Method of and apparatus for expanding functionality of vehicle cassette tape-player decks to permit dictation or other recording and automatic remote station relaying of same

For integration with a vehicle passive audio-tape cassette deck playback system having power, play, rewind and forward controls operable, in a play mode, to reproduce signals stored on a pre-recorded tape in audio form in a vehicle loudspeaker by scanning the tape forwardly past a playback head connected to playback amplifiers driving the loudspeaker, apparatus for rendering the system capable of active dictation recording use on a tape and simultaneous transmission to a remote location, or later transmission upon rewind and playing of the recorded tape, via a cellular radio telephone transmitter system also carried by the vehicle, said apparatus having, in combination auxiliary apparatus comprising a microphone, audio amplifying means and a recording head cooperative with the tape for enabling the driver, upon actuation of a recording dictation mode, to dictate in the vehicle into the microphone and record such on the tape;

• programmable control means cooperative with the said auxiliary apparatus and with the modulator of said cellular radio telephone transmitter system for switching said audio amplifying means, upon said actuation of the recording dictation mode, to energize said recording head to record the dictation on said tape and, after operation of said rewind control, to playback the same as recorded on the tape through one or both of two paths:
• one, through said playback amplifiers for driver listening through said vehicle loudspeaker, and secondly, for directly modulating the cellular radio transmitter modulator to transmit to a remote location;
• said programmable control means further having means, operable upon actuation of said recording dictation mode, for connecting said audio-amplifying means to said modulator, to transmit the dictation via the cellular radio telephone transmitter in real time during said dictation, selectively with or without simultaneous energizing of said recording head to record the dictation on said tape.