Dynamic information storage or retrieval – Information location or remote operator actuated control
Patent
1982-02-25
1984-05-22
Stellar, George G.
Dynamic information storage or retrieval
Information location or remote operator actuated control
369 25, G11B 1518
Patent
active
044505469
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an improvement to the utilization of tape recorders, cassette recorders, and more generally of all playing-back apparatuses and speech processing apparatuses (dictating devices, interphone . . . ), allowing the automatic start-stop by addition of an electronic device which is enclosed or not within the apparatus and is capable of controlling by the speech action the automatic start and stop.
In the known utilizations of this kind, the start and stop of the tape recorder are achieved manually through the apparatus switch, this forces the user to stay next to the apparatus and diverts some of his attention to the start-stop manual operation. In other cases automatic stopping is controlled by signals pre-recorded on a second track, which imposes a pre-recording of the tape with the desired starting and stopping orders, but does not fulfil the aim of this invention.
The electronic device according to the invention, by using commerically available discrete electronic components, according to the basic circuit diagram (which comprises components which are common to a variant embodiment including an amplifier, a monostable flip-flop and a transistor which functions as an electronic switch) permits to avoid the drawbacks of a manually operated control swtich.
The novelty consists in using in the recording position the main existing output plugs of a cassette recorder (including the use of the internal of external microphone), without introducing any modification whatsoever in the apparatus and also in the realization of a low consumption miniaturized electronic circuit (2.5 multiampers without speech, 3.7 milliampers with speech).
The arrangement "tape recorder-additional circuit" actually constitutes "a kind of servo-system", the signals generated by the tape recorder being used after having been reshaped to control the run-stop movement. Due to the low consumption of the circuit, the power supply of the device can thus be derived from the tape recorder battery, whilst substantially keeping its autonomy.
The working of this system confers a flexibility of operation during recording because no manual actuation of the start-stop manual control key is necessary; the user speech when present sets the magnetic tape in motion and its absence triggers the tape stop; this system also affords to save the cassette magnetic tape during the time intervals without speech, with an adjustable time interval from 1 to 3 seconds or more if desired.
In a variant embodiment, the electronic device is constituted by the common elements of the basis diagram with a more sensitive amplifier and a microphone being added. The originality of this variant embodiment consists in the realization of a low-consumption miniaturized circuit, with an enclosed microphone (3.3 mA without signal and 4.7 mA with signal). This circuit is characterized by a more universal operation capability and can either be utilized in the recording position as previously described, or be utilized in the playing back position of the tape recorder by the simple swinging of a switch.
The working of this variant embodiment confers in the recording position a greater flexibility because it does not require the use of the recording monitor plug ("monitor output") which does not necessarily exist in all commerically available tape recorders.
In the playing back position of the tape recorder the electronic circuit allows the automatic stop and start control of the apparatus by the speech (it will be noted that in the recording position the control sequence is effected in the following order: start and then stop).
In this second type of utilization, it is possible to create "imaginary blank spaces" on a cassette which is destined for example for language study (sentence by sentence repetition which can take place as many times as desired by the user). It is no longer necessary to prepare specific "student-master" recordings with preset (and subsequently unchangeable) time intervals which hardly leave a few seconds for the student to repeat.
Wi
REFERENCES:
patent: 3614336 (1971-10-01), Patey
patent: 4000517 (1976-12-01), Brickerd, Jr.
patent: 4323999 (1982-04-01), Yoshizawa et al.
patent: 4342106 (1982-07-01), Sato et al.
Pfund Charles E.
Stellar George G.
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