Voice reproducing apparatus for personal use

• US 5,991,727 A
• Filed: 12/05/1997
• Issued: 11/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Techno Link Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Hiroaki Kato, Kazuhiro Ono
• Inventors: Kato, Hiroaki, Ono, Kazuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Hudspeth, David R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lerner, Martin
• Application Number:
  US08/985,549
• Time in Patent Office: 718 Days
• Field of Search: 704/200, 704/201, 704/270, 704/271, 704/272, 704/276, 704/277, 434/185
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1008 Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/103 Combination of monophonic or stereophonic headphones with audio players, e.g. integrated in the headphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/09 Applications of special connectors, e.g. USB, XLR, in loudspeakers, microphones or headphones

Abstract

A voice reproducing apparatus for personal use is provided with a card serving as a memory-unit accommodating member incorporating therein a memory unit which stores voice as compressed codes; a player body for converting the codes to a voice signal and incorporating therein an interface, a decoding unit, and a circuit portion; and an earphone. The earphone is connected to said card, some of a plurality of contacts of a terminal portion provided in said card are formed as contacts of a terminal portion for an earphone, some of a plurality of contacts of a terminal portion provided in said interface of said player body are formed as contacts of an output terminal portion, and said terminal portion for an earphone is connectable to said output terminal portion when said card is loaded in said player body.

Claims

1. A voice reproducing apparatus for personal use comprising:

a memory-unit accommodating member incorporating therein a memory unit which stores voice as compressed codes;

a player body for converting the codes in said memory unit to a voice signal as said memory-unit accommodating member is loaded therein; and

an earphone for reproducing the voice signal into voice,

said player body incorporating therein an interface for receiving the codes from said memory unit of said memory-unit accommodating member, a decoding unit for translating the codes into a digital voice signal after expanding the codes, and a circuit portion which includes a D/A conversion unit for converting the digital voice signal to an analog voice signal, an amplifier unit for amplifying the analog voice signal, and a switch for effecting a changeover of operation of said player body,

wherein said earphone is connected to said memory-unit accommodating member, some of a plurality of contacts of a terminal portion provided in said memory-unit accommodating member are formed as contacts of a terminal portion for an earphone, some of a plurality of contact of a terminal portion provided in said interface of said player body are formed as contacts of an output terminal portion, and said terminal portion for a cable of an earphone is connected to said output terminal portion when said memory-unit accommodating member is loaded in said player body.

2. A voice reproducing apparatus for personal use according to claim 1, wherein said memory-unit accommodating member incorporates therein a battery for said circuit portion of said player body, some of the plurality of contacts of said terminal portion provided in said memory-unit accommodating member are formed as contacts for a terminal portion for a circuit portion, some of the plurality of contacts of said terminal portion provided in said interface of said player body are formed as contacts of a terminal portion for a power supply, and said terminal portion for a circuit portion is connected to said terminal portion for a power supply when said memory-unit accommodating member is loaded in said player body.