DE29520127U1 - Joke articles with means for the controllable delivery of sounds, sounds, noises, spoken words and the like. - Google Patents

Description

- 1057 -

Petra Abel

Brentano-Str. 17

56077 Koblenz

DESCRIPTION

Joke articles with means for the controllable emission of tones, sounds, noises, spoken words and the like.

The invention relates to an object according to the preamble of claim 1.

Various objects of this type have become known, some of which are operated in a purely mechanical manner as well as those in which the energy for emitting the predetermined signal sequences - tones, sounds, noises - is taken from an electric battery or accumulator.

The aim of the present invention is to create an object of the type mentioned above that is of interest to football fans as a joke item, with which it is possible in particular to emit not only tones, sounds and noises, but also words, sentences, quotations and the like as required, if necessary in different ways of expression, e.g. singing, shouting or the like. The object should be simple and easy to handle, preferably operable with just one hand, and should be

suitable for a relatively long period of use, without any components, parts, etc. wearing out and/or needing to be replaced.

The aim outlined above is achieved with a generic object which has the features of the characterising part of claim 1.

The object according to the invention according to the features of claim 1 is characterized firstly by the fact that it is possible to store words, sentences and the like in a permanently stored form in practically any desired manner of expression and to have them emitted as required at a relatively high volume by simply exerting pressure on a predetermined location or a predetermined area of the object using the object's transducer.

Further advantages of the joke article according to the invention are its robustness, its ease of handling and its durability.

Preferred and/or expedient further embodiments of the joke article according to the invention can be found in claims 2 to 14.

The solution according to claim 2 offers the advantage that the electrical switch provided in the electrical/electronic circuit arrangement of the object, including its actuating element, is completely housed in the body of the object, protected against external influences.

Further possible embodiments will be readily apparent to the person skilled in the art from the content of claims 3 to 14, with reference being made to the special possibilities and advantages of components as specified in claims 9 and 10 for the storage means and the converter, respectively.

Description of the invention based on an embodiment

The drawing shows a joke article according to the invention in section and in a partially schematic representation. 5

The drawing shows a body 1 which is designed like a shell and consists of two half shells 2 and 3. The half shells 2, 3 are firmly and preferably permanently connected to one another in the area of a connecting joint designated 4 - e.g. by means of gluing. The half shells 2, 3 consist of a relatively firm, but basically elastically deformable plastic.

While the half-shell 2 - located at the top in the drawing - has means of attachment in the form of an eyelet 5 approximately in the middle of its wall surface, e.g. for the purpose of hanging on a chain or the like, and otherwise contains no further components - apart from an element 6 made of electrically non-conductive foam or the like that essentially or to a considerable extent fills the cavity delimited by the half-shell 2 - the half-shell 3 contains on the one hand - and in the vicinity of the connecting joint 4 - a circuit board 7 with a digital memory chip 8 arranged thereon, an electrical switch (microswitch) 9 and two electrical long-life batteries (button cells) 10, 11 including electrical connections (wiring) not shown in detail, and on the other hand - between the circuit board 7 and the bottom of the half-shell 3 designated 12 and the bottom 12 of the half-shell 3, closely adjacent - a piezoelectric Transducer 13 for generating sound/acoustic signals of the type mentioned above.

Openings 14 are provided in the area of the base 12 of the half-shell 13, which serve as sound outlet openings for the signals or signal sequences emitted by the transducer 13. The sound outlet opening can also be designed in the form of a horn, for example, for the purpose of a particularly strong and/or directed

Sound development.

Between the memory chip 8 and the converter 13 - as in the upper half-shell 2 - an element 15 consisting of electrically non-conductive foam or the like is provided.

The circuit board 7 is fastened to shoulders 16, 17 located on the inside of the half-shell 3 - or a functionally similar, ring-shaped shoulder - for example by means of screws.

The button cells 10, 11 are each held on the circuit board by a clamping spring 18 or 19, whereby the clamping springs can also form one of the two electrical connection contacts of the button cells; the other of the two connection contacts is located between the relevant button cell 10 or 11 and the circuit board 7. - The switch 9 is expediently designed as a microswitch and with the "normally open" function; of course, other forms of switch functionality are also generally applicable, for which purpose the electrical circuit arrangement (not shown in detail) may then be adapted to the present purpose. - The electrical connection between the circuit board 7 and the converter 13 is designated 20.

By appropriately selecting the shape, size and type of material of the elements 6 and 15, not only is a secure and shock-resistant hold of the above-described components within the body 1 ensured, but it is also possible to influence the volume and/or timbre of the acoustic signal sequences leaving the body 1 through the openings 14.

The half-shell 3 has a region 21 which is thinner than the adjacent wall regions; the end of the switch 22 intended for actuation, designated 22, is located opposite this region in the interior of the body 1 - the half-shell 3 - at a predetermined, relatively small distance. It is thus possible, by exerting a certain,

preferably only a short pressure, for example with the thumb, on the area 21 - controlled by a functional sequence stored in the memory chip 8 - to supply the signal sequence also stored in the memory chip 8 and intended for conversion into an acoustic signal sequence to the piezoelectric converter 13 for sound generation via a digital/analog converter expediently contained in the memory chip.

After knowing the subject matter of the present invention, it is possible for a person skilled in the art to design variants for individual components or designs without requiring any special inventive effort.

ABEL, Petra - 1057 -

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

1 Body 2 Half shell 3 Half shell 4 Connecting joint 5 eyelet 6 element 7 circuit board 8th Memory chip 9 Switch 10 Button cell 11 Button cell 12 Floor 13
14 Converter
openings 15 element 16 Paragraph 17 Paragraph 18 Clamping spring 19 Clamping spring 20 Connection, electrical 21 Area 22 End (of switch 9)

Claims (11)

ABEL, Petra - 1057 - 05.02.1996 NEW PROTECTION CLAIMS 1. Joke articles with means for emitting tones, sounds, noises, spoken words and the like, consisting of a) a ball-shaped body and b) an electronic circuit board housed in the ball-shaped body for emitting stored tones, noises or similar, a loudspeaker with associated sound outlet openings, a switch for manually switching off the power supply for the loudspeaker or circuit board from the outside, an electrical energy source (battery) and electrical connecting means (cables), characterized by the following features: c) the ball-shaped body (1) has the volume size of a table tennis or tennis ball, d) the electronic board contains a memory chip (8) suitable for storing sound sequences, noises and the like, with a predetermined signal sequence stored therein that can be called up as required, e) the switch (9) is suitable for both switching the power supply on and off, and f) the switch (9) is associated with a region (21) of the body (1) that can be flexibly deformed by hand, so that the switch (9) can be actuated by exerting a certain pressure on this region (21). 2. Joke article according to claim 1, characterized in that the body (1) is designed like a shell. 3. Joke article according to claim 2, characterized in that the body (1) is formed from two half-shells (2, 3). 4. Joke article according to claim 3, characterized in that the memory chip (8), the converter (13), the switch (9) and the energy source (button cells 10, 11) are arranged in one (half shell 3) of the two half shells (2, 3). 5. Joke article according to claim 4, characterized in that the memory chip (8), the energy source (button cells 10, 11) and the switch (9) are arranged on a common circuit board (7) which is connected to the respective half-shell (3). 6. Joke article according to claim 4 and 5, characterized in that the converter (13) is arranged between the plate (7) and the bottom (12) of the respective half-shell (3). 7. Joke article according to claim 1, characterized in that a known piezoelectric transducer is provided as the loudspeaker (transducer 13). 8. Joke article according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more long-life batteries are provided as the energy source, preferably in the form of so-called button cells (10, 11). 9. Joke article according to claim 1, characterized in that the free space remaining between the components located in the body (1) is filled at least to a considerable extent by elements (6, 15) made of electrically non-conductive, preferably elastically deformable material such as foam or foam rubber. 10. Joke article according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the shell or the half-shells (2, 3) of the body (1) consist of elastically deformable material, —-&zgr;&idigr;&Bgr;i -made of elastic -plastic— or -made of rubber« - .-. 11. Joke article according to claim 1, characterized in that the body (1) is provided with a hanging means, e.g. an eyelet (5).