WO1996015523A1

WO1996015523A1 - Method for playback in hand held recorder

Info

Publication number: WO1996015523A1
Application number: PCT/US1995/014891
Authority: WO
Inventors: Norbert P. Daberko; Richard K. Davis; Richard D. Bridgewater
Original assignee: Norris Communications Corporation
Priority date: 1994-11-15
Filing date: 1995-11-15
Publication date: 1996-05-23
Also published as: AU4237796A

Abstract

A solid state digital hand held recording device (10) having a multifunctional switch assembly (31). A printed circuit board, including a microcontroller electrically coupled to switch terminals, operates to control the processing of sound into electrical signals and store signals on a digital recording medium. The switch assembly actuates electrical signals, coupled to the microcontroller, thereby activating a sequence of actions (a program) stored within read-only memory device. A plurality of programs can be activated to begin instantaneous playback of any message, begin instantaneous playback of all messages, play a message at half normal speed, twice normal speed, ten times normal speed forward, and ten times normal speed backward.

Description

METHOD FOR PLAYBACK IN HAND HELD RECORDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to recording voice

' 5 message devices, and in particular to hand held devices that are used for dictation, where a switch assembly on a solid state digital hand held recorder activates a playback mode whereby playing of previously recorded voice messages is accomplished.

10 2. Prior Art

The method for dictating and then listening to voice messages is largely determined by the devices available for dictation. The prior art is replete with recording devices that save information by

15 selectively magnetizing a layer of magnetic-oxide material that is bonded to a thin flexible tape, commonly referred to as cassette tape. The user listens to the recorded messages by rewinding the tape to the beginning of a message and playing it. 0 Tape is a medium with deficiencies that until the present invention have been unavoidable, but we have become so accustomed to them that we often forget the drawbacks. We probably owe this willingness to overlook deficiencies to the fact that dictation 5 devices have become indispensable to business.

Nevertheless, these unavoidable deficiencies have turned the process of reviewing dictation into a typical sequence of the following steps:

1) The user records a message on a tape, or 0 inserts a tape with a previously recorded message into a record\play device;

2) The user rewinds the tape to the beginning of the message previously recorded by repeatedly rewinding for a moment and then listening to the 5 current tape position to ascertain whether the beginning of the message has been reached. If the user is not the person who recorded the message and the message is long, the user may have to repeat the process many times. The recording medium of cassette tape forces the speaker to use the above process because the tape is analog and linear. In the prior art, a user cannot simply pick up a recording device and press a single switch and expect to hear a message that starts from the beginning. The user is forced to begin a search of the tape to find the beginning of a message, or wait while rewinding the tape to the beginning if the message is recorded at the beginning of the cassette. If the device cannot play and rewind at the same time allowing the user to hear sound, the user might miss the beginning if there is more than one message on the tape.

It would be an improvement over the prior art to be able to immediately begin listening to a recorded message without knowing where on a recording medium the message begins.

Another deficiency of analog tape is that prior art methods of playing recorded sound faster or slower than normal simply involve moving the tape faster or slower. The result is a message that is often unintelligible, not because the speed is too fast or too slow to comprehend, but rather the pitch of the recorded voice is altered substantially higher or lower than normal. Therefore fast or slow playback is often only useful for finding segments of blank and recorded tape.

Therefore, it would also be an improvement over the prior art if while playing a previously recorded message, the speed of the message could be increased or decreased without changing the pitch of the recorded voice to thereby make the faster or slower message more understandable than prior art devices allow. OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for immediately playing a previously recorded voice message from its beginning without having to search for where a message begins.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus to begin playing all messages on the recording medium in sequence, beginning with the first message, regardless of where on the medium the recorder had been previously playing or recording. It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for playing a previously recorded voice message at a faster than normal speed without changing the pitch of the voice, thereby producing a more intelligible sound.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for playing a previously recorded voice message at a slower than normal speed without changing the pitch of the voice, thereby producing a more intelligible sound.

These and other objects not specifically recited are realized in a solid state digital hand held recording device having a single function and multifunctional switch assemblies. A printed circuit board including a microcontroller electrically coupled to said switch assemblies operates to control the processing of sound into electrical signals and store said signals on a digital recording medium. A single, manually operable rocker-pad functioning as the multifunctional switch assembly is centrally mounted upon a pivot support of the hand held recording device. The rocker-pad actuates electrical signals coupled to said microcontroller thereby activating a sequence of actions (a program) stored within the microcontroller in a read-only memory (ROM) device. A plurality of programs can be activated by the manually operable rocker-pad to process digitally recorded sound as the user desires. Also disclosed is a method for playing any previously recorded digital message. The process of playing back a message without knowing where the message begins in flash memory on the recording medium includes the steps of (i) placing the recording device in the idle mode, and (ii) pressing the play switch to activate a microcontroller program that instructs the microcontroller to find an address pointer in memory that always defines the point in said memory that the recording device is to begin playing. If the user pauses a message that is playing, the address pointer does not move so that play can be resumed from the point of interruption. If the user records a new message, the address pointer points to the beginning of the new message. If the recording device is in idle mode and the user presses the reverse or fast- forward switch, the address pointer points to the beginning of the previous or subsequent message relative to the message that the address pointer was pointing to before a switch was activated.

Also disclosed is a method for instantaneously playing all messages recorded beginning with the first message recorded on the recording medium. This process includes the steps of (i) placing the recording device in the idle mode, and (ii) pressing and holding the play switch to begin playback.

A further disclosure is the method for playing a previously recorded message forward at half-speed, which includes the steps of (i) playing any previously recorded message, and (ii) while the message is playing, pressing the play switch again to toggle between normal speed and half-speed playback.

Also disclosed is the method for playing a previously recorded message forward at twice normal speed, which includes the steps of (i) playing any previously recorded message, and (ii) while the message is playing, pressing and holding the play switch to enable twice-speed playback.

A further disclosure is the method for playing in a forward direction a previously recorded message at up to ten times normal speed, which includes the steps of (i) playing any previously recorded message, and (ii) while the message is playing, pressing and holding the fast-forward switch to enable ten times normal speed forward playback. The last disclosure is the method for playing in a backward direction a previously recorded message at up to ten times normal speed, which includes the steps of (i) playing any previously recorded message, and (ii) while the message is playing, pressing and holding the reverse switch to enable ten times normal speed backward playback.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the description taken in combination with the accompanying drawings. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1A is a front view of a hand held digital recording device with a multifunctional switch assembly made in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

Figure IB is a perspective view of the multifunctional switch and the contact elements beneath from fig. 1A;

Figure 1C is a perspective view of the record switch and the contact element beneath from fig. 1A; Figure 2A is a flowchart of steps for playing any message without having to search for the beginning of the message on the recording medium;

Figure 2B is a diagram representing the memory structure of the scenario represented by the process of fig. 2A;

Figure 3A is a flowchart of steps for playing all messages on the recording medium, beginning with the first recorded message; Figure 3B is a diagram representing the memory structure of the scenario represented by the process of fig. 3A;

Figure 4 is a flowchart of steps for playing a message forward at twice normal speed; Figure 5 is a flowchart of steps for playing a message forward at ten times normal speed;

Figure 6 is a flowchart of steps for playing a message backward at ten times normal speed;

Figure 7 is a flowchart of steps for playing a message forward at half normal speed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1A illustrates the features of a hand held, solid state digital recording device 10. The hand held recorder includes a casement 12 containing a microphone element 14, a speaker element 15, a printed circuit board 13 (fragmented view, figure IB) , and a recording medium 18 (partially visible) . The printed circuit board 13 beneath the face of the casement 12 includes a microcontroller 20 with an internal read only memory (ROM) , said microcontroller being electrically coupled to the recording medium 18 and to switch terminals 33 (multifunctional) and 36 (record) disposed on said circuit board 13 and appearing through openings in the casement 12. These components in generic form are well known within the industry.

The switch terminals 33 and 36 differ from each other in structure. Switch element 33 is a rocker-pad pivotally mounted upon a pivot support (not shown) and is disclosed in detail in the parent applications. The pivot support allows the rocker-pad 33 to tilt about said pivot support, being responsive to manual manipulation of said rocker-pad 33. The rocker-pad 33 includes a periphery portion 30 with at least four lateral extremities 31a, 31b, 31c, 3Id having electrical contacts 32a, 32b, 32c, 32d (figure IB) beneath the rocker-pad 33 and parallel to the circuit board 13. Electrical switch terminals 22a, 22b, 22c,

22d (figure IB) disposed under the rocker-pad 30 are aligned with said electrical contacts 32. When the rocker-pad 33 is manipulated, an electrical contact corresponding to the rocker-pad extremity 31 makes contact with a corresponding switch terminal 22. The functions executable by manipulating the rocker-pad 33 are many, despite there being only four specific labels 31a, 31b, 31c, 3Id corresponding to the rocker- pad 33 extremities. The four labels are play 31a, fast-forward 3Id, pause 31b, and reverse 31c.

An electrical signal is produced by making an electrical contact between one of the electrical contacts 32 and the corresponding switch terminal 22 disposed beneath. The signal goes to the microcontroller which determines which switch of the rocker-pad 33 was pressed, whether the record switch 36 was pressed, or a combination of the two. The microcontroller accesses the appropriate segment of internal ROM memory containing the instructions for executing the appropriate function. The switches 33 and 36 may also be operated in conjunction to produce an electrical signal defining a process that can not be activated by pressing a single switch.

Switch element 36 is a manually operable record switch. Switch terminal 24 (figure 1C) is disposed under the record switch 36 and aligned to make contact between an electrical contact 25 disposed beneath the record switch and the switch terminal 24 when the record switch 36 is pressed. The electrical signal produced by depressing the record switch 36 also sends a signal to the microcontroller 20 which accesses the appropriate segment of ROM memory containing the instructions for executing whatever function is defined by pressing the record switch 36 alone or in conjunction with the multifunction switch 33.

Figure 2A is a flowchart of the steps for playing a previously recorded message, without having to search for the beginning of the message as is required in the prior art. In effect, a user with a recorder in idle mode immediately begins playing a message at the touch of a switch, regardless of where in a message the user might have stopped while recording or playing. One of the points of novelty is that virtually no time is required to prepare a recording medium to begin playing a message as in the prior art. The recording medium of the present invention is digital flash memory. Flash memory enables instantaneous access to any segment of the memory, delayed only by the time it takes for a user to press a switch, and for a digital microcontroller to execute a program. Thus, the user perceives the recorder's response to the user's action to be immediate.

As shown by step 1, designated 110, a preliminary step is to put the recorder in idle mode. This means that the recorder is not playing or recording.

Step 2 designated 120 shows that the user presses the multifunctional rocker-pad switch labeled with the play symbol 31a. The user hears a message, and a green LED 60 is lit. One of the points of novelty in this scenario is that the user did not have to wait while the recording medium moved to the beginning of the message played. The digital nature of the flash memory enabled a message to begin playing the moment the play switch was pressed. Figure 2B is a diagram of the flash digital memory structure used in the present invention. The box 130 represents the entire memory space available for use. Because the memory is digital, any segment of memory is accessible in the same amount of time.

The arrow 131 shows that play began with message B.

Figure 3A is a flowchart of the steps for playing all the messages on the recording medium, beginning with the first recorded message. In effect, a user places the recorder in idle mode, and then enters a playback mode that begins with the first message recorded on the recording medium.

As shown by step 1, designated 210, a preliminary step is to put the recorder in idle mode. This means that the recorder is not playing or recording.

Step 2 designated 220 shows that the user presses and holds the rocker-pad switch labeled with the play symbol 31a. The green LED 60 lights during playback. Again, the user did not have to wait on the recording medium, but instead of just beginning playback at the current message, flash memory was accessed at the memory segment where the first recorded message is stored.

Figure 3B is a diagram of the flash digital memory structure used in the present invention, represented by box 230. Arrow 231 represents the recorder enabling the play of all messages starting with the first recorded message by moving from a current position at the beginning of message D. Figure 4 is a flowchart of the steps for playing back any message at two times the normal speed, normal speed being defined as the speed at which the recording was made. In essence, a user plays any previously recorded message and while playing enters the twice normal speed playback mode.

Step 1 designated by 310 shows that the preliminary step is to begin the playback of any message, chosen here to be message A. The green LED 60 will be lit.

Step 2 designated 320 shows that the user again presses the rocker-pad 33 switch labeled with the play symbol 31a. The green LED 60 is still lit during twice normal speed playback mode. When a recorded voice is played at a faster than normal speed, the usual result is a rise in the pitch of the voice. One of the points of novelty of the present invention is the elimination of this characteristic change in pitch. This effect is enabled by the digital nature of the recording. By changing the sampling rate of the recorded message, the length of play is reduced. Figure 5 is a flowchart of the steps for playing back any message in a forward direction at ten times the normal speed, normal speed being defined as the speed at which the recording was made. In essence, a user plays any previously recorded message and then enters the ten times normal speed forward playback mode.

Step 1 designated by 410 shows that the preliminary step is to begin the playback of any message, chosen here to be message A. The green LED 60 will be lit. Step 2 designated as 420 shows that the user presses and holds the rocker-pad 33 switch labeled with the fast-forward symbol 3Id, as long as the user desires to play the message forward at ten times the normal speed. The green LED 60 will be lit during playback. When a recorded voice is played at a faster than normal speed, the usual result is a rise in the pitch of the voice. As explained, changing the sampling rate of digital data eliminates this problem. Figure 6 is a flowchart of the steps for playing back any message backward at ten times the normal speed, normal speed being defined as the speed at which the recording was made. In essence, a user plays any previously recorded message and then enters the ten times normal speed reverse playback mode.

Step 1 designated by 510 shows that the preliminary step is to begin the playback of any message, chosen here to be message A. The green LED

60 will be lit.

Step 2 designated as 520 shows that the user presses and holds the rocker-pad 33 switch labeled with the reverse symbol 31c, as long as the user desires to play the message in reverse at ten times the normal speed. The green LED 60 will be lit during playback.

Figure 6 is a flowchart of the steps for playing back any message forward at half normal speed, normal speed being defined as the speed at which the recording was made. In essence, a user plays any previously recorded message and then enters the half normal speed forward playback mode.

Step 1 designated by 610 shows that the preliminary step is to begin the playback of any message, chosen here to be message A. The green LED 60 will be lit.

Step 2 designated as 620 shows that the user presses the rocker-pad 33 switch labeled with the play symbol 31a. The green LED 60 will be lit during playback. To return to normal speed, the user needs only to again press the play switch. In effect, if a message is playing, the play switch acts as a toggle between half normal and normal playback speed. When a recorded voice is played at a slower than normal speed, the usual result is a fall in the pitch of the voice being heard.

It is to be understood that the described embodiments of the invention are illustrative only, and that modifications thereof may occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, this invention is not to be regarded as limited to the embodiments disclosed, but is to be limited only as defined by the appended claims herein.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A device for enabling playback of a pre-recorded message without having to search for the beginning of said message, yet enabling the instantaneous playback of said message, said device comprising: a solid state digital hand held recording device having a multifunctional switch assembly, a digital recording medium including a region forming a continuity of pre-recorded message, a printed circuit board including a microcontroller electrically coupled to the multifunctional switch assembly and operable to (i) control the processing of sound into electrical signals, (ii) store said electrical signals on the recording medium, and (iii) play sound from the stored electrical signals; and sequencing playback means coupled to the circuit board and activated by the multifunctional switch assembly and including means for playing the pre- recorded message stored on the recording medium by finding an address pointer stored in memory that identifies a point in memory where playback of said message should begin with no manual involvement of the user other than activating the the multifunctional switch assembly to play the pre-recorded message from said point.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the multifunctional switch assembly includes a single, manually operable rocker-pad mounted upon the hand held recording device, said rocker-pad including means for activating playback of the pre-recorded message.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the digital recording medium includes a flash memory unit that is electrically coupled to said device whereby voice messages may be recorded thereon.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the microcontroller includes a read-only memory for storage of microcontroller instructions for executing the function of message recording.

5. A method for playing an existing message stored on a recording medium in a hand held recording device without having to search for a beginning of said message, said method comprising the steps of: a) placing the recording device in the idle mode where all functions of said device are inactive; and b) activating a play switch causing the recording device to: i) search for an address pointer stored in memory that always defines the point on a recording medium where the recording device is to play; and ii) begin play of the existing message at said point.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, further providing a method for playing back all existing messages on the recording medium beginning with the first recorded message, wherein step b) comprises the step of activating and holding the play switch to begin playback.

7. A method as defined in claim 5, further providing a method for half normal speed playback, wherein step b) comprises the step of activating the play switch _t again while the message is playing to toggle between normal speed and half-speed playback mode.

8. A method as defined in claim 5, further providing a method for twice normal speed playback, wherein step b) further comprises the step of activating and holding the play switch to enable twice normal speed playback mode.

9. A method as defined in claim 5, further providing a method for ten time normal speed forward playback, wherein step b) further comprises the step of activating and holding the fast-forward switch to enable ten times normal speed forward playback mode.

10. A method as defined in claim 5, further providing a method for ten times normal speed reverse playback, wherein step b) further comprises the step of activating and holding the reverse switch to enable ten times normal speed backward playback mode.

11. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said device further comprises playback means coupled to the circuit board and activated by the multifunctional switch assembly and including means for playing all pre-recorded messages on the recording medium by finding an address pointer that points to the beginning of a first message on the recording medium and beginning play of said first message from said address pointer with no manual involvement of the user other than activating the multifunctional switch means to play all pre-recorded messages.

12. A device as defined in claim 11, wherein the microcontroller includes a read-only memory for storage of microcontroller instructions for executing the function of playing all previously recorded messages beginning with the first message on the recording medium.

13. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said device further comprises playback means coupled to the circuit board and activated by the multifunctional switch assembly and including means for playing a pre¬ recorded message stored on the recording medium at half normal speed without changing voice pitch by decreasing a sampling rate of said message with no manual involvement of the user other than activating the multifunctional switch means to play the pre¬ recorded message.

14. A device as defined in claim 13, wherein the microcontroller includes a read-only memory for storage of microcontroller instructions for executing the function of playing a previously recorded message at half normal speed.

15. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the device further comprises playback means coupled to the circuit board and activated by the multifunctional switch assembly and including means for playing a pre¬ recorded message stored on the recording medium at twice normal speed without changing voice pitch by increasing a sampling rate of said message with no manual involvement of the user other than activating the multifunctional switch means to play the pre¬ recorded message.

16. A device as defined in claim 15, wherein the microcontroller includes a read-only memory for storage of microcontroller instructions for executing the function of playing a previously recorded message at twice normal speed.

17. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said device further comprises playback means coupled to the circuit board and activated by the multifunctional switch assembly and including means for playing a pre¬ recorded message stored on the recording medium at ten times normal speed without changing voice pitch in a forward direction increasing a sampling rate of said message with no manual involvement of the user other than activating the multifunctional switch means to play the pre-recorded message

18. A device as defined in claim 17, wherein the microcontroller includes a read-only memory for storage of microcontroller instructions for executing the function of playing a previously recorded message at ten times normal speed in a forward direction.

19. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said device further comprises playback means coupled to the circuit board and activated by the multifunctional switch assembly and including means for playing a pre¬ recorded message stored on the recording medium at ten times normal speed without changing voice pitch in a reverse direction increasing a sampling rate of said message with no manual involvement of the user other than activating the multifunctional switch means to play the pre-recorded message.

20. A device as defined in claim 19, wherein the microcontroller includes a read-only memory for storage of microcontroller instructions for executing the function of playing a previously recorded message at ten times normal speed in a reverse direction.