Talking book and interactive talking toy figure

• US 7,035,583 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2004
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Inventors: Ferrigno, Albert J., Duke, Laurie Guiliano
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kien
• Application Number:
  US10/752,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20040191741A1
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 434308-311, 434/317, 446/175, 446/300, 446/302
• US Class Current: 434/308
• 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 talking book is combined with a talking, animated toy figure. Each includes a sound synthesizer, a digital memory including at least some speech data to be used by the synthesizer to produce speech and a processor to control the operations of the synthesizer. Each includes a speaker coupled with the synthesizer to actually produce speech and other sounds. The book includes two outer covers and two inner pages, each with some printing. Depressible switches are provided on the inner covers to cue the processor to generate sounds appropriate to the print near the depressed cover switch. Switches in a hinge pin received in hinge rings provided each cover and page to join the covers and pages together are depressed by cam surfaces inside the ring of the front cover and each page and signal, the processor the configuration of the book. In addition to generating its own speech, the book processor transmits a control signal to the processor of the toy figure cuing that processor to generate control signals to generate the appropriate sound and/or sound by the figure synthesizer and/or animation control signals to animate the toy figure. Thus, actions of the toy figure are coordinated with the information provided in the book.

Claims

1. A talking book comprising:

a hinge pin;

a plurality of book leaves, the leaves including a front leaf, a back leaf, and at least one leaf therebetween, wherein at least two of the plurality of leaves are pivotably engaged with the hinge pin at one end of each leaf, each pivotably mounted leaf being movable between two positions on first and second lateral sides of the hinge pin;

a processor configured to generate at least a first control signal and a second control signal to at least initiate speech generation by the talking book;

at least a first leaf position indicating switch operably coupled with the processor and responsive to a pivotal position of at least a first one of the pivotably engaged leaves with respect to the hinge pin, wherein the at least first leaf position indicating switch indicates whether the first one of the leaves is on one of the first and second lateral sides;

at least first and second mode switches operably coupled with the processor;

a memory operably coupled with the processor and containing at least some speech data; and

a speaker operably coupled with the processor to reproduce sound including speech.

2. The talking book of claim 1, wherein at least the first leaf position indicating switch is located inside the hinge pin.

3. The talking book of claim 2, wherein the book includes at least a second leaf position indicating switch coupled with the processor and separately responsive to a pivotal position of a second one of the pivotally engaged leaves of the book with respect to the hinge pin.

4. The talking book of claim 3, wherein at least the second leaf position indicating switch is located inside the hinge pin.

5. The talking book of claim 1 wherein the speaker is located in one of the front and back leaves.

6. The talking book of claim 1 wherein the processor is located in one of the front and back leaves.

7. The talking book of claim 1, wherein activation of the first mode switch causes the processor to generate the first control signal and activation of the second mode switch causes the processor to generate the second control signal, the first and second control signals generated depending at least, in part, upon a state of the at least first leaf position indicating switch when either of the first and second mode switches is activated.

8. The talking book of claim 7, wherein the book includes at least a second leaf position indicating switch and the first and second control signals generated depending at least, in part, upon states of the at least first and second leaf position indicating switches when either of the first and second mode switches is activated.

9. The talking book of claim 8, wherein the plurality of leaf position indicating switches are located in the hinge pin.

10. The talking book of claim 7, wherein the processor generates the first control signal to produce a first sound from the speaker for the first mode and further generates the second control signal to produce a second sound from the speaker for the second mode.

11. The talking book of claim 10 wherein the first sound relates to information printed on a leaf open on the first lateral side and the second sound relates to information printed on a leaf open on the second lateral side.

12. The talking book of claim 1, wherein a separate one of the at least two mode switches is located on each of the front and back leaves.

13. The talking book of claim 1 wherein the at least one page has an opening through a portion of the page extending through the page, the location of the opening corresponding to the location of at least one of the mode switches on one of the front and back leaves, such that the mode switch is accessible to a user when the page overlies the one of the front and back leaves.

14. The talking book of claim 1 further comprising a wireless signal transmitter operably coupled to the processor.

15. The talking book of claim 1 in combination with a separate, sound producing device, the separate sound producing device comprising:

a device processor;

a sound synthesizer operably coupled to the device processor;

a device memory operably coupled with the sound synthesizer and containing at least some sound data;

a speaker operably coupled with the sound synthesizer to reproduce sounds; and

a communications link between the talking book and the sound producing device configured to at least transfer sound control signals generated by the processor of the talking book to initiate sound generation by the sound producing device.

16. The combination of claim 15, wherein the communications link is wireless.

17. The combination of claim 15, wherein the talking book includes at least one manually actuated switch operably coupled to the talking book processor to initiate sound generation by the talking book processor through the talking book speaker and the generation of the sound control signals transferred to the sound producing device.

18. The combination of claim 15, wherein the processor of the toy item is configured to at least generate speech control signals to initiate speech generation by the sound synthesizer of the sound producing device and at least one manually actuated switch on the sound producing device operably coupled to the device processor to selectively manually initiate the generation of speech by the sound producing device independently of the talking book.

19. The combination of claim 18 wherein the sound producing device further comprises a manually operated switch operably coupled to the device processor to at least initiate operation of the actuator through the device processor.

20. The combination of claim 15, wherein the sound producing device includes an actuator operably coupled with some portion of the sound producing device to animate the portion of the sound producing device when the actuator is operated and wherein the device processor is operably coupled with the actuator to operate the actuator to control animation of the portion of the sound producing device.

21. The talking book of claim 1 in combination with a separate, animated device, the animated device comprising:

an actuator operably coupled with some portion of the animated device to animate the portion of the animated device when the actuator is operated; and

a communications link operably coupling the processor of the talking book with the actuator of the animated device.

22. The combination of claim 21, wherein at least a portion of the communications link is wireless.

23. The combination of claim 21, wherein the animated device includes a manually actuated switch operably coupled with the actuator to initiate operation of the actuator independently of the talking book.

24. The combination of claim 21, wherein the animated device has a processor and wherein the processor of the book is operably coupled to the actuator through the communications link including the device processor.

25. The combination of claim 24, wherein the animated device has

a sound synthesizer operably coupled to the device processor;

a device memory operably coupled with the sound synthesizer and containing at least some sound data; and

a speaker operably coupled with the sound synthesizer to reproduce sounds.