Talking football
First Claim
1. A talking, soft ball for children adapted for playing a game simulating the performance of a professional game, such as football or basketball, said ball comprising:
- (a) an outer casing of flexible material having a shape appropriate to the game to be played;
(b) a core of compressible material filling the casing; and
(c) an electronic, self-sufficient module nested within the core at a position against an inner surface area of the casing, said module having housed therein an impact sensor generating a command signal upon impact of the ball, a miniature loudspeaker at a position in the module adjacent said inner surface, so that the sounds produced thereby can be heard, a battery power supply, and an integrated circuit chip powered by said supply and activated by said command signal, said chip including a solid-state memory in which is digitally stored different voices messages appropriate to the game, and readout means coupled to the memory which act when the chip is activated to then select at random one of said digitally-stored messages and to decode and amplify the selected message to produce a corresponding audio signal which is applied to said loudspeaker and reproduced thereby.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A talking, soft football for young children, which when caught by a player then emits an audible voice message or crowd roar sounds appropriate to the game of football. The football is formed by an elliptical casing of flexible plastic enclosing a core of compressible material. Nested in a cavity in the core is an electronic module, access to which is had by way of a longitudinal slit in the casing that is closable by a lacing so that the soft football looks like a regulation football. Housed in the module at one side thereof adjacent the inner surface of the casing are a miniature loudspeaker from which the voice messages and crowd roar sounds are emitted, and a piezoelectric sensor which generates a command signal only when the football is caught by a player and impacts on his hands. Also housed in the module are batteries and an integrated circuit chip powered thereby, the chip being normally quiescent and being activated by the command signal. Included in the chip is a solid-state data memory having digitally stored therein several different voice messages and crowd roar sounds, and readout means, which when the chip is activated then selects at random one of the messages or crowd roar sounds, and decodes and amplifies the selection to yield an audio signal which is applied to the loudspeaker and reproduced thereby.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A talking, soft ball for children adapted for playing a game simulating the performance of a professional game, such as football or basketball, said ball comprising:
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(a) an outer casing of flexible material having a shape appropriate to the game to be played; (b) a core of compressible material filling the casing; and (c) an electronic, self-sufficient module nested within the core at a position against an inner surface area of the casing, said module having housed therein an impact sensor generating a command signal upon impact of the ball, a miniature loudspeaker at a position in the module adjacent said inner surface, so that the sounds produced thereby can be heard, a battery power supply, and an integrated circuit chip powered by said supply and activated by said command signal, said chip including a solid-state memory in which is digitally stored different voices messages appropriate to the game, and readout means coupled to the memory which act when the chip is activated to then select at random one of said digitally-stored messages and to decode and amplify the selected message to produce a corresponding audio signal which is applied to said loudspeaker and reproduced thereby. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A talking, soft ball for children adapted for playing a game simulating the performance of a professional game, such as football or basketball, said ball comprising:
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(a) a body of compressible material having a shape appropriate to the game to be played; and (b) an electronic, self-sufficient module nested within the body at a position adjacent its outer surface, said module having housed therein an impact sensor generating a command signal upon impact of the ball, a miniature loudspeaker at a position in the module adjacent said outer surface, so that the sounds produced thereby can be heard, a battery power supply, and an integrated circuit chip powered by said supply and activated by said command signal, said chip including a solid-state memory in which is digitally stored different messages appropriate to the game, and readout means coupled to the memory which act when the chip is activated to then select at random one of said digitally-stored messages and to decode and amplify the selected message to produce a corresponding audio signal which is applied to said loudspeaker and reproduced thereby.
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Specification