JP2001188561A - Voice recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a voice recording and reproducing device which facilitates confirmation of operation state, is easy to use and free of misoperations. SOLUTION: This device is equipped with a switch operation part 1 having operation switches, a switch operation detecting means 2 that detects which operation switch is operated, an operation mode decision means 3 which decides an operation mode corresponding to the detection value of the switch operation detecting means 2 among plural operation modes, a storage means 7 which stores previously encoded voice guidance data, a voice guidance selecting means 6 which selectively takes voice guidance data corresponding to the operation mode of the decision means 3 from among the storage means 7, a voice reproducing means 4 which converts the arbitrary voice guidance data fetched by the selecting means 6 into a voice signal, and a reproducing means 5 which reproduces the output of the voice reproducing means 4 as a voice guidance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a voice recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to a voice recording / reproducing apparatus having a voice guidance function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an audio signal obtained by a microphone or the like is converted into a digital signal, which is recorded in, for example, a semiconductor memory, and at the time of reproduction, the audio signal is read from the semiconductor memory and converted into an analog signal. A digital information recording / reproducing apparatus called a so-called digital recorder which outputs sound as a sound by a speaker or the like has been developed.

On the other hand, in recent years, a portable audio recording system in which an audio signal is converted into digital data, stored in a flash memory as a rewritable storage medium, and the audio data stored in the flash memory is converted into an analog signal and reproduced. A playback device (hereinafter, referred to as an IC recorder) has been put to practical use.

One of the features of these IC recorders is that by operating a predetermined operation switch, each operation mode such as recording, reproduction, fast forward, and fast reverse can be selectively operated. For example, during a recording operation, audio data converted into a digital signal in an audio data area and an index information area provided in a storage medium in advance,
And index information (address of audio data, recording date and time, etc.) relating to the audio data.

[0005] Further, the operation switch described above is usually a Tactile Push switch (Tactile Push switch).
Switch) in many cases. For this reason, for example, a hold function for disabling the function of the operation switch itself is provided so that the reproduction switch is not accidentally pressed during the recording operation and the recording operation is interrupted. For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-266645, when an operation switch is turned on against a user's will by inadvertent pressing when carrying, a hold switch provided separately from the operation switch is previously turned on (hold function on). ), The function of this operation switch is invalidated, and at the same time, the fact that the operation switch is invalidated is indicated by “HOL” on the LCD display.
A technical means for displaying a warning with a D "mark is disclosed.

[0006]

However, in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-266645, when the hold switch is accidentally turned on, the user is prompted to say "the hold switch is off. In many cases, the warning display is not noticed because the belief of “should” is strong, and the operation switch is often kept pressed in a confused state. In particular, the above confusion is more likely to occur in an environment of low illuminance where the LCD display is difficult to see. Even if the LCD is illuminated with a backlight, if other displays are mixedly lit (blinking) in the limited display area, the warning display will be inconspicuous and the notice effect as expected will be less. I can't get it.

Further, it is not enough to express the contents of a warning simply by turning on (flashing) the LED, and the notification effect is weaker than the warning of the LED display.

Further, when the operation switch is operated (must be operated) while the main body is kept in a pocket or a bag, the user does not look at the display itself. There is no.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an audio recording / reproducing apparatus which can easily confirm an operation state and is easy to use and free from erroneous operations.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a first audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a switch operating section provided with a plurality of operation switches; Switch operation detecting means for detecting the operated switch when the switch is operated,
An operation mode determination unit that determines an operation mode corresponding to a detection value of the switch operation detection unit from among a plurality of operation modes; a storage unit that stores voice guidance data encoded in advance; and the operation mode determination unit. Voice guidance selection means for selectively extracting voice guidance data according to the determined operation mode from the storage means, and voice reproduction means for converting any voice guidance data extracted by the voice guidance selection means into a voice signal. And a reproducing means for reproducing the output of the voice reproducing means as voice guidance.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention is provided.
The voice recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the storage means includes: a voice data storage area for storing voice data; and a voice guidance data storage area provided only when voice guidance data is stored. And an index storage area for storing index information on each of the storage areas.

In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the present invention is provided.
The voice recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect is characterized in that, in the first voice recording / reproducing apparatus, in a normal recording mode, an operation of writing voice data to a voice guidance data storage area is prohibited.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

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

As shown in FIG. 1, a voice recording / reproducing apparatus for an electronic device according to the present embodiment comprises a switch operating section 1 provided with a plurality of operation switches, and a plurality of operation switches 1
A switch operation detecting means 2 for detecting which one of the switches has been operated, an operation mode determining means 3 for determining an operation mode corresponding to a detection value of the switch operation detection means 2 from a plurality of operation modes, Storage means 7 for storing the converted voice guidance data, voice guidance selection means 6 for selectively extracting voice guidance data according to the operation mode of the determination from the storage means 7, and voice guidance selection means 6
And a reproducing section 5 for reproducing the output of the voice reproducing section 4 as a voice guide.

A voice data storage area for storing voice data, a voice guidance data storage area provided only when voice guidance data is stored, and an index storage area for storing index information relating to each of the storage areas. Is provided in the storage means 7.

In the normal recording mode, the writing operation to the voice guidance data storage area is prohibited.

Next, the configuration of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described in further detail.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment.

The audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a so-called IC recorder and includes a microphone 20 for converting audio into an electric signal. An audio output from the microphone 20 is supplied to a connected microphone amplifier (AMP) 21.
Is to be amplified. The analog audio signal amplified by the microphone amplifier 21 is input to an A / D converter (A / D) 23 after an unnecessary frequency band is cut by a low-pass filter (LPF) 22.

The audio signal converted into a digital signal in the A / D converter 23 is converted into a digital signal by a digital signal processing section (D
SP) 28. This digital signal processing unit 28
During recording, the A
The audio signal converted to a digital signal by the / D converter 23 is compression-converted (encoded) into data of a fixed format in frame units, and the encoded data is temporarily stored in a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 29. Is stored as audio data.

On the other hand, the digital signal processing unit 2 during reproduction
8 is controlled by the system control unit 29 to perform a process of expanding and converting (compounding) audio data from a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 29 in frame units. Converter (D / A) 2
4 is output.

The audio signal converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 24 is converted to a low-pass filter (LPF) 25
After cutting unnecessary frequency bands with the power amplifier (A
MP) 26. Then, the sound is output from the speaker 27 as sound.

The system control section 29 is constituted by a CPU. In addition to the digital signal processing section 28, a storage section (memory) 32, an operation section 31, a group mode setting switch 33 and a display section 30 are connected. .

The storage unit 32 includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory,
For example, it is composed of a flash memory or the like. At the time of recording, the audio data encoded by the digital signal processing unit 28 is stored via a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 29. At this time, index information relating to audio data is also stored.

The operation unit 31 includes a recording switch (REC),
Playback switch (PLAY), stop switch (STO)
P), fast forward switch (FF), fast reverse switch (RE
W), various switches such as a menu switch (MENU) and a hold switch (HOLD) are provided for each function.

The display section 30 displays an operation mode when a predetermined sequence is started by operating one of the switches on the operation section 31, or an operation state thereafter.
For example, when the recording switch (REC) is pressed, the elapsed time of recording, the remaining recordable time, the file number, and the like are displayed. Menu switch (MEN)
When U) is pressed, a display relating to selection of functions such as microphone sensitivity (high / low), recording mode (standard / long), and alarm (on / off) is performed. Further, when the system control unit 29 has a clock function, the current date and time are also displayed.

Next, the operation of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main operation of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the IC recorder is powered on, the system control unit 29 of FIG. 2 executes predetermined initialization (step S1) and timer start (step S2). This timer measures the time for the IC recorder (sound recording / reproducing apparatus) to enter the standby mode (low power consumption mode) from the normal operation mode after a predetermined time has elapsed.

When the operation mode of the IC recorder is entered, a recording switch (REC), a reproduction switch (PLAY), a fast-forward switch (FF), and a fast-return switch are performed by switch detection operations shown in steps (step S3) to (step S18). (REW), stop switch (STOP), menu switch (MENU), erase switch (ERAS)
In step E), it is detected whether or not there is a switch that has been turned on.

If the switch that has been turned on is the recording switch (step S3), a recording processing subroutine (step S11) is executed. Similarly, if the turned on switch is a reproduction switch (step S4), a subroutine for reproduction processing (step S12), and if the turned on switch is a fast forward switch (step S5), a subroutine for fast forward processing (step S13). If the turned on switch is a rewind switch (step S6), a subroutine for fast rewind processing (step S14);
If the turned on switch is a stop switch (step S7), a subroutine for stop processing (step S1)
5) If the switch turned on is a menu switch (step S8), a subroutine of menu change processing (step S16); if the switch turned on is a delete switch (step S18), delete processing (step S19). Execute. And after executing the subroutine,
The timer is restarted (step S17) and the process returns to the main loop.

The above-described recording, reproduction, fast-forwarding, fast-returning, stopping, menu changing, and erasing processes are performed using well-known technical means. Since it does not directly relate to the contents of the form, a detailed description is omitted. However, the processing related to the hold switch will be described later in detail.

On the other hand, when all the switches are off, when the time counted by the timer exceeds a predetermined time (step S9), the process enters a standby mode subroutine (step S10). When this standby mode is entered, a low current consumption operation is performed. Specifically, the microphone amplifier (AMP) 21, the low-pass filter (LPF) 22, and the microphone amplifier (AMP) 21 shown in FIG.
/ D converter (A / D) 23, digital signal processing (DS)
P) 28, D / A converter 24, low-pass filter (LP)
F) The power supply of the power amplifier (AMP) 26, the display unit 30 and the storage unit 32 is cut off, or a non-selection signal is sent from the system control unit 12 to a chip enable terminal provided in an IC (not shown) constituting each block. , A low current consumption state is set.

At this time, the system control unit 29 itself switches the operation clock to the low-speed clock that consumes the least current and enters the low current consumption state. In some cases, the operation clock is set to the main clock (for example, 9.28 MH).
z) to the subclock (eg, 32.768 kHz)
z), the main clock may be completely stopped until the communication is restarted or a switch input is detected.

Next, the processing operation related to the hold switch will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 2, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a recording operation in the voice recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing data stored in the storage means for storing voice guidance data in the voice recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an area configuration.

In FIG. 4, the system control unit 29 first determines an operation mode (step S101) before starting recording. Here, when the result of the determination that voice guidance is required is reached, the recording guidance flag is set to "1" (step S102), so that voice guidance reproduction (step S109) is executed, and the recording process ends. A series of processes at the time of voice guidance will be described later in detail.

When recording starts, the microphone sensitivity (high / high)
Various information such as low, recording mode (standard / long), file number, and audio data storage area start address for storing the audio data are stored in the index information area (step S103). Next, the audio signal is encoded by the digital signal processing unit 28 (step S1).
04), but the encoding itself is performed in units of frames, and the audio data has a predetermined number of frames (step S105).
It is performed continuously until.

When the audio data stored in a buffer memory (not shown) of the system control unit 29 reaches a predetermined number of frames (step S105), the audio data is sequentially written from the audio data storage area start address of the storage unit 32. Is stored (S106).

As shown in FIG. 5, the audio data area A and the audio data area B are stored, for example, in order from the head address of the audio data area. Further, start addresses corresponding to the audio data area A and the audio data area B are stored in the index information area as a start address of the audio data area A and a start address of the audio data area B. Needless to say, the head address of each audio data area may be stored in the index information area every time the audio data area C, the audio data area D,.

On the other hand, the start address of the voice guidance data area is stored, for example, sequentially from the last address of the voice data area. The start addresses corresponding to the voice guidance data area P, the voice guidance data area Q, and the voice guidance data area R are the head address of the voice guidance data area P, the head address of the voice guidance data area Q, and the voice guidance data area. It is stored in the index information area as the start address of R. These voice guidance data may be stored in the index information area each time the voice guidance data area is secured, similarly to the above voice data.

The above steps (step S104), (S
105) and (S106) are stop switches (STO)
This is repeated until P) turns on (step S107). When the stop switch (STOP) is turned on, a recording end process is executed (step S108), and the recording ends.

Next, the operation mode determination included in the above-described series of processes during voice guidance will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the subroutine recording process in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment. Before detecting ON / OFF of the hold switch (HOLD) (step S202), the system control unit 29 first clears all voice guidance execution enable / disable flags associated with each operation mode (step S201). Thereafter, the on / off detection of the hold switch (HOLD) is executed (step S202), and if the hold switch (HOLD) is off, the operation mode ends without doing anything.

If the hold switch (HOLD) is on, the voice guidance flag is set (step S).
203). Then, Step S204 to Step S21
0, the recording switch (RE
C), playback switch (PLAY), fast forward switch (F
F), rewind switch (REW), stop switch (ST
OP), a menu switch (MENU), and an erase switch (ERASE) in this order, which operation switch is turned on is detected.

If the switch turned on is the recording switch (step S204), a recording guidance flag is set (step S211). Similarly, if the turned on switch is the reproduction switch (step S205), the reproduction guide flag is set (step S212), and if the turned on switch is the fast forward switch (step S206), the fast forward guidance flag is set (step S213). , The turned on switch is a rewind switch (step S20).
If it is 7), the fast-return guidance flag is set (step S214). If the switch turned on is the stop switch (step S208), the stop guidance flag is set (step S215), and the switch turned on is the menu switch (step S209). ), The menu guidance flag is set (step S216). If the switch turned on is the erase switch (step S210), the erase guidance flag is set (step S217), and the operation mode ends.

Further, the voice guidance reproduction included in the above series of processes for voice guidance will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the subroutine voice guidance reproduction in the voice recording / reproduction device of the present embodiment.

The system control unit 29 first determines the voice guidance data to be reproduced by detecting the states of the above-mentioned seven flags from the recording guidance flag to the erasure guidance flag. Here, the recording guidance flag is "1" (step S30).
If it is 1), the recorded voice guidance data is selected (step S308). Similarly, the reproduction guidance flag is "1".
If it is (step S302), the reproduction voice guidance data is selected (step S309). If the fast forward guidance flag is "1" (step S303), the fast forward voice guidance data is selected (step S310), and the fast reverse guidance flag is selected. Is "1" (step S304), fast-return voice guidance data is selected (step S311). If the stop guidance flag is "1" (step S305), stop voice guidance data is selected (step S312). If the menu guidance flag is "1" (step S306), menu voice guidance data is selected (step S313).
If the erasure guidance flag is "1" (step S307), erasure voice guidance data is selected (step S314). Then, by reproducing the selected voice guidance data in the reproduction process (step S315), voice guidance corresponding to the operation switch operated when the hold switch (HOLD) is turned on is performed.

Next, the actual voice guidance in the voice recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining a voice guidance operation in the voice recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment.
The situation before and after the voice guidance operation is shown.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the operator holds the voice recording / reproducing apparatus (IC recorder) 72 of the present embodiment. At this time, although not shown, a hold switch (not shown) is provided on the back side of the IC recorder 72. HOLD) is turned on. At this time, nothing is displayed on the display unit 71. In this state, when the operator turns on the recording switch 70, a display at the beginning of recording as shown in FIG. However, since the hold switch (HOLD) is kept ON, the speaker 73 only sounds a voice guidance as shown in a balloon in FIG. 9 and does not start recording. The display at the beginning of the recording start may be displayed only while the voice guidance is being sounded.
Alternatively, only voice guidance may be prioritized without any display.

8 and 9, the operation switches other than the recording switch are not particularly shown, but these switches are disposed on the front or side of the IC recorder 72 for easy operation. When the hold switch (HOLD) is turned on during each operation mode,
Reception of all operation switches is prohibited and the current operation mode is maintained. For example, during playback, the user may be notified by voice guidance that the operation mode of the stop switch is invalid. However, in the recording mode, the pronunciation of the voice guidance may be recorded as it is, so the voice guidance itself may be prohibited.

As described above, according to the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment, the hold switch (HOL)
If the operation switch is operated while D) is on,
Since it is notified by voice guidance that the operation mode of the operated operation switch is invalid, it is not necessary for the operator to confirm the operation state while looking at the display. Therefore, the operability is significantly improved.

Further, since the voice guidance data for each operation mode is also stored in the nonvolatile voice data memory, not only the cost does not increase but also the voice guidance data can be flexibly changed.

Further, in the normal recording mode, the operation of writing voice data into the voice guidance data storage area is prohibited, so that it is possible to prevent the voice guidance data from being erased by mistake.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an audio recording / reproducing apparatus which can easily confirm the operation state and is easy to use and free from erroneous operations.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the audio recording / reproducing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main operation of the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a recording operation in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a data area configuration of a storage means for storing voice guidance data in the voice recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of a subroutine recording process in the audio recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a subroutine voice guidance reproduction in the voice recording / reproduction device of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a state in which the operator grips the audio recording and reproducing device in the audio recording and reproducing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a state when a voice guidance operation is performed in the voice recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Switch operation part 2 ... Switch operation detection means 3 ... Operation mode determination means 4 ... Voice reproduction means 5 ... Reproduction part 6 ... Voice guidance selection means 7 ... Storage means

Claims (3)

[Claims] A switch operation section provided with a plurality of operation switches; a switch operation detecting means for detecting the operated operation switch when any one of the plurality of operation switches is operated; Operating mode determining means for determining an operating mode corresponding to the detection value of the switch operation detecting means from among the operating modes of the above, storing means for storing pre-encoded voice guidance data, and determining by the operating mode determining means Voice guidance selecting means for selectively retrieving voice guidance data corresponding to the operation mode from the storage means, voice reproducing means for converting any voice guidance data extracted by the voice guidance selection means into a voice signal, And a reproducing means for reproducing the output of the voice reproducing means as voice guidance. 2. The storage means includes: a voice data storage area for storing voice data; a voice guidance data storage area provided only when voice guidance data is stored; and index information on each of the storage areas. The audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The voice recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a normal recording mode, a voice data writing operation to a voice guidance data storage area is prohibited.