Billboard with audio message spreading function

• US 5,003,293 A
• Filed: 10/02/1989
• Issued: 03/26/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Compunic Electronics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Compunic Electronics Company Limited
• Inventors: Wu, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, III, Glen R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US07/416,196
• Time in Patent Office: 540 Days
• Field of Search: 340/555-556, 340/567, 340/573, 340/692, 340/693, 364/516, 250/342, 250/221
• US Class Current: 340/286.01
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 25/00 Audible advertising sound recording or reproducing per se G11B; public address systems H04R27/00

Abstract

A message spreading apparatus is disclosed to generate an audio message output in response to the presence of a heat radiation generated by body heat. A housing has a front wall provided with an opening therein and a rear wall including a first portion opposed to the opening of the front wall, with the front wall and the rear wall being spaced a predetermined distance from each other. A radiation reflecting member is mounted to the first portion of the rear wall and is configured and arranged so as to reflect a portion of a heat radiation ray entered through the opening of the front wall to a path which is between the front wall and the rear wall and is in a direction substantially parallel to the respective planes of the front and rear walls. A pyroelectric sensor is provided in the path to sense the reflected heat radiation ray and generate an activating signal in response to the reflected heat radiation ray. An audio circuit is also located between the front and rear walls and is operatively coupled to the pyroelectric sensor for generating an audio message output in response to the activating signal. In an alternative embodiment, a photo-sensor is adopted to actuate the audio message output by sensing the variance in the luminosity of a light beam entered through the opening of the front wall.

Claims

1. A message spreading apparatus for generating an audio message output in response to the presence of heat radiation generated by human body heat, comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced a predetermined distance from each other, said front wall having an opening, said rear wall having a first portion opposed to said opening of said front wall;

a radiation reflecting member mounted to said first portion of said rear wall and configured and arranged so as to reflect a portion of a heat radiation ray entered through said opening of said front wall to a path which is between said front wall and said rear wall and is in a direction substantially parallel to the respective planes of said front and rear walls;

a heat radiation sensing element provided in said path to sense the reflected heat radiation ray and generate an activating signal in response to the reflected heat radiation ray;

audio circuit means located between said front wall and said rear wall and operatively coupled to said heat radiation sensing element, for generating an audio message output in response to said activating signal, said radiation reflecting member including a led extending at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane of said rear wall having a reflecting surface facing said opening in the front wall having opposite lateral edges and said reflecting plate further including first and second arms extending outwardly from respective opposite lateral edges of said reflecting plate leg in the direction of said heat radiation sensing element and at angles to the opening of said front wall so as to reflect a portion of the heat radiation ray which enters through said opening of said front wall but which does not directly impinge upon said first reflecting surface of said reflecting plate leg so as to be sensed by said sensing element.

2. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said predetermined distance is in a range from 10 to 20 mm.

3. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said predetermined distance is approximately 15 mm.

4. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sensing element comprises a pyroelectric sensor.

5. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said audio circuit means includes memory means for prestoring predetermined audio message data and audio synthesizing circuit means coupled between said memory means and said sensing element for outputting said predetermined audio message in a synthetic audio voice form in response to said activating signal.

6. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said front wall has a boundary ridge provided on an outer surface thereof in a portion of said front wall other than said opening and extending along edges of said other portion of said front wall, said ridge having recesses provided in the inner lateral side surfaces thereof, said ridge surrounding an area of a predetermined profile, and wherein said message spreading apparatus further comprises a flexible transparent retaining plate of a profile substantially the same as said predetermined profile of said area surrounded by said ridge so that said retaining plate is allowed to be received in position in said area surrounded by said ridge, said retaining plate having tabs provided along edges thereof at positions corresponding to the positions of said recesses on said ridge, each of said tabs extending outwardly a predetermined short distance from said edges of said retaining plate in the plane of said retaining plate so that when said retaining plate is received in said surrounded area, each of said tabs may be inserted into and releasably engaged in each of said recesses of said ridge so as to releasably hold said retaining plate in its recovered position.

7. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said retaining plate has at least one notch provided along said edges thereof in a portion of said edges thereof other than the portions in which said tabs are provided, said notch being configured and arranged to be adapted to be engaged by a finger so as to allow said retaining plate to be removed from said received position by disengaging said tabs out of said recesses.

8. A message spreading apparatus for generating an audio message output in response to the presence of heat radiation generated by human body heat, comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced a predetermined distance from each other, said front wall having an opening, said rear wall having a first portion opposed to said opening of said front wall;

a radiation reflecting member mounted to said first portion of said rear wall and configured and arranged so as to reflect a portion of a heat radiation ray entered through said opening of said front wall to a path which is between said front wall and said rear wall and is in a direction substantially parallel to the respective planes of said front and rear walls;

a heat radiation sensing element provided in said path to sense the reflected heat radiation ray and generate an activating signal in response to the reflected heat radiation ray;

audio circuit means located between said front wall and said rear wall and operatively coupled to said heaat radiation sensing element, for generating an audio message output in response to said activating signal, and wherein said reflecting member includes a reflecting plate having a pair of first and second legs, said first leg being mounted at a first end thereof to said first portion of said rear wall with a longitudinal axis of said first leg being substantially perpendicular to the plane of said rear wall, said first leg being connected at a second end thereof to a first end of said second leg, said second leg extending at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane of said rear wall from said first end thereof toward said rear wall and being mounted at a second end thereof to said first portion of said rear wall, said second leg having a first reflecting surface provided between said first and second ends thereof and adapted to reflect a heat radiation ray, said first reflecting surface being configured and arranged to face said opening of said front wall at a first angle of approximately 45 degrees and said path at a second angle of approximately 45 degrees;

thereby, when a heat radiation ray enters substantially perpendicularly through said opening of said front wall to impinge upon said first reflecting surface of said second leg, said heat radiation ray will be reflected to travel along said path so as to be sensed by said sensing element.

9. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said reflecting plate further has a pair of first and second arms outwardly and inclinedly extending, near said first end of said second leg, respectively from each of the two opposite lateral edges of said second leg of said reflecting plate, said first arm and said second arm having second and third reflecting surfaces, respectively, configured and arranged to reflect a portion of a heat radiation ray which enters through said opening of said front wall but does not impinge upon said first reflecting surface toward said path so as to be sensed by said sensing element.

10. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first and second arms have respective planes and respective longitudinal axes, said respective planes of said first and second arms being respectively at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane of said second leg, said respective longitudinal axes of said first and second arms being respectively at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to said respective opposite longitudinal lateral edges of said second leg.

11. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said reflecting plate is made of metal material.

12. A message spreading apparatus for generating an audio message output in response to the presence of heat radiation generated by human body heat, comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced a predetermined distance from each other, said front wall having an opening, said rear wall having a first portion opposed to said opening of said front wall;

a radiation reflecting member mounted to said first portion of said rear wall and configured and arranged so as to reflect a portion of a heat radiation ray entered through said opening of said front wall to a path which is between said front wall and said rear wall and is in a direction substantially parallel to the respective planes of said front and rear walls;

a heat radiation sensing element provided in said path to sense the reflected heat radiation ray and generate an activating signal in response to the reflected heat radiation ray;

audio circuit means located between said front wall and said rear wall and operatively coupled to said heat radiation sensing element, for generating an audio message output in response to said activating signal, wherein said audio circuit means includes memory means for prestoring predetermined audio message data and audio synthesizing circuit means coupled between said memory means and said sensing element for outputting said predetermined audio message in a synthetic audio voice form in response to said activating signal, and wherein said memory means comprises a memory IC for storing said predetermined audio message data and an IC socket for removably receiving said memory IC and for electrically connecting said memory IC to said audio synthesizing circuit means.

13. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said audio circuit means further includes a printed circuit board for supporting said IC socket, said audio synthesizing circuit means and said sensing element thereon, said circuit board having an upper surface, a lower surface, an upper edge, a lower edge and a positioning hole, said positioning hole having a third diameter;

and wherein said front wall of said housing has;

a rear surface;

a pair of hook elements extending uprightly from said rear surface of said front wall and adapted to retain said upper edge of said printed circuit board;

a pair of resilient snap-in arms formed integrally with said front wall on said rear surface of said front wall and configured so that they may be urged to deflect so as to allow said lower edge of said printed circuit board to be held by said snap-in arms, each of said snap-in arms being formed into an inverse U-shaped form with one of the two legs of said U shape being shorter than the other, said shorter leg of each of said snap-in arms having a thickness and being configured so that when it retains said lower edge of said printed circuit board, it abuts against said upper surface of said printed circuit board along said lower edge of said printed circuit board with only a fraction of its thickness so as to allow it to be deflected by a small force to release said lower edge of said printed circuit board; and

a positioning pin extending uprightly from said rear surface of said front wall and adapted to protrude through said positioning hole in said printed circuit board to help said board to be mounted in position, said pin being formed as a stepped post having an upper section of a first diameter and a lower section of a second diameter larger than said first diameter, said third diameter of said positioning hole being larger than said first diameter and smaller than said second diameter, said lower section of said pin being configured and arranged so that when said printed circuit board is pressed downward to bring said lower surface of said circuit board to be abutted against by said lower section of said pin, said shorter legs of said snap-in arms may engage said upper surface of said lower edge of said circuit board.

14. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 13 further comprising a biasing spring body adapted to be laid beneath said circuit board before said lower edge of said circuit board is pressed down to be held by said snap-in arms, said biasing spring body having resiliency so that when said snap-in arms are deflected to release said lower edge of said circuit board, said spring body will urge said circuit board upward to allow an easy detachment of said circuit board from its received position.

15. A message spreading apparatus for generating an audio message output in response to the variance in the luminosity of a beam of light entering the apparatus, comprising:

a housing having a front wall and a rear wall spaced a predetermined distance from each other, said front wall having an opening adapted to allow a beam of light to enter therethrough, said rear wall having a first portion opposed to said opening of said front wall;

a luminosity variance detecting assembly mounted to said first portion of said rear wall and configured and arranged so as to detect the variance in the luminosity of the light beam entering through said opening of said front wall and to generate an activating signal in response to the detected variance; and

audio circuit means located between said front wall and said rear wall and operatively coupled to said luminosity variance detecting assembly, for generating an audio message output in response to said activating signal;

said luminosity variance detecting assembly including a photo-sensor having a sensing surface for detecting the variance in the luminosity of a light beam impinged thereupon;

a mounting base mounted to said first portion of said rear wall and having a cavity for receiving said photo-sensor, said cavity having a first inner diameter and being configured and arranged so as to receive said photo-sensor with said sensing surface of said photo-sensor facing said opening of said front wall; and

a light directing tube component having an inner through bore which has a first portion of a second inner diameter and a second portion of a third inner diameter larger than said second inner diameter, said tube component having a first end corresponding to said first portion of said through bore and a second end corresponding to said second portion of said through bore with said second end having a largest outer diameter substantially equal to said first inner diameter of said cavity so that said tube component may be connected to said mounting base by inserting said second end of said tube component into said cavity with said photo-sensor being laid between said second end of said tube component and said mounting base and with said first end of said tube component being left outside of said cavity and directed toward said opening of said front wall to define in said through bore a light path for said photo-sensor, said light path having an axis substantially perpendicular to said sensing surface of said photo-sensor.

16. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said photo-sensor comprises a photo-diode.

17. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said photo-sensor comprises a CdS sensor.

18. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said second inner diameter is in a range from approximately 1.50 mm to approximately 2.50 mm.

19. A message spreading apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said second inner diameter is approximately 2.0 mm.