Information display system for electronically reading a book

• US 6,052,117 A
• Filed: 04/27/1995
• Issued: 04/18/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sega Enterprises LTD.
• Original Assignee: Sega Enterprises LTD.
• Inventors: Tomizawa, Hirotsugu, Ohara, Makoto, Sugiura, Shinichirou
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOW, DOON Y
• Application Number:
  US08/429,885
• Time in Patent Office: 1,818 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/175, 345/168, 345/156, 345/901, 345/179, 178/18.01-18.11, 178/19.01-19.07
• 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. In a combination of an apparatus for displaying a video image on a display and an information storing device which is removably connected to said apparatus:

said information storing device having a sheet plate with a plurality of predetermined visual indicia, visually recognizable by an operator, printed at locations on a surface thereof, an integrated memory stored with a plurality of packets of predetermined data at addresses corresponding to two-dimensional coordinates of the respective visual indicia on the surface of said sheet plate, and a first connection means functionally connected to said integrated memory; and

said apparatus comprising;

location detection means including a first panel on which said information storing device is removably mounted, a second panel disposed separately from said first panel, a pickup sensor which is functionally connected with said first and second panels, and location signal generating means which generates a location signal representing a two-dimensional coordinate of a location on said first and second panel in response to an operator placing said pickup sensor thereon;

a second connection means detachably connected to said first connection means so as to transmit said plurality of packets of predetermined data to the apparatus when said sheet plate is placed on said first panel;

a first control means arranged so as to retrieve the packets corresponding to an indicium selected by the operator placing said pickup sensor on the selected indicium on said sheet plate mounted on said first panel, and so as to use the retrieved packets of predetermined data to provide a video signal for displaying an image on a display; and

a second control means arranged so as to provide a change to the displayed image responsive to the location signal supplied from said location detection means in response to the operator placing said pickup sensor on the selected indicium on said sheet plate mounted on said first panel, and so as to use the retrieved packets of predetermined data to provide a video signal for displaying an image on a display; and

a second control means arranged so as to provide a change to the displayed image responsive to the location signal supplied from said location detection means in response to the operator placing said pickup sensor on a selected location of said second panel.

2. In combination, an information storing device comprising:

a plurality of sheet plates, bound together to form a book, each of said sheet plates having a plurality of predetermined visual indicia, visually recognizable by an operator, printed at locations on a surface thereof;

an integrated read-only memory integrally assembled with the book and stored with a plurality of packets of data to provide signals for causing a video and/or sound effect related to said visual indicia with addresses corresponding to specific locations of the respective visual indicia on the surface of each sheet plate; and

a first connector means from which said packets of data are to be transmitted; and

an apparatus for displaying a video image on a display, comprising;

location detection means including a first panel on which said information storing device is removably mounted, a second panel disposed separately from said first panel, a pick up sensor which is functionally connected with said first and second panels, and location signal generating means arranged so as to generate location signals representing two-dimensional locations on said first and second panels in response to an operator placing said pickup sensor thereon;

a second connector means to which said first connector means is removably connected so as to transmit the plurality of packets of predetermined data from said read-only memory to the apparatus;

a first control means arranged so as to retrieve, responsive to the location signal supplied from said location detection means, a packet of data corresponding to an indicium selected by the operator placing said pickup sensor on the selected indicium on one of the sheet plates mounted on said first panel and so as to provide a video signal in response to the retrieved packet of data; and

a second control means arranged so as to provide a change with respect to the displayed image in response to the location signal supplied from said location detection means in response to the operator placing said pickup sensor on a selected location of said second panel.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the location detection means further comprises means for determining which of the plurality of sheet plates is visible to the operator and for including an indication of this determination in the location signals.

4. A video image displaying apparatus comprising:

a first panel arranged so that a book device is detachably mounted on the first panel, said book device having a plurality of sheet plates, bound together to form a book, each of said sheet plates being formed with a plurality of visual indicia, visually recognizable by an operator, printed at locations on a surface thereof, an integrated read-only memory integrally assembled with the book and storing a plurality of packets of predetermined data corresponding to said visual indicia at addresses corresponding to specific locations of the respective visual indicia on the surface of each sheet plate, and a first connector means from which said packets of data are to be transmitted;

a second connector means detachably connectable with said first connector means so as to receive said packets of data transmitted through said first connector means;

location detection means including a pointer and location signal generator, said location detection means being arranged so that, when an operator selects one of the sheets when mounted on said first panel, a location signal indicative of the selected visual indicium is generated;

a first control means which, in response to the location signal, generates a video signal relating tot he selected visual indicium based on the packets of data transmitted from said read-only memory, the generated video signal being supplied to a monitor so that a video image relating to the selected visual indicium is displayed on the monitor;

a second panel with location detection means; and

a second control means arranged so as to provide a change with respect to the displayed image in response to the operator placing a pointer on a selected location of said second panel.

5. A book device for use with the video image displaying apparatus as defined in claim 4 and detachably mountable on the first panel, comprising a plurality of sheet plates, bound together to form a book, each of said sheet plates being formed with a plurality of visual indicia, visually recognizable by an operator, printed at locations on a surface thereof, an integrated read-only memory integrally assembled with the book and storing a plurality of packets of predetermined data corresponding to said visual indicia at addresses corresponding to specific locations of the respective visual indicia on the surface of each sheet plate, and a first connector means from which said packets of data are to be transmitted to said apparatus.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said location detection means further comprises an electromagnetic transmitter, a grid array of a predetermined pattern disposed in proximity to the panel and connected to the transmitter, and a receiver member connected to the control means and positionable adjacent to the grid array to detect an electromagnetically induced current.

7. An apparatus for providing data related to an operator'"'"'s selection, comprising:

a first planar panel which is formed so as to removably attach an information storing device to said planar panel, wherein said information storing device comprises;

a sheet plate with a plurality of visual indicia, visually recognizable as visual indicia by an operator, printed at locations of the surface thereof;

memory means integrated into the information storing device and stored with a plurality of packets of information having data to provide signals for causing a video and/or sound effect related to said visual indicia with addresses representative of locations on the surface of said sheet plate corresponding to positions for the respective visual indicia; and

a connector means through which said packets of information are transmitted to said apparatus;

a location detection member comprising sensor means functionally associated with said planar panel and including a pointer, said location detection member being arranged so as to provide a location signal which is indicative of the coordinates of the visual indicium selected from said plurality of visual indicia by the operator placing the pointer in proximity to the visual indicium;

a connection means which detachably connects to the connector means of said information storing device so as to transmit said packets of information from the memory means when said information storing device is attached to said first planar panel;

a control means which, responsive to the location signal supplied from said location member, retrieves the data from one of said plurality of packets of information corresponding to the visual indicium selected by the operator so as to supply a display monitor with a video signal thereby to display on a display screen an image corresponding to the indicia selected by the operator; and

a second planar panel disposed at a location spaced apart from the first planar panel of said location detection member and arranged so as to display the image corresponding to the indicium selected by the operator at a desired location on the display screen by the operator touching, with said pointer, said second planar panel at a position corresponding to the desired location on the screen.

8. An information storing device for use with the apparatus as defined in claim 7 and detachably mountable on the first planar panel, comprising a plurality of sheet plates, bound together to form a book, each of said sheet plates being formed with a plurality of visual indicia, visually recognizable as visual indicia by an operator, printed at locations on a surface thereof, memory means integrally assembled with the book and stored with a plurality of packets of data to provide signals for causing a video and/or sound effect related to said visual indicia with addresses corresponding to positions of the respective visual indicia, and a connector means from which said packets of data are to be transmitted to said apparatus.