Self-reading child's book

• US 5,538,430 A
• Filed: 07/26/1994
• Issued: 07/23/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alfred E. Hall, Smith B. Gary
• Original Assignee: Alfred E. Hall, Smith B. Gary
• Inventors: Smith, B. Gary, Hall, Alfred E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Apley, Richard J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Richman, Glenn E.
• Application Number:
  US08/280,722
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 434/307, 434/308, 434/309, 434/317, 434/322, 434/335, 434/178, 434/179, 446/175, 446/397, 446/408
• US Class Current: 434/178
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 3/123 incorporating sound producing or light emitting means or carrying sound records
• 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

Abstract

A self-reading electronic child'"'"'s book that displays a sequence of indicia, such as words, and having under each indicia a visual indicator such as a light-emitting diode with the visual indicators being automatically illuminated in sequence as the child touches a switch associated with each light-emitting diode to sequentially drive a voice synthesizer that audibilizes the indicia or word associated with the light and switch that was activated.

Claims

1. A child'"'"'s book having a power source associated therewith, an electronic circuit, and a selectively activated switch device for coupling the power source to said electronic circuit, said book and electronic circuit including

at least one book page having a plurality of sequentially associated indicia thereon;

at least one light associated with each indicia;

a speech synthesizer mounted on said page for storing an audible representation of each of said plurality of indicia on said page;

said circuit initially illuminating only the first one of said lights in said sequence when said switch couples said power source to said electronic circuit;

actuatable touch means associated with each light and coupled to said electronic circuit such that when said touch means associated with said initially illuminated light is actuated, said speech synthesizer is activated to sound the audible representation associated with said indicia and initially illuminated light; and

signal responsive means for automatically de-energizing said illuminated light after said touch means is activated and illuminating only the succeeding one of said lights in said sequence

wherein when each succeeding actuatable touch means, associated with each succeeding illuminated light and each succeeding indica, is activated, said speech synthesizer is activated to sound the audible representation of said associated indicia, and each illuminated light being de-energized upon illumination of each succeeding light until the audible representation for all of said indicia have been sounded.

2. A book as in claim 1 wherein said touch means including:

a switch associated with each said indicia for coupling an input to the electronic circuit for enabling the stored sound for only the associated indicia to be audibilized; and

said light associated with each indicia being sequentially energized to indicate the indicia to be audibilized thereby enabling a predetermined sequence of sounds to be audibilized.

3. A book as in claim 2 wherein said lights are light-emitting diodes.

4. A book as in claim 3 wherein said switches are capacitive switches operated by the touch of the human body.

5. A book as in claim 4 wherein said sequential indicia are words and said audibilized sounds identify said words.

6. A book as in claim 4 wherein said sequential indicia are pictures and said audibilized sounds identify said pictures.

7. A book as in claim 4 wherein said sequential indicia are musical notes and said audibilized sounds identify said notes by word and tone.

8. A book as in claim 4 wherein said sequential indicia are letters of the alphabet and said audibilized sounds identify each of said letters.

9. A book as in claim 4 wherein said indicia is a line of words and said audibilized sounds are each word in said line audibilized in sequence.

10. A book as in claim 4 wherein:

said indicia is a page of lines of words;

an actuatable line select touch means associated with each line; and

said audibilized sounds are each word in each line audibilized sequentially line-by-line as said line touch means are sequentially actuated.

11. A book as in claim 10 further including

at least two hinged pages forming said book as an openable book;

and

means associated with said pages for initially illuminating a predetermined one of said lights only when said book is opened.

12. A book as in claim 11 wherein said selectively activated control device is a photo voltaic cell that receives light when said book is opened to energize said speech synthesizer and said electronic circuit for powering said circuit and initially illuminating said first light in said sequence.

13. A book as in claim 11 wherein said selectively activated control device is a phototransistor which couples said power supply to said electronic circuit including said lights and said speech synthesizer only when said pages of said book are opened.

14. A book as in claim 4 further including:

a counter; and

circuit means for coupling said counter to said touch means and said speech synthesizer whereby when one of said touch means is actuated, the stored sounds for said associated indicia are audibilized.

15. A book as in claim 4 further including:

indicia as words, lines of words, and a page of lines of words;

selectively activated switch means for individual words, individual lines of words, or an individual page of said lines to be audibilized; and

circuit means coupling said selectively activated switch means to said speech synthesizing means such that the selected individual words are selectively audibilized, words in a selected line are sequentially audibilized, and words on an entire page of lines of words are sequentially audibilized.

16. A child'"'"'s electronic book as in claim 10 further including:

page switch means coupled to said electronic circuit for disabling said switch means for illuminating said lights in sequence and said line actuatable touch means; and

said page reading switch means causing said electronic circuit to audibilize each indicia on said page in sequence thus audibilizing the entire page of indicia.

17. A child'"'"'s electronic book including:

at least one page having a plurality of sequentially ordered words on said page;

a light associated with each word;

circuit means including control means for initially activating only the first one of said lights in said sequence;

a speech synthesizer having a sound stored representing each word;

touch means associated with said initially illuminated light and coupled to said speech synthesizer for generating said sound stored for the word, de-energizing its associated illuminated light and illuminating succeeding one of said lights in said ordered sequence wherein each succeeding touch means associated with each succeeding illuminated light enables the succeeding associated word to be sounded and each of said illuminated lights being de-energized upon illumination of a succeeding light thus enabling the electronic book to be operated by and read to the child; and

a power source selectively coupled to said circuit means for energizing said circuit means.