Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
91 words
A nonvolatile integrated circuit analog
storage device having the capability of receiving,
repetitively sampling, storing and reproducing an analog
input signal comprising: a first circuit for sampling an analog signal; a plurality of analog storage cells coupled to the
first circuit, for storing samples of the analog signal;
and a second circuit for reading out the stored samples
of the analog signal to reconstruct the analog signal,
the second circuit including an attenuator for
attenuating noise in the reconstructed analog signal
when the reconstructed analog signal is below a
predetermined threshold.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
50 words
The device of claim 1, further comprising: an interface circuit coupled to the first circuit,
the second circuit and the plurality of analog storage
cells; and a microcontroller coupled to the interface circuit
for controlling the sampling and storage of the analog
signal and the reading of the stored samples.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
26 words
The device of claim 2, wherein the
microcontroller provides a clock signal for
synchronizing data transfer into the first circuit and
out of the second circuit.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
112 words
The device of claim 2, wherein the interface
circuit comprises: an input shift register for receiving control and
address information from the microcontroller; a logic circuit coupled to the input shift register
for receiving the control information, the logic circuit
generating an output signal in response to the control
information; an address circuit coupled to the input shift
register and to the logic circuit receiving the address
information from the input shift register in response to
the output signal; and an output shift register coupled to the logic
circuit and to the address circuit, the address circuit
providing the address information to the output shift
register in response to the output signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
The nonvolatile integrated circuit analog
storage device of claim 1, wherein in a high speed read
mode, the second circuit reads the stored samples,
compares each stored sample with a reference voltage,
and shifts out the result of the comparisons at high
speed.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
68 words
A method of recording and playback of messages
of varying length, comprising the steps of: (a) sampling an analog signal; (b) storing samples of the analog signal in a
plurality of analog storage cells; (c) reading out the stored samples of the analog
signal to reconstruct the analog signal; and (d) attenuating noise in the reconstructed analog
signal when the reconstructed analog signal is below a
predetermined threshold.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of Claim 6, further comprising the
step of providing a microcontroller for controlling the
sampling of the analog signal and the reading out of the
stored samples.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 7, wherein the
microcontroller provides a clock signal for
synchronizing sampling of the analog signal and reading
out of the stored samples.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
116 words
The method of claim 7, further comprising the
steps of: providing an input shift register for receiving
control and address information from the
microcontroller; providing a logic circuit coupled to the input
shift register for receiving the control information,
the logic circuit generating an output signal in
response to the control information; providing an address circuit coupled to the input
shift register and to the logic circuit receiving the
address information from the input shift register in
response to the output signal; and providing an output shift register coupled to the
logic circuit and to the address circuit, the address
circuit providing the address information to the output
shift register in response to the output signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 6, wherein step (c)
comprises the steps of: (c.1) reading the stored samples during a high
speed read mode; (c.2) comparing each stored sample with a
reference voltage; and (c.3) shifting out the result of the comparisons
at high speed to reconstruct the analog signal.