Teaching and amusement apparatus

• US 4,990,093 A
• Filed: 08/07/1989
• Issued: 02/05/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Price Stern Sloan, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Price Stern Sloan, Inc.
• Inventors: Frazer, Stephen O., Riddiford, Martin P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahr, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Doyle, Jennifer L.
• Application Number:
  US07/382,626
• Time in Patent Office: 547 Days
• Field of Search: 434/313, 434/322, 434/327, 434/335, 434/337, 434/201, 382/65, 382/69, 235/462, 235/472
• US Class Current: 434/337
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/063 with hand-placed probe or plug

Abstract

Teaching and amusement apparatus includes a self-contained electronic pen which is used in conjunction with specially printed material to provide an interactive system, e.g. in the form of a worksheet or book having question and answer areas. The pen senses differences, not visually discernable, in the infra-red radiation reflectivities of the answer areas to indicate audibly and visually whether a correct or incorrect answer has been selected. The pen operates in a programming mode wherein a program for the particular game to be played is loaded into the apparatus by sensing the reflectivities of areas on the worksheet or book and then is switched automatically into an active mode wherein correct and incorrect answers are sensed. The pen confirms to the user that the program has been correctly loaded into the apparatus.

Claims

1. An interactive apparatus for use in conjunction with a substrate bearing information in coded form, said apparatus comprising:

a hand held body;

an infra red sensing detector head at one end of said body;

means for discriminating between intelligence carrying indicia printed on said substrate, said means for discriminating providing a sense perceptible signal in response to a property of said indicia when said detector is positioned against said indicia;

means within said body for switching said apparatus between a first mode in which said apparatus differentiates between a plurality of said intelligence containing printed indicia and a second mode wherein a set of operating instructions can be selected and input from indicia on said substrate for controlling the operation of said first mode;

said apparatus including within said body an audible output means, a screen located at the end of said body opposite said detector head for displaying in alphanumeric form a visual output of said sense perceptible signal, and means for producing a signal to inform a user that a pre-selected set of operating instructions has been input to said apparatus.

2. An interactive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein upon receiving a set of operating instructions in the second mode, the detector automatically switches to the first mode.

3. An interactive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensing detector can discriminate between at least two sorts of printed intelligence.

4. An interactive apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the detector can discriminate between three sorts of printed intelligence.

5. An interactive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector is shaped substantially to be held like a pen.

6. An interactive apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a generally flat body having said detector head extending therefrom and the screen set in one face thereof.

7. An interactive apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the flat body includes a transparent extension in which the detector head is set.

8. An interactive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the screen is a liquid crystal display.

9. An interactive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is divided into pre-patterned areas which each contain either an alphanumeric display and/or a pictorial display.