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1. j 11 L 0 5 14 6 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 4 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 FOR ETERNAL BLOCK RECOGNITION FIG 4 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 5 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 CONTENTS ADR DATA BLOCK PCM DATA START AND END ADDRESS SP LP 6 Byte x 469 x 2 block 5628 byte 5628 byte 10 99 page PAGE HDR DATA BLOCK PRIORITY ALARM DATA 8 byte 99 PIECES 792 byte 792 byte 1 55 page FIG 5 US 2013 0238997 A1 Sep 12 2013 Sheet 6 of 15 Patent Application Publication 97913 H3M01 SS3uaav SS3uaav HN3 563 0 18925 WLS u3ddn 5654 00 LYVLS HLS 85 45 33 33 34 33 33 33 33 33 33 34 33 34 33 33 33 33 aa aa aa aa aa 33 da 34 33 33 34 33 33 33 34 33 aa aa 33 33 33 34 43 33 33 32 33 33 39 33 33 33 33 aa aa aa 33 33 33 33 da 33 33 33 34 33 33 33 33 33 33 a 33 aa 43 33 44 34 NN3 HN3 WIS dS 20 45 so 6 as 5 45 o mis 15 ds wa H3 w
2. This jog dial 60 is operated by a user in various cases including a case to carry out various operations in reproduc tion or a case to modify the initial setting of the aforemen tioned date and time That is this jog dial 60 is used with a high frequency For this the jog dial 60 is provided at the side surface ofthe external casing 2 as shown in FIG 2 so that the user can hold the external casing 2 with his her left hand and rotate and press the rotary operation member 61 which par tially protrudes from the cut off portion 2c with his her left hand thumb alone Sep 12 2013 0093 Referring to FIG 15A FIG 158 and FIG 16 configuration of this jog dial 60 will be detailed below FIG 15 is a front view of the jog dial 60 1 an external view from main surface 2a of the external casing 2 FIG 158 is anexternal view from the rear face As shown in FIG 15A and FIG 15 the jog dial 60 includes the aforementioned rotary operation member 61 a base member on which this rotary operation member 61 is attached a leaf spring shaped elec trode 64 and four terminals a b c and d which are mounted on the base member 63 0094 The base member 63 is made from an insulating material and has a main surface portion 63a attached inside the external casing 2 so that the entire jog dial 60 is fixedto the external casing 2 As shown in FIG 15B the base member 63 has a cut off portion 65 of an elliptic shape having a longer axis
3. ADDRESS UPPER ENM END ADDRESS LOWER SP SP or LP Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 12 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 CURRENT REPRODUCTION POSITION RECORDING REC KEY LONG PRESSING OF 1 SEC __ nos 14 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 13 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 B d PRESSING C x b ROTATION a A 65 63a Q FIG 15B Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 14 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 SHAFT OUTPUT ROTATION SIGNAL WAVEFORM BETWEEN TERMINATS a c B BETWEEN TERMINATS b c BETWEEN TERMINATS a c 8 BETWEEN TERMINATS b c Cw B DIRECTION CCW A DIRECTION OFF EACH PAIR 15 PULSES 360 FIG 16 JOG PRESSING RELEASE JOG CCW WHILE PRESSED PRESSED JOG CCW JOG PRESSING RELEASE FIG 17 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 15 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 JOG SHORT PRESSING FAST SEARCH n i FAST SEARCH SLOW SEARCH 1 JOG CW SLOW SLOW SEARCH 1 JOG LONG PRESSING SCAN REPRODUCTION FIG 18 JOG PRESSED JOG SHORT PRESSING FAST SEARCH n FAST SEARCH n JOG LONG PRESSING E SLOW SEARCH 1 SLOW SEARCH 1 JOG PRESSING OR SINGLE ROTATION REPEAT US 2013 0238997 A1 STORAGE AND REPORDUCTION APPARATUS CROSS REFERENCE TO
4. MENU button 52 PRIORITY button 53 STOP button 54 for stopping a recording or the like REC button 55 for starting a recording and ERASE button for erasing a sound data stored in the semiconductor memory 9 These operation buttons are arranged on the main surface 2a for the external casing 2 A HOLD switch 57 of slide type is provided at a lower half ofa left side surface 25 ofthe external casing 2 The operation bloc 50 also includes although not depicted a button for turning on the back light 42 ofthe liquid crystal display panel 41 a volume switch for adjusting loud ness of a reproduced sound an earphone jack and the like which are arranged on a side surface of the external casing 2 0050 Here the FILE button 51 is used to switch between a plurality of files set in the IC recorder 1 The term file corresponds to a directory or folder used in a personal com puter In this embodiment five types of files are set before hand That is in this IC recorder 1 each of the files can store up to 99 sound data pieces The file types can be identified by displaying different icons on the liquid crystal display panel 41 0051 The MENU button 52 is used to operate during a stop state of recording reproduction so as to modify the initial setting of the IC recorder 1 such as modification of a data and time modification of a frequency band of a sound data to be recorded modification of output of a beep sound and alarm sound given upon pressing
5. a housing and an operation block configured to supply a signal to the control block depending on user manual inputs The operation block includes a circuit at a surface of the housing configured to detect a first user manual gesture in a first direction approximately parallel to the housing surface a second user manual gesture in a direction opposite to the first direction and also approximately parallel to the housing sur face and a third user manual gesture in a direction that is perpendicular to the housing surface The first and second gestures are used to select a particular one of the one or more pieces of sound data and reproduction of a particular piece of sound data occurs in response to the third gesture US 2013 0238997 A1 Sep 12 2013 Sheet 1 of 15 Patent Application Publication a HSV14 AHOW3N 333318 9 33905349 u3qooN3 bl 35018 1041405 09 934113 El c K LI be 02 01 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 2 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 PRIORITY US 2013 0238997 A1 Sep 12 2013 Sheet 3 of 15 Patent Application Publication 35018 St 39Vd 32018 v1 39Vd 32018 32018 39915 320718 0 39V1S X3QNI 32018 1 1 4 eZ 0151 5 0 0 o o o Z
6. a signal from the amplifier 23 Thus a sound recorded in the memory 9 is outputted from the loud speaker 24 0042 Thecontrol block 30 includes ROM 31 containing a program for controlling the IC recorder a microcomputer US 2013 0238997 A1 hereinafter referred to as a CPU 32 for executing the pro gram stored in the ROM 31 to control respective blocks a random access memory hereinafter referred to as a RAM 34 for temporarily storing the time of a timer 33 for creating a clock information a program execution result and the like and a counter 35 for counting pulses supplied from a jog dial which will be detailed later control block 30 according to an operation setting of the operation block 50 carries out operation control of respective components of the apparatus 1 0043 The display block 40 displays an operation state of the IC recorder 1 and a sound data storage state according to a control signal from the control block 30 and includes a liquid crystal display panel 41 and a back light 42 for illumi nating this liquid crystal display panel 41 0044 The operation block 50 supplies various input sig nals to the control block 30 when carrying out a sound record ing reproduction The operation block 50 has various opera tion buttons operation switches and a jog dial to be operated by a user as will be detailed later In the IC recorder 1 various output signals from these operation buttons switches ad the jeg
7. carried out when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow or B from a sound data reproduction state As shown in FIG 19 in the IC recorder 1 when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise i e in the direction of arrow A from a reproduction state with a slow rotation speed the control block 30 controls to execute a forward direction search piece by piece More specifically the control block 30 controls to increase the index number on the liquid crystal panel 41 one by one and start reproduction at the head of a sound data of the displayed index number On the other hand if the rotary operation member 61 is rotated with a fast rotation speed the control block controls to execute a forward direction search while skipping a number of pieces More specifically the control bloc 30 controls to increment the index number on the liquid crystal panel 41 by more than one at once and start a reproduction at the head of a sound data corresponding to the displayed index number 0119 Similarly when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise 1 e in the direction of B from a reproduc tion state if the rotation speed fthe rotary operation member 61 is slow the control block 30 controls to execute a backward direction search piece by piece More specifically the control block 30 controls to decrement the index number on the liquid crystal display panel 41 one by one and start reproduction at
8. day hour minute day of the week when the alarm is to be actuated Here as has been described above the priority indicates a reproduction priority of a sound data when the sound data is reproduced The HDR data block is updated when the priority or alarm setting is modified by operation of the PRIORITY button 53 and the MENU button 52 even if no sound data is updated 0065 On the other hand the index stage block containing a stage data as shown in FIG 8 has a valid mark on page 0 a mode interruption mode on page 1 a blank map on page an eternal block blank map on page 3 0066 The back up block is a back up for the aforemen tioned eternal block and is a copy of the eternal block Con sequently when the eternal block is rewritten the back up block is also rewritten There may be more than one back up blocks 0067 The work area block is an area for temporarily recording an index data during a sound data recording As shown in FIG 9 the work area block has an almost identical data configuration as the index stage block The work area block contains an index number SP LP information indicat ing the recording mode a sound data upper start address a sound data lower start address a sound data upper end address a sound data lower end address each of which con sists of 1 byte In this work area block while reading data from the work area block the index stage block is rewritten and the data such as the start address is
9. dial are supplied to the control block 30 0045 The CPU 32 of the control block 30 according to a signal supplied from the operation block 50 reads out from the ROM and executes a corresponding program and controls the respective blocks according to the program which has been read out For example if a recording start button which will be detailed later is pressed the CPU 32 reads out from the ROM and executes a program corresponding to a recording operation and controls to operate the amplifier 12 the AGC 13 the encoder 14 the display block 40 and the like accord ing to the program which has been read out so that a sound data temporarily accumulated in the buffer memory 15 is written in an empty area of the semiconductor memory for example For reproduction of a sound data the CPU 32 reads out from the ROM and executes a program corresponding to a reproduction operation and according to the program which has been read out control to operate the decoder 21 the filter 22 the amplifier 23 the display block 40 and the like so that a sound data stored in a predetermined area of the semicon ductor memory 9 is read out and converted into an analog sound signal so as to be outputted from the loud speaker 24 0046 Thus the control block 30 controls a sound data writing and reading out into from the semiconductor memory 9 and write up to 99 sound data pieces for example into the semiconductor memory 9 by adding an index number to id
10. in 0109 As shown in FIG 18 if along pressing of the rotary operation member 61 is carried out in the state to be repro duced immediately or in the stop state the control block executes a scan reproduction That is if the rotary operation member 61 is continuously pressed in the direction of arrow X for a predetermined period of time in the state to be repro duced immediately the control block 30 according to an output signal from the terminal d detects the period of time during which the rotary operation member 61 is pressed and controls to start a scan reproduction Here the scan reproduc tion is a reproduction method as follows When a plurality of sound data pieces are stored in a file of the memory 9 starting portions of the respective sound data pieces stored in the file are reproduced intermittently and successively for a predeter mined period of time 5 seconds for example for each of the Sep 12 2013 data pieces Note that in FIG 18 the rotary operation member 61 is indicated simply as JOG 0110 Here the control block 30 determines whether to execute a scan reproduction by detecting for example whether an output signal from terminal d of the jog dial 60 based on the pressing of the rotary operation member 61 in the direction of arrow X is detected for 3 seconds or more con tinuously That is if the output signal from the terminal d is detected for seconds or more from a start of pressing of the rotary operat
11. manner that when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise the signal p is slightly delayed from the signal p and when the rotary opera tion member 61 is rotated counterclockwise the signal 0 15 slightly delayed from signal Consequently the control block 30 can identify the rotation direction of the rotary operation member 61 by detecting which ofthe signals and p has a delayed phase 0098 While the jog dial 60 is rotated by 360 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise a pulse is generated 15 times by the signal a and signal f respectively That is when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated by Vis turn 24 degrees a pulse is generated by once by the signal and signal respectively Consequently the control block 30 can detect the rotation angle ofthe rotary operation member 61 by counting the number of pulses by using the counter 35 Fur thermore by counting the number of pulses for a predeter mined period of time by using the counter 35 the control block 30 can detect a rotation speed of the rotary operation member 61 0099 Inthe IC recorder 1 having the aforementioned con figuration for example if the FILE button 51 is pressed prior to carrying out a recording the control block 30 controls to read out a data from the ROM 31 and icons corresponding to various files appear on the liquid crystal panel 41 One of the icons on the display panel 41 can be selected by rotating the rotary operation membe
12. of the operation buttons modifi cation of sensitivity of the microphone and the like 0052 ThePRIORITY button 53 is pressed during a repro duction operation or a stop state of the apparatus 1 so as to determine the reproduction priority for a sound stored in the memory 9 When this PRIORITY button 53 is pressed an index number of a target sound data such as a data which is being reproduced is modified to a smaller number In that file a sound data having an index number modified by the PRI ORITY button 53 is reproduced with a higher priority 0053 The HOLD switch 57 is used to maintain an opera tion state ora stop state ofthe IC recorder 1 When this HOLD switch is in ON state the IC recorder 1 is in a state not to accept operation ofthe operation buttons 51 to 56 and the jog dial 60 The configuration of the jog dial 60 and a reproduc tion operation using the jog dial 60 will be detailed later 0054 as shown in FIG 3 when a sound data and other data are stored in the semiconductor memory 9 the data is divided into 512 blocks which are erase units These blocks are grouped into six types as follows an eternal block 1 block index stage 0 blocks 6 blocks index stage 1 blocks 6 blocks a back up block 1 block work area blocks 15 blocks and PCM data blocks 469 blocks 0055 The aforementioned TOC information consists of the eternal block index stage 0 block index stage 1 block back up block and work ar
13. portion 2c Accordingly the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 can be operated by a user so as to rotate in the directions of arrow A and arrow B indicated in FIG 2 as well as to move by pressing along plane when almost orthogonally intersects the rotation center shaft 62 i e in the direction indicated by arrow X in FIG 2 which brings the rotary operation member 61 inside the external casing 2 0091 When this rotary operation member 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B indicated in FIG 2 the jog dial 60 supplies an output signal according to the rotation angle and rotation speed to the control block 30 When this rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X indicated in FIG 2 an output signal corresponding to the pressing time of the member 61 is supplied to the control block 30 More specifically in the IC recorder 1 the control block 30 detects the rotation direction rotation angle and rotation speed of the rotary operation member 61 or detects whether the rotary operation member 61 is pressed and whether the pressing of the rotary operation member 61 exceeds a predetermined period of time The control block 30 reads out a program from the ROM 31 corresponding to a detection result and executes the program so as to control the operation of the respective components of the apparatus 1 It should be noted that the control operation by this control block 30 will be detailed later 0092
14. sound data repro duction is carried out in the order of index number 01 index number 02 Here as shown in FIG 14 the sound data piece additionally recorded is outputted as index number 02 immediately after the sound data portion of index number 02 which has been recorded in advance 0086 That is in the IC recorder 1 it is possible to select one piece from a plurality of pieces already recorded and additionally record a new piece to be added to the selected piece Thus the user can record a new data piece with a desired index number to be added to the selected one of the pieces already recorded This enables to significantly enhance the operationability eliminating time required for searching a desired piece This additional recording can be carried out without changing the operation block 50 and accordingly without increasing production costs 0087 Inthe aforementioned embodiment explanation has been given on a case an additional recording mode is set in when the REC button 56 is pressed for 1 second or more while a predetermined file is read out from the memory 9 and reproduced but the additional recording mode is not to be limited to this case 0088 For example the additional recording mode can be set by the CPU 32 if the REC button 56 is pressed for prede US 2013 0238997 A1 termined period of time for example 2 seconds after the reproduction f file of index number 02 is interrupted by a user When the additiona
15. RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 This application is a Continuation of and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U S C 5120 from U S Ser No 12 651 028 filed Dec 31 2009 which is a Continuation of application Ser No 11 742 641 filed on May 1 2007 now U S Pat No 7 725 652 which is a continuation of applica tion Ser No 10 870 195 filed on Jun 17 2004 now U S Pat No 7 313 647 which is a division of application Ser No 10 043 506 filed on Jan 10 2002 now U S Pat No 6 775 753 which is a division of application Ser No 09 703 885 filed on Nov 1 2000 now U S Pat No 6 339 814 which is a division of application Ser No 09 128 744 filed on Aug 4 1998 now U S Pat No 6 490 235 which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U S C 8119 from Japanese Patent Appli cation Nos 09 215209 filed Aug 8 1997 and 09 213656 filed Aug 7 1997 The entire contents of each of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 0002 1 Field of the Invention 0003 The present invention relates to a storage and repro duction apparatus and in particular to a storage and repro duction apparatus using a semiconductor memory 0004 2 Description of the Prior Art 0005 Nowadays there are recording reproduction appa ratus which can easily be used for recording reproducing a sound just like writing down contents of a lecture or discus sion on a memo paper Such a recordi
16. US 20130238997A1 19 United States Patent Application Publication Pub No US 2013 0238997 A1 IIDA 43 Pub Date Sep 12 2013 54 71 72 73 21 22 60 STORAGE AND REPORDUCTION APPARATUS Applicant MOBILEMEDIA IDEAS LLC Chevy Chase MD US Inventor Kenichi IIDA Saitama JP Assignee MOBILEMEDIA IDEAS LLC Chevy Chase MD US Appl No 13 863 237 Filed Apr 15 2013 Related U S Application Data Continuation of application No 12 651 028 filed on Dec 31 2009 now Pat No 8 423 714 which is a continuation of application No 11 742 641 filed on May 1 2007 now Pat No 7 725 652 which is a continuation of application No 10 870 195 filed on Jun 17 2004 now Pat No 7 313 647 which is a division of application No 10 043 506 filed on Jan 10 2002 now Pat No 6 775 753 which is a division of application No 09 703 885 filed on Nov 1 2000 now Pat No 6 339 814 which is a division of appli cation No 09 128 744 filed on Aug 4 1998 now Pat No 6 490 235 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Aug 7 1997 JP assente tte 09 213656 Aug 8 1997 CIP iz cte 09 215209 Publication Classification 51 Int CI G06F 3 16 2006 01 52 U S CI CPC G06F 3 167 2013 01 naka RU 715 716 57 ABSTRACT A portable hand held apparatus includes a semiconductor memory a reproduction block a display a control block
17. a stored 0024 FIG 12 is a flowchart explaining a CPU operation when additionally recording a new sound data as of ID num ber 02 0025 FIG 13 shows a configuration of an ADR data ofthe index stage block when a new sound data is additionally recorded as of ID number 02 0026 FIG 14 explains a storage position of a new sound data additionally recorded as of ID number 02 0027 FIG 15A and FIG 158 explain a configuration of a jog dial FIG 15A is an external front view of the jog dial and 0028 FIG 158 is an external rear view of the jog dial 0029 FIG 16 shows rotation directions of a rotation operation member in connection with signals outputted as a result of a jog dial rotation operation together with corre sponding output waveforms 0030 FIG 17 explains an operation of a rotary operation member associated with a cue review reproduction and a reproduction state transition corresponding to the operation of the rotary operation member 0031 FIG 18 a processing carried out when the rotary operation member is rotated or pressed in a stop state 0032 FIG 19 shows a processing carried out when the rotary operation members rotated or pressed in a sound data reproduction state DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 0033 Hereinafter description will be directed to a storage and reproducing apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings In the embodime
18. amplifier 12 The amplifier 12 amplifies the analog sound signal for supply to the AGC 13 The AGC 13 amplifies the signal from the amplifier 12 so that the analog sound signal is at a proper level for supply to the encoder 14 0037 Because the analog sound signal supplied via the AGC 13 has a strong temporal correlation the encoder 14 employs for example the adaptive differential pulse code modulation hereinafter referred to ADPCM to encode an analog sound signal with a small data amount to create a digital sound data and supplies the created sound data to the buffer memory 15 The encoder 14 can adjust a sound data coding amount according to two modes For example in an SP mode a sound signal is sampled with an 8 kHz sampling frequency if in an SP mode and with a 4 kHz sampling frequency if in an LP mode so as to adjust a sound signal coding amount in the temporal axis direction 0038 The buffer memory 15 temporarily accumulates a sound data supplied from the encoder and supplies the accu mulated data to the semiconductor memory 9 0039 The semiconductor memory 19 is constituted for example by an electrical erasable programmable read only memory hereinafter referred to as an EEPROM i e an non volatile semiconductor memory which maintains a stor age content of a storage element even if a memory drive power is turned off This semiconductor memory 9 stores a sound data supplied from the buffer memory 15 and a man agement i
19. ary operation member 61 is pressed by the user When the pressing ofthe rotary operation member 61 is stopped the contact between the electrode 64 and the other electrode not depicted 1s released and supply of the output signal from terminal d to the control block 30 is terminated The control block 30 detects the output signal supplied from terminal d indicating that the rotary operation member 61 is pressed and detects whether supply of this signal from terminal d has continued for a predetermined period of time According to a result ofthe detection the control block 30 reads out from the ROM 31 a program corresponding to the detection result and executes operation or control according to the program which has been read out 0097 shown in FIG 16 when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B the jog dial 60 outputs a 2 phase pulse signal That is if the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise i e in the direc tion of arrow B a signal is outputted from between the terminals a c and a signal f from between the terminals b c with different phases from each other Similarly if the rotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise 1 in the direction of arrow A a signal o is outputted from between terminals a c and a signal f from between the terminals b c with different phases from each other As shown in FIG 16 a US 2013 0238997 A1 pulse signal is outputted in such a
20. atus which resolves the above mentioned problem 0012 One aspect of the present invention is directed to a portable hand held apparatus that includes a semiconductor memory configured to store one or more pieces of sound data and a reproduction block including a loudspeaker configured to reproduce one or more of the pieces of sound data as sound signals from the loudspeaker This apparatus also includes a display panel configured to display selectable information corresponding to each of one or more of the pieces of sound data a control block that includes a microcomputer and a program that is executable by the microcomputer to control the apparatus and a housing configured for hand held opera tion containing the reproduction block the display panel and the control block This apparatus also includes an operation block configured to supply a signal to the control block depending on user manual inputs to the operation block The operation block includes a circuit at a surface of the housing configured to detect a first user manual gesture in a first direction approximately parallel to the housing surface a second user manual gesture in a direction opposite to the first direction and also approximately parallel to the housing sur face and a third user manual gesture in a direction that is perpendicular to the housing surface The circuit ofthe opera tion block is configured to detect the first user manual gesture and the second user manual ge
21. controls to US 2013 0238997 A1 write a sound data as one sound data piece in the PCM data blocks ofthe semiconductor memory 9 until the STOP button 18 pressed 0072 When the STOP button is pressed the CPU 32 ter minates to control to record the sound data in the PCM data blocks and rewrites the TOC information of the memory 9 More specifically the index stage block is rewritten 0073 In the ADR data block of the index stage block containing a file data the CPU 32 assigns an index number 01 to the 7 th sound data piece and writes in a data of mode setting start address and end address The CPU 32 changes the previous index numbers 01 to 06 respectively to the index numbers 02 to 07 and writes in a data of the mode setting start address and end address of the respective index numbers 0074 This processing is illustrated in FIG 11 The CPU 32 assigns the index number 01 to the latest 7 th sound data piece recorded and shift by 1 the previous index numbers 01 to 06 respectively to index numbers 02 to 07 and rewrites the TOC information That is the latest sound data piece is recorded in the memory 9 with the index number 1 0075 Next explanation will be given on reproduction of a sound data 0076 Ifa user presses the jog dial shown in FIG 2 in the direction of the arrow X when the apparatus 1 is in the stop state the CPU 32 resumes a reproduction That is according to an eternal block recognition data of the eternal bl
22. d above at other than the blocks of the memory 9 start and end addresses 0058 Inthe eternal block only page 0 contains a data and pages 1 to 15 contain no data More specifically as shown in FIG 4 page 0 of the eternal block includes a 4 byte eternal block recognition data 2 byte eternal block address 3 byte index stage 0 address 2 byte index stage 1 address 2 byte work area block start address 4 byte dummy data and 128 byte blank map The blank map indicates locations of the aforementioned invalid blocks 0059 The index stage 0 blocks and the index stage 1 blocks have an identical data configuration and these blocks are alternately rewritten for each sound data rewriting That is when a sound data is written in the memory 9 for example a data in an index stage 0 block is rewritten and when another sound data is written in the memory 9 a data in an index stage block is rewritten Hereinafter these blocks will be referred to as index stage blocks in general 0060 As has been described there are 6 index stage blocks for stage 0 and stage 1 respectively five blocs con taining a file data and one block containing a stage data 0061 FIG 5 shows a configuration ofan index stage block having a file data which consists of an ADR data block of page 0 to page 11 and an HDR block of page 12 to page 15 0062 FIG 6 shows a configuration ofthe ADR data block which has for example ID numbers 01 to 06 SP which indicat
23. d counterclockwise i e in the direction of arrow the control block 30 controls to execute a cue repro US 2013 0238997 A1 duction and if the rotary operation member is continuously pressed in the direction of arrow X while rotated clockwise i e in the direction of arrow B control is made to carry out a review reproduction This cue review reproduction operation is continuously carried out while the rotary operation member 61 is maintained in the pressed state in the direction of arrow X assuming that for example a sound data is reproduced with a speed 10 times faster than a normal reproduction speed On the other hand if the pressing of the rotary opera tion ember 61 in the direction of arrow X is released and supply of the output signal from the terminal d ofthe job dial 60 terminates the control block 30 terminates this cue review reproduction operation and switches the mode to the normal speed reproduction As shown in FIG 17 the control block 30 also controls to switch the mode to the normal speed repro duction if the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clock wise i e in the direction of arrow B during a cue reproduc tion or if the rotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise i e in the direction of arrow during a review reproduction 0107 In the embodiment of the present invention when the cue reproduction reaches the end of the sound data stored in the memory 9 control is made to interrupt t
24. directly written as it is 0068 The PCM data block is an area where a sound data is mainly recorded AS shown in FIG 10 in the PCM data block each one page contains besides a sound data the year month day hour minute second and day ofthe week created by the timer 33 are also recorded More specifically a 512 byte sound data 1 byte data of year 1 byte data of month 1 byte data of day 1 byte data of hour 1 byte data of minute 1 data of second and 1 byte clock set flag are recorded on one page 0069 Inthe IC recorder 1 having the aforementioned con figuration if the REC button 56 is pressed when no recording or reproduction is carried out the CPU 32 controls to write a sound data in the semiconductor memory 9 It is assumed that in the semiconductor memory 9 already six sound data pieces have been recorded as shown in FIG 6 0070 More specifically when the REC button 56 is pressed the CPU 32 reads out from the ROM 31 and executes a program corresponding to the recording operation so that the amplifier 12 the AGC 13 and the encoder 14 are actuated and a sound data delayed with a predetermined time via the buffer memory 15 is stored in the PCM data block of the semiconductor memory 9 0071 For each of the data blocks the CPU 32 stores a 512 byte sound data ad creates a data of the recording year month day hour and minute to be recorded together with the sound data in the PCM data block The CPU 32
25. duced and the latest file which has been just recorded tends to be the last to be reproduced 0009 Thatis when a user wants to reproduce a sound data ofthe latest important file he she needs to carry out an opera tion for search the target latest file from a plurality of files Sep 12 2013 stored in memory This requires a complicated operation pro cedures to read out a necessary file from memory and repro duce it 0010 In order to read out from memory and reproduce a target sound data in the aforementioned recording reproduc tion apparatus using a semiconductor memory a user needs to operate a plurality ofoperation buttons such as a reproduction button forward direction search button and reverse direction search button More specifically when a plurality of data pieces are recorded in a semiconductor memory prior to reproduction it is necessary to press a forward direction search button and a reverse direction search button to select a target data piece to be reproduced so that an index number of the target data piece is displayed in a display block of the apparatus After this a reproduction button is pressed so as to reproduce the target sound data Here if a plenty of index numbers are involved the user needs to continuously press the search button so as to display the target index number SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0011 It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a storage and reproducing appar
26. ea block A sound data is written into PCM data blocks 0056 AsshowninFIG 3 each of the blocks consists of 16 pages each page consisting of 528 bytes page 0 page 1 14 page 15 Each one page consists ofa 512 byte data area and a 16 byte redundant area Ten blocks at maximum US 2013 0238997 A1 exist as blocks disabled for data recording and or reproduc tion hereinafter referred to as invalid blocks 0057 The eternal block is provided other than at the first and the last blocks of the memory 9 i e other than at the memory write in or read out start and end addresses The eternal block contains a management information which is first to be read out from the memory 9 According to the data of the eternal block the index stage 0 blocks and the index stage 1 blocks are read out Thus the eternal block is indis pensable for reading out a data stored in the other blocks and accordingly located at a position other than the head and end addresses ofthe memory 9 which have the highest possibility of destruction upon an abnormal operation such as static electricity and an abnormal voltage For example if a block containing a sound data is destroyed the data in the broken block can be erased so that a new sound data can be recorded without any problem However if the eternal block is destroyed no data can be read out from the other blocks To avoid such a situation the eternal block is located as has been describe
27. entify each of the sound data pieces According to the index number added to each of the sound data pieces the control block 30 controls to read out a target sound data piece from the semiconductor memory 9 0047 Next explanation will be given on the operation block 50 ofthe IC recorder 1 with reference to FIGS 1 and 2 FIG 2 is an external view briefly showing an external con figuration ofthe IC recorder 1 The IC recorder shown in FIG 2 is a portable type has an external casing 2 of a size to be grasped by one hand In this external casing 2 is arranged a printed circuit board not depicted where the aforementioned electric circuits such as recording block 10 and the reproduc tion block 20 are mounted On a main surface 2 of this external casing 2 are arranged the aforementioned liquid crystal display panel 41 an the loud speaker 24 0048 This IC recorder 1 has on the main surface and side surfaces of the external casing 2 various operation but tons switches 51 to 57 constituting the operation block 50 and Sep 12 2013 the jog dial 60 The buttons and switches of the operation block 50 are arranged on the main surface 2a and the side surfaces of the casing 2 and can be operated with left hand fingers while the entire IC recorder 1 is held on the left hand palm so that a the user can continue a work such as writing with his her right hand 0049 The operation buttons involved here are as shown in FIG 2 FILE button 51
28. es the recording mode SP or LP corresponding to a coding amount by the aforementioned encoder 14 for each of the files containing a sound data STH indicating an upper start address and STM indicating a lower start address of the file ENH indicating an upper end address and ENM indicat ing a lower end address of the file 0063 For example when 6 sound data pieces are recorded as shown in FIG 7 in the ADR data block index numbers 01 to 06 are recorded corresponding to the six sound data pieces This index number is a data indicating a repro duction sequence of the six sound data pieces recorded For each of the index numbers recording mode SP together with a start address STH STM and an end address ENH ENM of the area containing the sound data are recorded Because the sound of the index number 01 and the sound data of the index number 03 have a large capacity as shown in FIG 6 the index number 01 consists of two files and the index Sep 12 2013 number 03 consists of four files for example In this case for each of the files a recording mode and a start address and an end address are recorded 0064 FIG 7 shows configuration of the HDR block The following are recorded for each file PRI indicating a file priority set by operation of the PRIORITY button 53 of the operation block 50 ALM indicating ON OFF of the alarm setting by the operation of the MENU button 52 AMO ADA AHO AMI and AOW indicating the month
29. he STOP button 54 is pressed during a scan reproduction the control block 30 according to an input signal from the operation block 50 releases the scan repro duction and enters a stop state 0113 In this example if the ERASE button 56 the FILE button 51 or the PRIORITY button 53 is pressed during a scan reproduction the control block 30 invalidates the input signal issued by pressing these button regardless of the ON OFF state of the HOLD switch 0114 In the IC recorder 1 when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B as has been described above the control block 30 detects the signals and f based on the output from the terminals a b and c of the jog dial 60 to determine the rotation speed of the rotary operation member 61 and executes a processing correspond ing to the detected speed 0115 FIG 18 also shows a processing carried out when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated from the STOP state As shown in FIG 18 when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise i e in the direction of arrow A from the STOP state if the rotation speed of the rotary operation member 61 is slow the control block 30 controls to execute a forward direction search piece by piece and to increment the index number on the liquid crystal panel 41 one by one as the search proceeds On the other hand if the rotation speed ofthe rotary operation member 61 in the direc tion of arrow is fas
30. he cue repro duction and set the mode to the head of the last sound data stored in the memory 9 On the other hand when the review reproduction reaches the first sound data stored in the memory 9 control is made to interrupt the review reproduc tion and set mode to the head of the sound data stored in the memory 9 Thus in the IC recorder 1 control is made in such a manner that a cue reproduction ora review reproduction will not be terminated other than at the first and the last positions ofthe sound data stored in the memory 9 For example a cue reproduction or a review reproduction will not be terminated at a sound data of index number 03 when a sound data of index numbers 01 to 10 is stored 0108 Ifalong pressing ofthe rotary operation member 61 is carried out during a sound data reproduction the control block 30 executes a repeat reproduction of the sound data piece which is being reproduced In the embodiment of the present invention the sound data piece which has been repro duced is repeatedly reproduced by the repeat reproduction During this repeat reproduction if the rotary operation mem ber 61 is pressed again in the direction of arrow X or rotated in the direction of arrow A or B the repeat reproduction is released and mode is switched to the normal reproduction Also if the STOP button 54 or ERASE button 56 is pressed during a repeat reproduction the repeat reproduction is released and the normal reproduction mode is set
31. in the direction of arrows X and Y In the cut off portion 65 is fitted the rotation center shaft 62 of a circular shape provided at the center of one main surface 61a of the rotary operation member 61 in such a manner that the shaft 62 can be rotated and shifted in the directions indicated by the arrows X and Y in FIG 15B along a plane which almost orthogonally intersects the rotation center shaft 62 0095 The electrode 64 as shown in FIG 15A is made from a leaf spring which has been bent The electrode 64 has a base end fixed to the base member 63 The plurality of terminals a b c and d attached to the base member 63 are respectively connected to the control block 30 shown in FIG 1 Here the terminals a and b function to output an output signal based on the rotation of the rotary operation member 61 The terminal d functions to supply an input signal based on the pressing of the rotary operation member 61 in the direction of arrow X The terminal c serves as a common grounding for the terminals a b and d 0096 When the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X a tip end 64a of the electrode 64 is moved in the direction indicated by arrow X and brought into contact with the other electrode not depicted When the electrode 64 is brought into contact with this other electrode not depicted the jog dial 60 supplies an output signal from terminal d to the control block 30 which signal indicating that the rot
32. into the memory 9 0101 Next explanation will be given on reproduction of a sound data recorded or stored in the IC recorder 1 In the same way as in recording for example the FILE button 51 is pressed so that a data is read out from the ROM 31 by the control block and icons corresponding to various files appear on the liquid crystal panel 41 The rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 is rotated in the direction of arrow or B to select one ofthe icons on the liquid crystal panel 41 When the selection 18 complete the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X so as to specify the selected icon so that a sound data stored in PCM data blocks of the specified file will be reproduced On the liquid crystal Sep 12 2013 panel 41 of FIG 2 only 02 37 associated with the index number is displayed for convenience of explanation but actu ally various icons and time appear on the liquid crystal panel 41 In the example of FIG 2 the denominator 37 represents the number of sound data pieces stored in the memory 9 and the numerator 02 represents the index number which is cur rently reproduced or which can be reproduced immediately In this case a file contains 37 sound data pieces stored in the memory 9 and a sound data of index number 02 is being reproduced or in a state to be reproduced immediately 0102 Here when the IC recorder 1 is in the state to be reproduced immediately reproduction of the sound da
33. ion member 61 the control block 30 controls to execute a scan reproduction and if less than 3 seconds from the start of pressing the control block 30 executes a normal mode reproduction 0111 After a scan reproduction is started the scan repro duction continues even if the pressing of the rotary operation member 30 in the direction of arrow X is released When the scanreproduction ofthe last sound data piece ofthe file which is being scan reproduced is complete the control block 30 stops the IC recorder 1 at the head ofthe first sound data piece ofthe file which has been scan reproduced 0112 During a scan reproduction if the rotary operation member is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B the control block 30 controls to switch to a scan reproduction of a sound data of an index number earlier or later by a count value ofthe counter 35 determined by the number of pulse signals gener ated by the rotation of the rotary operation member 61 Dur ing this scan reproduction if a target voice is heard from the loud speaker 24 the user presses the rotary operation member 61 in the direction of arrow X while the target sound data is being reproduced When the rotary operation member 61 is pressed as shown in FIG 18 the control block 30 controls to switch to a normal mode reproduction Thus by pressing the member 61 while a scan reproduction is in progress it is possible to hear the target sound data from the beginning to the end If t
34. is His ds Wis 45 as WN3 HN3 NIS HIS 45 10 as US 2013 0238997 A1 Sep 12 2013 Sheet 7 of 15 Patent Application Publication L 9i3 433A 30 AVG WHV TV MOV 31nNIN WHVTV WHY TV AVG Vav HLNOW WHV V 135 WHVTV WV ALIHOIHd IHd Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 8 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 VALID MARK 0 Byte MODE INTERRUPT MARK 1 Byte Blank Map 0 127 Byte Eternal block Blank Map 0 127 Byte FIG 8 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 9 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 00 FIG 9 sie Bye MINUTEDATA sempe CLOCK serria ee ee eee FIG 10 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 10 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 2 No 4 no s No 6 No 1 No 2 No 3 5 6 no 7 NEW PIECE RECORDED FIG 11 REC QE PRESSES Q1 SECOND R MORE YES NE BUTTON PRESSED OR MEMORY FULL 55 Patent Application Publication Sep 12 2013 Sheet 11 of 15 US 2013 0238997 A1 FIG 13 STH START ADORESS UPPER STM START ADDRESS LOWER ENH END
35. l recording mode is set in the CPU 32 executes the processing of step S4 and after so as to record a new sound data as of index number 02 in the semiconductor memory 9 0089 Next explanation will be given on the reproduction operation using the jog dial 60 and the configuration of the jog dial 60 In the IC recorder 1 a portion of the jog dial 60 i e a portion of the rotational operation member which will be detailed later is exposed from a cut off portion 2c formed on the upper half of the left side surface 25 of the external casing 2 This jog dial 60 includes a disc shaped rotation operation member 61 having a rotation center shaft 62 and other mem bers which will be detailed later and most of the members of the jog dial are contained in the external casing and only a portion of the rotary operation member 61 is exposed outside from the cut off portion 2c The rotation operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 can be rotated around the rotation center shaft 62 in the directions of A and B indicated in FIG 2 0090 Furthermore the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 is provided in such a manner that the rotary center shaft 62 can be moved in side the external casing 2 in the directions of X and Y indicated in FIG 2 In a normal state ie when the jog dial 60 is in a non operation state the member 61 is urged by a spring not depicted in the direction of arrow Y so that a portion of the member 61 protrudes from the cut off
36. lock depending on user manual inputs to the operation block the operation block comprising a circuit at a surface ofthe housing configured to detect a first user manual gesture in a first direction approximately parallel to the housing surface a second user manual gesture in a direction opposite to the first direction and also approximately parallel to the housing surface and a third user manual gesture in a direction that is perpen dicular to the housing surface wherein the circuit of the operation block is configured to detect the first user manual gesture and the second user manual gesture in selecting a particular one ofthe one or more pieces of sound data when the display panel dis plays the selectable information corresponding to the particular one of the one or more of the pieces of sound data and wherein the reproduction block is configured to reproduce the particular one ofthe one or more pieces of sound data inresponse to the circuit ofthe operation block detecting the third user manual gesture 2 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a microphone contained in the housing configured to receive a sound signal US 2013 0238997 A1 wherein the semiconductor memory is configured to store the sound signal received via the microphone as one of the one or more pieces of sound data 3 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a hold switch configured to respond to a user inp
37. nd held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the portable hand held apparatus is also configured to record video data 12 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the semiconductor memory is configured to store one of the one or more pieces of sound data sampled at one of a plurality of sampling frequencies 13 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reproduction block further comprises a sound decoder configured to decode the particular one of the one or more pieces of sound data prior to supply to the loudspeaker 14 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 13 wherein the semiconductor memory is configured to store one of the one or more pieces of sound data sampled at one of a plurality of sampling frequencies 15 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the circuit of the operation block comprises at least one switch 16 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the circuit of the operation block comprises a part which is movable in response to at least one of the first user manual gesture second user manual gesture or third user manual gesture
38. nformation hereinafter referred to as a TOC infor mation for carrying out a management for example which sound data is stored in which area More specifically the semiconductor memory 9 is for example a NAND type flash memory having a storage capacity of 4Mx8 bits or 8x16 M bits enabling to store a sound data corresponding to a sound signal of a predetermined frequency band for 30 minutes For example when the memory 9 has a storage capacity of 8x16 M bits it is possible to store a sound data corresponding to a sound signal of 200 to 3400 Hz for 16 minutes in the afore mentioned SP mode and to store a sound data corresponding to a sound signal of 200 to 1700 Hz for 24 minutes in the aforementioned LP mode 0040 On the other hand the reproduction block 20 as shown in FIG 1 has a decoder 21 for converting a sound signal read from the semiconductor memory 9 into a sound signal a filter 22 and an amplifier 23 for amplifying the sound data from the filter 22 for supply to a loud speaker 24 0041 The decoder 21 corresponds to the encoder 14 ofthe recording block 10 and decodes a sound data which has been encoded by the ADPCM method so as to create a so called PAM signal The filter 22 removes a high frequency compo nent exceeding a voice frequency band from the PAM signal and outputs an analog sound signal The amplifier 23 ampli fies the analog sound signal supplied from the filter 22 The loud speaker 24 is driven according to
39. ng reproduction appa ratus uses a semiconductor memory as a recording medium for storing a sound signals as a predetermined number of files and the sound signal is reproduced to output a sound More specifically the recording reproduction apparatus stores a sound data consisting of a plurality of files ina semiconductor memory and upon reproduction successively reproduces the sound data starting with an older file 0006 When writing down contents of a discussion on a memo notebook the latest content is written on a later page of the memo notebook Accordingly when reading the contents afterward it is necessary to turn pages to read the latest contents 0007 This inconvenience is also met in a recording repro duction apparatus in a semiconductor apparatus which stores a latest sound as a last file in a semiconductor memory which requires search ofthe file containing the latest sound prior to reproducing the latest sound 0008 Those files stored in memory can be erased when they have become unnecessary However when there is a necessity to reproduce a file or when new files are succes sively stored without any time to erase them more important files tend to be recorded at the last write in address or read out address of memory Accordingly as more and more files are recorded there will be contained more files which are scarcely to be assessed Those files which are not so important are first to be read out from memory to be repro
40. nts described below explanation will be given on a recording reproduction apparatus hereinafter referred to simply as an IC recorder using a semiconductor memory for recording or reproducing a sound signal 0034 Referring to FIG 1 this IC recorder 1 includes a recording block 10 for converting an analog sound signal from a microphone 11 into a digital sound data and storing the digital sound data in a semiconductor memory 9 a repro duction block 20 for reading out the sound data stored in the semiconductor memory 9 and converting the read out sound data into an analog sound signal for reproduction output from a speaker 24 a control block 30 for controlling apparatus components including the recording block 10 a display block 40 for displaying an operation state and an operation proce dure and an operation block 50 through which a user enters various operations 0035 The recording block 10 has an amplifier 12 for amplifying a an analog sound signal outputted from the Sep 12 2013 microphone 11 an automatic gain controller hereinafter referred to as AGC circuit for adjusting a level of the sound signal amplified by the amplifier 12 an encoder 14 for con verting the sound signal from the AGC 13 into a sound data and a buffer memory 15 for temporarily accumulating the sound data from the encoder 14 0036 In the recording block 10 the microphone 11 con verts a speaker s voice into an analog signal for supply to the
41. ock from the memory 9 the CPU 32 recognizes the eternal block and reads out a data from this eternal block It should be noted that if the CPU 32 fails to recognize the eternal block shown in FIG 3 the CPU 32 recognizes the back up block and reads out a data from this back up block 0077 According to an index stage 0 address or index stage 1 address in the eternal block or in the back up block the CPU 32 reads out a data of the index stage block 0078 The CPU 32 uses the ADR data block of the index stage block containing a file data to control read out of a sound data from PCM data blocks Here the CPU 32 reads out a sound data in the order of index number 01 index number 02 index number 03 More specifically firstly according to the start address STH STM and end address ENH ENM ofthe index number 01 in the ADR data block the CPU 32 reads out a sound data of index number 01 The sound data which has been read out is converted into a sound signal via the decoder 21 and the filter 22 for supply to the loud speaker 24 Thus the sound of index number 01 18 outputted from the loud speaker 24 0079 The CPU 32 continues read out of the sound data from the memory 9 until the STOP button 55 shown in FIG 2 is pressed That is after the sound of index number 01 is outputted from the loud speaker 24 the CPU 32 reads out a sound data of index number 02 a sound data ofindex number 03 in this order 0080 As has been de
42. or a short period of time hereinafter this operation will be referred to as a short pressing the control block 30 controls to terminate the sound data repro duction If the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X in this reproduction state for a period of time longer than a predetermined period of time hereinafter this operation will be referred to as a long pressing the control block 30 executes a repeat reproduction which will be detailed later 0105 Next explanation will be given on various functions upon reproduction in the IC recorder 1 The IC recorder 1 has during a reproduction a function of cue review reproduction a function of repeat reproduction and a function of scan reproduction These functions can be selected and executed by operating the rotary operation member 61 ofthe jog dial 60 alone 0106 FIG 17 shows operations of the rotary operation member 61 associated with the cue review reproduction in relation to the reproduction state transition Note that in FIG 17 the rotary operation member 61 is indicated simply as JOG In order to carry out the cue review when or after starting a reproduction this rotary operation member 61 is continuously pressed in the direction of arrow X while rotated in the direction of arrow or B by a predetermined angle As shown in FIG 7 in this embodiment if the rotary operation member 61 is continuously pressed in the direction of arrow X while rotate
43. r 61 of the jog dial 60 in the direction of arrow A or B in FIG 2 and the selected icon can be specified by pressing the rotary operation member 61 in the direction of arrow X so that a new sound data will be stored in the specified file If the MENU button 52 is pressed prior to carrying out a recording the control block 30 reads out from the ROM 31 a data on the initial setting and a initial setting state appears on the liquid crystal display panel 41 In order to modify a current initial setting the rotary operation member 61 is rotated in the direction of arrow A or B so as to select a target item When this selection is complete the rotary opera tion member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X so that the selected item can be modified In this state the rotary operation member 61 is rotated and pressed to modify the initial setting 0100 Whenthe REC start button 55 ofthe IC recorder 1 is pressed the IC recorder 1 enters a recording start state When the user speaks something toward the microphone 11 a sound data is written in a PCM data block of the semiconductor memory 9 specified by the aforementioned operation of the jeg dial 60 When the STOP button is pressed the recording state is released When the sound data is recorded in the semiconductor memory 9 the aforementioned TOC informa tion and a data on the file number and index number are created as an auxiliary data or a management data by the control block 30 and written
44. scribed above in the IC recorder 1 as shown in FIG 11 when a new sound data is recorded it is stored in the semiconductor memory 9 as the latest sound data of index number 01 so that reproduction is carried out in the order of index number 01 index number 02 index number 03 This is because a sound data of a smaller index number tends to be more important than a sound data of a greater index number The aforementioned control enables to set an important sound data piece with an earlier index number Thus there is no need of searching an important latest sound piece which enhances operationability Sep 12 2013 0081 Inthe IC recorder 1 it is also possible to add another sound data to a sound data which has been recorded as an additional recording Here the CPU 32 executes a processing of step 1 and after shown in FIG 12 0082 For example if a user presses the REC button 56 while the IC recorder is reproducing a sound data of index number 02 step S1 the CPU 32 actuates the timer 3 and determines whether the REC button 56 is pressed for 1 second or more step S2 If it is determined that the REC button 56 has been pressed for 1 second or more the CPU 32 interrupts the reproduction of the sound data of index number 02 step S3 and if it is determined that the REC button 56 has not been pressed for 1 second or more the CPU 32 continues the reproduction 0083 After the reproduction is interrupted the CPU 32 controls
45. sture in selecting a particular one ofthe one or more pieces of sound data when the display panel displays the selectable information corresponding to the particular one of the one or more of the pieces of sound data The reproduction block is configured to reproduce the particular one of the one or more pieces of sound data in response to the circuit of the operation block detecting the third user manual gesture BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 0013 FIG 1 is a block diagram showing a specific con figuration of an IC recorder according to the present inven tion 0014 0015 FIG 3 shows a configuration of a semiconductor memory of the IC recorder FIG 2 is an external front view of the IC recorder US 2013 0238997 A1 0016 FIG 4 shows a configuration of an eternal block of the semiconductor memory 0017 FIG 5 shows a configuration of an index stage block constituted by a file data of the semiconductor memory 0018 FIG 6 shows a configuration of an ADR data block of the index stage block 0019 FIG 7 shows a configuration of an HDR data block of the index stage block 0020 FIG 8 shows a configuration of an index stage block constituted by a file data of the semiconductor memory 0021 FIG 9 shows a configuration ofa work area block of the semiconductor memory 0022 FIG 10 shows a configuration of a PCM data block of the semiconductor memory 0023 FIG 11 explains a recording position ofa new sound dat
46. t the control block 30 controls to execute a forward direction search while skipping a number of pieces and to increment the index number of the liquid crystal dis play panel 41 by more than one at once US 2013 0238997 A1 0116 Similarly when the rotary operation member 61 is rotated clockwise i e in the direction of arrow B from the STOP state at a slow rotation speed the control block 30 controls to execute a backward direction search piece by piece and decrement the index number on the liquid crystal display panel 41 one by one On the other hand ifthe rotation speed of the rotary operation member 61 in the direction of arrow B is fast the control block 30 executes a backward direction search while skipping a number of pieces and dec rement the index number on the liquid crystal display panel 41 by more than one at once 0117 Thus in the IC recorder 1 even ifa plenty of sound data pieces are stored in the semiconductor memory 9 with the corresponding index numbers it is possible to carry out a fast rotation of the rotary operation member 61 so that a number of index numbers are skipped so as to quickly find a target index number i e to display the target index number on the liquid crystal display panel 41 Accordingly in this IC recorder 1 an index number search prior to a reproduction is significantly improved enabling to quickly reproduce target sound data with a simple operation 0118 FIG 19 shows a processing
47. ta of the selected index number is started by operating the rotary operation member 61 of the jog dial 60 as follows 0103 When the rotary operation member 61 is rotated counterclockwise i e in the direction of arrow A the control block 30 executes a forward search More specifically according to the number of pulses based on the signals a and B shown in FIG 16 the control block 30 reads out later index numbers from the semiconductor memory 9 so as to be suc cessively displayed on the liquid crystal panel 41 in this case 03 37 04 37 05 37 On the other hand if the jog dial 60 is rotated clockwise i e in the direction of arrow B the control block executes a backward search More specifically according to the number of pulses based on the signals and the control block 30 reads out earlier index numbers from the semiconductor memory 9 in this case 01 37 36 so as to be successively displayed on the liquid crystal panel 41 0104 When the user has found the index number of the sound data to be reproduced and presses the rotary operation member 61 the control block 30 detects an output signal supplied from the terminal d of the jog dial 60 and controls to read out from the memory 9 the sound data corresponding to the index number selected by operation ofthe jog dial 60 and start reproduction of the sound data In this reproduction state if the rotary operation member 61 is pressed in the direction of arrow X f
48. tches as a whole which facilitates operation of the IC recorder 1 in the visual way as well as realizes reduction of the size and weight of the entire apparatus 0122 The aforementioned storage and reproduction appa ratus according to the present invention uses a semiconductor memory The present invention is not to be limited to the aforementioned embodiment but can be applied to recording apparatuses in general especially portable type apparatuses which can easily be carried In the aforementioned embodi ment a sound data recording and reproduction apparatus was detailed but the present invention may be a recording and reproduction apparatus for recording reproducing other than a sound data such as a video data What is claimed is 1 A portable hand held apparatus comprising a semiconductor memory configured to store one or more pieces of sound data areproduction block including a loudspeaker configured to reproduce one or more of the pieces of sound data as sound signals from the loudspeaker a display panel configured to display selectable informa tion corresponding to each of one or more of the pieces of sound data a control block comprising a microcomputer and a pro gram that is executable by the microcomputer to control the apparatus a housing configured for hand held operation containing the reproduction block the display panel and the control block an operation block configured to supply a signal to the control b
49. the head ofa sound data corresponding to the displayed index number On the other hand if the rotation speed of the rotary operation member 61 is fast the control block 30 controls to execute a backward direction search while skipping a number of pieces More specifically the control block 30 controls to decrement the index number of the liquid crystal display panel 41 by more than one at once and start reproduction at the head ofa sound data corresponding to the displayed index number 0120 Thus inthe IC recorder 1 even ifthere are a number of sound data pieces stored in the semiconductor memory 9 a simple operation of fast rotation of the rotary operation member 61 enables to quickly find and reproduce the head portion ofa target sound data by skipping a number of sound data pieces This significantly enhances the sound data search efficiency during a reproduction 0121 As has been described above in the IC recorder 1 various functions are assigned to the jog dial 60 This enables Sep 12 2013 to improve the operationability as well as to reduce the size and weight of the entire apparatus More specifically a user can carry out all the basic operations during a reproduction with his her left hand thumb alone to rotate and press the rotary operation member 61 without moving his her fingers here and there Because a number of functions are assigned to the jog dial 60 itis possible to reduce the number of operation buttons and swi
50. to start recording of a sound inputted from the micro phone 11 step 4 and write the sound data in a PCM data block of the memory 9 The CPU 32 continues the recording until the STOP button 55 is pressed or the storage capacity of the semiconductor memory 9 becomes full step S5 When the STOP button 55 is pressed or the storage capacity of the semiconductor memory 9 has become full i e there is no more area for writing a sound data the CPU terminates the recording step S6 0084 After the reproduction is terminated the CPU 32 executes rewriting of the TOC information of the sound data step S7 More specifically as shown in FIG 13 in the ADR data block of the index stage block containing a file data the CPU 32 firstly writes a start address STH STM and end address ENH ENM of the index number 01 and index number 02 which were present prior to the recording Next the CPU 32 controls to write a start address and end address indicating the recording position of a new sound data which has been recorded additionally as index number 02 and to write again the start address and the like of the sound data of index number 03 and after which were present prior to the recording Thus the CPU assigns an index number 02 for a new sound data to be additionally recorded and writes its start address STH STM and end address ENH 0085 Consequently in the C recorder 1 when the jog dial 60 is operated and reproduction 18 started
51. ut by not accepting operation of the circuit of the operation block 4 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 3 wherein the hold switch is located on a surface of the housing that is perpendicular to another surface of the housing at which the display panel can be viewed 5 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the selectable information corresponding to one of one or more of the pieces of sound data displayed by the display panel com prises an icon for the corresponding one of the one or more pieces of sound data 6 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display panel is configured to display a number of one of the one more pieces of sound data in an order of reproduction 7 portable hand held apparatus of claim 6 wherein the selectable information comprises the number of one of the one or more pieces of sound data and wherein the first user manual gesture and the second user manual gesture change the displayed number 8 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first user manual gesture and the second user manual gesture change the displayed selectable information Sep 12 2013 9 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the display panel is configured to display time information while reproducing sound 10 The portable hand held apparatus of claim 1 wherein the portable hand held apparatus is also configured to repro duce video data 11 The portable ha

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