HK1057660A1 - Combination cellular telephone and sound storage device and method of use - Google Patents

Description

Combination and use of cellular telephone and sound storage device

Background

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to cellular telephones and, more particularly, to a cellular telephone with an integrated memory chip for recording a user's verbal recording (verbnote) while he or she is talking on the cellular telephone.

Description of the Related Art

The following techniques illustrate the current state of the art.

In US, re.34,976, Helferich et al discloses an analog digital voice-storing cellular telephone for recording voice information when a user leaves the cellular telephone unit. In a preferred embodiment, the analog-to-digital voice storage cellular telephone contains an answering circuit that is activated after a predetermined number of ring tones. The detection circuit waits for a predetermined period of time to detect the SAT signal. Upon detection of the SAT signal, a prerecorded output message is transmitted to the caller. Voice storing cellular phones record incoming voice information for the user to retrieve and play. If the SAT signal is not detected, the telephone disconnect circuit will immediately disconnect the call. In one aspect, voice information can be recorded in real time in a central cell site and then transmitted to a voice-storing cell phone at high speed and played at normal speed, thereby reducing wireless transmission time and cost.

Burke et al, in US 4,468,813, disclose a digital voice storage system suitable for use in a multi-party terrestrial mobile radio communications system. The system uses a PSK signaling system with fixed-length packets to control a system capable of multiple information storage at the mobile station. Up to 8 64K dynamic Random Access Memories (RAMs) are used in conjunction with a microprocessor to store up to 42 seconds of speech containing up to 8 different messages. In addition, the system allows basic querying of the mobile device to determine whether information is saved for inspection by a base station operator (base operator) and to determine the remaining recording capacity and the total recording capacity of the mobile device.

Lee, US 4,500,752, discloses a cordless telephone with a conventional tape recorder or miniature tape recorder that is touch operated and coupled to the body of the telephone. The tape recorder operates on a cordless remote control unit remote from the base unit by means of control switches (record, play, rewind, fast forward, stop) attached to the remote control unit. This configuration provides a remote recording/playing cordless telephone, or before speech begins. The remote control unit includes a digital encoding circuit that converts a signal for controlling a selected function of the switch to a digital signal corresponding to the selected function, FM modulates and amplifies the digital signal, and then transmits the signal to the base unit cordless. In another aspect, the base unit includes a complementary digital decoding circuit and transceiver.

Nagata et al, US 4,677,657, disclose a voice recording card that records and reproduces information and that transmits and receives information when inserted into a transmitting and receiving device. In the recording mode, information is supplied from a microphone, converted into a digital signal by an analog/digital converter, then recorded in a memory, and transmitted to a transmitting and receiving device through an interface. In the receiving mode, the information content received by the transmitting and receiving apparatus is recorded in the memory through the interface, and is read out from the memory in the reproducing mode, and then is converted into an analog signal to be output from the speaker by the digital/analog converter. The card includes a central processing unit which controls the electronic structure of the card in response to the mode specified by the mode specifying key included in the keyboard.

Nagashima, in US 5,444,761, discloses a vehicle-mounted mobile radiotelephone having an answering function. Even if the owner of the telephone forgets to set the answering mode switch when leaving the car, or the telephone mode is not shifted to the answering mode while the vehicle is running, the telephone has the capability of automatically changing the telephone mode to the answering mode. This vehicle-mounted mobile wireless telephone with answering function includes: an information recording device; handheld devices (handset); a channel for relaying the call signal to the handheld device; a call detection means for detecting a call through the channel to generate a call detection signal; and control means for executing an automatic reception mode to connect the channel to the information recording apparatus in accordance with a call detection signal with a specified response mode. The control apparatus includes an accessory switch (ACC) detecting means for detecting whether an accessory switch of the vehicle is turned on or off, whereby the automatic reception mode is activated when the accessory switch (ACC) detecting means detects that the accessory switch is turned off.

Parvulescu et al disclose in US 5,802,460 a telephone handset and remote control device for transmitting information such as telephone numbers and addresses for storage in an information storage means (messaging device). The telephone handset and remote control apparatus includes a cover and a plurality of actuators (activators) disposed on the cover that allow information to be input into the memory of the telephone handset and remote control apparatus and allow operational control of the telephone handset and remote control apparatus. A radio frequency transceiver included in the telephone handset and remote control device is responsive to excitation by the exciter to emit a television control signal for controlling the television exciter, to emit a first radio frequency signal encoded with information responsive to excitation by at least a second exciter, and to transmit a second radio frequency signal encoded with information responsive to excitation by at least a third exciter to the information storage device. The radio frequency transceivers in the telephone handset and remote control device may receive radio frequency communication signals from an associated base station and, if the information storage device is bidirectional, information storage signals (messaging signals) from the information storage device. The telephone handset and remote control device may also have a data connector that can be connected to a computer to enable receiving downloaded information (e.g., software updates, etc.) and transmitting such information to the information storage device.

Kohler in international publication WO 90/13196 discloses a device for a telecommunication system, in particular a telephone or a radio device, or a telephone station of a two-way intercom system, with components comprising at least a loudspeaker and a microphone, designed for handheld use. A driver for driving the recording medium, the recording and playing unit and the related operation unit; a wireless receiving unit; a private call receiver; means for remotely interrogating, for example, alarm systems, sensors, etc.; a television set; answering machines or devices for playing and recording information; an electronic storage device or an electronic device (preferably a voice recording telephone) of a sound receiving monitoring device (preferably with a display) is incorporated into the assembly and electrically coupled to the latter. In addition, the assembly is designed to be mechanically and electrically couplable with the electronic device.

The prior art describes cellular telephones that record information received from the transmitter/receiver of the cellular telephone. However, the prior art does not describe a cellular telephone that allows a user to record his or her own verbal recording while he or she is talking on the cellular telephone, without recording the voice of the subject of the conversation with the user. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described below.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention has been described with particular reference to its construction and use, which results in the objects set forth below.

The present invention provides a combination of a cellular telephone and a sound storage device, and a method of using the combination to produce a verbal recording while a conversation is being conducted over the cellular telephone. The combination comprises a conventional cellular telephone having a microphone operatively connected to a transmitter/receiver operatively connected to a speaker. The invention further includes a sound storage device, preferably a non-volatile analog memory chip, operatively connected to the microphone and speaker. The circuit connecting the memory chip and the microphone is controlled by a recording switch. The recording switch is operatively controlled by a recording button to allow a user to record a verbal recording produced in the microphone during a conversation. The memory chip is operatively connected to the speaker through the play switch. The play switch is operatively controlled by a play button to allow the user to replay a spoken recording recorded in the microphone. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the combination further comprises a mute button so that the user can record the oral recording without the opposite party hearing the oral recording.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a combination cellular telephone and sound storage device, the advantages of which have not been addressed in the prior art.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device that enables a user to record a verbal recording without interrupting the conversation or interrupting the user's own behavior, and without recording the voice of the other party or disturbing the privacy of the other party.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device with a mute function that allows a user to record a spoken recording without having others hear the recorded spoken recording.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a small, lightweight cellular telephone that does not contain a large number of additional components.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

Brief description of the drawings

The following figures illustrate the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of the invention

The drawings described above show a combination cellular telephone and sound storage device 10 in accordance with the present invention. Although the combination 10 described includes a cellular telephone, other portable or digital telephones can also be adapted to the present invention without altering the spirit of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the combination 10 is preferably mounted in a molded plastic housing 11, similar in shape to a conventional digital or cellular telephone. It includes a 10-key keypad 12 for dialing and other control buttons needed to implement the conventional functions of a numeric or cellular telephone. As shown in fig. 2, the combination 10 includes a microphone 13 that is operatively connected to a transmitter/receiver 20, preferably by a mute switch 16. The mute switch 16 is preferably biased (biased) to a transmit position 18a in which the circuit connecting the microphone 13 to the transmitter/receiver 20 is closed. Depressing the mute button 14 moves the mute switch 16 from the firing position 18a to the mute position 18 b. In the mute position 18b, the mute switch 16 is preferably connected to a mute LED 19. The speaker 22 is also operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver 20 through a play switch 25. The play switch 25 is preferably biased to a rest (rest) position 25a in which the circuit connecting the speaker 22 to the transmitter/receiver 20 is closed and the speaker emits sound received from the transmitter/receiver 20. In this preferred embodiment, a power source (not shown) is connected to transmitter/receiver 20 through power LED21, thereby enabling a person to easily visually confirm that the device is operating. The transmitter/receiver 20 includes an antenna 20a for enhancing the transmission and reception of signals. Since all these components are well known, they will not be described in detail here.

A memory chip 28 is also operatively connected to the microphone 13 and the speaker 22. The memory chip 28 is preferably a non-volatile analog sound recording chip such as that manufactured by Information Storage Devices, Inc. of San Jose, Calif., of Calif. The memory chip 28 preferably provides at least one minute of audio storage, although greater storage capacity is already common with advances in technology. Although prior art memory devices use digital technology, the present invention preferably uses analog memory chips 28. The reason that the analog memory chip 28 is preferably used is that it uses a complete analog system, and does not require analog to digital and digital to analog converters, but does the digital memory chip 28. Thus, the memory chip 28 of the combination 10 described above also does not require a Central Processing Unit (CPU) chip. This saving in space is important for cellular telephones, as the market demands extremely small, lightweight cellular telephones. The circuit between the memory chip 28 and the microphone 13 is operatively controlled by a record switch 32. When the control button 30 moves the control switch 32 from the non-recording position to the recording position, the circuit between the microphone 13 and the memory chip 28 is completed, and then the sound detected by the microphone 13 (e.g., at least one verbal recording by the user 5) will be recorded in the memory chip 28.

The circuit between the memory chip 28 and the speaker 22 is operatively controlled by the play button 24. When the play button 24 is pressed, it causes the above-mentioned play switch 25 to move from the rest position 25a to the play position 25 b. When the play switch 25 is moved to the play position 25b, the circuit between the connection speaker 22 and the transmitter/receiver 20 is broken, and then the speaker 22 is operatively connected to the memory chip 28 instead. When the memory chip 28 is operatively connected to the speaker 22, the speaker 22 will play at least one of the orally recorded information recorded on the memory chip 28. In the preferred embodiment, the memory chip 28 is electrically connected to the play and record LED 34. Whenever current is passed through the memory chip 28, whether to record a spoken recording or play a spoken recording, the play and record LED 34 will illuminate to indicate that the memory chip 28 is in operation by providing a visual confirmation or warning. Similar to the prior art, the memory chip 28 is preferably not operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver 20. By not connecting the memory chip 28 to the transmitter/receiver 20, the combination 10 allows the user 5 to record at least one verbal recording of himself or herself without inadvertently recording the voice of other users 5. This functionality is an important element of the present invention, since privacy has become a major problem in today's society and unauthorized recording of a conversation is illegal. Other elements (such as fast forward, rewind, and information selection functions) may be introduced without altering the spirit of the present invention; however, the introduction of these functions is not currently required as it results in increased cost, volume and complexity.

In use, the combination 10 provides a way that at least one verbal recording can be recorded when the user 5 is talking to another person 6 using a cellular telephone. The user 5 first calls another person 6 using the combination 10 or receives a call from another person 6. The above combination 10 functions as a conventional cellular telephone in that: the user 5 simply speaks into the microphone 13 so that the content of the conversation is transmitted by the transmitter/receiver 20 to the other person 6. The response of the other person 6 received by the transmitter/receiver 20 can also be heard via the loudspeaker 22. However, as is often the case in conversations, the user 5 may wish to note something another person 6 said, such as a telephone number or direction to a particular location. However, it is often not possible to use a pen for recording during a telephone conversation. Many people can not stop to record when they are driving or are in hand while making calls.

As shown in fig. 1, the present invention allows a user 5 to simply press a record button 30 conveniently located on the side of assembly 10, thereby moving a record switch 32 from a non-recording position to a recording position and operatively connecting microphone 13 to memory chip 28. The user 5 then speaks into the microphone 13, for example to repeat a telephone number, so that at least one spoken recording received by the microphone 13 is recorded into the memory chip 28, while the at least one spoken recording is transmitted to the other person 6 via the transmitter/receiver 20. This may be done so that the user 5 does not interrupt the conversation with another person 6 when making the recording. This also allows the user 5 to leave a recording without the possibility of writing the recording due to other actions. This can provide important safety benefits to a person talking on a cellular telephone while driving or the like. A further benefit of the combination 10 is that it only records the voice of the user 5 and not the information of another person 6 talking to the user 5. This is important because, considering the aforementioned privacy concerns, the privacy of another person 6 is concerned and his voice cannot be recorded.

However, the user 5 may sometimes wish that a spoken recording recorded in a conversation is not heard by another person 6. The present invention provides a mute button 14 which functions to move a mute switch 16 from a firing position 18a to a mute position 18b, thereby preventing at least one verbal recording from being fired to another person 6. By simultaneously pressing the record button 30 and the mute button 14, the user 5 can record a verbal recording in the memory chip that is not transmitted to another person 6 via the transmitter/receiver 20. The user 5 may then at any time release the mute button 14 to return the mute switch 16 to the transmit position 18a, whereby the operative engagement of the microphone 13 with the transmitter/receiver 20 is re-established. Of course, user 5 may release recording button 30 to interrupt recording, which causes recording switch 32 to move from the recording position to the non-recording position and interrupt recording. When the user 5 wants to recall at least one spoken recording recorded in the memory chip 28 after ending a conversation with another person 6, the user 5 need only press the play button 24 when convenient to move the play switch 25 from the rest position 25a to the play position 25b and to emit the at least one spoken recording from the memory chip 28 to the speaker 22. Based on the spoken recording heard, the user 5 can write down the information and then dial the telephone number or take any appropriate action.

While the invention has been described with reference to at least one preferred embodiment, it is to be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details shown. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be construed solely by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

1. A combination of a cellular telephone and a sound storage device, the combination comprising:

a microphone operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver through the mute switch when the mute switch is in the transmit position, the mute switch being moved from the transmit position to the mute position when the mute button is pressed;

a speaker operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver through the play switch when the play switch is in the rest position, the play switch being moved from the rest position to the play position when the play button is pressed;

a memory chip operatively connected to the microphone, the memory chip being controlled by a record switch and having the function of recording sound received by the microphone when a record button moves the record switch from a non-record position to a record position;

when the play switch is in a play position, the memory chip is operatively connected to a speaker, whereby the play switch causes the memory chip to play recorded sound in the speaker; and is

Wherein the memory chip is not operably connected to the transmitter/receiver.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the mute switch is operatively connected to a mute LED when in a mute position.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said memory chip is an analog sound recording chip.

4. The combination of claim 3, wherein the memory chip does not include a central processing unit chip.

5. The combination of claim 1, wherein the memory chip is a non-volatile analog sound recording chip.

6. A method for recording at least one verbal recording of a user while the user is talking to another person on a cellular telephone, said method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a combination of a cellular telephone and a sound storage device, the combination comprising:

a microphone operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver;

a speaker operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver through the play switch when the play switch is in the rest position;

a memory chip operatively connected to the microphone with the record switch, the memory chip also operatively connected to the speaker through the play button;

b) calling another person using the cellular telephone;

c) speaking into the microphone to cause speech to be transmitted to others through the transmitter/receiver;

d) listening through the speaker for responses of the other person received by the transmitter/receiver;

e) pressing a record button, thereby moving the record switch from a non-record position to a record position and operatively connecting the microphone to the memory chip;

f) speaking into the microphone, whereby at least one verbal recording received by the microphone is recorded in the memory chip, while the at least one verbal recording is transmitted to the other person by the transmitter/receiver, so that the user's conversation with the other person can continue uninterrupted;

g) releasing a recording button to allow the recording switch to return to a non-recording position from a recording position and interrupt recording;

h) ending the conversation with the other person;

i) when a user wants to recall at least one verbal recording recorded in a memory chip, pressing the play button, thereby moving the play switch from a rest position to a play position and emitting the at least one verbal recording from the memory chip to a speaker;

j) and listening to the at least one verbal recording.

7. A method for recording at least one verbal recording of a user while the user is talking to another person on a cellular telephone, said method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a combination of a cellular telephone and an analog sound storage device, the combination comprising:

a microphone operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver through the mute switch when the mute switch is in the transmit position;

a speaker operatively connected to the transmitter/receiver through the play switch when the play switch is in the rest position;

a non-volatile analog memory chip operatively connected to said microphone with a record switch, said memory chip further operatively connectable to said speaker through a play button; and

a mute switch which moves from a transmitting position to a mute position when the mute switch is pressed;

b) calling another person using the cellular telephone;

c) speaking into the microphone to cause speech to be transmitted to others through the transmitter/receiver;

d) listening through the speaker for responses of the other person received by the transmitter/receiver;

e) depressing a mute button, thereby moving the mute switch from a transmit position to a mute position, thereby preventing at least one verbal recording from being transmitted to others while not recording the at least one verbal recording;

f) pressing a record button, thereby moving a record switch from a non-record position to a record position and operatively connecting said microphone to said memory chip;

g) speaking into the microphone, thereby recording in the memory chip another at least one spoken recording received by the microphone, the spoken recording not being transmitted to others by the transmitter/receiver, such that the spoken recording recorded by the user is not heard by others;

h) releasing the mute button, thereby returning the mute switch to a transmit position and reestablishing the operative connection between the microphone and the transmitter/receiver;

i) releasing the recording button to enable the recording switch to move from a recording position to a non-recording position and interrupt recording;

j) ending the conversation with the other person;

k) when a user wants to recall at least one verbal recording recorded in a memory chip, pressing the play button, thereby moving the play switch from a rest position to a play position and emitting the at least one verbal recording from the memory chip to a speaker; and

l) listening to the at least one verbal recording.