Information display system for electronically reading a book

• US 5,485,176 A
• Filed: 06/23/1994
• Issued: 01/16/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1991
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sega Enterprises
• Inventors: Ohara, Makoto, Tomizawa, Hirotsugu, Sugiura, Shinichirou
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOW, DOON Y
• Application Number:
  US08/265,693
• Time in Patent Office: 572 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/175, 345/168, 345/156, 345/901, 345/179, 178/18, 178/19
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/062 Combinations of audio and printed presentations, e.g. magnetically striped cards, talking books, magnetic tapes with printed texts thereon
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/901 Electronic book with display

Abstract

An information display system having a housing with a location for receiving a document such as a book is provided. A location detection circuit is mounted on the housing adjacent the document and can determine any subjective selection of a location on the document. The document can have a plurality of indicia. When such indicia is selected, a control circuit can retrieve the information from a read only memory and appropriately display the information in an audible or visual manner.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying a video image on a display, comprising:

an information storing device having a sheet plate with a plurality of predetermined visual indicia, readable by an operator, printed at locations on the surface thereof, and an integrated memory storing a plurality of packets of predetermined data at addresses corresponding to coordinates of the respective visual indicia on the surface of said sheet plate;

location detection means comprising;

a first planar panel constituted so that said information storing device is detachably disposed on the first planar panel and including a plurality of electrode wires constituting a grid array of a predetermined pattern along the plane of the panel;

a second planar panel including a plurality of electrode wires constituting a grid array of a predetermined pattern along the plane of the panel; and

means for supplying electromagnetic signals to said plurality of electrode wires;

a pickup sensor connected to said location detection means, said sensor operating in cooperation with said location detection means and said information storing device when said storing device is detachably disposed on said first panel so that said location detection means responds to an operator selecting an indicium by placing said pickup sensor adjacent to the indicium on said sheet plate by outputting a location signal which corresponds to the location of the indicium selected by the operator;

a control means, responsive to the information supplied from said information storing device and responsive to the location signal supplied from said location detection means, for retrieving the data from one of said plurality of packets of predetermined data, the data corresponding to the indicium selected by the operator and for using the retrieved data to provide a video signal for displaying an image on a display screen; and

means for displaying the image at a desired location on the display screen by placing said pickup sensor on the plane of said second planar panel at a position corresponding to the desired location.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

said information storing device is removably mounted at a predetermined location on a housing which, includes the location detection means;

said information storing device has a format of a book comprising a plurality of sheet plates bond together, each sheet plate forming a page of the book; and

said location detection means further comprises page detection means for detecting to which page said book is opened.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the page detection means comprises a plurality of light sensors extending along a perimeter of the information storing device, and activation of a specific number of light sensors is indicative of a specific page.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the location detection means is included in a housing comprising two members pivotally connected along an edge of each member and wherein the first planar panel forms a surface portion of a first pivotally connected member and the second planar panel forms a surface portion of a second pivotally connected member.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the means for displaying the image further comprises manually operated controls for altering display of the image.