KR20010036156A - Moving picture expert group layer3 changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An MP3 changer is provided to enable a plurality of music pieces to be continuously played in a portable MP3 player or in an MP3 player for car. CONSTITUTION: An expansion memory slot(12) stores an audio signal or a music file downloaded and inputted from the outside. A memory(11) stores the audio signal or the music file downloaded and inputted from the outside. A control part(14) encodes and decodes the audio signal or the music file, controls an input/output of the memory(11) or the expansion memory slot(12). Further, the control part(14) controls an expansion memory provided in the expansion memory slot(12) to be used as a storing unit according to storage capacity of the memory(11). The audio signal or the music file is inputted from the outside through universal serial bus cables, serial ports, parallel ports, etc. The memory provided in the expansion memory slot(12) is comprised of a PC card, a CF(Compact Flash) card, a MMC(MultiMedia Card), a smart media, an expansion memory, a hard disk, a CD ROM(RAM), a DVD ROM(RAM), an MD(Mini Disk), an MO(Magnetic Optical), etc.

Description

MP3 Changer {Moving picture expert group layer3 changer}

The present invention relates to an MP3 player, and more particularly to an MP3 changer that supports the continuous play of a plurality of songs in a portable / home or car MP3 player.

In general, MP3 stands for MPEG Layer 3, which is one of the audio parts of MPEG technology. The MP3 is an audio file format created using audio data coding technology that can compress existing data to about one-twelfth without compromising sound quality. This makes it ideal for sending and receiving audio files using limited transmission lines. As such, the popularity of music-loving netizens is increasing significantly. In particular, MP3 allows users to use their PC as an audio system with a program that can make their favorite music into MP3 files, create their own albums on the PC, and play MP3 files.

On the other hand, such MP3 music is usually listened by inserting an earphone into a portable MP3 player, or through a computer equipped with a sound card and speakers. In addition, an MP3 player may be connected to a cassette player interface tape having the same shape as a cassette tape, and the interface tape may be inserted into a cassette player to listen to MP3 music through the speaker.

The method of downloading such MP3 music files from the Internet and playing them with an MP3 player is as follows. Of course, it must be downloaded for a certain amount through a specific website on the Internet that is already copyrighted and commercialized for MP3 music. First of all, a user needs a computer with a certain capacity capable of PC communication, a telephone line, a modem, related programs (Explorer, Netscape), etc., and needs to obtain an account of an ISP (Internet Service Provider) that can access the Internet. Do.

These MP3 songs take up 1MB of memory space per minute. Existing MP3 players provide a memory expansion card slot (Slot) to overcome this problem because the memory capacity is limited to 64MB, but there is a problem that it is difficult to play several songs continuously because of limitations.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide an MP3 changer that supports the continuous play of a plurality of songs in a portable / home or car MP3 player.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an MP3 changer according to the present invention.

The MP3 changer for solving the technical problem to be achieved by the present invention comprises an expansion memory slot having an expansion memory for storing audio signals or music files downloaded and input from the outside; A memory for storing audio signals or music files downloaded and input from the outside; And a controller for encoding and decoding the audio signal and the music file and controlling the input / output of the memory or the expansion memory slot to use the expansion memory provided in the expansion memory slot as a storage means according to the storage capacity of the memory. It is desirable to.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an MP3 changer according to the present invention.

The apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes encoding means 10 for encoding an audio signal, a memory 11 for storing audio signals downloaded and encoded from the outside, and an expansion memory for storing audio signals downloaded and encoded from the outside. Control unit for controlling the expansion memory slot 12, the expansion slot control unit 13 for controlling the expansion memory slot 12, the memory 11 and the expansion memory slot 12 to decode and control the entire system ( 14) and a decoding unit 15 for decoding and outputting an audio signal of the memory 11 or the expansion memory slot 12 under the control of the controller 14.

Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In the present invention, the expansion memory slot 12 is provided to overcome the storage limitation of the MP3, PC card, Compact Flash (CF) card, MMC (MultiMedia Card), Smart Media (Smart Media), etc. Extended memory or hard disk , CD ROM (RAM), DVD ROM (RAM), MD (Mini Disk), MO (Magnetic Optical) disks, etc. can be combined in combination.

When the storage space of the memory 11 is insufficient, the expansion memory slot 12 may be used. The controller 14 detects a state of the memory 11, and when the space of the memory 11 is insufficient, the expansion slot 12. Notifying the control unit 13 of this, and the expansion slot control unit 13 controls to record or read audio data according to the memory provided in the expansion memory slot 12 from this time.

The encoder 10 converts an audio signal input and downloaded from the outside into digital under the control of the controller 14, and encodes the encoded audio signal and stores the encoded audio signal in the memory 11.

Audio signals or music files, such as AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), MSAudio (MicrosoftAudio), etc., which are input from external sources and downloaded, can be transferred via USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable, Serial, Parallel, etc. The packet is stored in the memory 11 under the control of the controller 14. In addition, music files can be stored in the memory provided in the expansion memory slot 12 so that many digital audio files can be exchanged conveniently.

MP3 music files and the like can be provided through external and external devices. Nowadays, there are many places in Korea that provide music files in MP3 format for a fee, and websites that provide foreign language conversational learning materials as MP3s have appeared. Therefore, when a user downloads an MP3 music file or the like through a computer and stores it in the memory 11, the user can listen to digital audio files including MP3 music at any time. In this case, when the memory 11 is insufficient, the expansion memory slot 12 may be used, and the expansion slot control unit 13 controls this.

The controller 14 performs decoding control on the audio data stored in the memory 11 and the expansion slot controller 13. Under the control of the controller 14, the decoder 15 reads and decodes the digital audio data stored in the memory included in the memory 11 and the expansion memory slot 12, and converts the digital audio data into an analog signal.

The encoding and decoding of the audio signal of the MP3 may be processed by the controller 14 in software and may or may not be present in the MP3 player. In addition, encoding and decoding of MP3 audio signals can be processed by DSP (Digital Signal Processing).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and of course, modifications may be made by those skilled in the art within the spirit of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, for example, MP3, AAC, and MSAudio are examples of digital audio data, but the same applies to digital audio data adopted as a standard by any other standard organization. Therefore, the scope of the claims in the present invention will not be defined within the scope of the detailed description, but will be limited to the claims below.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect of introducing a changer concept having a plurality of expansion slots in the MP3 to enable long-term and continuous play.

Claims (4)

An expansion memory slot having an expansion memory for storing audio signals or music files downloaded and input from the outside; A memory for storing audio signals or music files downloaded and input from the outside; And And a controller configured to encode and decode the audio signal and the music file, and to control input / output of the memory or the expansion memory slot to use the expansion memory provided in the expansion memory slot as a storage means according to the storage capacity of the memory. MP3 changer. The method of claim 1, The audio signal or the music file is an MP3 changer, which is input from the outside through a universal serial bus (USB) cable, a serial, a parallel port and the like. The memory of claim 1, wherein the memory provided in the expansion memory slot is PC card, Compact Flash (CF) card, MMC (MultiMedia Card), Smart Media, etc., extended memory or hard disk, CD ROM (RAM), DVD ROM (RAM), MD (Mini Disk), MO (Magnetic) Optical), MP3 changer, characterized in that a plurality can be mounted. Encoding means for encoding an audio signal input from the outside; A memory for storing the encoded signal and a music file downloaded from the outside; An expansion memory slot having an expansion memory to store the encoded signal and a music file downloaded from the outside; An expansion slot controller configured to control input / output of a memory provided in the expansion memory slot; Control the expansion slot control unit to control the input / output of the encoded audio signal and the music file to use the expansion memory included in the expansion memory slot as a storage means according to the storage capacity of the memory, and to decode the audio signal and the music file. Control unit for controlling the; And And decoding means for decoding a signal stored in a memory provided in the memory and an expansion memory slot under the control of the controller.