Patent Application
20060256988
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memo clip and more particularly, to such a sound-recording/playback memo clip, which uses one single electro-acoustic device for recording sounds and playback voice signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In our daily life, we may use memos and a pen/pencil for recording things to help the memory. It is inconvenient to recording things on a memo by a pen/pencil with one hand when talking to a person at a remote place over a telephone and holding the handset of the telephone with the other hand. Further, people may put memos together with invoices, business cards, brochures, and/or other sheet members in the pocket or suitcase. It may take a lot of time to pick up a memo from a number of sheet members.
Further, various electronic products for recording/playing back sounds such as tape recorders, recorder pens, etc. are commercially available. These electronic products commonly use a microphone to pick up sounds and a speaker to output sounds. Because of the complicated microphone and speaker circuit, the conventional electronic sound recording/playback products are expensive and cannot be made very compact.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a sound-recording/playback memo clip, which uses one single paper-thin electro-acoustic device for recording sounds and playback voice signals. It is another object of the present invention to provide a sound-recording/playback memo clip, which is practical for use in a greeting card, keyring, or memorandum. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the sound-recording/playback memo clip is comprised of a control unit and a voice picking up/output unit. The control unit comprises a housing, a battery cell mounted inside the housing, a circuit board mounted inside the housing and electrically connected to the battery cell, and a plurality of buttons mounted on the outside wall of the housing and electrically connected to the circuit board for sound recording/voice signal playback controls. The voice pickup/output unit comprises a plate member fixedly connected to one side of the housing, and an electro-acoustic device fastened to an opening at the plate member and electrically connected to the circuit board and controllable by the buttons through the circuit board for picking up sounds/outputting voice signals.
Referring to
The control unit 1 comprises a housing 11. The housing 11 comprises a bottom shell 111, and a top cover shell 112 covering the bottom shell 111. The bottom shell 111 has a through hole 1111 at one side. The top cover shell 112 is provided with a plurality of buttons 1121. The bottom shell 111 defines an accommodating space 12, which accommodates a battery cell 13 and a circuit board 14. The buttons 1121 and the battery cell 13 are respectively electrically connected to the circuit board 14.
The voice pickup/output unit 2 comprises a plate member, for example, pearl panel 21, which has an opening 211 and a hole 212 perpendicularly extending from the opening 211 to one peripheral side thereof, an electro-acoustic device 22 fastened to the opening 211 of the pearl panel 21, and an electric wire 221 electrically connected to the electro-acoustic device 22 and extending through the hole 212 to the outside of the pearl panel 21.
Further, the aforesaid circuit board 14 comprises a recording/playback circuit and PWM (pulse width modulation) amplifier circuit assembly (not shown) for controlling the electro-acoustic device 22 to record and playback sounds.
The assembly process of the memo clip is outlined hereinafter with reference to
When in use, the user can operate the buttons 1121 at the top cover shell 112 to drive the circuit board 14, causing the circuit board 14 to control the electro-acoustic device 22 to record sounds or playback recorded voice signals through memory means at the circuit board 14.
The memo clip uses a single electro-acoustic device 22 for picking up sounds and outputting sounds. The whole structure of the memo clip is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, practical for use in a greeting card, keyring, or memorandum.
Further, the electro-acoustic device 22 can be fixedly fastened to the opening 211 with a double-sided adhesive tape or glue. Further, the electro-acoustic device 22 can be a speaker or buzzer.
A prototype of sound-recording/playback memo clip has been constructed with the features of FIGS. 1˜4. The sound-recording/playback memo clip functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.
Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
