Method for producing remotely a display device storing one or more audio messages

• US 6,381,573 B1
• Filed: 12/05/2001
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LJ Talk LLC
• Original Assignee: LJ Laboratories L.L.C.
• Inventors: Loudermilk, Alan R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Smits, Talvaldis Ivars
• Application Number:
  US10/011,336
• Publication Number:
  US 20020042714A1
• Time in Patent Office: 146 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/272, 407/17, 407/20
• US Class Current: 704/272
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 1/0616 Ornamental frames, e.g. with illumination, speakers or decorative features
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2001/145 Picture cubes
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2200/143 producing means
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2200/146 recording or detecting means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• 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: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

A picture frame and accompanying audio message circuit is provided such that one or more desired audio messages stored in the audio message circuit associated with one or more display pictures can be played upon the touching of the pictures or the frame, or in response to a voice recognition device sensing an audio command associated with the particular audio message and/or pictures. When audio message playback is desired, a switch on the frame or under a protective cover for the picture is activated by touching, or a position sensitive device may be used to sense whether a particular position on the picture has been touched. Digital or analog information representing the desired audio message is retrieved from a memory device, which is subsequently transmitted to a speaker which produces the desired audio message perceptible to a human. In other embodiments, multiple picture and multiple messages are provided such that the user can touch a particular picture, or the switch associated with that picture, and an audio message corresponding to the picture is then played through the speaker. In still other embodiments, a system is provided with a plurality of pictures mounted in the perimeter faces of a cube or other geometrical shape, each picture having associated with it a switch for activating a message or plurality of messages. In still other embodiments, a position sensitive device or a voice recognition device is utilized to initiate audio message playback.

Claims

1. A method for remotely producing a still picture frame display device and for displaying one or more pictures with the display device at at least one second location remote from a first location, comprising the steps of:

generating electrical representations corresponding to the one or more pictures at the first location remote from the second location;

transmitting the electrical representations from the first location to the second location via a transmission medium;

providing the display device at the second location remote from the first location;

receiving the electrical representations via the transmission medium at the second location remote from the first location; and

based on the received electrical representations, displaying the one or more pictures via the display device at the second location remote from the first location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical representations include one or more audio messages corresponding to the one or more pictures, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are playable via the display device at the second location.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages are played via a speaker that is part of the display device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the speaker is external to the display device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages correspond to particular ones of the one or more displayed pictures.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the display device displays one or more pictures at the second location, and wherein a user hears the one or more audio messages at the second location while the one or more pictures are displayed via the display device.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages corresponding to the one or more pictures are played back in response to activation of one or more switches.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more switches are located on the display device.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more switches comprise one or more touch sensitive switches.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more touch sensitive switches comprise capacitive or membrane type switches.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more switches comprise switches that are unnoticeable to a user.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more switches comprise at least two switches.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more switches comprise a light activated switch.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a predetermined audio message is played back in response to activation of the light activated switch.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein a first audio message is played back in response to activation of a first switch, wherein the predetermined audio message is played back in response to the activation of the light activated switch.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first audio message and the predetermined audio message comprise different audio messages.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages comprise at least two audio messages.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a first audio message is played back in response to activation of a first switch, wherein a second audio message is played back in response to activation of a second switch.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein a first audio message is played back in response to a first activation of a switch, wherein a second audio message is played back in response to a second activation of the switch.

20. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in the display device in digital form.

21. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in the display device in analog form.

22. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are transmitted over the transmission medium in digital form.

23. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in the display device via an input port of the display device.

24. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in memory of the display device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are retrieved from memory under control of a CPU, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are played back through a speaker.

26. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more audio messages comprise a commemorative message corresponding to the one or more pictures.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device displays one or more pictures captured with a camera.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the display device stores and plays back an audio message associated with one or more of the one or more pictures captured with the camera.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical representations are generated based on capturing the one or more pictures with a camera.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises a digital data transmission link, wherein the electrical representations is/are transmitted over the transmission medium in digital form.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the digital data transmission link includes processing elements at the first location and the second location, wherein the processing element at the first location and the processing element at the second location operate in a coordinated manner to ensure the integrity of the transmitted electrical representations.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the processing element at the first location and the processing element at the second location operate to perform error checking.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the processing element at the first location and the processing element at the second location operate to perform error checking and correction.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more pictures are displayed via the display device at the second location remote from the first location by display of physically inserting the one or more pictures into the display device.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises at least in part a telephone line.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission medium comprises at least in part a data line or satellite link.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the electrical representations are transmitted or received at least in part using digital or analog transmit or receive devices.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the electrical representations are transmitted or received at least in part using a modem.

47. The method of claim 31, wherein a first audio message is played back in response to activation of a first switch, wherein a second audio message is played back in response to activation of a second switch.

39. A method for remotely producing a display device displaying one or more images and also storing one or more audio messages corresponding to the one or more images at at least one second location remote from a first location, wherein a speaker is provided with the display device for playback of the one or more audio messages through the speaker, the method comprising the steps of:

generating electrical representations corresponding to the one or more audio messages at the first location remote from the second location;

transmitting the electrical representations from the first location to the second location at least in part via a transmission medium;

receiving the electrical representations via the transmission medium at the second location; and

storing electrical representations of the one or more audio messages in the display device at the second location, wherein the one or more audio messages corresponding to the one or more pictures are played back through the speaker.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages corresponding to the one or more images are played back through the speaker in response to activation of one or more switches.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more switches are located on the display device.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more switches comprise one or more touch sensitive switches.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the one or more touch sensitive switches comprise capacitive or membrane type switches.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more switches comprise switches that are unnoticeable to a user.

45. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more switches comprise at least two switches.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more audio messages comprise at least two audio messages.

48. The method of claim 46, wherein a first audio message is played back in response to a first activation of a switch, wherein a second audio message is played back in response to a second activation of the switch.

49. The method of claim 40, wherein the one or more switches comprise a light activated switch.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein a predetermined audio message is played back in response to activation of the light activated switch.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein a first audio message is played back in response to activation of a first switch, wherein the predetermined audio message is played back in response to the activation of the light activated switch.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the first audio message and the predetermined audio message comprise different audio messages.

53. The method of claim 39, wherein the display device displays one or more images captured with a camera.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the display device stores and plays back an audio message associated with one or more of the one or more images captured with the camera.

55. The method of claim 53, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting electrical representations of the one or more images captured with the camera via the transmission medium;

receiving the electrical representations of the one or more images captured with the camera via the transmission medium at the second location; and

displaying the one or more images captured with the camera in the display device.

56. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in the display device in digital form.

57. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in the display device in analog form.

58. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are transmitted over the transmission medium in digital form.

59. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in the display device via an input port of the display device.

60. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are stored in memory of the display device.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are retrieved from memory under control of a CPU, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are played back through the speaker.

62. The method of claim 39, wherein the transmission medium comprises a digital data transmission link, wherein the one or more audio messages is/are transmitted via the transmission medium in digital form.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the digital data transmission link includes processing elements at the first location and the second location, wherein the processing element at the first location and the processing element at the second location operate in a coordinated manner to ensure the integrity of the transmitted one or more audio messages.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the processing element at the first location and the processing element at the second location operate to perform error checking.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the processing element at the first location and the processing element at the second location operate to perform error checking and correction.

66. The method of claim 39, wherein the transmission medium comprises at least in part a telephone line.

67. The method of claim 39, wherein the transmission medium comprises at least in part a data line or satellite link.

68. The method of claim 39, wherein the electrical representations are transmitted or received at least in part using digital or analog transmit or receive devices.

69. The method of claim 39, wherein the electrical representations are transmitted or received at least in part using a modem.

70. The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more audio messages comprise a commemorative message corresponding to the visual element.

71. The method of claim 39, wherein the speaker is part of the display device.

72. The method of claim 39, wherein the speaker is external to the display device.