Patent Publication Number: US-2007111754-A1

Title: User-wearable data acquisition system including a speaker microphone that is couple to a two-way radio

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates in general to user wearable data acquisition systems which include a speaker microphone.  
      2. History of the Prior Art  
      Police, fire and other emergency and security personnel often wear portable two-way radios, or transceivers, while on the job so that they can transmit and receive information to and from other radios and/or a communications center. Such radios, which are particularly useful when executing vehicle stops, performing detective work, and assisting during emergencies, are typically worn on a belt or strap. The radios often utilize a handheld combination microphone and speaker, known as a speaker mic, shoulder mic, or remote speaker mic. So that the user&#39;s hands may remain free during periods of communication, the speaker mic should be placed sufficiently near the user&#39;s head so that the user can both speak into and receive messages from the speaker mic. Most speaker mics on the market today are equipped with a spring-loaded clip which enables the speaker mic to be attached to a user&#39;s shirt on the shoulder epaulet, pocket or collar, or other articles of clothing, thus eliminating the need to hold it in the user&#39;s hand while being used.  
      The litigious nature of contemporary American society has created the need for police and other public officials to document their interactions with the public. The documentation must be automatic so that a public official may perform his job without interference from the documentation generation process. In addition, the generated documentation must be sufficiently reliable so as to be legally admissible as evidence.  
      What is needed is a portable data acquisition system that incorporates a speaker mic and that is fully integrated with a two-way radio. This incorporation of the data acquisition system into units already used by policepersons, firepersons etc eliminates the need to attach yet another device to their already crowded utility belt or clothing as the officer is already wearing the radio and speaker mic. The data acquisition system should be capable of continuously recording any interaction with the public.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention fulfills the need for a portable, user-wearable data acquisition system that incorporates a speaker mic and is fully integrated with a two-way radio. As a minimum, the data acquisition system includes a speaker and microphone that are coupled to a two-way radio. In addition, the speaker microphone is coupled to audio recording circuitry and re-useable audio memory. The audio recording circuitry and audio memory are powered by an electro-chemical power supply, which may be either integral with the two-way radio or separate therefrom. In order to eliminate the need for analog-to-digital conversion circuitry, the audio memory may be a multi-level analog storage chip, such as the patented Chipcorder manufactured by Winbond Corporation. However, other types of audio memory, such as digital memory and micro hard disc storage are also contemplated.  
      The data acquisition system may further include a video camera lens, an image sensor for receiving images through the camera lens, video recording circuitry, and rewriteable digital video memory Non-volatile memory, such as flash memory or micro hard disc storage, is used for the rewriteable digital video memory. It should be understood that for a data acquisition system combining both audio and video recording capabilities, both the re-useable audio memory and the re-writeable video memory may be combined by using, for example, flash memory or micro hard disc storage for both functions. Inter-coupling of the various devices included in the data acquisition system may be via either wired communication or wireless communication. All components of the data acquisition system may be contained in a single housing, such as a speaker microphone. Alternatively, the various components may be distributed in several interconnected modules. For example, if the speaker mic is in the form of a headset, the other components may be contained within a separate single housing or separate multiple housings attachable to the user&#39;s clothing.  
      As an option, the data acquisition system may include a light source having at least one light-emitting diode (LED). The LED may emit light in the visible range, or alternatively, may emit light in the infra-red range. Optionally, both visible and infra-red emitting LEDs may be included in the light source, with each type of emission being individually user selectable. Infrared emission is desirable for certain applications because it provides the capability for photography under conditions perceived by the human eye as darkness. The light source may be mounted on a stalk or arm, which may be adjusted to direct the beam from the light source in a desired direction. The light source is powered by the electro-chemical power supply.  
      Control of the data acquisition system is provided by a user interface that may be as simple as multiple switches or as complex as a user control interface incorporating a microprocessor or microcontroller, multiple input switches and even an alpha numeric keypad, and/or a video display. Control inputs may be provided by touch-screen capability provided by the video display. For a preferred embodiment of the data acquisition system, a data transfer interface is provided for the transfer of stored data to other computer systems. The interface may incorporate a hard wired port, such as a Uniform Serial Bus (USB) or wireless interconnectivity using, for example, radio frequency signals (RF), infrared signals (IR), or Blue Tooth Signals. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the user-wearable data acquisition system;  
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of two-way radio connected to a shoulder speaker/microphone incorporating the entire user-wearable data acquisition system;  
       FIG. 3  is a rear elevational view of the shoulder speaker/microphone of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a front elevational view of a two-way radio connected to a user-wearable data acquisition system that includes two interconnected modules;  
       FIG. 5  is a front elevational view of a two-way radio connected to a user-wearable data acquisition system that includes a headset and a single module incorporating system controls, data storage, a video camera module, and two light sources; and  
       FIG. 6  is a front elevational view of a two-way radio connected to a user-wearable data acquisition system that includes a headset, a first module incorporating at least a push-to-talk switch and earphone volume control, and a second module incorporating a video camera module, data storage, two light sources and a user control interface. 
    
    
     DETAILED DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawing figures. It should be understood that the physical appearance of the various components may vary greatly, depending on the design of the various housings, the types of switches, the type of microphone, the type of speaker, the type of camera module and the type of battery used.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the user-wearable data acquisition system  100  may be coupled to a radio transceiver  101  so that the microphone  111  and the speaker  114  of the system  100  may be used, via multiplexing, in conjunction with the radio  101 . A speaker  102  is coupled directly to the radio transceiver  101  via line  103 . A microphone  104  is coupled to the radio transceiver  101  via a microphone switch  105  and line  106 . Line  103  and line  106  may also represent wireless links between the radio transceiver  101  and the data acquisition system  100 . At the heart of the data acquisition system  100  is a microprocessor  107 , which is responsible for performing control and data-routing functions. For the purposes of this application, a microprocessor should be considered equivalent to a microcontroller. The microprocessor  107  and other system components are powered by an electro-chemical power source  108  acting through a power supply  109 . The electrochemical power source  108  may be one cell, multiple cells, a single battery or multiple batteries. For example, at least one 3-volt rechargeable lithium battery of the CR123 type may be used for this application. In the interest of compactness, the microprocessor  107  preferably has on-board ROM, which stores a limited-use operating system and on-board RAM, into which the operating system is loaded and data is processed. Alternatively, ROM and RAM that are separate from the microprocessor  107  may be provided. A limited-use operating system may be constructed using, for example, a stripped-down version of Linux that has been optimized for this application. A switch module  110 , which includes switches SW 1 , SW 2 , SW 3 , SW 4 , SW 5 , SW 6  . . . SWn provides basic operational signals to the microprocessor  107 . Those signals are used to activate or deactivate system functions. For example, one of the switches on module  110  may be used to initiate an upload of stored audio and/or video data to a computer system, to route audio signals via microphone switch SW-M from the microphone  104  either directly to the radio  101 , or to an audio encoder  119  through an automatic gain control device  118 . A real-time clock  111  provides time and date stamp capability for audio and video recordings which are acquired by the system  100 . A user control interface  112 , which may include a keyboard or other control elements, provides for user data input to the system (e.g., to set the clock), as well as comprehensive access to system operation and feature selection, and feature options. An LCD screen  113  provides for the viewing of system parameters, as well as for playback of stored video data through video decoder  114 . It should be noted that the user control interface  112  and the LCD screen  113  may be combined as a single unit if, for example, the LCD screen  113  is equipped with touch-screen capability.  
      Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the data acquisition system  100  also includes a camera module  115  (including a lens and an image sensor) that transmits images to a video encoder  116 , which encodes the images in a format such as Windows Media Video (WMV) or Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). Analog audio signals are generated by the microphone  104  in response to the receipt of sound waves. When the record function is selected using the switch module  110 , the audio signals are first sent to an automatic gain control  117 , then to an audio encoder  118 , which formats the audio signals in a storable format, such as MP3 or Windows Media Audio (WMA), which are both lossy formats. The microprocessor routes the formatted image or sound data to a Multi Media Card/Secure Digital Interface  119 , which writes the formatted data to a digital semiconductor memory card  120 . A USB interface  121  and USB connector socket  122  enable stored audio/video data to be uploaded to a computer (not shown). The interface to other computers may also be implemented with wireless interconnectivity using, for example, radio frequency signals (RF), infrared signals (IR), or Blue Tooth Signals. Control over this process may be provided by either the switch module  110  or the user control interface  112 . Alternatively, using an audio replay function, stored audio data may routed to the speaker  102  through digital-to-analog (DAC) converter  123 . Likewise, using a video replay function, stored video data may be routed to the video display screen  113  through the video decoder  114 . In response to a signal provided by the switch module  110  in response to user input, the microprocessor can activate either visible spectrum LED driver  124 , which preferably turns on a white light emitting LED  125 , or infrared LED driver  126 , which turns on an infra-red light emitting LED  127 . Control over this process may be provided by either the switch module  122  or the user control interface  121 . It will be noted that the radio transceiver  101  is coupled to the microprocessor  107  via line  128 . For a configuration where the data acquisition system  100  does not have its own power supply, line  128  provides electrical power from a battery (not shown) located within the radio transceiver housing  101 . That battery may supply power to both the radio transceiver  101  and the data acquisition system  100 .  
      In the data acquisition system  100  of  FIG. 1 , both audio and video recording are implemented in digital formats using a single shared memory  120 , although audio and video recording may each have a separate memory. The audio recording circuitry can be considered to comprise the automatic gain control device  117 , the audio encoder  118 , and the MMC/SD interface  119 . Likewise, the video recording circuitry can be considered to comprise the video encoder  116  and the MMC/SD interface  119 .  
      For a data acquisition system which omits video recording capability, the system can be made more compact by implementing audio recording capability using a single chip solution for analog recording and playback. This technology, which was initially developed by Information Storage Devices, Inc. (ISD), of San Jose, Calif., utilizes an array of non-volatile EEPROM or Flash memory cells, each of which can be programmed with a control gate voltage value that corresponds to a frequency value within a range which covers audible sound. The technology has been further developed by Winbond Electonics Corporation, which purchases IDS several years ago. The technology is disclosed in many U.S. patents that were originally assigned to ISD and that have been reassigned to Winbond. Additional patents have recently issued to Winbond covering further developments to the technology. The following U.S. patents are representative of the analog storage and playback technology: U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,179 to Richard T. Simko; U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,435 to Hieu Van Tran; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,959,883 to James Brennan, Jr., et al. The disadvantage of using analog memory for audio recording is that the data files are not easily uploadable to recipient computers.  
      Drawing  FIGS. 2 through 7  show various configurations of the combination of a radio transceiver  101  and the data acquisition system  100 . Each of the configurations will now be described in detail.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a first system configuration is fully integrated in a single module  201  having an on-board battery  108 . A speaker  102  and a microphone  104  may be coupled to a radio transceiver  101  via a cable  202 . Clearly, the cable  202  may be eliminated by using a wireless connection between the module  201  and the radio transceiver  101 . The module  201  also includes a video camera module  115 , a visible spectrum LED light source  125 , an infrared LED light source  127 , a push-to-talk switch  203 , and a speaker volume control  204 . Other additional control buttons  205 A- 204 F may be used to access various system functions. The system battery  108 , power supply  109 , audio recording circuitry ( 117 ,  118 , and  119 ), non-volatile audio memory  120 , video recording circuitry ( 116  and  119 ), non-volatile video memory  120  may be located in either module  201  or in the radio transceiver  101  or distributed between the two. For an alternative configuration, the on-board battery  108  is eliminated and the data acquisition system relies on battery power provided by the radio transceiver  101  through cable  201 .  
      Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the back side of module  200  incorporates a display screen  113  and a keyboard  301 , which may be used for system control and input.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a second system configuration is integrated within first and second modules  401  and  402 , respectively, which are coupled together with a first cable  403 . Second module  402  is coupled to the radio transceiver  101  via a second cable  404 . The first module  401  incorporates a speaker  102 , a microphone  104 , a video camera module  115 , a visible spectrum LED light source  125 , an infrared LED light source  127 , a push-to-talk switch  202 , and a speaker volume control  203 . The system battery  108 , power supply  109 , audio recording circuitry ( 117 ,  118 , and  119 ), non-volatile audio memory  120 , video recording circuitry ( 116  and  119 ), non-volatile video memory  120  are distributed among the first and second modules  401  and  402 . Optionally, the system battery  108  may be eliminated by the use of the battery located within the radio transceiver  101 . It will be noted that the second module  402  includes control keys, or buttons  405  and a display screen  113  for viewing system parameters, system status, system inputs, and so forth.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 5 , a third system configuration includes a headset  501  that incorporates a earphone  502  and a mini-boom microphone  503 . It also includes a control module  504  that incorporates a video camera module  115 , a visible spectrum LED light source  125 , an infrared LED light source  127 , a push-to-talk switch  202 , and a speaker volume control  203 , as well as the system battery  108 , power supply  109 , audio recording circuitry ( 117 ,  118 , and  119 ), non-volatile audio memory  120 , video recording circuitry ( 116  and  119 ), and non-volatile video memory  120 . Optionally, the system battery  108  may be eliminated by the use of the battery located within the radio transceiver  101 . The headset  501  and the control module  504  are coupled together with a first cable  505 . The control module  504  is coupled to the radio transceiver  101  via a second cable  506 . It will be noted that the control module  504  includes control keys, or buttons  507 , and a display screen  113  for viewing system parameters, system status, system inputs, and so forth.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a fourth system configuration is identical to that of  FIG. 5 , with the exception that a separate push-to-talk switch/volume adjust module  601  is inserted in the first cable  505 , thereby eliminating the need for a push-to-talk switch and a volume adjust control on the control module  504 .  
      Still referring to  FIG. 6 , for a system configuration that includes only a speaker, a microphone, and audio recording capability, the control module  504  may be eliminated and all functions and internal components thereof moved to the radio transceiver  101 . For such a configuration, the battery of the radio transceiver  101  would power the data acquisition system.  
      It should be understood that inter-coupling of the various devices and/or modules included in the data acquisition system may be via either wired communication or wireless communication, as both means of data communication are well known in the art.  
      Although only several embodiments of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.