Pioneer Corporation

Tetsuya Kikuchi

Gen Inoshita

Takeaki Funada

Tomohiko Kimura

Hiroyuki Isobe

Yoichi Yamada

Koichiro Sakata

Ko Atsumi

Junichi Takagaki

Yoshinori Kataoka

Keitaro Kaburagi

Hiroshi Kawami

An information playback apparatus is provided to obtain editing effects using an optical disc in the same sense as an analog record disc is manipulated. An audio editing apparatus for playing back an optical disc such as a CD is provided with a rotatable jog dial, detecting device for detecting the amount of rotation of the jog dial, and sensing device for sensing the presence or absence of a pressing force on the jog dial. When the jog dial is rotated while being depressed with a predetermined pressing force, processing for providing sound effects is performed on the playback data to be played back from the optical disc in response to the amount of rotation detected by the detecting device. It is thereby possible to provide the same feeling of operation as provided by rotating an analog record disc through hand operations to produce playback sounds.

Information playback apparatus

A playback apparatus is provided, which comprises a switch device () that gives the user good feeling of operating. A tape-shaped switch () is provided on a base part (), extending along the circumference of the base part (). A ring-shaped rotational drive section () opposes the tape-shaped switch () and can move to and from the base part (). A plurality of second rollers (), each having a roller part () made of rubber or the like, are rotatably mounted on the rotational drive section (). A flange () continuously extending outward from the disc-shaped table plate () of a jog table unit () is mounted on the rotational drive section (). When the user rotates the jog table unit (), the rotation-detecting section () provided on the base part () detects the rotation of the unit (). The flange () is supported by the second rollers () at a position outside a position where the user touches the jog table unit () and rotates, so that the rotation of the jog table unit () can be reliably detected. The user can obtain good feeling of operating the switch device ().

Switch device, data-processing apparatus and playback apparatus

A tape-shaped switch () is provided on a base part (). Coil springs () support a ring-shaped rotational drive section () on the position opposed to the switch (), biasing the same away from the base part (), so that the rotational drive section () may move toward and from the base part (). First buffers are provided in association with the switches () of the tape-shaped switch (), respectively. A flange () extends outward from the disc-shaped table plate () of a jog table unit () and is mounted on the rotational drive section (). When the user depresses the jog table unit (), moving the same downward, at least one of the switches () is closed. The motion of the jog table unit () is reliably detected because it is detected at a position outside that part of the jog table unit (), which is depressed so that good feeling of the operation can be obtained.

An information playback apparatus is provided, which displays the status of playback in a way more suitable to the human sense as well as detects and then displays as new information the feature characteristic of audio information such as a music selection. The frequency of occurrence of variations in amplitude of audio information to be played back is measured at each predetermined frequency. The measured frequency of occurrence is displayed in a predetermined area of a display unit as the feature information of beat densities with respect to the playback elapsed time of the audio information to be played back. An index display unit is displayed in a substantially circular playback speed display unit. The amount of audio information to be sequentially played back corresponding to elapsed time is divided by a predetermined value to determine a remainder. The index display unit is displayed at an angular position corresponding to the remainder, while being rotatably moved along a virtual track, thereby displaying the status of playback.

Playback apparatus for displaying angular position based on remainder corresponding to elapsed time

An information playback apparatus is provided to obtain sound effects by using an optical disc in much the same way an analog record is manipulated. A pressing pressure applied onto a rotatable jog dial is detected by providing a pressure sensing layer to the jog dial. When no pressing pressure is applied onto the jog dial, audio information is played back from an optical disc at a normal tempo. When an end of the jog dial at rest is pressed with a pressing pressure within a predetermined range, a tempo of a playback sound played from the audio information is changed in response to the pressing pressure. When an end of the jog dial at rest is pressed with a large pressing pressure, a tempo of a playback sound played from the audio information is changed in such a manner that playback of a playback sound is stopped eventually. When the pressing pressure is released from the jog dial at rest, a tempo of a playback sound played back from the audio information is changed in such a manner that a playback sound is eventually played back at the normal tempo. Also, a tempo of a playback sound is changed in various manners in response to a pressing pressure onto the jog dial by providing manipulation keys for adjusting a quantity of change when changing a tempo of a playback sound in response to the level of a detection signal.

Growing community of inventors

Saitama-ken, Japan

Tetsuya Kikuchi