Radio signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function

In a radio signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function, if a message signal is received from an external device when an accompanying sound reproducer is in use, the connection of the sound reproducer to a speaker is required to be disconnected so as to connect the speaker to a radio receiver section which supplies the received message signal. The apparatus is configured such that when a message sent from an external device is inputted to the receiver section during the use of the sound reproducer, the sound reproducer automatically changes a sound volume of a signal therefrom to a prescribed value. In a simultaneous reproducer, an audio signal from the message reproducer is mixed with the audio signal of which the sound volume is changed in the sound reproducer to be supplied to a loudspeaker. The resultant signal is then sounded by the loudspeaker. In this construction, even if an external message sent is fed to the receiver section when the sound reproducer is in operation, the sound of the message signal can be produced without interrupting the output operation of the audio signal from the sound reproducer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a radio signal receiving apparatus with 
audio signal receiving and reproducing function having functions to 
reproduce voice and sound such as a radio set and/or a cassette deck. More 
particularly, the invention relates to a radio signal receiving apparatus 
with audio signal receiving and reproducing function for use with a 
selective calling pager having a sound reproducing function for 
automatically reproducing a message received by the selective calling 
pager. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
FIG. 1 shows in a block diagram an example of constitution of a 
conventional radio signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving 
and reproducing functions. 
The conventional example shown in FIG. 1 includes an accompanying sound 
reproducer 22 including a radio set, a cassette recorder, or the like for 
reproducing sound and voice, a radio signal reception switching device 27 
for receiving a message signal transmitted from an external device and 
outputting the received signal and a voice signal from the sound 
reproducer 22 by conducting a change-over or switching operation between 
these signals, and a loudspeaker 24 receiving the audio signal from the 
radio signal reception switching device 27 and producing voice and sound 
associated with the received signal. The radio signal reception switching 
device 27 includes a signal receiving antenna 20 for receiving a message 
signal sent from an external facility, a radio signal receiving section 21 
for converting the message signal supplied via the antenna 20 into an 
audio signal, a switching relay 25 having an open-contact point 25a and a 
closed-contact point 25d for conducting a change-over operation between 
the audio signal from the receiving section 21 and that from the sound 
reproducer 22, and a delay section 26 for delaying a prescribed period of 
time the audio signal from the receiving section 21 and supplying the 
delayed signal to the relay 25 (reference to be made to the Japanese 
Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 2-202239). 
Description now be given of operation of the radio signal receiving 
apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function configured 
as above. 
First, a message signal sent from an external device is received via the 
antenna 20 to be sent to the receiver 21. The signal is converted into an 
audio signal and is then outputted therefrom. 
The audio signal from the receiver 21 is fed via the delay section 26 to 
the relay circuit 25 such that the open-contact point 25a and the 
closed-contact point 25b are excited to be set to open and closed states, 
respectively. 
Resultantly, the receiver 21 is connected to the speaker 24, whereas the 
sound reproducer 22 is disconnected from the speaker 24. 
Moreover, the message signal received via the antenna 20 is supplied as an 
audio signal to the speaker 24. The signal is outputted as voice and/or 
sound from the speaker 24. 
After the radio communication from the external device is terminated, if 
any message is received via the antenna 20 and any audio signal is 
supplied via the delay section 26 to the relay 25 within at least a 
prescribed period of time, the point 25a and 25b are respectively restored 
to the original states in the relay 25. Namely, the receiver 21 is 
disconnected from the speaker 24 and the sound reproducer 22 is again 
coupled with the speaker 24 such that the audio signal from the reproducer 
22 is sounded by the speaker 24. 
In the conventional radio signal receiving apparatus with audio signal 
receiving and reproducing function described above, when a message signal 
is received from an external device in a state in which the accompanying 
sound reproducer is in operation, the reproducer in use is required to be 
disconnected from the speaker so that the radio receiver which outputs the 
received message is linked with the speaker. 
However, when the connection or disconnection is to be manually switched, 
the operator is required to manually change the state of connection or 
disconnection. For example, when the user is driving a car, this may 
result in a fear of an accident. 
Moreover, even when the change of connection or disconnections 
automatically carried out, the sound from the reproducer in use is 
abruptly interrupted, which may possibly be uncomfortable for the user in 
some cases. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention, which has been devised 
to remove the problem of the prior art, to provide a radio signal 
receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function 
in which when a message signal is received during the operation of the 
accompanying sound reproducer, the received message can be outputted 
without interrupting the sound signal from the reproducer. 
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a 
radio signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and 
reproducing function including a receiver section for receiving a message 
signal sent from external device, converting the message signal into an 
audio signal, and outputting the audio signal therefrom; a message 
reproducer circuit for conducting a reproducing operation for the audio 
signal from the receiver section and outputting therefrom an audio signal 
thus reproduced, an accompanying sound reproducer circuit for conducting a 
reproducing operation for an audio signal fed from an accompanying sound 
reproducer and outputting therefrom an audio signal reproduced through the 
operation, output means for receiving the audio signals respectively from 
the message reproducer circuit and the accompanying sound reproducer 
circuit and outputting (sounding) the audio signals therefrom, and a 
simultaneous producer section for mixing the audio signal from the message 
reproducer circuit with that from the accompanying sound reproducer 
circuit and delivering a signal resultant from the mixing operation to the 
output means. In the apparatus, the accompanying sound reproducer circuit 
automatically changes, when the message signal is inputted to the receiver 
section, a sound volume of the audio signal therefrom to a predetermined 
value. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the 
accompanying sound reproducer circuit automatically restores, when the 
message signal is completely outputted (sounded) by the output means, the 
sound volume of the audio signal to the original value before the change 
thereof. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the 
accompanying sound reproducer circuit changes the sound volume in a 
continuous and stepless manner. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the radio 
signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing 
function further includes a storage section for storing therein the audio 
signal fed from the receiver section and an automatic reproduction control 
section for controlling, when the message signal is delivered to the 
receiver section, whether or not the output means outputs (sound) the 
message signal. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the radio 
signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing 
function further includes a reporting section for outputting, when the 
audio signal is outputted from the receiver section, a signal indicating 
an event that the message signal is inputted to the receiver section. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the 
accompanying sound reproducer is a radio set. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the 
accompanying sound reproducer is a cassette desk. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the 
accompanying sound reproducer includes a radio set and a cassette deck and 
the apparatus further includes selector means for selecting the radio set 
or the cassette deck, selected one of the radio set or the cassette deck 
outputting an audio signal to the accompanying sound reproducer circuit. 
In accordance with an another aspect of the present invention, the output 
means is a loudspeaker. 
In accordance with the present invention providing the configuration above, 
when a message signal from an external device is received by the receiving 
section during the operation of the accompanying sound reproducer, the 
sound volume of the sound or audio signal from the sound reproducer is 
automatically changed to a predetermined value. In the simultaneous 
reproducer, the audio signal from the message reproducer is mixed with the 
audio signal having the adjusted sound volume to be fed to the output 
means such that the mixed signal is sounded by the output means. 
Thereafter, when the output means completely sounds the message signal, the 
sound volume of the audio signal from the sound reproducer is 
automatically restored to the original value and only the audio signal 
from the sound reproducer is sounded by the output means. 
As above, in a case in which a message signal from an external device is 
received by the receiving section during the operation of the accompanying 
sound reproducer, the sound volume of the audio signal from the sound 
reproducer is changed such that the sound of the message signal is clearly 
produced by the output means. Therefore, even when the sound of the 
message signal is produced, it is unnecessary to stop the output of sound 
from the sound reproducer. 
Additionally, when there are disposed a storage section to store therein 
the audio signal from the receiving section and an automatic reproduction 
controller to determine, when a message signal is inputted to the 
receiving section, whether or not the message signal is sounded by the 
output means, a confidential message and a message which need not heard at 
reception thereof can be stored in the storage to be reproduced later. 
The above and further objects and novel features of the invention will be 
more fully understood from the following detailed description when the 
same is read in connection with the accompanying drawings. It should be 
expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for purpose of 
illustration only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of 
the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail 
referring to the accompanying drawings. 
A radio signal receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and 
reproducing function according to the invention has a function to 
reproduce voice and sound such as a radio set and/or a cassette deck, and 
in particular, to a wireless receiver for use with a selective calling 
pager having a sound reproducing function for automatically reproducing a 
message received by a selective calling pager. When the user utilizes the 
function to reproduce voice or sound such as a radio set and/or a cassette 
deck, a pager receiving section receives voice message, it causes sound 
volume of the radio set and/or the cassette deck to mute, simultaneously 
it causes the voice message received by the pager receiving section to 
reproduce. 
FIG. 2 shows in a block diagram an embodiment of a radio signal receiving 
apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function in 
accordance with the present invention. 
As can be seen from FIG. 2, the embodiment is a system on which an 
accompanying sound reproducer 10 including a radio set 10a and a cassette 
deck 10b is to be mounted. The embodiment includes a signal receiving 
antenna 1 to receive a message signal sent from an external facility, a 
receiver section 2 to convert the message signal received via the antenna 
1 into an audio signal so as to supply the audio signal to a subsequent 
device, a storage section 3 to store therein the audio signal from the 
receiver section 2, a reporting section 5 to notify, when the audio signal 
is sent from the receiver section 2, the reception of the message to the 
external facility, an audio message reproducer circuit 6 to reproduce the 
message signal from the audio signal received from the receiver section 2, 
an accompanying sound reproducer circuit 9 to reproduce an audio signal 
from the accompanying sound signal sent from the accompanying sound 
reproducer 10, a simultaneous reproducer 7 to mix the audio signals 
respectively from the audio message reproducer 6 and the sound reproducer 
10 with each other, a loudspeaker 8 as output means to sound the audio 
signal produced from the simultaneous reproducer 7, and a control section 
4 to control operation of the storage 3, the reporting section 5, the 
audio message reproducer 6, and the accompanying sound reproducer circuit 
9. The control section 4 comprises a CPU, an internal memory, and CG and 
so forth. The audio message reproducer 6 includes an audio reproducer 6a 
to conduct a reproducing operation for an audio signal sent from the 
receiver 2 and an amplifier 6b to amplify an audio signal resultant from 
the reproduction by the audio reproducer 6a. Moreover, the accompanying 
sound reproducer circuit 9 includes an audio reproducer 9a to conduct a 
reproducing operation for an audio signal outputted from the accompanying 
sound reproducer 10 and a variable amplifier 9b to amplify an audio signal 
thus reproduced by the audio reproducer 9a according to an amplification 
factor under control of the control section 4. Additionally arranged as 
selection means is a change-over switch 11 between the reproducer 10 and 
the reproducer circuit 9 to conduct a change-over operation for the audio 
signal to be inputted to the reproducer circuit 9. 
FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the configuration of the variable 
amplifier 9b shown in FIG. 2. 
As shown in FIG. 3, the amplifier 9b of the embodiment includes a switch 
904 to set a value to mute or lower the sound volume, an amplifier section 
905 to amplify the audio signal from the audio reproducer 9a, a motor 902 
of which the number of rotations per unitary period of time is determined 
by the control section 4 and which controls an amplification factor of the 
amplifier 905, and a counter 903 to count the number of rotations of the 
motor 902. The amplifier 905 includes a volume adjusting variable resistor 
901 to adjust the amplification factor. 
Description will now be given of operation of the radio signal receiving 
apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function constructed 
as above. 
FIG. 4 is a flowchaart for explaining operation of the radio signal 
receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function 
shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
In the embodiment, if an external message signal is received via the 
antenna 1 when the accompanying sound reproducer 10 is in use, the volume 
of the audio signal outputted from the sound reproducer 10 is set to 
prescribed value (to be referred to as a muted volume herebelow) such that 
the sound from the reproducer 10 and the message set from the external 
device are outputted (sounded) at the same time. The muted volume is to be 
set to the apparatus in advance. The prescribed value corresponds to "0" 
of the counter value of the variable amplifier 9b (since the muted sound 
volume is set by making the counter-value zero). Therefore, under normal 
condition, the sound volume of the voice which is outputted from the 
accompanying sound reproducer 10 in cases where the message signal is 
received from the outside is the sound volume of the counter-value "0", 
while the sound volume of voice outputted from the accompanying sound 
reproducer 10 is arbitrarily changed by adjusting the volume adjusting 
variable resistor by the user. At this time when the counter-value is 
positive number such as 10, or 20, the sound volume is bigger than the 
muted sound value, while when the counter-value is negative number such as 
-10, or -20, the sound volume is smaller than the muted sound value. 
First, when the user lowers the volume of the reproducer circuit 9 to the 
muted volume and then pushes the switch 904, the muted volume is set to 
the apparatus (step 1). In this operation, the value of the counter 903 is 
reset to zero. 
Once the muted volume is set as above, the volume of the reproducer circuit 
9 can be arbitrarily altered and the audio signal from the reproducer 10 
is sounded by the loudspeaker 8. 
In the situation above, when the message signal from the external facility 
is received via the antenna 1 (step 2), the received signal is transformed 
through the receiver section 2 into an audio signal to be stored in the 
storage 3 under supervision of the control section 4. Furthermore, the 
amplification factor of the variable amplifier 9b is also controlled such 
that the sound volume of the signal from the reproducer circuit 9 is set 
to the muted volume (step 3). 
Next, description will be given in detail of the operation to control the 
amplification factor of the variable amplifier 9b. 
After the muted volume is set to the apparatus, when the sound volume of 
the reproducer 10 is changed from the muted volume, the motor 902 rotates 
in association with the change in the sound volume and the count value of 
the counter 903 is accordingly varied. In this regard, assume that the 
direction of rotation of the motor 902 to increase the sound volume 
relative to the muted volume is called "positive direction of rotation" 
and the counting operation of the counter 903 is referred to as "positive 
counting (addition)". For the decreasing operation of the sound volume, 
the direction is called "negative direction of rotation" and the counting 
operation is referred to as "negative counting (subtraction)". When the 
counter-value of the counter 903 is set a positive value, the sound volume 
is related to a position advanced relative to the position of the muted 
volume according to the counter-value. Conversely, when the counter-value 
is a negative value, the sound volume is associated with a position 
lowered relative to the position of the muted volume in accordance with 
the counter-value. Namely, since the value of the counter 903 is set to 
zero at the time of setting of the muted sound volume, in every increasing 
the sound volume from the position of zero, the value of the counter 903 
is counted in the positive direction such as 1, 2, 3, . . . , while in 
every decreasing the sound volume from the position of zero, the value of 
the counter 903 is counted in the negative direction such as -1, -2, -3, . 
. . inversely. 
A base band signal (voice message) is decoded at the receiving section 2 to 
be restored in the storage 3. When the audio message is reproduced, it 
causes counter-value of the present sound volume to store to the internal 
memory of the control section 4 temporally. Next, the control section 4 
sends a control signal to the rotational motor such that it causes the 
rotational motor to rotate in the direction that the sound volume of the 
accompanying sound reproducer becomes zero of counter-value. When the 
counter-value becomes zero, the control section sends a control signal 
stopping the motor. After termination of reproducing the message, the 
control section sends a signal to the rotational motor such that it causes 
the rotational motor to rotate in the direction that the sound volume of 
the accompanying sound reproducer becomes the former counter value stored 
in the internal memory to be returned to the former sound value. 
When the audio signal from the receiver section 2 is fed to the cotrol 
section 4, the value of the counter 903 at the moment is temporarily 
stored in the control section 4 such that the motor 902 rotates to set the 
counter 903 to zero. Accordingly, the value of resistance of the variable 
resistor 901 is controlled in a continuous or stepless manner such that 
the sound volume of the audio signal from the amplifier 9b is set to the 
muted volume. The stepless manner is a manner to realize smooth change of 
the sound volume such that it causes the resistance value to change 
continuously instead of change at one time. 
When the muted volume is accordingly set as above, an event of reception of 
the message signal via the antenna 1 is notified by the reporting section 
5, namely, the notification is achieved by a light beam to the user or 
vibration is imparted to the user (step 4). 
Subsequently, in the cotrol section 4, the audio signal is read from the 
storage 3 to be sent to the audio message reproducer circuit 6. The signal 
is subjected to reproducing and amplifying operations therein to be fed to 
the simultaneous reproducer 7. 
On the other hand, the audio signal inputted to the reproducer circuit 9 
from the accompanying sound reproducer 10 is outputted therefrom as audio 
signal having the muted volume and is then fed to the simultaneous 
reproducer 7. 
When the audio signals are supplied from the audio message reproducer 6 and 
the accompanying sound reproducer circuit 9 to the simultaneous reproducer 
7, these signals are mixed with each other therein to be sound from the 
loudspeaker 8 (step 5). Namely, the message from the external device and 
the sound which is fed from the accompanying sound reproducer 10 and of 
which the sound volume is adjusted to the muted volume are sounded by the 
loudspeaker 8. 
After this point, when the audio message from the external facility is 
completed (step 6), the sound volume of the audio signal from the 
reproducer circuit 9 is restored by the control section 4 to the original 
volume, i.e., the volume before the reduction thereof to the muted volume 
(step 7). The completion of output of the audio message may be decided 
such that a sign which indicates the last of the message is attached to 
the last of the message, or maximum value of the audio message is 
determined formerly, for example when the information is 20 sec-MAX, the 
audio message is completed after 20 sec past. In the operation above, the 
position related to the sound volume from the reproducer circuit 9 and the 
position before the volume is lowered to the muted volume are restored 
under control of the control section 4, the positions being respectively 
memorized as counter-values of the counter 903 of the variable amplifier 
9b. Consequently, it is only necessary to reverse the operation to 
minimize the volume to the muted volume. That is, the motor 902 is 
reversely rotated to set the counter-value 903 from 0 to the stored 
original value so as to automatically restore the sound volume. 
Description will now be given of another embodiment in accordance with the 
present invention. 
FIG. 5 shows in a block diagram of another embodiment of the radio signal 
receiving apparatus with audio signal receiving and reproducing function 
in accordance with the present invention and FIG. 6 is a block diagram 
showing in detail the configuration of an automatic reproduction 
controller 12 of FIG. 5. 
The embodiment includes, in addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 2, 
an automatic reproduction controller 12 to control the automatic 
reproduction of the message signal received via the antenna 1 as shown in 
FIGS. 5 and 6. The controller 12 includes an automatic reproduction 
selector switch 1201 to select whether or not the automatic reproduction 
is conducted for the message signal received via the antenna 1, an audio 
message reception switch section 1202 which is set to the on state only 
when a message signal is received from an external device, and an OR gate 
1203. The OR gate 1203 includes a first input terminal connected to an 
(Read Strobe) RDB terminal of the control section 4, a second input 
terminal linked with a first terminal of the switch 1201 via the switch 
section 1202, and an output terminal coupled with an (Output Enable) OEB 
terminal of the storage 3. The selector switch 1201 has a second terminal 
connected to Vdd or GND depending on the operation of the selector switch 
1201. 
Next, description will be given of operation of the wireless apparatus 
constructed as above. In this regard, any operation already described for 
the wireless apparatus shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be avoided for 
simplification of explanation. 
When the automatic reproduction is accomplished for the message signal sent 
from an external device, the selector switch 1201 is set to the on state 
in advance. In this state, the second terminal of the switch 1201 is 
connected to GND. 
In this state, when a message signal is received from an external facility, 
the switch section 1202 is turned on and a low-level signal is delivered 
to the second input terminal of the OR gate 1203. 
In response to reception of the external message signal, to read the audio 
signal from the storage 3, a low-level signal is outputted from the RDB 
terminal of the control section 4 to be fed to the first input terminal of 
the OR gate 1203. 
Resultantly, a low-level signal is supplied from the OR gate 1203 to the 
OEB terminal of the storage 3 such that the audio signal is read from the 
storage 3 to be subjected to the automatic reproduction. 
When the automatic reproduction is not required to be conducted for the 
external message signal, the switch 1201 is set to the off state. In this 
state, the second terminal of the switch 1201 is coupled with Vdd. 
When a message signal is received from an external device under this 
condition, the switch section 1202 is turned on such that a high-level 
signal is fed to the second input terminal of the OR gate 1203. 
As a result, a high-level signal is sent from the OR gate 1203 to the OEB 
terminal of the storage 3. Namely, the audio signal is not read from the 
storage 3 and the automatic reproduction of the signal is not achieved. 
Thanks to the configuration of the present invention described above, there 
are obtained the following advantages. 
In the construction associated with the present invention, if a message 
signal is inputted from an external device to the receiver section when 
the accompanying sound reproducer is in use, the sound volume of the sound 
reproducer is automatically changed to a prescribed value in the sound 
reproducer. In the simultaneous reproducer, the audio signal from the 
message reproducer is mixed with the audio signal from the sound 
reproducer having the changed sound volume such that the resultant signal 
is sounded by output means. Consequently, even when the external message 
is received by the receiver section during the operation of the sound 
reproducer, the message signal can be reproduced without interrupting the 
output of the sound reproducer. 
In the configuration described in the invention, the sound volume can be 
changed in a continuous and stepless manner. Therefore, the sound volume 
is smoothly altered in the change of sound volume. This avoids the 
uncomfortable abrupt change in the sound volume. 
According to an aspect of the configuration of the invention, there are 
disposed a storage section to store therein the audio signal sent from the 
receiver section and an automatic reproduction controller to control the 
operation to sound the message signal from output means. Consequently, a 
confidential message and any message not required to be reproduced at the 
reception thereof can be stored in the storage section to be reproduced 
later. 
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a 
reporting section to output, when the audio signal is outputted from the 
receiver section, a signal indicating the reception of a message signal by 
the receiver section. Therefore, even when the message signal is not 
sounded from the output means under supervision of the automatic 
reproduction controller, the reception of the message signal can be 
recognized in a real time fashion. 
While the present invention has been described with reference to the 
particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by those 
embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that 
those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without 
departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.