Pause compression and reconstitution for recording/playback apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. Sound recording apparatus comprising:
- an input including analog-to-digital converter (ADC) means for receiving analog audio signals, converting the received audio signals to digitized audio signals and producing digital samples of the received audio signals;
pause detecting means coupled to said input for detecting respective pauses in the received audio signals;
pause encoding means for encoding the length of each detected pause and for producing a digital pause encoded signal representing said length;
replacement means for replacing respective pauses in the digitized audio signals with the digital pause encoded signal therefor;
digital recording means for recording the pause-replaced digitized audio signals; and
temporary store means having addressable locations for storing said digital samples, and address generating means for generating addresses to identify the respective locations in which said digital samples are stored, whereby audio signals are recorded without original pauses and are compressed.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Pauses present in an input audio signal are detected and digitally encoded to represent the length of each pause. The audio signals are recorded; but the pauses included therein are replaced by respective pause encoded signals, thereby compressing the audio signals. When the compressed audio signals are played back, each pause encoded signal is sensed and is replaced by a pause whose length is derived from the encoded signal.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. Sound recording apparatus comprising:
- an input including analog-to-digital converter (ADC) means for receiving analog audio signals, converting the received audio signals to digitized audio signals and producing digital samples of the received audio signals;
pause detecting means coupled to said input for detecting respective pauses in the received audio signals;
pause encoding means for encoding the length of each detected pause and for producing a digital pause encoded signal representing said length;
replacement means for replacing respective pauses in the digitized audio signals with the digital pause encoded signal therefor;
digital recording means for recording the pause-replaced digitized audio signals; and
temporary store means having addressable locations for storing said digital samples, and address generating means for generating addresses to identify the respective locations in which said digital samples are stored, whereby audio signals are recorded without original pauses and are compressed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
- an input including analog-to-digital converter (ADC) means for receiving analog audio signals, converting the received audio signals to digitized audio signals and producing digital samples of the received audio signals;
-
7. Sound reproducing apparatus comprising:
- a storage medium on which are recorded compressed digital audio signals including digital samples of audio information and digital pause encoded signals representing the lengths of respective pauses included in original audio signals that had been recorded;
playback means for playing back the digital samples and digital pause encoded signals;
digital-to-analog converting (DAC) means for converting the played back digital samples to analog audio signals;
insertion means responsive to a played back digital pause encoded signal for inserting into said analog audio signals a pause whose length is derived from said digital pause encoded signal; and
transducer means for producing audio sounds in response to said analog audio signals;
said insertion means comprising pause length setting means for setting the length of an inserted pause (a) to be equal to a predetermined amount if the length represented by the digital pause encoded signal exceeds a minimum desired length and (b) to be equal to the length represented by the digital pause encoded signal if said last-mentioned length is less than said minimum desired length. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- a storage medium on which are recorded compressed digital audio signals including digital samples of audio information and digital pause encoded signals representing the lengths of respective pauses included in original audio signals that had been recorded;
-
15. Sound recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:
-
an input for receiving audio signals to be recorded; pause detecting means coupled to said input for detecting respective pauses in the received audio signals; pause encoding means for producing a digital pause encoded signal representing a pause length for each detected pause; analog-to-digital converting (ADC) means coupled to said input for converting the received audio signals to digital audio samples representative thereof; temporary store means coupled to said ADC means and having addressable locations for storing said digital audio samples and address generating means for generating addresses to identify the respective locations in which said digital audio samples are stored; replacement means for replacing pauses in the received audio signals with respective digital pause encoded signals; recording means for recording the digital audio samples and digital pause encoded signals, whereby the recorded audio signals are compressed; playback means for playing back the recorded digital audio samples and digital pause encoded signals; digital-to-analog converting (DAC) means coupled to said playback menas for converting the played back digital audio samples to analog audio signals; insertion means responsive to a played back digital pause encoded signal for inserting into the converted analog audio signal a pause whose length is derived from said digital pause encoded signal; and output means for outputting analog audio signals with inserting pauses. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. Sound reproducing apparatus comprising:
- a storage medium on which are recorded compressed digital audio signals including digital samples of audio information and digital pause encoded signals representing the lengths of respective pauses included in original audio signals that had been recorded;
playback means for playing back the digital samples and ditial pause encoded signals;
digital-to-analog converting (DAC) means for converting the played back digital samples to analog audio signals;
insertion means responsive to a played back digital pause encoded signal for inserting into said analog audio signals a pause whose length is derived from said digital pause encoded signal; and
transducer means for producing audio sounds in response to said analog audio signals;
said insertion means including;
(a) random noise generating means for generating a random noise signal having a time duration substantially equal to the length of the inserted pause; and
(b) means for inserting said random noise signal into the analog audio signals.
- a storage medium on which are recorded compressed digital audio signals including digital samples of audio information and digital pause encoded signals representing the lengths of respective pauses included in original audio signals that had been recorded;
Specification