Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~1;2086~
CENTRAL CONTROL SYSTEM WITH EXT RNA~ DATA ENTRY
This application is a division of Canadian
Serial No. 299,861 filed March 28, 1978.
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art
of generating and processing electrical si~nals
containing digital information, and in particular
to the art o generating electrical signals related
to the operation of a dictation system and
providing processed electrical signals containing
digital information concerning the present state of
operation of the dictation system and other
infor~ation required for the management o~
; dictation and transcription generated by a
dictation system.
Modern dictation systems have become
:
increasingly complex. Generally, such dictation
systems include at least one central recorder.
Access to the various central recorders of the
dictation system is no longer limited to access by
a single dictation station. Additionally, the
ability to transcribe dictation from the various
central recorders is often shared in modern systems
by a number of different transcriptionists.
2S Finally, in some modern systems the dictation is
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recorded on individual recording members, such as
cassettes, so that the dictation may be transcribed
from the record members by a number of
transcriptionists, each having a playback
apparatus, simultaneously and without the need for
each transcriptionist to be connected to the
central recorder itself. the problems created by
the operation of such systems will be hereinafter
described more fully.
Modern dictation systems generally
include at least one central recorder to which a
plurality of remote dictate stations are connected.
Dictation systems have evolved away from the
systems -in which each of f ice had a separate
dictation recording machine on which dictation was
to be recorded on a wire, a magnetic belt or a tape
and then collected to be typed by a secretary
~ having a machine for playing the recorded dictation
; back for transcription. The advantages of the
; 20 central recorder include the f act that it is more
economical and efficient since it avoids
duplication of equipment and it provides a
dictation capability to more people.
Many modern dictation systems include
more than one central recorder. The use of more
than one central recorder enables a greater number
of persons to dictate at the same time. However,
since there is more than one recorder and each
recorder is available to a number of people, the
use of a central recorder has the disadvantage of
not permitting the identification of the recorded
material as that dictated by any specific
individual or dictate station. While this problem
may not be acute in systems providing manual
switching to connect to the dic~ate stations to the
~12`~8~i~
_ central recorder and in which the number of dictate
stations is small, the problem becomes more serious
in situations in which the number of dictate
stations is great and in which the persons
S dictating have no control over which central
recorder they are connected to since the connection
is made automatically based on the availability of
recorders. For example, in some of the older
systems having more than one central recorder, the
individual stations were manually switched to
connect to a particular recorder. This
information, along with the relative order in which
the dictation was recorded relative to other pieces
of dictation, permitted a person charged with the
task of transcribing the material to locate it
fairly quickly. However, as the number of dictate
stations and central recorders increased, automatic
switching to the first available recorder became a
part of many dictation systems. Thus, in many
modern systems the location of a particular piece
of dictation which has been dictated routinely was
not possible unless it had been assigned a priority
when recorded in those systems having a separate
recorder for priority dictation. An example of
such a system is disclosed in U.S. Patent No.
4,024,354 assigned to Lanier Business Products,
Inc.
Another important feature of modern
dictation systems which has been described above is
the ability of the system to connect a number of
different dictate stations, or indeed even ordinary
public telephones, to the central recorders of the
dictation system. thus, several dictation stations
and all telephones will have access to each of the
central recorders of the dictation system. This
862
_ feature of modern dictation systems may he used in
dictation systems having either the older bin-type
recorders or the newer cassette dictation recorders
which will be described below. Because of the
possibility that a number of different individuals
using a number of different dictate stations and
public telephones might have had access to a
particular recorder, it is not possible to identify
the dictation of a particular individual by
reference to the recorder on which the dictation
has been recorded. Additionally, in most modern
s~stems, not only will a large number of
individuals have access to a particular recorder
but each individual will have access to a number of
different recorders and will be assigned a
particular recorder based upon the availability of
recorders in the system. These features, while
making dictation more efficient for the person
dictating and also permitting more efficient use of
the recorders, precludes assigning that dictation
priority over other less important pieces of
dictation. This inability to assign priority to a
, particular piece of dictation is a further example
of the sacrifice in control and management of the
transcription operation which have been made in
order to make more efficient use of the recorders
and to make the dictation system more accessible to
the individuals dictating.
Another principal cause of management
problems in the modern systems described above is
the introduction of a plurality of record members,
such as cassettes, which may each be used to record
one or more pieces of dictation on a particular
recorder. Such dictation systems include the
system disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,024,354
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_ assigned to Lanier Business Products, Inc. The
advantage in having more than one record member on
each central recorder is derived primarily from the
fact that the advantages in efficient utilization
of dictation recording equipment are retained, but
without sacrificing the ability to transcribe the
dictation in an order other than the order in which
they were recorded. Additionally, several pieces
of dictation may be transcribed simultaneously by
several different transcriptionists, each having a
dictation playback machine. Thus, for example, an
important piece of dictation may be designated as a
priority piece of dictation even though recorded by
the same recorder that is ordinarily and routinely
used for all dictation, and still be transcribed
before less important pieces of dictation, thus,
eliminating the necessity of a separate priority
recorder.
It has also become known in the art to
use small hand-held dictation recorders which will
record dictation on individual recording members,
such as cassettes. The small hand-heId dictation
recorders allow the person dictating a greater
degree of mobility and permit that person to use
otherwise idle time more efficiently. The
recording members upon which dictation is recorded
by the small hand-held dictation recorders may be
generally transcribed by a transcriptionist having
a transcription playback machine capatible with the
above-described cassette recording system.
Additionally, if the recording members used in the
hand-held dictation machine are smaller than
ordinary cassettes, adapters are available for
adapting the ordinary dictation playback machine to
play back dictation recorded on a smaller recording
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llZt~8~Z
_ member.
While there are substantial advantages to
be derived from the use of separate recording
members, such as cassettes, to record dictation,
the use of individual recording members also
creates additional identification and management
problems. In the modern dictation systems having
one or more cassette dictation recorders, each
recording on a plurality of recording members with
automatic switching as described above, the
location and identification of particular pieces of
dictation as being the dictation recorded on a
particular recorder and a particular recording
memher is a problem. The problem is further
compounded by the fact that the recording members
are transcribed remotely from the central recorder
by a number of transcriptionists each resopnsible
for transcribing dictation recorded on a number of
different machines or a number of transcriptionists
resopnsible for transcribing the dictation recorded
on a particular machine. Moreover, the recording
members are generally small in size and may be
easily misplaced. Finally, the individual
recording members are all similar in appearance and
the dictation cannot be identified in any way other
than by listening to the various cassettes.
~nother disadvantage of the cassette dictation
recorders is in precisely determining the amount of
dictation remaining to be transcribed. In the
older bin-type systems the amount of dictation yet
to be transcribed could be ascertained by measuring
the amount of recorded tape in the hin which had
not yet been transcribed. In the modern systems,
the amount of dictation remaining to be transcribed
may be distributed on a large number of different
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- cassettes, each containinq a different amount of
recorded tape. While a rouqh estimate might be
based on the number of cassettes outstanding, a
precise determination cannot be so approximated.
Thus, the straightforward methods of ascertaining
the amount of recorded yet untranscribed tape used
in the older systems are not applicable to the
newer systems.
As has been described above, the control
and management of the transcription operation in
the dictation system is made more difficult by the
existence of a number of different cassettes, each
containing a different amount of recorded material,
upon which the dictation is recorded. A further
lS feature of cassette dictation recording which has
been described above is that each transcriptionist
is provided a separate cassette playback machine
from which to play back the recorded dictation for
transcription. Thus, the use of cassettes to
record dictation enables a number of different
transcriptionists to simultaneously transcribe
material which has been recorded on a single
recorder. In fact, the number of transcriptionists
transcribing the dictated material is unlimited in
such a s~stem. Thus, it will be appreciated that
as the number of transcriptionists increases the
control and management problems associated with a
transcription operation will also increase.
In summary, while the advances in the art
3~ have greatly increased the efficiency of modern
dictation systems, they have sacrificed the
simplicity which made dictation identifiable and
the transcription operation manageable. Thus, it
is no longer possible to identify a particular
piece of dictation by reference to the recorder or
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- the cassette upon which the dictation has been
recorded. This inability to identify dictation
precludes the assignment of priority to important
pieces of dictation. Furthermore, it is no longer
possible to ascertain the amount of recorded yet
untranscribed dictation remaining within the system
or the progress which has been made in transcribing
the dictated material simply by reference to the
levels of recorded tape in the system. Finally,
the fact that the dictation is recorded on a number
of different cassettes means that the dictation may
be lost or misplaced and also that it will be more
difficult to identify and monitor the pro~ress of
the particular transcriptionist who has been
assigned the task of transcribing the dictation.
Summary of the Invention
In solving the p~oblems described above,
it was found that the present invention was of
greater general application than simply providing
an apparatus for solving the problems related to
dictation systems. Thus, it is the primary object
of the present invention to provide an apparatus
for providing digital electrical signals
corresponding to project identification information
and for processing the digital electrical signals
and storing the processed digital electrical
signals to provide an output which will provide
information needed to continually track the
progress being made toward completion of the
projects. In this manner, the present invention
aids the control and management of large operations
involving the simultaneous input of diverse
projects and the simultaneous performance of the
tasks relating to the projects and the completion
862
- of the projects.
The invention to whlch the claim of this
divisional application pertains is a recording system
having a central unit and a dictate station for the
recording of dictation on a recording medium. The
system includes first signal means responsive to the
length of the dictation on the recording medium for
providing a first signal and second signal means
responsive to the termination of the recording of
dictation on the recording medium for providing a
second signal corresponding to the time of the
termination. Third signal means are associated with
the central control unit for providing a third signal
having a characteristic corresponding to a characteristic
of the first signal and a fourth signal having a
characteristic corresponding to a characteristic of the
second signal. The third signal means is selectively
opera~le in response to a manual input which is
independent of the first means and the second means.
Storage means are provided for simultaneously storing
the first signal, the second signal, the third signal,
and the fourth signal and means are provided~for
displaying the first signal, the second signal, the
third signal, and the fourth signal, stored by the
storage means.
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Those embodiments described herein and
related -to the problems described in the
Background of the Invention pertain to apparatus
for identifying the individual who has dictated a
particular piece of dictation, the recorder upon
which the dictation has been recorded, the cassette
upon which the dictation has been recorded, the time
and sequence in which the dictation has been recorded
and the length of the dictation which has been
recorded. As will be more fully described below,
the alternative embodiments directed to dictation
systems receive digital electrical signals
embodying the aforesaid information relating to
the identification of the individual who has done
the dictation, the recorder and the cassette upon
which the dictation has been recorded, and the lengths
of the recording on fresh recording tape which provide
the total length of a particular piece of dictation.
These digital electrical signals are processed within
the apparatus in order to sequentially arrange the
digital electrical signals in the order in which the
dictation has been recorded and to add the time at
which the dictation was recorded. The input
electrical signals and the processed electrical
signals are then stored by the apparatus and made
available for furthe rearrangement and supplementation
as the particular piece of dictation is assigned a
priority and assigned to a particular transcriptionist.
The electrical signals are then further processed by
the apparatus to supplement the information by
- adding the designation of the transcriptionist who
~; '
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_ has been assigned the transcription of the dictation
and the time at which the dictation has been
assigned to the transcriptionist. Finally, the
apparatus provides for the further supplementation
of the information when the transcription of the
dictation has been completed. This further
supplementation is accomplished by the further
processing of the digital electrical signals by
the apparatus to add the information that the
transcription of the dictation has been completed
and the time at which the transcription has been
completed. A11 of these digital electrical signals
are stored and the digital information is available
for visual presentation by either a video display
to a supervisor or for print out by a printer.
The apparatus as disclosed may also
provide electrical signals corresponding to the
identification of the person who has dictated a
particular piece of dictation, the sequential
serial number assigned by the means for processing
the input electrical signals to the particular
piece of dictation, the recorder and cassette
upon which the dictation has been recorded, and
the total length of the dictation may all be
' 25 recorded on the recording medium, such as tape,
on which the dictation has been recorded along
with and usually at the end of the piece of
dictation. As will be more fully described
~;; below, the recording of this information along
with the dictation enables the identification of
each cassette merely be playing back or reading
a portion of the cassette. Thus, the identification
of the dictation recorded on the otherwise
unmarked cassettes is made possible by
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12
- merely playing back or reading a portion of the
recorded tape at the end of the recorded
dictation.
In summary, it will be seen that there
is particularly disclosed an apparatus for tracking
the progress of a piece of dictation through the
dictation system by reference to the person who has
done the dictation, the sequence in which the
dictation was recorded relative to other dictation,
the recorder and cassette upon which the dictation
has been recorded, the total length of the
dictation, the person to whom the dictation has
been assigned for transcription, the time assigned
for transcription, and the time the transcription
has been completed. Moreover, the apparatus may also
provide for identifying the particular cassettes
by reference to the person who has recorded the
dictation on the cassette, the sequence in which
the dictation was recorded relative to other
dictation, the recorder and the cassette upon
which the dictation was recorded, and the total
length of the dictation. The identification of
the cassettes along with the ability to track the
progress of dictation through the dictation system
also permits the assignment of priority to important
pieces of dictation. These and other aspects and
advantages will be more apparent by reference to the
following description of a preferred embodiment of
the present invention and by reference to the
attached drawings.
Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a preferred
~ embodiment of the apparatus of the present
;, invention directed toward use in a dictation system
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llZ~8~;Z
13
_ includinq a plurality oE dictate stations and a
plurality of recorders, the lines between the
elements of the apparatus den~ote paths over which
digital electrical siqnals flow containing digital
control signals and information;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a preferred
embodiment of the apparatus of the present
invention directed toward use in a dictation system
including a plurality of recorders and a plurality
of telephone interface units, the lines between the
elements of the apparatus designate paths over
which digital electrical signals flow carrying
digital control signals and information;
Fiq. 3A is a preferred embodiment of a
first section of the switcher 21 of the di.sclosed
embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig.
l;
Fig. 3B is a preferred embodiment of the
portion of the preferred embodiments shown in both
Figs. l and 2 which provides the digital control
signals and information to the multiplexer 23. In
the preferred embodiment shown in Fig. l, the
circ~it shown in Fig. 3B forms a part of the
switcher 21. In the preferred embodiment shown in
Fig. 2, the circuit shown in Fig. 3B is a part of
the telephone interface multiplexer 33.
Fig. 4 is a preferred embodiment of the
telephone interface multiplexer shown in Fig. 2 in
which digital electrical signals are provided
containing the identification number of the
individual connected by the telephone interface
multiplexer to each particular recorder;
Fig. 5 is a preferred embodiment of that
portion of the preferred embodiment of the
recorders 22a, 22b,... 22m, 22n in which digital
1~
electrical signals are provided and stored
corresopnding to the total length of dictation
recorded on a particular recorder,
Fig. 6 is a diagram of a preferred
embodiment of the parts of the recorders 22a,
2~b, .~.22m, 22n and the processor 24 wherein
d igital serial numbers are assigned to each
cassette on which dictation has been recorded;
Fig. 7 is a diagram of a first preferred
embodiment of the master storage 25 and the portion
of a first alternative embodiment of the processor
24 that provides digital control signals and
information to the master storage 25.
Fig. 8A is a pictorial representation of
the apparatus in the recorders 22a, 22b,.. 22m, 22n
for recording digital information identifying a
cassette on the tape following the end of dictation
before the cassette is ejected from the recorder
22a, 22b,...22m, 22n;
Fig. 8B is a pictorial representation of
the apparatus in the cassette reader 29 for playing
baclc the cassette identification information from
the tape in the cassette without the need to rewind
the tape in the cassette;
Fig. 9 is a diagram of that portion of
the first alternative embodiment of the processor
24 in which digital signals corresponding to the
total length of dictation, the recorder number, the
d ictator number, the t ime the d i ct a t ion was
recorded, and the serial number of the dictation
are generated and transferred to the individual
recorder upon which the dictation has been
dictated;
Fig. 10 is a diagram of the cassette
reader 29;
~2~186~
_ Fig. 11 is a diagram of a preferred
embodiment of the display circ~it; and
Fig. 12 is a functional flow dia~ram foe
a second alternative embodiment of the processor
24.
Detailed Description of Illustrative Embodiments
As had been described above, the present
invention provides advantages not limited to
dictation systems. The invention is an apparatus
whereby information relating to a number of diverse
projects may be entered as digital electrical
signals, and the digital electrical signals
arranged, revised, and supplemented according to
the identification of the projects, their relative
priority, their respective stages of completion and
the persons to whom they have been assigned for
completion. Thus, the present invention provides
an apparatus for automatically organizing, tracking
; 20 and managing information related to a number of
diverse projects being performed simultaneously.
I The alternative illustrative embodiments
of the present invention to be disclosed herein are
directed toward use of the invention in a dictation
system. However, those skilled in the art will
~; recognize that the embodiments disclosed may be
; applied in a variety of different environments, not
limited to the environment of a dictation system.
Referring now to Fig. 1, a preferred embodiment is
shown in a block diagram which identifies the paths
over which digital signals containing digital
information pass between the various elements of
the dictation system in which the preferred
embodiment is disclosed. The preferred embodiment
is shown in connection with an ordinary dictation
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16
system including a plurality o~ dictate stations
20a, 20b,...20m, 2ûn, connected through an
automatic channel selector IACS) switching device
21 to a plurality of central recorders 22a,
22b,.. 22m, 22n. The dictation system described
above is connected to the processor 24 of the
preferred embodiment throuqh a multiplexer 23. It
must be emphasized that the lines drawn on Fig.
represent paths over which digital signals
containing information flow. Therefore, even
though dictate stations and recorders have been
connected through switches in the prior art to form
a dictation system, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art from the further description of
the preferred embodiment that new and useful
digital signals are provided and flow over these
information paths.
With further reference to Fig. 1, it is
shown that the processor 24 is connected to a mater
storage 25 for the digital signals. Additionally,
the processor may be connected to a video display
26, a printer 27, a label printer 28 and a cassette
reader 29. Further, digital signals may be
~; generated and entered into the processor through a
keyboard including a plurality of special function
keys including, but not limited to, a priority key
30a, an assign-out key 30b, a work completed key
30c, an external entry key 30d, and a transcriber
number key 30e.
As is shown in Fig. 2, the preferred
embodiment of the present invention may also be
used in conjunction with a dictation system
connecting a plurality of central recorders 22a,
22b,...22m, 22n, to a plurality of ordinary
;~ 35 telephones 31a, 31b,.. 31m, 31n through a plurality
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17
of telephone interface devices 32a, 32b,...32m, 32n
and a telephone interface multiplexer 33. While
such dictation systems are known in the art, it
must again be emphasized that the lines drawn on
Fig. 2 are lines over which digital information
flows and that the dictation system shown in Fig. 2
and used in conjunction with the preferred
embodiment of the present invention generates new
and useful digital signals which flow over the
information paths shown in Fig. 2.
I. IDENTIFICATION OF SOURCE OF DICTATION AND
RECORDER BY WHICH DICTATION WAS RECORDED
A preferred embodiment of the apparatus
whereby digital signals are ~enerated identifying
the dictate station to which a particular recorder
on which dictation is being recorded is connected
as shown in Fig. 3. It will be understood by those
skilled in the art that the embodiment of the
automatic channel selector (ACS) 21 disclosed in
Fig. 3 is representative of automatic channel
selectors and that a variety of different automatic
channel selectors may be modified in accordance
with the teachings of the present invention and
connected in a circuit as shown in Fig. 3 to
provide the desired information identifying the
dictate station connected to a particular recorder.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art
that the ACS 21 provides an apparatus for
operatively connecting a plurality of dictate
stations 20a, 20b,..... 20m, 20n to a plurality of
recorders 22a, 22b.. 22m, 22n. The ACS 21 provides
this operative connection through a plurality of
~ switches W3a, W3b,...... W3m, W3n. As will be more
; fully described below, the switches W3a,
W3b,...W3m, W3n are operatively associated with
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18
-- only one recorder per switch. Thus, the switch W3a
is operatively associated with the recorder 22a,
the switch W3b is operatively associated with the
recorder 22b, the switch W3m is operatively
associated with the recorder 22m, and the switch
W3n is operatively associated with the recorder
22n. Each of the switches W3a, W3b,...W3m, W3n has
the capability for operatively connecting the
recorder with which it is associated with each of
the dictate stations 20a, 20b,.. 20m, 20n in the
dictation system. The function of the ACS 21 is to
operatively connect a dictate station 20a,
20b, ...20m, 20n which has been placed in the
off-hook condition to an available recorder for the
recording of dictation. Additionally, in the
preferred embodiment of the present invention the
ACS 21 also provides digital information
identifying the dictate station and recorder upon
which a particular piece of dictation is being
recorded. ~oth of these functions will be
hereinafter described.
The ACS 21 also includes a stepper switch
Wl and a set of stepper switches W2a, W2b,...W2m,
W2n. the stepper switches W2a, W2b,...W2m, and W2n
may be different levels of the stepper switches
W3a, W3b,...W3m, and W3n since the switches W2a and
W3a operate simultaneously, the switches W2b and
W3b operate simultaneously, the switches W2m and
W3m operate simultaneously and the switches W2n and
- 30 W3n operate simultaneously. Additionally, each of
the switches W2a, W2h,...W2m, and W2n is
operatively associated with only one of the
recorders 22a, 22b,...22m, 22n and provides a means
for connection between the recorder with which it
is associated and all of the dictate stations 20a,
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19
- 20b,.. 20m, and 2nn.
The function of stepper switch Wl is to
poll the plurality of recorders 22a, 22b,...22m,
22n in order to find a recorder which is available
for recording dictation. Similarly, the function
of each of the stepper switches W2a, W2b,...W2m,
and W2n is to poll the dictate stations 20a,
20b,...20m, 20n in order to find a dictate station
which is off-hook and on which an individual
desires to dictate. As will be described more
fully below, the simultaneous operation of the
stepper switches Wl and the appropriate stepper
switch W2a, W2b,...W2m, or W2n combine to connect a
dictate station on which an individual desires to
record dictation with a recorder which is available
for recording dictation.
As can be seen from Fig. 3A, the switch
Wl is operatively connected to a stepper 220 which
acts in response to a clock 219 to cause the
stepper switch Wl to poll the various recorders for
an available recorder. The stepper 220 will poll
the recorders as long as a logical one output is
provided by AND gate 201. The inputs to AND gate
201 are a clock input and the input from the
stepper switch Wl. As shown representatively by
the detailed drawing of recorder 22a in Fig. 3A,
each recorder 22a, 22b,...22m, 22n is connected to
the stepper switch Wl through a switch 221 which is
a part of each of the recorders 22a, 22b,...22m,
22n. When the recorder is not in use and is
available for recording dictation the sdwitch 221
will be closed and grounded. Thus, when the
~ stepper switch Wl connects with an available
- recorder, as evidenced by the closure of switch 221
and the grounding of the connection between the
1~2~86~
_ stepper switch Wl and the recorder, a ground or
~ero logical condition will be placed on one of the
inputs to the AND gate 201 thereby eliminating the
output from the AND gate 201 to the stepper 220 and
stopping the operation of the stepper switch Wl at
the available recorder. It will now be understood
that the stepper switch Wl operates continuously to
poll the various recorders until an available
recorder is found. When an available recorder is
found the operation of the stepper switch Wl is
stopped and the available recorder found will be
the recorder connected through the appropriate W2
switch to the next dictate station providing an
off-hook condition indicating that an individual
wishes to dictate. As will be more fully described
below, the ensuing connection between the dictate
station and the available recorder will cause the
recorder to be seized and therefore unavailable
thereby permitting the stepper switch Wl to again
operate and to poll the recorders until another
available recorder is found. In this manner, the
recorders are polled to continuously provide a
recorder available for dictation whenever a dictate
station is taken off-hook and dictation is desired
to be recorded.
~` The switch Wl also has a second level
switch W4. Thus, the switches Wl and W4 are
incremented simultaneously. The respective switch
positions on the switches Wl and W4 are arranged
such that when Wl is polling a particular recorder,
the switch W4 is positioned at an output to the AND
gate 204 which drives the W2 switch in the ACS21
which is associated with the polled recorder. As
has been described above, the selection of an
available recorder causes the switch Wl to be
~12'V86Z
21
_ ground or to be placed in a logical zero condition.
The logical zero condition of the switch Wl is
provided to an inverter 202. 'I'he output of the
inverter 202 is provided to the switch W4 thereby
providing a logical one output to the appropriate
AND gate 204 and the switch W3a, W3b,...W3m or W3n
with which the available recorder is associated.
Thus, once a recorder has been selected as being an
available recorder by the switch Wl, the switch W4
provides an output which, as will be described
below, causes the switch W2a, W2b,...W2m or W2n
with which the recorder is associated to poll the
various dictate stations in the dictation system
for the presence of a dictate station which has
been placed in the off-hook condition and from
which dictation is desired to be recorded.
The individual stepper switches W2
sequentially polI the dictate stations 20a,
20b,...20m, 20n of the dictation system whenever a
signal is provided to the appropriate stepper 228a,
228b,...223m, 228n. A signal is provided at the
appropriate stepper 228a, 228b,...228m, 228n from
-
the output of the respective AND gate 204a,
204b,..... 2l34m, 204n. The AND gates 204a,
~; 25 204b,... 204,m, 204n will provide an output in
response to the simultaneou,s presence of: (1) a
signal from the clock; (2) a signal at the position
of the switch W4 to which the particular switch
W2a, W2b,...W2m or W2n is responsive and from which
the particular AND gates 204a, 204b,.... 204m, or
204n are provided an input indicatinq that the
particular recorder 22a, 22b,...22m, 22n with which
the particular switchs W2a, W2b,...W2m, or W2n is
associated has been selected by the switch Wl and
is available; and (3) a voltage or logical one
-;
. ,
~, .
- , :
- ~ ~
8~
22
_ signal from the respective switch ~2a, W2b,.. W2m,
W2n to which the particular AND gate 204a,
204b,.. 204m, or 204n provides an output.
Each of the dictate stations 20a,
20b,... 20m, 20n is provided with a switch 226a,
226b,.. 226m, 226n. When the dictate station is in
the on-hook condition, the switch 226a,
226b,...22~m, 226n in the dictate station is in the
open condition thereby placing a logical one input
on the position of the switch W2a, W2b,.. W2m, W2n
from which it i5 being polled. When the dictate
station ~oes off-hook, the switch 226a,
226b,...226m, or 226n which is located in the
dictate station is closed thereby placing a logical
zero on the line to the position of the switch W2a,
W2b,...W2m, or W2n from which the dictate station
has been polled. When the presence of an off-hook
dictate station places a logical zero at one of the
positions of the switch W2a, W2b,...W2m, or W2n
which is presently polling the dictate stations,
the switch W2a, W2b,...W2m, or W2n stops when it
reaches the position on the switch which is
connected to the grounded dictate station which has
gone off-hook. The switch W2a, W2b,...W2m, or W2n
is stopped when it reaches the dictate station by
the existence of the logical zero condition at that
position of the switch. The logical zero at the
appropriate position on the switch provi~es a
logical zero input to the AND gate 204a,
204b,.. 204m, or 204n which is associated with the
polling switch W2a, W2b,...W2m, or W2n. The
presence of a logical zero input to the ANd gate
204a, 204b,...204m, or 204n causes the respective
AND gate to provide a logical zero output to the
respective stepper coil 228a, 228b,.. 228m, or 228n
86Z
23
thereby stopping the operation of the switch W2a,
W2b,...W2m, or W2n which has been polling the
dictate stations.
Each of the switches W2a, W2b,... W2m, W2n
have a second level switch W3a, W3b,..... W3m, W3n,
respectively. As has been described above, the
particular recorders associated with the switch
combinations W2a--W3a, W2b--W3b,... W2m--W3m,
W2n--W3n may be operatively connected to the
ln dictate stations 20a, 20b,..... 20m, or 20n through
the switches W3a, W3b,...... W3m, W3n. One of the
control signals conventionally supplied by a
- dictation recorder is a signal indicating that the
dictation recorder has been seized by a dictate
; 15 station. This signal is suppl ied by the recorder
through the appropriate W3 switch to the particular
dictate station 2na, 20gb,...20m, 20n by which the
recorder 22a, 22b,...22m, or 22n has been seized.
Additionally, these lines carry the audio and
control inputs from the dictate station to the
various recorders.
Once a previously available recorder is
seized, the switch 221 in the recorder is opened
thereby placing a logical one condition at the
position at which the switch TAl had been stopped.
The presence of the logical one condition at the
switch Wl provides an input to the AND gate 201
thereby causing the switch Wl to again poll the
various recorders in search oE an available
recorder. Additionally, the seiæure signal is
provided through the appropriate W3 switch to the
dictate station 20a, 20b,...20m, 20n which has
seized the recorder. Each of the dictate stations
20a, 20b,...20m, 20n is provided with a second
; 35 switch 225 which is conventionally closed when the
~21~86~
24
_ dictate station does not have seizure of a
recorder. However, upon the receipt of a seizure
signal from a recorder a signal is provided to the
relay coils 225 in the appropriate dictate stations
20a, 20b,.. 20m, or 20n which causes the switch 225
in the dictate station 20a, 20b,...20m, or 20n
which has seized the recorder to open. The opening
of the switch 225 in the dictate station which has
just seized the recorder places a logical one
condition on the output which that dictate station
provides to the æwitches W2a, W2b,...W2~, W2n.
; Thus, when the switch Wl selects another available
recorder, the presence of the off-hook condition in
the dictate station 20a, 20b,...20m, or 20n which
has seized the previously available recorder will
not continue to provide a logical zero output and
will not therefore stop the switch associated with
the next available recorder from continuously
polling the other dictate stations for an off-hook
dictate station which has not yet seized a
recorder.
It will now be understood by those
skilled in the art that the switcher tACS) 21
provides an apparatus for operationally connecting
the various recorders of the dictation system to
the dictate stations of the dictation system. This
function is achieved by sequentially polling the
recorders until an available recorder is located.
Once an available recorder is located, a separate
switching combination in the switcher associated
with the available recorder then polls the dictate
;~ stations for the presence of a dictate station
which is off-hook and has not yet seized a
recorder. Once such a dictate station is found,
the dictate station is operationally connected to
~12~862
the previously available recorder. The switcher
-
then selects another available recorder and, using
the switching combination associated with that
recorder, polls the dictate stations for the
presence of another dictate station which is
off-hook and has not yet seized a recorder.
The apparatus whereby the switcher 21
provides the identification of the dictate station
and the recorder upon which a particular piece of
dictation has been recorded is described below. As
is shown in Fig. 3A, the switching combinations
W2a--W3a, W2b--W3b,...W2m--W3m, W2n--W3n, which
poll the various dictate stations are operative in
response to the outputs from the AND gates 204a,
204b,.... 204m, 204n, respectively. The A~D gates
204a, 204b,...204m, 204n are each capable of
causing the dictate stations to be polled by
periodically providing a logical one output to the
appropriate stepper which causes the switch
combination W2--W3 to move from one position to
another. Additionally, at the same time that an
output is provided to the steppers 28a,
22b,...228m, 228n, the AND gate 204a, 204b,...204m,
or 204n are so providing the same periodic output
on lines 205a, 205b,.. 205m, 205n. Thus, it will
be seen that each time the AND gate 204a,
204b,...204m, 204n provides a pulse causing a
different dictate station to be polled, it also
provides an output pulse on the output lines 205a,
205b,.................. 205m, 205n, respectively.
As is shown in Fig. 3A, the lines 205a,
205b,.. 205ml 205n provide inputs to the counters
206a, 206b,...206m, 206n causing the respective
counters to which the inputs are provided to count
to the next highest number. The capacity of each
2~
counter 206 should correspond to the number of
positions on the switch combination W2--W3 which
may be operatively connected for the recording of
dictation. In this manner, a separate count on the
5counter 206 is provided for each possible position
of each of the switch combinations W2--W3.
therefore, when the available recorder is polling a
dictate station through its switch combination
W2--W3, the counter will be incremented to a number
10which identifies the dictate station being polled.
Moreover, when the dictate station is off-hook and
the switch combination W2--W3 which is associated
with the available recorder is stopped, then the
counter 206 which is incremented only when the
15switch W2--W3 changes position will also be stopped
and will remain stopped until the recorder again
becomes the next available recorder for dictation
;and resumes the polling of dictate stations.
Each of the counters 206 associated with
each of the various recorders provides an input to
a data selector 350. As will be more fully
;described below, the input to the data selector 350
is provided from a recorder when a loss of seizure
signal is received from one of the recorders or,
even though seizure is not lost, when one of the
recorders ejects a full cassette. Depending upon
the recorder from which the input signal is
received, a different input is provided to the data
selector 350. This input causes the data selector
350 to output the count occurring on the counter
~`206 corresponding to the recorder from which the
input signal was received. The count on the
counter 206 corresponding to the recorder from
which the input signal was received identifies the
dictate station which has been operatively
112~
27
connected to that recorder.
It will be understood by those skilled in
the art that a dictation recorder provides a
distinct siqnal when the seizure of the recorder is
lost. As is shown in Fig. 3A, the presence of a
loss of seizure signal from the recorder 22a
provides a loss of seizure signal on the line 210a.
The recorder 22b provides a loss of seizure signal
on the line 210b. The recorder 22m provides a loss
of seizure signal on the line 210m and the recorder
22n provides a loss of seizure signal on the line
210n. Additionally, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art from a review of U.S. Patent No.
4,024,359, assigned to Lanier Business Products,
Inc., that a cassette dictation recorder ~ay also
provide an output signal 209a, 209,...209m, 209n
when a cassette upon which dictation i5 being
recorded is ejected without loss of seizure of the
dictation recorder. Such a situation might arise
when the length of a particular piece of dictation
is greater than the remaining storage capacity of
the cassette on which the recording of the
dictation was started and the cassette becomes full
and must therefore be changed before the dictation
has been completed. As will be more fully
described below, the identification of the dictate
station and recorder must be provided under the
aforesaid circumstances as well as loss of seizure.
Therefore, the output 209a, 209b,...209m, and 209n
; 30 is connected at an OR gate with the respective loss
of seizure outputs 210a, 210b,...210m, and 210n at
OR gates 208a, 208b,...208m, and 208n, respectively
to provide an output when any of the recorders 22a,
22b,...22m, and 22n either lose seizure or eject a
cassette without loss of seizure. Thus, when
l~Z~86Z
28
_ recorder 22a either loses seizure or ejects a
cassette without loss of seizure an output from OR
gate 20~a provides an output on line 207a; when
recorder 22b either loses sei2ure or ejects a
cassette without 105s of seizure an output from OR
gate 208b provides an output on line 201b, when
recorder 22m either loses seizu~e or ejects a
cassette without loss of seizure OR gate 208m
provides an output on line 207m; and when recorder
22n èither loses seizure or ejects a cas~ette
without loss of seizure OR gate 208n provides an
output on line 207n.
As is shown in Fig. 3B, the lines 207a,
207b,...207m, 207n provide an input to an OR gate
352 and an encoder 351. The output from the OR
gate 352 will be used to assign a serial number and
to enable certain operations of the processor 24 as
will be more fully described below. The inputs
207a, 207b,...207m, 207n to the encoder 351 are
encoded into binary outputs. Each of the different
recorder input signals 2n7a, 207b,...207m, 207n
will cause a different binary output from the
encoder 351. In this manner, the recorder from
which the input signal 207a, 207b,...207m, 207n is
received may be identified according to the binary
- output of the encoder 351. Furthermore, as has
been described above, the identity of the recorder
from which the input signal 207a, 207b,...207m,
207n has heen received will cause the data selector
350 to provide an output identifying the dictation
station with which the recorder was connected.
Additionally, the output of the encoder 351 is
provided to the processor 24 and to the apparatus
for recording the information relating to a piece
of dictation on the recording tape at the end of
112~86Z
29
the dictation as will be more fully described
below. It will now be understood that the
automatic channel selector as has been disclosed
~nables the sequential polling of the recorders of
the dictation system for an available recorder, and
the polling of the dictate stations o~ the
dictation system to detect an off-hook condition
indicating that an individual desires to dictate at
a particular polled dictate station. It will be
further understood that upon the simultaneous
occurrence of an available recorder and the polling
of a dictate station in the off-hook condition, the
automatic channel selector will oepratively connect
the available recorder to the dictate station.
Alternatively, an embodiment of the
present invention may be used in connection with a
dictation system in which ordinary telephones are
connected to recorders by means of a telephone
interface. Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be
seen that a plurality of telephones 31a,
31b,...31m, 31n may be interchangeably connected
through ordinary telephone switching equipment to a
telephone interface 32a, 32b,...32m, 32n associated
with the apparatus of the dictation syste~n. These
telephone interfaces are each connected to a
recorder 22a, 22b,...22m, 22n. The automatic
switching and polling function is provided by the
conventional telephone company telephone interface
which connects a caller wishing to record dictation
with the first available recorder through the
- appropriate telephone interEace 32a, 32b,.. 32m,
32n. The digital information identifying the
caller and the digital information are added at the
telephone interface 32a, 32b,...32m, 32n, as
described below. Additionally, the necessary
.
8~;~
_ digital information relating to the identity of the
individual dictating on a particular recorder is
provided to the processor 24 through the telephone
interface multiplexer 33.
S The telephone interfaces 32a, 32b,.. 32m,
32n are modified to provide the identification
information in the first predetermined number of
signals from the telephone. Thus, the recorder
will not be capable of being operated from the
telephone signals until an identification number
has been entered. Thereafter, the telephone
signals will provide signals to the recorder to
control the recorder and place it in the
forward-listen, reverse, or record modes of
operation.
Representative of the telephone
interfaces is the detailed view of telephone
interface 32a shown in Fig. 4. The telephone
signals from either a Touch Tone brand telephone or
a dial type telephone are received at the telephone
interface 32 by the Touch Tone or dial decoder
425a. The decoder 425a converts the signals to
digital signals for further processing and provides
the digital signals to the OR gate 426a, the inputs
of a binary encoder 429a and the inputs of the
control encoder 431a~
The digital signals which are received at
the control encoder 431a provide the appropriate
inputs to the recorder to control the functions of
the recorder. However, the control signals to the
recorder are only provided after the control
encoder 431a has been provided an enable signal
from the latch 428a. As will be described below,
the latch 428a will not provide an enable signal
until an identification number has been entered at
.
8~;~
31
_ the telephone by the person wishing to dictate.
As the initial signals from the decoder
425 are provided to the OR gate 426a, the OR gate
426a provides a clock input to the counter 427a.
The counter 427a will count from its starting
position, usually zero, to a predetermined number
at which an output will be provided to set the
latch 428a. When the latch 428a is set by the
counting of the first predetermined number of
signals from the decoder 425a, a latch condition
provides an enable output to the control decoder
431a. Thereafter, the control deco~er 431a will be
enabled and will process subsequent signals from
the telephone decoder to provide control outputs to
the recorder to cause it to be in the
forward-listen, reverse or record modes of
operation.
As has been described above in connection
with the structure and operation of the preferred
embodiment of the ACS 21, a logical one is placed
on the line 210a when seizure of the recorder is
lost. The logical one on line 210a will provide a
~ logical one to reset the counter 427a and the latch
; 428a. The counter 427a and the latch 428a will
then be in a condition so that when the next caller
attempts to seize the recorder through the
telephone interface 32a the identification number
of the individual dictating will have to be entered
before the telephone control inputs will be
~j 30 provided to the recorder.
As has been described above, the output
from the Touch Tone or dial decoder 425a provides a
digital input to a binary encoder 429. The binary
encoder 42g takes the decimal input from the Touch
Tone brand or dial decoder 425a and encodes it into
8~;2
32
_ binary digital signals. The output from the binary
encoder 429 provides the input for a multiple bit
latch 430. As will be understood by those skilled
in the art, a multiple bit latch provides as a
continuous output of the input which was present at
the time the multiple bit latch was clocked. The
clock input for the multiple bit latch 430 is
provided by the output of the RS latch 428a. As
has been described above, the RS latch 428a is set
only after the identification number of the person
wishing to dictate has been entered through the
Touch Tone or dial decoder 425a. Thus, the binary
encoder 429a will have provided all of the digital
information necessary to identify the person
wishing to dictate before it clocks the multiple
bit latch 430a.
In the alternative embodiment of the
present invention in which the dictation is
provided from one of a plurality of telephone
2~ interfaces, the multiplexing operation shown in
Fig. 3B is performed by a telephone multiplexer 33.
The telephone multiplexer 33 is substantially the
same apparatus as that shown in Fig. 3B and
operates in substantially the same manner. Each of
the telephone interfaces 32a, 32b,..... 32m, 32n
provide a digital siqnal identifying the person by
whom the dictation was recorded as well as the
recorder upon which dictation was recorded to the
telephone interface 33. The outputs from the
multiple bit latches 430a, 430b,..... 430m, 430n
provide digital inputs to the data selector 350.
Additionally, at either loss of seizure or
substitution of a full cassette without loss of
seizure, the input signals 207a, 207b,...207m, 207n
provide the appropriate input to the encoder 351
~:;
6~:
- and the OR gate 352 in the telephone multiplexer
33. As has been described above, the encoder 351
provides a digital siqnal which identifies the
recorder which has ejected a cassette without loss
of seizure or upon which seizure has been lost and
the dictation finished. The output from the
encoder 351 provides an input to the data selector
350 causing it to output the digital information
relating to the dictation recorded on the recorder
from which the input signal 207a, 207b,... 207m,
207n originated. The information provided by the
data selector 350 is the ssame digital inforamtion
which was initially provided to the data selector
by the multiple bit latch 430a and is therefore the
identification number of the person recording the
dictation which was entered by that person before
dictation could be recorded on the recorder.
Thus, it will be understood by those
skilled in the art that the alternative embodiment
of the present invention described above provides
an apparatus for entering information identifying
the person who has recorded dictation on a
particular recorder and cassette. It will be
further understood that the digital information
relating to the recorder upon which the dictation
has been recorded is automatically provided by the
system and only the identification number of the
dictator need be entered manually. Moreover, the
manually-entered identification information is
converted within the apparatus to digital
information and is provided at the ejection of a
cassette or the end of dictation along with the
automatically generated recorder number.
II. PROVIDING INFORMATION ON LENGTH OF
~2~86Z
34
_ DICTATION, TIME DICTATION IS FINIS~ED,
AND A SERIAI NUMBER TO IDENTIFY THE DICTATION
_ .
In addition to generating di~ital
electrical signals identifying the dictate station
or the individual dictating and the recorder upon
which the dictation is beinq recorded, the
preferred embodiment also provides an apparatus for
generating digital electrical signals indicating
the length of each piece of dictation recorded. As
is shown in Fig. 5, each recorder 22a, 22b,.. 22m,
22n contains a means for generating a signal when
the recorder is recording on tape which has
previously not been recorded. The means for
providing such signals are known in the art and are
particularly disclosed in connection with the
recorder of U.S. Patent No. 4,024,354, assigned to
Lanier Business Products, Inc. Since the recorder
will only generate such a signal when the recording
is on tape which has been previously not been
recorded on, no signals are generated when a person
dictating reverses the tape and records over a
length of previously recorded dictation. The
signal resumes only after the person dictating
records past the point at which the dictation
previously ended and continues to dictate on
unrecorded tape. Thus, an indication of the actual
amount of recorded tape is provided.
In addition to a means for generating
signals when a recorder, for example, recorder 22n,
is recording on tape on which dictation has not
previously been recorded, the recorder also has a
clock input 302. The input from the means for
identifying when the recorder is recording on
unrecorded tape 301 is fed to an AN~ gate 303n
along with the input from the clock input 302. The
112~862
clock input 302 provides a pulse at predetermined
intervals, for example, at one second intervals.
The output from the AND gate 303n provides the
input to a counter 304n and causes the counter 304n
to count the seconds of dictation recorded by
recorder 22n on tape which has previously not been
recorded. The counter 304n is reset when a loss of
seizure signal 210n is provided through the time
delay 305n. Thus, whenever seizure is lost the
time delay 3~5n will provide a reset signal to the
counter 304n after a delay in time sufficient to
allow the digital output of the counter to be
stored in the master storage 25, as will be more
fully described below.
In normal operation, the counter 304n
will count the number of seconds of dictation
recorded on previously unrecorded tape. This count
will be kept throughout the period during which the
recorder is seized by the particular dictate
station. As will be more fully described below,
when seizure is lost the digital electrical signals
corresponding to the length of dictation on
previously unrecorded tape will be provided through
the processor 24 to the master storage 25. At that
time the counter will be reset in order to count
the length of subsequent pieces of dictation.
In addition to providing digital
electrical signals identifying the dictate station
or the person dictating, the recorder upon which
dictation is being recorded, and the length of
dictation, the real time the dictation is ended
will also be recorded. P~s will be more fully
described below in connection with Figs. 7 and 12,
the real time clock 31 provides an input to the
processor 24. The first alternative embodiment of
ll~f~86Z
_ the processor 24 includes a multiple bit latch 606
to which the real time clock 31 provides a data
input. The multiple bit latch 606 is set by the
signal from any one of lines 207a, 207b,...207m,
207n thereby providing the time that seizure was
lost or a cassette was ejected without loss of
seizure as an output from the multiple bit latch
606. The conventional microprocessor of the second
alternative embodiment of the processor 24 is
programmed to also store the real time of loss of
seizure.
As has been described above, the
recorders 22a, 22b,...22m, 22n provide digital
signals identifying the person dictating or the
dictate station in use, the recorder on which the
dictation is being recorded, the length of the
dictation, and the time the dictation was
completed. Additionally, a serial number is
assigned to either each piece of dictation or to
! 20 each cassette upon which dictation is recorded. In
the embodiment described herein, the dictation
system is a cassette dictation system such as that
disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,024,354, assigned to
Lanier Business Products, Inc. Therefore, the
preferred embodiment will show an apparatus for
assigning a serial number to each cassette upon
which dictation is recorded unless a particular
piece of dictation is carried over from one
cassette to another in which case the subsequent
cassettes on which the dictation is recorded will
also be assigned the same serial number assigned to
the irst cassette on which the particular piece of
dictation begins. However, it will be understood
that the apparatus for assigning a serial number to
a particular cassette her~inafter described may
8~Z
-- also be used to assign a serial number to each
piece of dictation in a dictation system using a
continuous loop recorder.
As has been described above and as is
shown in Fig. 6, the loss of seizure of a recorder
or the ejection of a cassette without loss of
seizure places a logical one condition on line 207n
in the recorder on which the dictation is being
recorded. The one condition on line 207n is
provided to set a latch 500n in the recorder on
which dictation is being recorded. This set
condition on the latch 500n triggers the monostable
device 508n and provides an output to O~ gate 501
in the processor 24. The OR gate 501 then provides
a signal to the counter 516 in the processor 24 and
the counter 516 provides the serial number.
It will be understood by those skilled in
the art from a study of the cassette dictation
recorder disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,024,354,
assigned to Lanier Business Products, Inc., that
cassette substitution may occur under a variety of
conditions. A first condition which has been
described above and which provides a signal on line
209n and therefore line 207n is cassette
substitution when only a predetermined length of
tape remains on a cassette for recording.
Substitution under these circumstances occurs
during the recording of dictation and does not
loose seizure of the recorder during cassette
substitution. Alternatively, substitution may
occur at the end of the recording of a piece of
dictation after the dictate station has lost
seiæure of the recorder. The substitution after
loss of seizure occurs in response to a second
condition in the cassette dictation recorder which
8{~
_ is present after a predetermined number of separate
pieces of dictation have been recorded on a
particular cassette. In the description of the
preferred embodiment of U.S. Patent No. 4,024,354,
the second condition is referred to as the
"priority" condition which causes cassette
substitution at loss of seizure after each piece of
dictation; however, it will be understood that this
second condition may also be provided by the output
of a counter or the like which provides the second
condition only after a predetermined number of such
losses of seizure. The second condition described
above provides a logical one output on line 505n
shown in Fig. 6.
In the preferred embodiment of a cassette
dictation system, all of the pieces of dictation
recorded on a particular cassette are assigned the
same serial number and cassettes on which dictation
is carried over from a first cassette have the same
serial numbers as the first cassette. Therefore,
it is not desired to assign a serial number to each
piece of dictation when an input signal on line
207n indicates that the dictation has ended.
Similarly, where an input signal on line 207n
indicates that a cassette has been ejected without
loss of seizure the subsequent cassettes on which
the piece of dictation is continued are assigned
the same serial number as the cassette on which the
recording of the dictation was started and are not
assigned a new serial number. These ob]ects are
achieved by not resetting the latch 500n to provide
another signal to the monostable device 508n and
therefore a new serial number until a logical one
signal on line 505n is provided indicating that the
recorder upon which the dictation is being recorded
,
8~
39
_ has ejected a cassette at the end of a piece of
dictation in response to the second condition
described above and is substituting a new cassette
which will require a new serial number.
Additionally, each recorder is provided with a
counter 503n which counts in response to the loss
of seizure signal on line 210n. The purpose of the
counter 503n is to count the units of dictation
which have been recorded on a particular cassette
and to provide an output signal indicatin~ whether
a particular piece of dictation is the first,
second, third, or nth piece of dictation recorded
on a particular cassette. The counter 503n counts
each time a loss of seizure signal occurs on line
210n. The counter S03n is then reset whenever a
logical one condition appears on line 505n
indicating that the previous cassette has been
ejected at the end of a piece of dictation and a
new cassette is being substituted. The count from
the counter 503n is combined with the serial number
to provide an address in the master storage 25 for
all information related to a particular piece of
dictation.
The counter 516 in the processor 24 also
provides the serial number to a multiple bit latch
512n in the recorder n from which the signal which
generated the serial number originated. The
multiple bit latch 512n is enabled to store the
serial number whenever an output is provided from
the trigger 508n generatins a new serial number.
However, a short time delay SO9n is provided in
order to permit all of the digital information fro~
the counter 516 to be provided to the inputs to the
multiple bit latch 512n before the multiple bit
latch 512n is enabled to store the data at its
816Z
- inputs.
The serial number temporarily stored in
the multiple bit latch 512n will be available to be
stored in the main storage 25 along with the other
information provided ir. connection with each
subsequent piece of dictation.
It should be noted that a serial number
may also be generated by an external entry from the
keyboard 30 and specifically the external entry key
30d. Thus, a signal generated by closing key 30d
provides a logical one input to the OR gate 501 and
causes the counter 516 to generate a serial number.
The serial number from the counSer 516 is combined
with an "o" unit of dictation count to provide an
address for the information related to the
externally entered project in the master storage
25. As will be more fully described below, this
serial number is generally related to project
information manually entered into the apparatus
through the keyboard and is provided directly to
the master storage 25.
It will now be understood by those
skilled in the art that the preferred embodiment is
an apparatus which is capable of generating digital
electrical signals identifying the person dictating
or the dictate station in use, the recorder upon
which dictation is being recorded, the length of
the dictation, the time the dictation is completed,
and a serial number identi~ying either the piece of
dictation or the cassette upon which the dictation
is recorded. As will be more fully described
below, the digital information is stored in the
master storage 25 whenever the particular recorder
22a, 22b,...22m, 22n, to which the digital
information pertains provides a loss of seizure
8~
41
signal.
III. AUTOMATIC PROCESSING AND
STORAGE OF PROJECT INFORMATION
-
The automatic processing and storage of
project information may be achieved by a first
alternative embodiment using a circuit comprising
digital hardware or by a second alternative
embodiment using a programmed microprocessor. It
will be understood that the following alternative
embodiments are merely illustrative and that the
functional equivalents of the processor 24 may
include other digital devices, including digital
hardware, firmware, or software, which are capable
of per~orming the described functions in a central
control system.
Each of the recorders 22a, 22b,...22m,
22n are capable of providing a signal indicating
the loss of seizure of the recorder and signal
indicating ejection of a cassette without loss of
seizure. These signals are placed on one of a
plurality of lines 207a, 207b,...207m, 207n,
indicated representatively as line 207n in Fig. 7,
and provided to an OR gate 601 in the f irst
alternative embodiment. the output of the OR gate
601 provides an enable input to the master storage
25a. Additionally, as will be further described
below, the OR gate 601 has inputs which are
provided by the operation of the priority key 30a,
and the external entry key 30d of the keyboard 30~
and an input from the direct memory access 1204,
all to be more ~ully described below.
The master storaqe 25a remains in the
write mode of operation when enabled unless the OR
gate 675 provides a logical one to the read/write
6%
~2
_ input of the master storage 25a. The OR gate 675
is only responsive to provide said logical one
signals in response to signals which cause master
storage 25a to read the stored information into
S another priority address during the priority
operation, or to read the information into a video
processor. Therefore, upon the receipt of a signal
from OR gate 601, the master storage 25a is enabled
to write the address and data information provided
from the particular recorder upon which seizure has
been lost.
The address information incl~des the
serial numher and unit of dictation count assigned
to the piece of dictation, as described above, to
which a constant P is added by the constant adder
604. From the constant adder 604, the address is
then provided to a data selector 683 and, unless
the master storage 25a is in the process of
assigning the data a new priority address, the data
selector 683 provides the serial number and unit of
dictation count plus the constant P as the address
to the master storage 25a. Additionally, the
serial number and unit of dictation count are
sufficient to provide an address in the master
storages 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d upon which the
additional data relating to a particular piece of
dictation will be stored as will be more fully
described below.
As has been described above, the
3~ identification of the individual dictating or the
dictate station as well as the recorder upon which
dictation has been recorded provide outputs from
the data selector 350 and the encoder 351 upon the
loss of seizure or substitution of a cassette
without loss of seizure by one of the recorders
,
- .
.
,
8~;%
43
- 22a, 22b,.. 22m, 22n. The outputs from the data
selector 350 and encoder 351 are provided to the
appropriate data or information inputs to the
master storage 25a. Additionally, in the case
where the information is provided through an
external entry 30d, the dictate station
identification and recorder number may be entered
manually from the keyboard inputs 30g and 30h. As
will be described more fully below, the data
entered as the dictate station identification may
still identify the person who originates the
project and the data entered as the recorder number
may indicate the form of the project, for example,
transcription of handwritten material.
Additionally, the length of the dictation
on previously unrecorded tape has been counted by a
counter in each recorder, representatively shown as
counter 304n in Fig. 5. The counter 304n provides
a data input to the master storaqe 25a and, upon
the enabling of the master storage 25a, is written
into the master storage. As has been described
above, the counter 304n is reset at loss of seizure
of the recorder in order to count the length of
each piece of dictation recorded on the cassette or
tape. As will also be described more fully below,
the approximate length of a project may also be
; entered from the keyboard at data input 30~.
The real time clock 31 provides an input
to the master storage 25a when the master storage
25a is enabled by the input signal 207n. The real
time of loss of sei~ure or cassette subsbitution
without loss of seizure is therefore also written
into the master storage 25a. Similarly, the real
time an external entry is entered is also written
into the master storage 25a when it is enabled.
8f~
44
_ Additionally, the serial number and unit
of dictation count is al~so provided as a data input
to the master storage 25. Thus, the serial number
and unit of dictation count not only provide a part
S of the address in the master storage 25a for the
information, but also are storeA as information
which, as will be described more fully, may be
presented visually on a video display or printed
from the master storage 25a. As will be more fully
described below, the serial number and unit of
dictation could will also be necessary for the
external entry or supplementation of information in
the master storages 25b, 25c, and 25d relating to
the cassette.
It will now be understood that the master
storage 25a is enabled by the loss of seizure or
the substitution of a cassette without loss of
seizure b~ a particular recorder upon which
dictation has been recorded. ~pon enablement, the
master storage 25a sotres the serial number and
unit of dictation count assigned to the dictation,
the identification number of the person dictating
or the dictate station, the number of the recorder
upon which the dictation has been recorded, the
2S length of dictation, and the time that the
; recording of the dictation was finished. All of
this information is stored as digital signals in
the master storage 25a at an address designated to
be the serial number and unit of dictation count
plus a constant.
As will be more fully described in the
operation of the present apparatus, the first and
second alternative embodiment of the present
invention provide an apparatus for tracking the
progress which has been made in the completion of
li;2~86;~
- the projects identified and stored in the master
storage 25. Additionally, it provides an apparatus
for rearranqing the projects in the master storage
25 according to the priority assigned their
completion. These projects are the pieces of
dictation which have been recorded on the recorders
to which the master storage is attached, or
projects which have been entered manually through
the keyboard 30.
Referring now to the first alternative
embodiment, the progress of each of the projects
will be tracked in the master storages 25b, 25c,
and 25d and the information in the master storages
25b, 25c, and 25d may be revised according to the
progress which is being made in completing the
project. One such entry is the entry of the
identification number relating to the person to
whom the project has been assigned for completion.
This number, identified in the dictation system as
the transcriptionist number, is entered into the
master storage 25b along with the time the
transcriptionist is initially assigned a project.
The transcriptionist number is entered
into the master storage 25b by providing an input
at the keyboard at the input 30e. The input 30e
may be generated as digital information in the
conventional manner either through a keyboard or
through thumb wheel switches. First, the serial
number and the unit of dictation count of the
dictation to be assigned the transcriptionist is
entered at the input 30f. The digital signal
carrying the serial number and unit of dictation
count provides an input from the keyboard to
provide the address in the master storage 25b where
the information relating to the cassette to be
~lZ~86Z
46
assigned is to be stored. As will become more
apparent, the constant P need not be added to
provide the address of the data in the master
storage 25b since the information stored in the
storage 25b is not moved to a priority address.
The identif ication number assigned to the
transcriptionist is entered next. A direct data
input 30e from the keyboard to the master storage
25b is provided. Additionally, the real time clock
31 also provides an input to the master storage
25b.
Thirdly, the assign out key 30b is
operated. The operation of the assign out key 30b
causes the data selector 678 to substitute the
constant 679 for the constant 6 97 to replace the
blank- status input with an "A" status input which
is a status input for the master storage 25d to
identify the assigned out status of the project.
The constant corresponding to the "A" assigned out
status symbol is thereby provided to the master
storage 25d at the address set by the oepration of
the serial number and unit of dictation count input
30f. The master storage 25d is also enabled to
write the constant into the storage by the output
of the OR gate 696 in response to the input from
; the operation of the assign out key 3nb. The
operation of the assign out key 30b also provides
an input to the OR gate 6 05 wh ich in turn enables
the master storage 2 5b to wr ite the
transcriptionist identif ication number and the real
t ime assigned out at the appropriate address at
which the information related to the assigned
dictation is intended to be stored.
Once the transcription of the dictation
recorded on the cassette is completed, the
.
, .
11~6~
47
_information stored in the master storages 25a and
25b may be supplemented to reflect its completion.
The serial number of the cassette and unit of
dictation count of the dictation transcribed is
5entered on the keyboard in the same manner as the
serial number and unit of dictation count were
entered when the cassette was assigned out, as has
been described above. I~he real time clock 31 also
provides an input to the master storage 25c. The
10complete key 30c is then operated. The complete
key 30c provides an input to the data selector 678
which causes the data selector 678 to provide a
constant 6~1 corresonding to the letter "C", for
"completed" at the data input to the master storage
1525d. The serial number and unit of dictation count
entry at 30f also provides an address input to the
master storage 25d. The operation of the complete
key 30d also provides an input to the OR gate 606
which provides an enable input to the master
20storage 25d to enable the "C" status symbol to be
written into the master storage 25d at the
appropriate address thereby replacing the
previously entered "A" status symbol. Finally, the
operation of the complete key 30c provides an input
25to the OR gate 607 providing an enable input to the
master storage 25c thereby enabling the real time
the project was completed to be written into the
master storage 25c at the address at which the
information related to the completed praject i5
30 stored.
It will now be understood by those
skilled in the art that the information stored in
the master storage 25a may be supplemented in the
master storages 25b, c, and d by additional
information relating to the progress being made
112~ 2
48
_ toward the completion of the projects identified in
the master storage 25a. In the context of the
dictation system of the preferred embodiment, this
information includes the status of the project, the
identification number of the person to whom the
dictation has been assigned for transcription, and
the real time at which the dictation was assigned
to the transcriptionist and completed by the
transcriptionist. As will be more fully described
below, all of this information will be available
for visual display or printing from the master
storage 25.
In addition to supplementing the digital
information stored in the master storage 25a, those
items which are of such importance that their
completion takes precedence over other projects
which have been stored in the master storage 25a
earlier may be assigned prioritv. In assigning a
project priority, the project information is
duplicated at a priority address in the master
storage 25a so that it will be displayed on the CRT
ahead of all non-priority projects. Additionally,
a status symbol "P" will be entered into the master
storage 25d at the original non-priority address
along with the other digital information relating
to the project.
Priority is assigned to a project by
first enterin~ the serial number and unit of
dictation count of the project from the keyboard
! 30 input 30f. The serial number and unit of dictation
count are then provided to the constant adder 604
where the constant "P" is added to the serial
number to give the address of the project and
through a data selector 683 to the address input of
the master storage 25a. the "priority" key 30a is
,
: '''
.
8~;~
~9
_ then operated. Initially, the operation of the
priority key provides an input to the data selector
678 which in turn provides a digital siqnal from
the constant 684 corresponding to a "P" status
symbol. The master storage 25d is then enabled to
read the status input from the data selector 678
into the storage by an input from the priority ~ey
30a through the OR gate 696 to the enable input of
the master storage 25d.
Once the status information is stored in
the master storage 25d along with the other
information relating to the project, the master
storage 25a is enabled to read the information at
the address relating to the project to which
priority has been assigned into a multiple bit
latch 686~ This is done by placing the master
storage 25a in the "read" mode of operation by the
input from the priority key 30a through a timer 689
and thence through the OR gate 675 to the
read/write input of the master storage 25a. It
will be understood by those skilled in the art that
when the OR gate 675 provides a logical one input
to the read/write input of the master storage 25a,
the master storage 25a will provide a data output
when enabled; conversely, when a logical zero is
present at the read/write input, the master storage
25a will store input data when enabled. ~oreover,
the presence of the timer 68~ limits the period
during which the master stora~e 25a will be in the
read mode of operation to the period of time
required to transfer the data from the master
storage 25a to the multiple bit latch 686 to enable
it to read the data provided from the master
storage 25a. typically, the multiple bit latch 868
will have only enough storage capacity to
862
_ accommodate the digital signals related to the
information stored about one project in the master
storage 25a. Therefore, an address to the
temporary storage 686 is unnecessary.
Once the data related to a particular
project is stored in the multiple bit latch 686, a
priority address in the master storage 25a is
chosen and the data is written from the ~ultiple
bit latch 686 back into master storage 25a at the
priority a~dress. The priority address is chosen
by the operation of a priority address counter 687
which counts in response to the operation of the
priority key 30a. Thus, each priority address is
chosen sequentially in the order the project is
assigned priority by the operation of the priority
key 30a.
It will be understood by those skilled in
the art from the earlier description of the
assignment of addresses in the master storage 25a
that the first "P" addresses in the master storage
25a will have been left open for the entry of later
priority projects. This has been accomplished by
incrementing the serial number and unit of
dictation count assigned each project by the
constant number "P" at the constant adder 604 to
provide the address to be assigned each ordinary
project in the master storage. Therefore, none of
the ordinary projects will have been entered into
the master storage 25 at an address less than "P
1."
A priority address is assigned each
- priority projected. The operation of the priority
key 30a causes the priority address counter 687 to
count to the next available priority address and
provide that priority address to the data selector
86Z
51
683.
~fter a delay sufficient to have allowed
the project data to be temporarily stored in the
multiple bit latch 686, the delay 68~ provides an
output to the data selector 683 in response to the
initial operation of the priority key 30a. The
output of the delay 688 is provided to the data
selector 683 to cause the data selector to select
the priority address from the priority address
ln counter 687 as the address which is provided at the
address input of the master storage 25a. By the
time that the delay 688 provides an output, the
timer 689 will have ceased providing an output
ca~sing the master storage 25a to be in the "read"
mode of operation and therefore when next enabled,
it will be enabled to "write" the information at
the data inputs of the master storage 25a into the
master storage 25a at the priority address.
Finallyl the delay 688 provides an enable
input through the OR gate 601 to the master storage
25a. th~s, the master storage 25a is enabled to
write the information temporarily stored in the
multiple bit latch 686 back in at the priority
address. As will be more fully described below,
the data relating to the priority project will now
be available for display on the video display 26 at
a position above all of the projects over which it
has been assigned priority.
As has been described above, the first
alternative embodiment described above will achieve
the objects and advantages of the present
invention; however, a second alternative embodiment
of the central control system may also provide the
objects and advantages of the present invention.
In the second alternative embodiment, the processor
~21;~
52
24 is a conventional microprocessor programmed
according to the flow diagram shown in Fig. 12.
The apparatus for providing the identification of
the person dictating, the identification of the
recorder by which the dictation was recorded, the
length of dictation, the serial number assigned the
dictation and the time the dictation was completed
are all the same in both the first and second
alternative embodiments of the present invention.
Additionally, the second alternative
embodi~ent of the present invention is capable of
performing certain further processin~ functions
such as the computation of the difference between
the time a cassette was made available for
: 15 transcription and the time it was actually assigned
out to a transcriptionist: the difference between
the time a cassette was assigned for transcription
and the time the transcription of the dictation
recorded on the cassette was completed; a listing
of all dictation originating from a selected
! dictate station or individual; a listing of all
d ictat ion assig ned to a p art i c u l a r
transcriptionist; the total length of dictation
originating from a selected plurality of dictate
stations associated with a particular department;
the total length of dictation transcribed by a
transcriptionist; and a signal from the cassette
recorder indicating that a cassette recorder has
recorded on all of the available cassettes and that
reloading of the dictation recorder i9 necessary
before further dictation ~ay be recorded. the
processed information described above is available
for visual presentation either on a video display
or by printing on a printer in the conventional
manner.
~12~86;2
53
The sequence of operations by which the
proqrammed microprocessor performs the desired
f unctions is illustrated in Fig. 12. A start
function 1301 is the first function which the
conventional microprocessor is programmed to
perform. The microprocessor then performs a
polling function in an idling mode of oepration
1302. The idling mode of operation 1302 causes the
microprocessor to poll its inputs for information
provided from the recorders 22a, 22b,.. 22m, 22n
and the ACS 21 or telephone interface 33 upon the
loss of seizure of a recorder or the substitution
of a cassette as has been described above.
`Additionally, the microprocessor polls the real
time clock 31, the cassette reader 29 and the
keyboard 30 for inputs.
Upon receipt of an input 1303 from the
keyboard 30, the microprocessor f urther processes
the information inputs and the information stored
in the master storage 25 by performing the
functions 1304-1308, 1314-1317, and 1320-1322.
Thus, upon the entry of keyboard input calling for
the total dictation transcribed by a
transcriptionist 1304, the microprocessor is
programmed to cause the data identifying the length
of dictation recorded on each of the cassettes
completed by a particular transcriptionist to be
summed an~ visually presented. The entry of
keyboard input calling for the reset of the total
3~ dictation transcribed by a transcriptionist 1305
causes the microprocessor to start any such
subsequent summing operat ion f rom the t ime of
reset. The keyboard input 1303 callirsg for setting
; the time 1306 causes the microprocessor to set the
real time clock 31 to the time input from the
11;Z~8~;Z
54
_ keyboard. The external entry input 1307 cause.s the
microprocessor to assign the external entry a
serial number as has been previously described;
store the external entry; and cause the video
display of the information externally entered to be
flashingly displayed. The dictate station or
individual dictation list input 1308 causes a list
of the information relating to the various pieces
of dictation originating from a particular dictate
station or individual dictation to be visually
presented either on a video display or by printing
on a printer. Similarly, the transcriptionist list
input 1309 causes a list of the information
relating to the various pieces of dictation
assigned to a particular transcriptionist for
transcription to be visually presented either on a
video display or by printing on a printer.
The conventional microprocessor may also
be programmed to shift information related to
various projects to different preselected addresses
in the master storage 25 according to tir status.
Thus, the priority input 1315 causes the
information relating to a selected project to which
a priority status has been assigned to be shifted
to a priority address in the master storage 25
where it will be visually presented before other
earlier, but non-priority, projects. The assign
out input 1316 causes the status symbol associated
with the project to be displayed as an "A"; the
information related to the assigned project to be
shifted to a section of the master storage 25
reserved for projects assigned out, and causes the
printer to print the project information relating
to the assigned project and the difference in time
between the initial entry of the project into the
"~
' '
8~
- system and the time assigned out to a
transcriptionist. The work complete entry 1317
causes the status symbol associated with the
project to be displayed as a "C"; the information
related to the completed project to be shifted to a
section of the master storage 25 reserved for
completed projects; to add the length of the
project to the totals for the length of dictation
transcribed by a particular transcriptionist and
the length of dictation originating from a
department; and to print the information related to
the project on a printeralong with the difference
; in time between the time assigned to the
transcriptionist and the time completed by the
transcriptionist. It will be understood by those
skilled in the art that all of the projects about
which information is stored in the master storage
25 cannot be displayed at the same time on the
video display. Therefore, different "pages" of
information are displayed separately. The display
reset 1314 causes the display to return to the page
at which the information related to unassigned
projects is first displayed.
As h~as been described above, the total
lengths of dictation transcribed by a particular
~ transcrip~tionist as well as the total length of
;~' dictation originating from a given department are
also displayed. Additionally, a summary of all of
the transcriptionist totals is displayed in
response to the T summary input 1320. Similarly, a
summary o~ all of the department totals is
displayed in response to the D summary input 1321.
The D summary reset input 1322 resets the
department totals o zero.
In addition to the functional inputs
:
86~
56
_ entered from the kevboard inputs 1303, the real
time cloc~ 31 provides a real time clock input 1310
to the microprocessor. The real time clock input
1310 provides a video display of the date and time;
a date and time input to the master storage 25; and
an input to the length of dictation counter 304
associated with each of the recorders on which
dictation is being recorded.
As will be more fully described below,
the microprocessor should also be programmed to be
responsive to the input 1311 of the cassette reader
29. The cassette reader 29 provides a digital
input 1311 identifying the serial number of the
cassette which has been inserted into the cassette
reader. Upon the input 1311 of this serial number,
the microprocessor should be programmed to cause
the information in the master storage 25 relating
to the identified ~assette to be visually presented
either by a flashing video display or by printing
either on a conventional printer or a label
printer.
The microprocessor must also be
programmed to process the digital information
identifying either the dictate station or the
person recording the dictation which may be
provided rom either the ACS 21 or the telephone
interface multiplexer 33. The input 1313 may also
cause the microprocessor to perform the function of
temporarily storing the dictate station or dictator
identification number until that number is to be
stored in the master storage along with the
recorder number upon loss of seizure or cassette
substitution.
The input of recorder data 1312 also
causes a plurality of functions to be performed by
llZ~!~36Z
57
_ the microprocessor. Initially, a cassette
dictation recorder may provide a signal when the
cassettes loaded in the recorder are all full and
the recorder must be reloaded. In response to the
S reload signal 1318, the microprocessor should be
programmed to cause a special reload message to be
displayed on the video display along with the
identification number of the recorder which must be
reloaded.
Another recorder input is the cassette
eject input 1319. Upon receipt of the cassette
eject input, the microprocessor should be
programmed to record the information relating to
the last piece of dictation on the cassette at the
end of the cassette. Then the microprocessor
should cause the cassette to be ejected from the
recorder.
A third input which ;may be~received by
the microprocessor from a recorder is the loss of
seizure input 1323 indicating that a dictate
station or telephone interface has lost its seizure
of a particular recorder. Upon the receipt of the
; loss of seizure input 1323, the microprocessor
should be programmed to assign a serial number to
the cassette if the input 1323 is the first
~l dictation entry on the cassette. Once a serial
number has been assigned the cassette, the
information relating to the dictation which has
just ended must be stored in the master storage 25.
the information should include the dictator
identification number of the dictate station or the
person dictating, the recorder number,the serial
number of the cassette, the length of dictation and
~ the real time of loss of seizure. Third, the
,~ 35 microprocessor~ should provide a reset input to the
8~
58
_ length of dictation counter 304 in the recorder on
which the dictation was recorded.
It will now be understood to those
skilled in the art that a second alternative
embodiment of the present invention may include a
conventional programmed mu~tiprocessor, programmed
to perform the functions described above and
illustrated by the flow diagram in Fi~. 12.
Moreover, it will be understood that the inputs to
the microprocessor are from the digital devices
associated with the other components of the central
control system described herein and that the
outputs are a conventional storage memory, video
display and printer.
IV. RECORDING DICTATION IDENTIFICATION
INFO~MATION ON A CASSETTE
In addition to storing the information
relating to a project as eigher a priOFity project
or a project to be completed in due course in the
master storage 25a, the preferred embodiment also
provides a means of recording this information on
the cassette upon which the dictation was recorded.
As has been described above, one of the
disadvantages of a cassette recorder dictation
system is that the cassettes cannot be easily
identified. The recording of this information and
~ the provision of a means for playing back this
; information without having to play back the entire
cassette provides a means for identifying the
cassettes.
In order to understand the apparatus by
which and the method in which the information is
recorded on the cassette at the end of the
3S dictation, it is necessary that they first be
!
8~2
59
- broadly described. At the end of the last piece of
dictation on the cassette from the recorder, the
preferred embodiment will cause digital signals
containinq the information as to the serial number
of the cassette, the time the cassette was ejected,
the identification number of the person dictating
or of the dictate station, the recorder number, and
the length of the dictation to be recorded on the
end of the tape following the dictation. In the
preferred embodiment, a central supervisor station
is provided which includes a display 26, and a
cassette reader 29. The cassette reader 29 in the
preferred embodiment operates by playing back that
portion of the tape upon which the digital
; 15 information has been recorded. Once this
information has been played back on the cassette
reader 29, those lines of information in the master
storage 25a corresponding to the identified
cassette which are displayed on the display 26 will
be caused to be flashingly displayed thereby
identifying the cassette which has been inserted
into the cassette reader 29. Additionally, a label
printer 28 may operate to print a label in response
to the digital signals played back on the cassette
reader 29. this label may then be physically
attached to the cassette in order to facilitate
later identification.
The primary advantage of this feature is
that the cassette need not be rewound, played back
and rewound again to attempt to identify the
cassette by the sound of the voice of the person
who was dictating or the subject of the dictation.
Instead, positive identification is provided merely
inserting the cassette into the cassette reader
; 35 29.
1~2~36Z
_ In order to manufacture the preferred
embodiment of the cassette reader 29 from parts
which are generally available and to minimize the
degree of modification which must be made in the
cassette reader 29, the digital information
recorded on the end of the tape following the
dictation must be recorded in reverse order from
the order it will be played back. As is shown in
Fig. 8, the direction of tape movement past the
magnetic head 802 in a recorder is from right to
left. Similarly, on a tape playback machine the
direction of tape movement during the playback
operation is usually also from right to left. In
the preferred embodiment of the present invention,
it will be desired to read back the digital
information recorded on the tape at the end of the
dictation by turning the cassette over to the side
opposite the side on which the dictation had
originally been recorded hefore insertinq it into
the playback machine. Ordinarily, the effect of
turning the cassette over would be to cause the
playback machine to play back anything recorded on
a track T2 opposite the track Tl on which the
dictation and the digital information have been
2S recorded. However, in the preferred embodiment a
modification of the playback machine is made and
the magnetic head is displaced from its ordinary
position to a position in which it will play back
signals recorded on the track Tl. Since the
cassette has been inverted, the first material
which will be encountered in playing back the
cassette will be that material which was last to be
recorded. The information last to be recorded is
the digital information identifying the cassette.
Moreover, this digital information will be played
61
- back in reverse order from the order in which it
was recorded. Thus, it will be necessary to
initially record the digital signals in reverse
order so that when played back backwards from the
S order in which they were initially recorded, they
will be played back in the proper order.
It will now be understood by those
skilled in the art that the preferred embodiment of
the present invention will provide a means whereby
a cassette may be identified by reference to
digital signals recorded at the end of the
dictation. This result is achieved by inverting
the cassette and inserting it into a cassette
recorder adapted to play back the material on the
inverted track. Additionally, when the inverted
cassette is played back the first recording to be
played back will be the last recording which was
recorded. Thus, the digital signals recorded at
the end of the dictation will be played back
immediately and be~ore the dictation is played
back. Finally, since the digital information has
been recorded in reverse order, playing it back in
what is effectively the reverse direction from the
direction in which it was originally recorded will
cause the digital sign~als to be played back in the
proper order.
The means for recording the digital
information on the tape at the end of the dictation
will now be described. As is shown in Fig. 9, a
multiplexer data selector 801 is provided with an
input from the length of dictation counter 30~n,
the data selector 350 providing the dictate station
number and the encoder 351 providing the recorder
number, a time in multiple bit latch 606 (shown in
Fig. 7), and the serial number counter 6n4. The
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86~
_ multiplexer 801 functions to arrange these inputs
in the order in which they will be recorded on the
tape. Since the order in which they will be
recorded on the tape is the reverse order from that
S in which they will be played back and ultimately
visually displayed and printed on a label, the
multiplexer first passes the digital signal from
the length of dictation counter 304n, and then
sequentially passes the recorder number from the
enccoder 351, the dictate station number from the
data selector 350, the time the dictation was
placed in the system real time multiple bit latch
606 and the serial number of the cassette from the
serial number counter 604. The rate of operation
of the multiplexer 801 is established by a counter
805 which is responsive to a clock input and to the
output of an O~ gate 825. the inputs to the OR
gate 825 are provided by the lines 505n and 209n.
From the description of the conditions which
provide an output on lines 505n and 209n which is
set forth above, it will be understood that the OR
gate 825 will provide an output upon cassette
substitution either after loss of seizure or
without loss of seizure. Thus, the multiplexer 801
will provide data to be recorded at the end of each
cassette before the cassette is ejected and
regardless of whether a piece of dictation has been
completed. Additionally, an input signal is
provided on each cassette substitution from the OR
gate 20Rn on line 207n in order to provide the
data input from the data selector 350, the encoder
351, and the real time multiple bit latch 606. The
multiplexer 801 sequentially passes the di~ital
information one byte at a time and in reverse~order
to the shift register 807.
~l~r'8~;~
~3
The shift register 807 then serially
clocks the bits of information to the NAND gate
input 815 and, through an inverter 816, to the NAND
gate input 817. The NAND gate 815 also has an
input from a "1" timing monostable which is clocked
at the same rate that the bits of digital
information are clocked out of the shift register
807. Similarly, a "O" timing monostable provides
an input to the NAND gate 817. It will be
understood by those skilled in the art that a
timing monostable device provides an output for
oanly a predetermined period of time upon being
clocked. As will be more fully described below,
the predetermined output period for the "1" timing
monostable device 818 must be shorter than the
predetermined output period for the "0" timing
monostable device 819.
When the shift register 807 shifts out a
bit corresponding to a logical zero, a zero input
is provided to the NAND gate 815 causing it to
maintain a logical one output despite the input
from the "1" timing monostable 818. A zero output
from the shift register 807 will, however, be
inverted by the inverter 816 to provide a one input
to the NAND gate 817. Thus, when the "O" timing
monostable 819 provides an output of predetermined
period the NAND gate 817 will provide a zero to the
AND gate 820 for the period of the output of the
"O" timing monostable 818.
When the shift register 807 shi~ts out a
bit corresponding to a logical one, a one input is
provided at the NAND gate 815 so that when the "1"
timing monostable 818 provides an input for its
predetermined period of time the NAND gate 815 will
~; 35 provide a zero to the AND gate 820 for the period
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64
of the "1" timing monostable 818. However, the
logical one from the shift register 807 is inverted
to a zero by the inventer 816 and therefore the
NAND gate 817 will provide a continuing one output
S despite the input from the "O" timing monostable
819. It will now be understood by those skilled in
the art that the AND gate 820 will malntain a
logical one output unless interrupted for the
period of the "1" timing monostable 818 when a
logical one is shifted out of the shift register
807 or interrupted for the period of the "O" timing
monostable 819 when a logical zero is shifted out
of the shift register 80?-
The signals from the AND gate 820 are
lS superimposed upon an oscillator signal from an
oscillator 812 at the AND gate 808 when the timer
840 provides an input indicating that the cassette
ejection signal has been generated and only a
predetermined period of time will be allowed during
which to record the digital information on the end
of the tape. The output of the timer 840 also
provides a timed control signal to the recorder to
cause the recorder to oprate in the record mode of
- operation for the period required to record the
digital information on the tape. Additionally, the
timer 840 delays the eject signal by generating a
timed output which is inverted by the inverter 809
to obtain a timed delay in the transfer of the
eject signal through the AND gate 811 to the
recorder by which the dictation was rec~orded, for
example a recorder n.
The output from the AND gate 80S provides
an oscillator signal to the recording head 802n at
the recorder n. The recorder n then records the
digital information as gaps in the oscillator tone,
862
_ a digital one being a shorter gap and a digital
~ero being a longer gap.
The eJect circuit is also modified by
placing an AND gate Bll between the generation of
S the eject signal and the control mechanism of the
recorder which causes the cassette to be ejected.
The other input to the AND gate 811 is provided by
a timer 840 which is set in response to the initial
generation of the eject signal. The timer 840 will
not provide an output for a period sufficient to
permit all of the necessary data to be recorded as
digital signals on the tape following the last
dictation. Once this period has elapsed, however,
the timer 840 provides an output to the AND gate
811 thereby providing an eject signal to the
control mechanism within the recorder which causes
the tape cassette to be ejected.
As has been described above, a cassette
reader 29 is provided at the supervisor station in
the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
The purpose of the cassette reader 29 is to play
back the information recorded on the end of the
cassette following the dictation in order to
identify the cassette so that they ~ay be properly
labeled and set aside for later transcription. The
cassette 8I0 is inverted and inserted into the
cassette recorder having a displaced playback head
803, as shown in Fig. 8B. The insertion of the
cassette into the cassette reader 29 causes the
motor of the cassette reader to move the tape past
the displaced playback head 803 of the cassette
reader 29. As the cassette 810 is played back in
effectively the reverse direction from the
direction in which it was recorded, the last
digital signals recorded will be the first digital
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_ signals to be played back. As has also been
described, the digital signals have been
superimposed upon a carrier for recording on the
tape following the dictation. As is shown in ~ig.
10, the carrier is detected when played back and
amplified by a detector and amplifier 901. The
detection of the carrier by the amplifier and
detector 901 provides an input to an edge trigger
timing generator 904. Additionally, the output
1~ from the amplifier and detector 901 provides an
input to a shift register 903. As will be
described below, the length of the shift register
! 903 is sixteen bits in order to accommodate all of
the digital information necessary to identify the
cassette. In addition to having an input from the
dtector and amplifier 901, the clock input of the
shift register 903 is provided by the output of the
edge trigger timing generator 904. The period of
the timing generator gO4 is selected to be longer
than the period of the gap associated with a
, digital one and shorter than the period of the gap
~ associated with a digital zero. Thus, the shift
; register 903 will sample the input from the
amplifier and detector 901 periodically and, if a
carrier is detected, then the period of the gap in
the carrier has been shorter than the period of the
clocking generator 904 and a digital one is entered
,:
~ in the shift register 903. Similarly, if at the
- end of the timinq period of the timing generator
904 a carrier is not detected, then the period of
the gap in the carrier was longer than the timing
period of timing generator 904 and a digital zero
will be entered in the shift register 903.
As will be more fully described, the only
information which the reader in the preferred
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67
_ embodiment of the present invention must receive is
that information relatinq to the serial number of
the cassette. Thus, the reader is also provided
with a counter 905 which will count the playback of
S the first sixteen bits of information from the tape
81n. Upon receipt of the necessary sixteen bits of
digital information which contain the serial number
of the cassette, the counter provides an output to
the reader 29 which causes the cassette to be
ejected from the reader.
As is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 r the master
storage 25 is operatively connected with a display
26 and a label printer 28. The display 26 may be
an ordinary cathode ray tube. As is shown in Fig.
11, the display 26 is operatively connected to the
master storage through a conventional CRT driver
1201. The CRT driver 1201 includes conventional
digital character generator responsive to the
digital output of the master storage 25 for
providing a visual display of the digital
information on the display 26. The portion of the
; master storage 25 displayed on the CRT is
determined by the address provided by a direct
memory access (DMA) 1204. As is shown more clearly
in Fig. 7, the direct memory access provides the
master storages 25a, 25b, 25c and 25d with address,
read, and enable signals which permit the output to
drive the CRT driver 1201 and present the digital
information visually on display 26. The address
signals are provided at the line 695 which is the
input to the constant adder 604 for master storage
;~ 25a, and directly to the address inputs of the
master storages 25b, 25c, and 25d. The DMA 1204
provides a "read" signal through the OR gate 675 to
the master storage 25a, and directly to the
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68
write/read input~s of the master storages 2Sb, 25c,
and 25d. The DMA 1204 provides an enable input to
the master storage 25a through the OR gate 601, the
master storage 25b through the OR gate 605, the
master storage 2Sc through the OR gate 607, and the
master storage 25d through the OR gate 696.
The display 26 also provides a visual
identification of cassettes which are inserted into
the cassette reader 29. As has been described
above, the serial number of the cassette upon which
; dictation has been recorded is itself recorded as
digital information on the tape in the cassette
following the dictation. The cassette reader 29
reads the digital information and provides a
digital output of the serial number. The serial
number of the cassette read by the cassette reader
~ 29 is then provided to a digital comparator 1206
:~ which compares the serial number of the cassette
~: with the serial number of the projects presently
being displayed by the display 26. When the serial
numbers of the cassette in the cassette reader
coincides~with the serial numbers of the projects
. being shown on the display 26 by the master storage
~: 25, the comparator 1206 provides an output to an
'~ 25 oscillator 1207. The oscillator 1207 then provides
a flasher input to the CRT driver 1201. Thus, the
CRT driver 1201 will cause the display of the
~, information corresponding to the cassette in the
; cassette reader 29 to flash when it is read by the
CRT driver 1201.
In addition to identifying the cassette
in the cassette reader 29, the preferred embodiment
also has a label printer 28 which will print a
~`~ label for the cassette which will identify the
cassette and provide the stored information
69
_ relating to the cassette, such as the serial number
of the cassette, the identification of the
individual dictating or the dictate station, the
recorder upon which the dictation was recorded, the
length of the dictation, and the time the dictation
was Einished. The label printer 28 is also
operative in response to an output from the
comparator 1206. As has been described above, an
output will be provided by the comparator 1206 when
the digital information being read from the master
storage 25 by the CRT driver 1201 is the digital
information relating to the cassette in the
cassette reader 29. Thus, the comparator 1206
enables the label printer 28 to also read the
information at that address from the master storage
25 at the same time that the CRT driver 1201 is
also reading the information from the master
storage 25. As the digital signals carrying
information relating to the cassette in the
cassette reader pass from the master storage 25,
they are accumulated in a buffer 1208. The buffer
: 1208 temporarily stores the digital information
until it can be provided to the label printer 28.
:The label printer 28 is a printer of conventional
design which prints in response to digital signals.
The labels provided by the label printer 28 may be
ba:cked with adhesive so that they may be easily
applied to the cassette.
VI. EXTERNAL ~NTRY OF PROJECT INFORMATION
In addition to the input of project
information into the master storage ~5 from the
dictate stations and recorders in the dictation
system, the preferred embodiment also has the
capability of tracking projects not initiated
ll~l
_ within the dictation system. The information
relating to these projects is input manually
through a keyboard into the apparatus where it is
processed, and stored in the master storage where
it is available for further revision, visual
presentation, or printout. The entry of
information into the apparatus is initiated by the
operation of an external entry key 30d on the
keyboard. As is shown in Fig. 6, the operation of
the key 30d provides an external entry input to the
OR gate 501. The outut from the OR gate 501 causes
the counter 506 to assign a serial number to the
project. This serial number is combined with an
"o" unit count and the constant "p" to provide an
address for information related to the externally
entered project in the master storages 25a. The
serial number itself provides an address for the
master storages 25b-d. As is shown in Fig. 7, the
~;~ external entry also provides an input to the OR
gate 601. The OR gate 601 provides an enable
signal to the master storage 25a enabli~ng it to
write the information which is to b~e input.
Inasmuch as the maser storage has not been enabled
~ to write by the termination of seizure or
-`~ 25 substitution of a cassette without loss of seizure
by a particular recorder, the ordinary inputs into
the master storage from the recorders are not
present. Thus, such inputs as the dictation must
be entered manually. This information is manually
entered through the keyboard 30 by the dictate
number input key 30g, the recorder number input key
30n, and the length of project input key 30;, and
the length of project input key 30j to the
appropriate places in the sequence in the master
storage 25a. As has been described above, the
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.
86~
71
_ master storage ~Sa has an input from the real time
clock 31 and provides the time in for the project
when enabled to "write" the daata at its inputs
into storage. The project information entered
S through the operation of the external entry key 30d
may also be assigned priority or supplemented in
the ordinary manner as has been described above in
connection with the structure and operation of the
master storage 25b, 25c, and 25d as the project is
assigned and completed. In this manner, the
information provided through the external entry may
be tracked in the same manner as information
generated from within the dictation system itself,
as has been described above.
lS The external entry information entered in
the dictate station identification number location
f generally should identify the individual from whom
the project came. The information entered in the
recorder number~sequence should generally indicate
that the information at that address is information
which has been externally entered and not
information which relates to dictation recordeA on
any other recorders. Finally, the length of the
~; project entered externally may be estimated by the
operator. This information makes the dictation
system including the preferred embodiment of the
present invention compatible with and useful for
the tracking of a variety of diverse projects
unrelated to the operation of the dictation system
itself. For example, hand written or typed
material which is to be typed or retyped may be
entered into a preferred embodiment of the present
invention and processed and tracked as if it were a
project which had entered through recording by one
3s of the recorders in a dictation system.
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72
-
VII. D~TA PRINTER
In addition to the display of the
infor~ation in the master storage 25 by the display
26, the information may also be printed on a
printer 27. The enable and data inputs to the
printer 27 are essentially the same as the inputs
to the master storage 25 upon loss of seizure of a
recorder, cassette substitution or keyboard entries
10 to supplement project information; however, the
; printer 27 does not store the information, but
causes the information to be printed by a
conventional printer capable of printing in
response to digital information.
The foregoing has been a description of
the structure and operation of alternative
illustrative embodiments of the present invention
directed toward use in a dictation system. As has
been stated at the outset, the present invention is
not limited to use in a dictation system, but
generally has utility for tracking diverse projects
of varying length and complexity in a system in
which the projects are not generated simultaneously
or completed simultaneously. The foregoing
description has been merely illustrative, and the
,
present invention is limited solely by the appended
claims.
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