to 130) . In Figures 19 and 20, it is assumed that the reproducing apparatus 3 contains a ROM of the source of the third type. For the reproducing apparatus 3 containing a ROM of the source of the first type, the flow diagrams shown in Figures 19 and 20 can be used by modifying the flow diagrams as follows: When the result of the judgment in step 103 is L = 2, the control goes towards the end of the process, in the same way that the result of the judgment is "not shown". For the reproducing apparatus 3 containing a ROM of the source of the second type, the flow diagrams shown in Figures 19 and 20 can be used by modifying the flow diagrams as follows: When the judgment result in step 103 is L = l, the control goes towards the end of the process, in the same way that the result of the judgment is "not to show". In the logic of determining the type of visual representation shown in Figure 22, the microcomputer 121 determines not to visually display (without representation) the characters when the user specifies the 2-byte characters and when the character information is of type (a) or (d). However, when the character information is of type (a) in the same condition, the 1-byte characters can be displayed visually. In the determination logic shown in Figure 22, the microcomputer 121 determines not to display (without representation) the characters when the user specifies the 1 byte characters and when the character information is of type (b) or (d). However, when the character information is of type (b) in the same condition, the 2-byte characters can be displayed visually. These variations are of course based on the premise that the source ROM pre-stores a font for the specified character type.

Construction of the Recording / Reproduction Apparatus Figure 25 is a block diagram showing the construction of recording / reproducing apparatus 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus 2 includes a communication interconnection unit 132, a memory 133, a hard disk 134, a screen 135, a keyboard 136, a mouse 137, a central processing unit (CPU) 138, a driver unit. card interconnection 139, a stirring unit 140, an encoding / decoding unit 141, an A / D converter 142, and a D / A converter 143. iMjr ^ te ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡The construction of physical equipment that includes the communication interconnection unit 132, the memory 133, the hard disk 134, the screen 135, the keyboard 136, the mouse 137, and the CPU 138 is the same as that of typical personal computers, and will not be described here, but the construction will be described focusing on the units related to the media card 1. In FIG. 25, the communication interconnection unit 132 is a communication circuit such as a modem (modulator-demodulator) or a TA and is connected to the music provider 7 by means of a telephone line or the Internet. The memory 133 stores various programs such as a program for downloading the audio information and character information from the music provider 7, a program for writing / reading the audio information and the character information to / from the media card 1, a program for reproducing the audio information inserted in the memory 133, and a program for generating or editing the audio information and the character information. The hard disk 134 stores the audio information, the character information, and various Aii ^^ m ??? imÍÍm programs like files, where the audio information and the information of characters that are going to be stored are downloaded from the music provider 7 or are newly generated. The CPU 138 executes various programs stored in the memory 133 and controls the downloading of the audio information and the character information from the music provider 7, recording the audio information and the character information on the media card 1, reproducing the audio information and the character information included in the media card 1, and generating and editing the audio information and the character information. The card interconnect unit 139 is achieved for example by a card slot into which is inserted a PCMCIA (International Association of Personal Computer Memory Cards), where the media card 1 is inserted / removed in / from the slot card. The ungrouping unit 140 is composed of a desgrouping unit and a rearrangement unit (regrouper) to encode and decode the audio information using a coding key. That is, the disabling unit = ipijepto 140, for reproduction, receives the audio information encoded from the media card 1 or the hard disk 134, and regroups or rearranges the received audio information. The Ungroup-Slow unit 140 also receives the uncoded audio information from the hard disk 134 or the encoding / decoding unit 141, and ungroups it disintegrates the received audio information. Here, for reproduction, the encryption key is read from the protected area on the media card 1 when the mutual authentication between the media card 1 and the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 has completed affirmatively. For recording, the encryption key is downloaded from the music provider together with the audio information, and is written to the protected area on the media card 1 when the previous mutual authentication has been completed affirmatively. The coding / decoding unit 141 is composed of an encoder and a decoder to compress and decompress the audio information. That is to say, the encoding / decoding unit 141, for reproduction, receives the unencrypted audio information from the media card 1, the desagrcrp-ptiept 140 unit, or the hard disk 134, and decodes (decompresses) the received audio and sends out audio signals via the D / A converter 143. The coding / decoding unit 141, for the generation of the new audio information, receives the uncompressed digital audio data (such as the PCM data) , from the A / D converter 142 or the hard disk 134, and encodes (compresses) the audio data. Now, the operation of the previously built recording / reproduction apparatus 2 will be described. In the present description, it is presumed that the music provider 7 is one who distributes content containing audio information and character information to the clients by means of what is called a WWW (World Wide Web) server provided on the Internet. The recording / reproduction apparatus 2 downloads data as follows. The recording / playback apparatus 2 receives a group of AOBs distributed from a WWW server of the music provider 7 (or a distribution service) in a certain distribution format defined by the music provider (the distribution service), and stores the received AOBs in the user data area on the media card 1 after converting the AOBs by the recording / reproducing apparatus 2 to another data format, for example, as shown in Figure 6A. When the group of AOBs are encoded, the recording / reproducing apparatus additionally downloads a key and stores it in the protected area after converting it, via the recording / reproduction apparatus 2, to a data format, for example as shown in FIG. Figure 6B. When a group of AOBs is downloaded when the music provider 7 provides the character information, the recording / playback apparatus 2 also downloads and stores the character information in the user's data area as the character information (TKTXTI_DA) in the track information corresponding to the AOBs. When the music provider 7 does not provide the character information, the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 generates and edits the character information according to the instructions entered by the user, and stores it in the user's data area. As an example, the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 can visually display a character generation / editing window on the screen, including the window an entry box for each brand, to receive character entries from the user. Since the storage area for storing the character information (TKTXTI_DA) has a fixed length (256 bytes), the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 generates and edits the character information taking care not to exceed the fixed length, and stores it in the storage area. When character information is generated and edited, the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 can determine the type of mark (1 byte or 2 bytes) and either the first data or the second data according to the type of character codes entered by the user (1-byte character codes or 2-byte character codes). The reproduction operation of the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 is the same as that of the reproduction apparatus 3, and will not be described here.

^ I? I ??? I ^ ?? i 0 As understood from the description, the media card 1 of the present mode stores the character information by displaying the correspondence with the audio information, where the information Character includes: the first data composed of a 1-byte character code sequence; and the second data composed of a 2-byte character code sequence. With this construction, it is possible for the reproducing apparatuses to adequately display the character information if these reproducing apparatuses have fonts for 1-byte character codes or fonts for 2-byte character codes. The area for recording the character information is used efficiently due to the construction in which each of the first and second data is composed of marks and the code sequence of alternately arranged characters, the marks indicating the types of items or items and the sequences of code of characters that indicate the contents of the articles or clauses. It is easy to add, delete, or edit the character information according to the addition, deletion, or editing of the audio information, due to the construction in which a storage area with a size (256 bytes) smaller than the size of a sector is assigned to each piece of the character information corresponding to a piece of audio information. In the above mode, the media card 1 is inserted into the card slot of the recording / reproduction apparatus 2. However, the recording / reproduction apparatus 2 can be connected, through the cables such as the so-called USB (Collective Bar in Universal Series), to the playing apparatus 3 within which the media card 1 has been inserted, so that the recording / playback apparatus 2 can write data to the media card 1. The character code sequences 2-byte characters can include 3-byte character codes although this depends on the types of the character code. In the above embodiment, simple markings are used as shown in Figures 13 to 18 for convenience purposes. However, icons can be used instead. The microcomputer 121 of the reproductive apparatus can identify the (a) or (c) shown below, judging from the correlation between the initial position of the character information in the storage area, the storage position of the finished code "OOh "of the first data, and storage position of the finished code" OOOOh "of the second data, and allowing the display unit or visual representation to display the code sequence of characters indicated by the judgment result: (a) the information of text includes a sequence of 1-byte character code; (b) the text information includes a 2-byte character code sequence; and (c) the text information includes a 1-byte character code sequence and a 2-byte character code sequence.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The semiconductor memory card of the present invention stores, correlated, audio information, text information, and type information. The recording apparatus records this type of information in the semiconductor memory card. The reproducing apparatus reads the audio information from the semiconductor memory card and reproduces it, and visually displays the text information in correspondence with the type information. The semiconductor memory card, for example, stores the music data as the audio information, and stores the tuning titles, the name of the artist and the like, such as the text information of either a character code sequence of 1. byte and a 2-byte character code sequence or both. With the above construction, the reproductive apparatus displays the text information according to the type of the source ROM (whether the source ROM conforms to the 1-byte characters or the 2-byte characters) and the type information, with any of the 1-byte characters and the 2-byte characters suitable for the player.

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Claims (12)

CLAIMS Having described the invention as above, the content of the following claims is claimed as property:

1. A semiconductor memory card for storing audio information with the text information and the corresponding type information, the type information indicates a type of the text information, characterized in that the type is classified in at least (a), (bl Y (c) wherein the text information includes respectively a 1-byte character code sequence, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a 1-byte character code sequence and a character code sequence of 2 bytes

2. The semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, characterized in that: the type information includes a first attribute and a second attribute, showing the first attribute if the text information includes a 1-byte character code sequence, and the second attribute that shows whether the text information includes a sequence of 2-byte character code, and the first attribute, the second attribute, and a combination of the two attributes indicate respectively the types (a), (b), and ( c)

3. The semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, characterized in that: the text information is stored in a text storage area, which is a part of the semiconductor memory card, consecutively from the beginning of the storage area of the memory. text, the type information is a first finished code and a second finished code which are included in the text information, the first finished code is stored at the beginning of the text storage area when the text information stored in the text area text storage does not include a 1-byte character code sequence, and is stored in the text storage area at the end of the . , - »~ 1-byte character code sequence when the text information stored in the text storage area includes the 1-byte character code sequence, the second finished code is stored in the text storage area in a position immediately after the first finished code when the text information stored in the text storage area does not include a 2-byte character code sequence, and is stored in the text storage area at the end of a code sequence of 2-byte characters when the text information stored in the text storage area includes the 2-byte character code sequence, and combinations of what is stored at the beginning of the text storage area, a storage position of the first finished code, and a storage position of the second finished code indicate types (a), (b), and (c).

4. The semiconductor memory card according to claim 1, characterized in that: the 1-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 1-byte mark or label and a plurality of 1-byte character codes, the 1-byte mark indicates a name of an article or subsection, and the plurality of the 1-byte character codes indicate a content of the article or subsection, and the 2-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 2-byte mark and a plurality of 2-byte character codes, the 2-byte mark indicates a name of a subsection or article, and the plurality of 2-byte character codes indicate a content of the article or subsection.

5. A recording apparatus for recording audio information on a semiconductor memory card which can be inserted / removed in / from the recording apparatus, the recording apparatus is characterized in that it comprises: a first recording medium for recording the audio information on the semiconductor memory card; and a second recording medium for recording the text information and type information, both corresponding to the audio information on the semiconductor memory card, wherein the type information indicates a type of the text information, the type in at least (a), (b), and (c) in which the text information includes respectively a 1-byte character code sequence, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a code sequence of 1-byte characters and a 2-byte character code sequence.

6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that: the second recording medium records a first attribute and a second attribute as the type information, the first attribute shows whether the text information includes a character code sequence of 1 byte, and the second attribute shows whether the text information includes a sequence of 2-byte character code, and the first attribute, the second attribute and the combination of the first attribute and the second attribute indicate the types (a), ( b), and (c), respectively. • i & ÑfaiíM É & H

7. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that: the second recording medium records the text information and type information on a consecutive area located at the beginning of an area of text storage, with the type information being a first finished code and a second finished code, the second recording means records the first completed code at the beginning of the text storage area when a character code sequence of 1 is not recorded. byte over the text storage area, and records the first completed code at the end of a 1-byte character code sequence when the 1-byte character code sequence is recorded over the text storage area, the second half Recording Record the second finished code immediately after the first finished code, when a character code sequence is not recorded 2 bytes over the text storage area, and records the first completed code at the end of a 2-byte character code sequence when the 2-byte character code sequence is recorded over the text storage area, and combinations of what is stored at the beginning of the text storage area, a storage position of the first finished code, and a storage position of the second finished code indicate types (a), (b), and (c).

8. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that: the 1-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 1-byte mark and a plurality of 1-byte character codes, the 1-byte mark indicates a name of an indent or article, and the plurality of 1-byte character codes indicate a content of the subsection or article, and the 2-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 2-byte mark and a plurality of character codes of 2 bytes, the 2-byte mark indicates a name of an indent or article, and the plurality of 2-byte character codes indicate a content of the subsection or article.

9. A reproducing apparatus for reading the audio information from a semiconductor memory card which can be inserted / removed in / from the reproducing apparatus and which reproduces the audio information read, the reproducing apparatus is characterized in that it comprises: a reading means for reading the audio information, the text information, and the type information from the semiconductor memory card, wherein the type information indicates a type of the text information, the type being classified in at least (a), ( b), and (c) in which the text information includes respectively a 1-byte character code sequence, a 2-byte character code sequence, and a 1-byte character code sequence and a sequence of 2-byte character code; a reproducing means for reproducing the audio information read; and a control means for controlling a display unit to visually display either a 1-byte character code sequence or a 2-byte character code sequence according to a read-type information.

10. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that: the type information includes a first attribute and a second attribute, the first attribute shows whether the text information includes a 1-byte character code sequence, and the second attribute shows whether the text information includes a 2-byte character code sequence, and the control means determines a type of the text information based on the first attribute and the second attribute included in the type information, and allows the display unit to visually display a code sequence of characters corresponding to the given type of the text information.

11. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that: the text information is stored in a text storage area consecutively from the beginning of the text storage area, the type information is a first finished code and a second finished code, which are included in the text information, the first finished code is stored at the beginning of the text storage area when the text information stored in the text storage area does not include a character code sequence 1 byte, and it is stored in the text storage area at the end of a 1-byte character code sequence when the text information stored in the text storage area includes the 1-byte character code sequence, the second finished code is stored in the text storage area in a position immediately after the first r finished code, when the text information stored in the text storage area does not include a 2-byte character code sequence, and is stored in the text storage area at the end of a character code sequence of 2 bytes when the text information stored in the text storage area includes the sequence of 2-byte character code, and combinations of what is stored at the beginning of the text storage area, a storage position of the first finished code, and a storage position of the second finished code indicate types (a), (b), and (c).

12. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that: the 1-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 1-byte mark and a plurality of 1-byte character codes, the 1-byte mark indicates a name of an incised article, and the plurality of 1-byte character codes indicates a content of the article or subsection, and the 2-byte character code sequence includes pairs of a 2-byte mark and a plurality of character codes of 2 bytes, the 2-byte mark indicates a name of an article or subsection, and the plurality of 2-byte character codes indicate a content of the article or subsection. -, "-. - »« - «- ^. .