Acoustic card

• US 6,591,523 B2
• Filed: 06/04/2001
• Issued: 07/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Corporate Technologies, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Apple Corporate Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Pines, Benjamin A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, William L.
• Application Number:
  US09/871,703
• Publication Number:
  US 20020139017A1
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• Field of Search: 401/240.3, 404/55, 407/17, 409/06, 340/384.1
• US Class Current: 40/124.03
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 1/00 Cardboard or like show-cards of foldable or flexible material
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 25/00 Audible advertising sound recording or reproducing per se G11B; public address systems H04R27/00

Abstract

An acoustic card having a permanent magnet and a reed switch. The acoustic card includes a first flap, a second flap, and a sound generator attached to second flap. The acoustic card is divided by a fold into two halves, such as the first flap and the second flap, is unfolded in an opened position and folded in a closed position. The sound generator attached to the second flap includes a printed circuit board, a sound card containing a controller and a memory storing audio sound data, and a reed switch. A permanent magnet attached to the first flap does not directly contact the reed switch attached to the second flap. The permanent magnet moves away from the reed switch which then closed electrically to activate the sound generator to produce audio sound, and moves towards the reed switch which then opens electrically to deactivate the sound generator to turn off the audio sound.

Claims

1. An acoustic card, comprising:

a first flap and a second flap joined together along a fold that accommodates rotation of the first flap relative to the second flap as said first and second flaps rotate along said fold between alternate orientations of folded in a closed position and unfolded in an open position;

a circuit board attached to said second flap, and bearing an incised slot oriented toward said first flap;

an elongate tongue having a proximal end flexibly attached to said first flap and a longitudinally opposite distal end carrying a magnet slidably received within said slot;

an electrically powered sound generator mounted upon said circuit board;

a speaker driven by said sound generator to broadcast audio messages; and

a reed switch mounted on said circuit board in operational proximity to said slot, to respond to travel of said magnet along said slot by enabling activation of said sound generator to drive said speaker.

2. The acoustic card of claim 1, further comprised of said reed switch being mounted upon opposite sides of said circuit board with an intermediate section of said reed switch spanning said slot.

3. The acoustic card of claim 1, further comprised of said reed switch having a plurality of electrical contacts controlling said activation by exhibiting relative movement in response to said travel of said magnet in a direction parallel to said travel of said magnet.

4. The acoustic card of claim 1, further comprised of said reed switch exhibiting a longitudinal axis, and said tongue moving in a direction parallel to said longitudinal axis when said first flap and second flap rotate around said fold and move between the closed position and the open position.

5. The acoustic card of claim 4, with said magnet moving toward and away from said reed switch as said tongue moves in response to movement of said first flap with respect to said second flap around said fold.

6. The acoustic card of claim 1, with said magnet spaced inoperatively apart from said reed switch when said first flap and said second flap are said folded in a closed position.

7. The acoustic card of claim 1, with said magnet disposed in operational proximity to said reed switch while said first flap and said second flap are said unfolded in an open position, with said first flap and said second flap approximately defining a continuous single planar surface and wherein said magnet is spaced inoperatively apart from said reed switch while said first flap and said second flap are said folded in a closed position.

8. A greeting process, comprising the steps of:

joining a first flap and a second flap of an acoustic card together rotationally along a fold of said acoustic card allowing orientations of folded in a closed position and unfolded in an open position;

providing a circuit board attached to said second flap, with an incised slot formed in said circuit board oriented toward said first flap;

attaching a proximal end of an elongate tongue flexibly to said first flap and a longitudinally opposite distal end of said elongate tongue bearing a magnet slidably received within said incised slot;

attaching a sound generator upon said circuit board;

attaching a speaker driven by said sound generator to broadcast audio messages;

providing a reed switch on said circuit board;

moving said acoustic card to said closed position when turning off said audio messages;

moving said acoustic card to said open position when producing said audio messages;

moving said magnet toward said reed switch when said acoustic card is in said open position; and

moving said magnet away from said reed switch when said acoustic card is in said closed position.

9. The process of claim 8, further comprising the step of operating said reed switch by moving a reed of said reed switch in a direction perpendicular to said fold.

10. An acoustic card, comprising:

a first flap and a second flap joined together along a fold that accommodates rotation of said first flap with respect to said second flap;

a circuit board attached to one of said first and second flaps, bearing an incised slot oriented toward the other flap of said first and second flaps;

an elongate tongue having a proximal end flexibly attached to said other flap of said first and second flaps, and said elongate tongue having an opposite distal end comprising a magnet slidingly receivable within said incised slot, an electrically powered sound generator on said circuit board, a speaker driven by said sound generator to broadcast audio messages; and

a reed switch on said circuit board in operational proximity to said incised slot;

whereby travel of said magnet within said slot towards said reed switch activates said reed switch when said magnet enters an operational area surrounding said reed switch.

11. The acoustic card of claim 10, returning said reed switch to a normal position of said reed switch by moving said magnet from said operational area surrounding said reed switch.