Apparatus for producing audible sounds in response to visual indicia
First Claim
1. An electronic book comprising a plurality of leaves forming pages of said book, at least one of said leaves including an internal passageway having an opening thereinto along an edge of said at least one leaf;
- a flexible substrate having an elongated finger segment and a tail segment, said flexible substrate being arranged so that said elongated finger segment extends into said internal passageway through said opening in said one leaf and said tail segment is external of said internal passageway;
a switch circuit formed on said flexible substrate, said switch circuit having at least one switch located on said elongated finger segment in said internal passageway and operable in response to pressure applied to said at least one leaf overlying said switch, and said switch circuit having an external portion located on said tail segment of said flexible substrate; and
sound generating means operatively connected to said external portion of said switch circuit for generating an audible sound in response to operation of said switch.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for producing audible sounds in response to visual indicia in the nature of an electronic book. The electronic book is constructed from a plurality of leaves which may be formed from a continuous accordion folded sheet or individual modular folded sheets joined back-to-back to form the pages of the book. During construction, a spacer is internally provided within each leaf to create at least one internal passageway opening at one end of the leaves at a location forming the book'"'"'s spine. An electronic circuit having pressure sensitive switches and conductive paths is provided on the surface of a dielectric substrate using conductive ink. The switches are arranged on elongated members which are inserted into a respective internal passageway within the leaves of the book. By activation of a switch by pressure applied to visual indicia on the leaves, audible sounds are produced by an on board electronic module.
-
Citations
66 Claims
-
1. An electronic book comprising a plurality of leaves forming pages of said book, at least one of said leaves including an internal passageway having an opening thereinto along an edge of said at least one leaf;
- a flexible substrate having an elongated finger segment and a tail segment, said flexible substrate being arranged so that said elongated finger segment extends into said internal passageway through said opening in said one leaf and said tail segment is external of said internal passageway;
a switch circuit formed on said flexible substrate, said switch circuit having at least one switch located on said elongated finger segment in said internal passageway and operable in response to pressure applied to said at least one leaf overlying said switch, and said switch circuit having an external portion located on said tail segment of said flexible substrate; and
sound generating means operatively connected to said external portion of said switch circuit for generating an audible sound in response to operation of said switch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 62, 63, 64)
- a flexible substrate having an elongated finger segment and a tail segment, said flexible substrate being arranged so that said elongated finger segment extends into said internal passageway through said opening in said one leaf and said tail segment is external of said internal passageway;
- 22. An electronic book comprising a plurality of leaves forming pages of said book, a spacer within at least one leaf forming an internal passageway within said at least one leaf which has an opening thereinto, and a switch circuit having a first segment received within said passageway and a second segment extending outwardly through said opening of said passageway, said switch circuit including at least one switch in said first segment in electrical connection with at least one conductive path in said second segment, said switch including first and second spaced apart elements arranged overlying each other within said passageway and being adapted to create an electrical connection therebetween in response to pressure applied to said at least one leaf overlying one of said first and second elements and wherein at least one of said first and second elements in said first segment and said at least one conductive path in said second segment are formed on a common substrate.
- 35. An electronic book comprising a plurality of leaves forming pages of said book and having a binding, a spacer arranged between adjacent pages forming at least one of said leaves and providing an internal passageway having an opening accessible at said binding, a switch circuit on a flexible substrate having at least one elongated finger segment received within said passageway and a tail segment extending outwardly of said binding through said opening, said switch circuit including at least one switch provided on said elongated finger segment and a conductive path provided on said tail segment in electrical connection with said at least one switch, said at least one switch including first and second spaced apart elements arranged in overlying relationship on said elongated finger segment, visual indicia on a predetermined portion of said at least one leaf overlying one of said first and second elements, and generating means in electrical connection with said conductive path operative for generating audible sounds upon effecting an electrical connection between said first and second elements in response to a pressure applied to said visual indicia.
-
45. The electronic book of clam 35, wherein each of said elongated finger segments includes one portion having said first element thereon and a second portion separate from said first portion having said second element thereon, and wherein said first and second portions are adhered together to maintain said first and second elements in overlying relationship.
- 47. The electronic book of clam 46, wherein said leaves further include a plurality of said spacers respectively arranged between pairs of adjacent pages forming said leaves, said spacers including at least one cut-out providing said internal passageway therein.
- 52. A switch circuit for assembly in an electronic book having a plurality of leaves forming pages, said switch circuit comprising a flexible substrate having a plurality of elongated finger segments, a switch including first and second spaced apart elements arranged overlying each other provided on each of said elongated finger segments, and a conductive path for each of said switches provided on said flexible substrate in electrical connection with one of each of said first and second elements, and each of said elongated finger segments insertable within an interior region of said leaves so that each of said switches is responsive to pressure applied to said leaves.
Specification