Mobile computer with audio interrupt system

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

The application relates to a body-supported mobile computer, and more particularly to a system for lowering temperature in a body-worn computer.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,244 (Newman et al. I ... Newman et al I) is a new body-worn computer that is fully endorsed by the user and configured to retrieve and display information in a free-hand style. A computer that is voice activated is disclosed. The computer device receives a voice command from the user, converts the received voice command into an electric signal, recognizes the converted electric signal, and processes the recognized electric signal. It includes a speech recognition module that is configured to transmit to the processor and communicates with the processor, the speech recognition module being endorsed by the user. The computer device further includes a display that contacts the processor to receive information from the processor and display the received information for the user, which display is by the user. It is endorsed, which allows the user to operate the computer device to display the information in a hand-held format using only voice commands.

【0003】

The computer device described in Nos. 5,305,244 includes a housing configured to have mounting means for the user to detachably mount the housing to be supported by the user. The housing should contact a storage means for storing previously input information and the storage means to receive, retrieve, and process information and user instructions according to a stored program. It also further includes the configured processor means. The computer device receives a command from the user, converts the received command into an electric signal, recognizes the converted electric signal, and transmits the recognized electric signal to the processor means. Therefore, it further includes the voice transducer means and the converter means configured to contact the processor means, and the voice transducer means and the converter means are also endorsed by the user. The computer device further includes display means for receiving information from the processor and contacting the processor means to display the received information for the user, the display means. Supported by the user, which allows the user to activate the computer device to display the information in a release format using only voice commands.

【0004】

No. 244 describes a hand-held portable computer system, but discloses various activation means other than voice activation. The disclosed invention relates to a small portable computer device, at least in part thereof, which is fully endorsed by the user and configured to retrieve and display information in a hand-held manner for the user. .. The computer device includes a housing that is configured to have or may not have mounting means for the housing to be detachably mounted to the user to be supported by the user. Alternatively, the housing can be located in a remote location that is not attached to the user and is configured to be isolated from other components. The housing should contact a storage means for storing previously input information and the storage means to receive, retrieve, and process information and user instructions according to a stored program. It also further includes the configured processor means. Since large databases of ETM and IETM will be accessed by the self-contained mobile computer device, a means for easily interfacing the storage means including the database is needed. The housing of the computer device includes an access port, whereby various storage means containing the data can be interfaced and communication is established. Access and data transfer between the storage means and the computer device will be fully controlled and achieved by the various release modes of activation means described in this application. The access port allows direct electrical attachment of the storage means, but other wiring and wireless connections are also used. The computer device receives a command from the user, converts the received command into an electric signal, recognizes the converted electric signal, and applies the recognized electric signal. The eye tracking activation means, the brain wave activation means, the transducer means, and the converter means are also provided or not provided with the voice transducer means and the converter means for communicating with the processor means. It includes. The transducer and converter means may or may not be endorsed by the user. The computer device further includes display means for receiving information from the processor and contacting the processor means to display the received information for the user, the display means. Supported by the user, the user may, with or without voice commands, activate the computer device to display the information in a release format using only brain wave activating means or eye tracking activating means. It will be possible. Any type of display means can be used, such as a head-mounted display, a flat panel display, a neck-down display, a wrist or arm-mounted display, or a combination of these. And become possible. Any type of display means can be used, such as a head-mounted display, a flat panel display, a neck-down display, a wrist or arm-mounted display, or a combination of these. And become possible. Any type of display means can be used, such as a head-mounted display, a flat panel display, a neck-down display, a wrist or arm-mounted display, or a combination of these.

【0005】

In addition to the voice-activating means used in Newman et al. I, described above, these two other above-mentioned activating means, namely the eye tracking activating means and the electroencephalogram activating means (EEG), are contemplated in the present invention. Became. The present invention uses the same general system as described in Newman et al. I.

【0006】

It is also configured to include a computer housing having a heat insulating surface mounted adjacent to the user's body and heat conductive surfaces at the top and sides that dissipate heat from inside the housing to the atmosphere. , Body-worn mobile computer devices are also known. This is to solve a problem uniquely encountered by body-worn mobile computers, that is, the heat generated by the CPU and conducted to the housing can cause major problems for the wearer. It is a thing. Those problems encountered by body-worn computers are quite different from those encountered by desktop or laptop computers. Attempts to solve this thermal problem have led body-mounted computers to highly insulate components or housings, but these efforts have resulted in the desire for smaller, lighter body-mounted units. The result is a larger, heavier computer, which is the exact opposite of what it was intended to be. The Toyosato application also uses heat sinks with selective materials that reduce heat problems in body-worn computers. Examples of dealing with thermal problems in computers include US Pat. No. 5,559,675, US Pat. No. 5,287,292, US Pat. No. 5,452,434, US Pat. No. 4,980, It is disclosed in No. 836, etc. All of these prior art patents disclose methods for reducing power and heat to a desktop computer by a mouse or keyboard user. As mentioned above, the problems in desktop computers and their solutions do not correspond to the problems in body-worn computers. For one thing, the body-worn computers discussed in the text are hand-held, while desktop or laptop computers require the use of hands. In any of the prior art patents mentioned above, how a hand-held computer can be powered down and reduced in heat and power without the use of hands? I didn't teach it.

【0007】

U.S. Pat. No. 5,606,341 (Aguilera) discloses a laptop computer configured to have CPU cooling means. In this laptop computer, the heat generated by the CPU is passively transferred to a radiator-like element located behind the LCD, which warms the LCD. Use that heat to. The CPU is surrounded by a leak-proof housing containing a two-phase coolant. The first tube, which is in fluid communication with the outlet port in the housing, conveys the heated and evaporated coolant towards the input port above the heatsink. The coolant flows through a number of columns formed within the radiator-like element and transfers heat and condenses in the process. The heat transfer is dissipated to the LCD, which is suitably warmed up in the process. The condensed coolant is guided from the delivery port in the radiator-like element to the inlet port in the housing via a second tube. The pressure sensor can also be included to provide a coolant pressure drop signal that can be used to shut down the CPU in the event of a coolant leak.

【0008】

In the Aguilera patent, the heat-dissipating coolant is coated and disposed adjacent to the rear side surface of the LCD. In that case, the CPU is surrounded by a chamber containing the coolant, whereby the heat generated by the CPU is carried by the conductors towards the coolant. The Aguilera patent uses a heatsink-type system to keep the temperature at an operable level and control the heat generated by the CPU. Of course, the weight of the heatsink and the use of chemical coolant would make the Aguilera patented system inconvenient for use in body-worn computers.

【0009】

In a laptop or mobile environment, battery life is one of the more important features for users. Power management is carried out according to various modes, the most common of which are obvious (manual or physical) changes to the system, or hidden changes (due to modifications to the BIOS or operating system settings). Alternatively, it is carried out by a combination of both. When the laptop closes the lid or screen of the laptop by an obvious operation ... In a power-down situation, the system does not mean that the user has completed any work for the time being and will not use the laptop to perform any other function. It is interpreted as indicating that it will be. When this happens, the system will put the laptop in a power-down or hibernate state without any other intervention on the part of the user. When the computer is in this state, the laptop either reduces power or removes it altogether from all critically insignificant components. These components include monitors, floppies, CD-ROMs, hard drives, and more. For simplicity, laptop computer manufacturers have implemented a simple button that allows the user to hit the computer to immediately put it into hibernation mode, or pause mode. In order to "wake up" and restart a computer in hibernate or pause mode, all the user has to do is move the mouse or operate a key on the keyboard. Another way to reduce battery drain or put the laptop into hibernation or pause mode is to "program" the operating software to monitor the use of the computer and meet certain conditions. Putting the computer in hibernation mode or pause mode when satisfied. These conditions are inactivity on the computer that reaches a given amount of time (which can be set by the user), and inactivity for a given (programmable) duration powers the hard disk. The inactivity of the video display for a given duration, which will bring it down, will leave the backlight and video display blank, and so on. These situations are driven by the operating system, but at any time and in any situation. Allow the user to program what to power down the peripheral below. Again, in order to restart a given peripheral, all the user has to do is request the computer to operate with the peripheral (eg, request an application to access the hard drive). The task will reboot the hard drive itself).

【0010】

In all of the above situations, the user is required to provide explicit manual operation in order to make the system fully functional. This usually takes the form of hitting a keystroke or moving the mouse. There is no prior art that proposes a power control system used in a hand-held body-worn computer.

【0011】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a practical heat and power control system used in a body-worn computer configured to avoid the above-mentioned inconveniences.

【0012】

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hand-held method for powering down a body-worn computer.

【0013】

A further object of the present invention is to provide a body-worn computer configured to have extended power life and reduced heat generation.

【0014】

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for reducing the heat generated by the CPU of a hand-held body-worn computer.

【0015】

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical and efficient method for controlling the generation of heat and power in a body-worn computer.

【0016】

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide voice means for controlling heat and power in a hand-held body-worn computer to reduce heat touching the user's body.

【0017】

[Means for solving problems]

These and other objectives of the present invention are generally achieved by a speech recognition module configured to control power and heat in a body-worn computer.

【0018】

The computer receives a voice instruction from a user, converts the received voice instruction into an electric signal, and transmits the recognized electric signal to a processor in the system unit. It also further includes voice transducer means and converter means configured to contact the unit. In this embodiment, the voice transducer means and the converter means include a microphone for receiving verbal commands from the operator. In this embodiment, the microphone electrically connected to the system unit via a cable is preferably an ear-supported microphone, although experts in the art may use any voice. Recognizing that an input or transducer device can also be used and that the voice input or transducer can be endorsed by the user in certain other places, such as adjacent to the user's mouth or throat. Will do. The computer system used in the present invention is disclosed in detail in US Pat. No. 5,305,244 and US Application 08 / 861,598, both of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. And.

【0019】

For example, an application program can also interact with a separate (or subordinate) speech recognition module so that the speech recognition module can recognize verbal utterances for a subset of the entire tuned term model. .. The subset of terms can also include words within a speech recognition module, for example, configured to correspond to operating system instructions that power down the CPU. Its heat / power can be controlled by keywords within the subset of the term. In contrast, subordinate speech recognition modules cannot be integrated into application programs. Systems and methods for speech recognition, especially independent speech recognition, are described in the US patent specifications 5,025,471, 4,969,193 and 4,672,667, which are incorporated herein by reference. It shall be incorporated into.

【0020】

When the body-worn computer is not in a functional state, the computer should be powered down to save the limited power of the battery. Since the computer is in a hand-held style, there is no mouse or keyboard to use to power it down. Moreover, no known body-worn computer has any practical means for saving battery power and reducing the heat that would be transferred to the user's body. In a body-worn computer, A. saves energy due to the limited power provided by the battery, and B. the heat generated by the computer because it comes into contact with the user's body. Is very important to reduce.

【0021】

A computer system is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a chipset (IC for controlling the system), an audio processing IC, a video output control IC, and the like. Here, the voice processing IC converts the voice data synthesized and processed in the digital format into an analog format, and forms a voice that can be heard by the human ear from the converted data. To process. Further, the voice processing converts an externally generated analog voice into a digital signal so that it can be processed by the CPU and processes it.

【0022】

The chipset mediates between the CPU and functional ICs such as audio processing ICs and video output control ICs, while it reduces the power consumed in the CPU. From the viewpoint of controlling the temperature rise, it also controls the calculation speed of the CPU.

【0023】

In order to reduce the power consumed when there is no input from external input devices such as keyboards and mice, the computing speed of the CPU is distributed and the power consumed is minimized. To. Once there is an input from some external input device, the computing speed of the CPU will be increased in order to execute the process quickly.

【0024】

When the temperature of the CPU and its surroundings rises, the calculation speed of the CPU is lowered in order to control the heat generation from the CPU in order to control the temperature rise in the CPU.

【0025】

Normally, voice input is not considered as an external input device such as a keyboard or mouse, so there is an influence on the control of the calculation speed of the CPU. That is, when voice is input from the outside and the CPU tries to process it, the calculation speed of the CPU is very low. Therefore, when the processing is not executed sufficiently efficiently, the calculation speed of the CPU cannot be increased.

【0026】

Therefore, in addition to the passage for voice input, a circuit for detecting the existence of the voice input is provided. In that case, the processing of the audio data by the CPU is smoothly executed by processing the output from the circuit in the chipset and controlling the calculation speed of the CPU by the processed data. It is.

【0027】

First, the comparator makes a decision as to whether or not the analog audio input is above a predetermined level. Here, the predetermined level is set by a component in the circuit, such as a resistor. The result of the determination is carried to the chipset as an interrupt signal. As a result, the computing speed of the CPU is changed by the point of change in the interrupt signal as a trigger.

【0028】

Since the processing of the audio data is not necessary when there is no output from the comparator, the calculation speed of the CPU is controlled by the external input device and the temperature of the CPU. On the other hand, when the output from the comparator is present, the computing speed of the CPU is maximized regardless of other causes. Furthermore, when the CPU processes a large number of tasks in parallel, it is possible to give top priority to the processing of the voice data.

【0029】

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the main structural features of a computer according to the Examples. The computer 102 includes a bus 102 configured to preferably have a data width of at least 16 bits. According to this embodiment, the bus 102 is included in the system unit 106. The computer also includes processor means such as a central processing unit (CPU) 104, which is connected to bus 102 and preferably configured to be contained within the system unit. Preferably, the CPU 104 is an 80286 or 80386SX microprocessor available from Intel. According to experts in the field, 80286 or 80386SX microprocessors are preferred, but any other central processing unit or microprocessor that will be available now or in the future can also be used. Will be recognized as.

【0030】

The computer also includes, for example, a memory 106 having 1 M to 20 Mbytes of random access memory (RAM), but any amount of RAM is also suitable. Memory 106, which is also connected to bus 102 and is preferably configured to be contained within the system unit, stores application program 108 while the computer is running. .. The application program 108 can also be loaded into memory 106 from magnetic storage 119 (described below) according to operator instructions.

【0031】

The computer controls all data transfers between the CPU 104 and certain other components (referred to in the text as peripherals) that contact the CPU 104 but are not directly connected to the bus 102. It also includes the input / output interface 110 configured as described above. Preferably, the input / output interface 110 is a video interface, a controller for at least two RS-232 compatible serial ports, a controller for Centronics compatible parallel ports, a keyboard and It includes a mouse controller, a floppy disk controller, and a hard drive interface. However, according to experts in the field, the input / output interface 110 may also include additional and / or different interfaces and controls configured for use with other types of peripherals. Will be recognized as being. The input / output interface 110 is connected to the bus 102 and is preferably located within the system unit.

【0032】

Referring again to FIG. 1, the computer also includes storage means such as magnetic storage device 119, measuring means such as instrument packs, and various peripherals such as microphones and voice recognition module 122. All of them, via the I / O connector 118, to the system unit (more specifically, to the I / O interface 110 that controls data traffic between the peripheral and the CPU 104). To be connected. The voice recognition module 122 will include means for recognizing voice instructions to power down.

【0033】

The voice recognition module 122 is preferably contained within the system unit and is connected to the microphone (preferably an ear microphone located outside the system unit). Alternatively, the speech recognition module 122 can be located outside the system unit and, for example, can be incorporated into the microphone as a stand-alone unit. Alternatively, the analog-to-digital converter component of the speech recognition module 122 is located outside the system unit, while the remaining components of the speech recognition module 122 are located inside the system unit. The external analog-to-digital converter preferably contacts the system unit via a serial communication stream. The microphone receives a voice input (also called an oral utterance) from an operator, converts the voice input into an electrical signal, and digitizes the electrical signal. The voice recognition module 122 recognizes the oral utterance (in the form of a digitized electrical signal) and transfers the recognized oral utterance to the CPU 104 for processing according to the application program 108. Therefore, the voice command to power down will reduce power and heat when desired. Thus, just as a traditional keyboard driver interprets electrical signals from operators typing on a traditional keyboard as letters and words, the speech recognition module 122 may be located in the vicinity of the microphone or in the vicinity of the microphone. It interprets (ie recognizes) the digitized electrical signal generated by the operator speaking into it as letters and words. As a result, like traditional input devices such as keyboards and pointing devices, the speech recognition module 122 combined with the microphone was configured to allow the operator to interact with the computer and control its operations. It will provide a means.

【0034】

Preferably, the speech recognition module 122 operates according to a well-known subordinate speech recognition algorithm and is implemented in a form of hardware well-known in the art. According to a preferred embodiment, the speech recognition module 522 is a subordinate speech recognition circuit card that can be obtained from the Voice Connection of Irving, California. However, experts in the field recognize that any subordinate speech recognition circuit card configured to have dimensions compatible with the dimensions of system unit 106 can also be used. There will be.

【0035】

Alternatively, the speech recognition module 122 operates according to a well-known independent speech recognition algorithm, which will offer improvements to the dependent speech recognition algorithm. In particular, an independent speech recognition module is capable of recognizing the speech of a large number of speakers and includes the learning function of a "good listener" or real-time correction of a tuned term model. In contrast, the subordinate speech recognition module is capable of recognizing only the speech of a single speaker.

【0036】

Preferred and most preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in the text and shown in the accompanying drawings to illustrate the underlying principles of the invention, but depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. It should be understood that numerous modifications and derivatives can be formed without it.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a schematic block diagram about the main structural features of the computer according to this Example.

[Explanation of symbols]

102 ... Bus, 104 ... CPU, 106 ... Memory, 108 ... Application Programs, 110 ... I / O Interfaces, 114 ... Display Screen Driver Modules, 116 ... Monitor, 118 ... I / O interface, 119 ... Magnetic storage, 120 ... Database, 122 ... Voice recognition module, 124 ... Multimeter, 126 ... Counter / timer, 128 .. .IEEE-488, 130 ... IEEE-1553, 132 ... IEEE-1708, 134 ... Charger, 136 ... Frequency Converter, 139 ... Internal Battery, 140 ... External Battery, 142 ... Packet Switching Component, 144 ... Antenna,