FR2743754A1 - Book with sensory stimulants e.g. visual, audio, olfactory - Google Patents

Abstract

The book has a cover and pages (2). The cover has a number of inductive detectors (D1-D4) positioned on it. in a vertical column. The pages have conductive chips (A1-A4) positioned on them. The chips are positioned to correspond with the detectors. When the pages are turned, proximity to the corresponding detector triggers an electronic switch which releases a sound or smell which is appropriate to the reading of that page.

Description

Animated book
The present invention relates to an animated book of the type comprising a generally rigid or semi-rigid support forming a cover, at least one rotatable sheet forming a page linked to said support and an electronic device generating one or more sensitive signals to produce at least one sound animation and / or visual and / or predetermined olfactory, each animation corresponding to a given positioning of the pages of the book.

Books allowing the automatic production of a sound or visual animation have already been developed. Such an example of a book is provided in patent FR-A2,513,376. In this case, the sound is obtained from a control signal supplied by an electric circuit, this electric circuit being produced on the pages of the book and on the edges of the latter either by printing using magnetic ink, either by gluing a conductive paper. In such a book, a signal injected on a track of the first page can only reach another track if at least one other page is closed. The disadvantage of such a book is that the electrical circuit thus materialized is relatively fragile and expensive to manufacture. Because it constitutes an apparent electrical circuit, it can be easily damaged, especially when the book is intended for a child.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an animated book, of a new type, the operation of which is particularly reliable and does not require any particular maintenance and whose lifespan is long due to its very design.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a book in which all of the electronic devices, including the means for transmitting a control signal, are completely hidden and invisible to the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide a book whose animations are only ordered when the pages are laid flat allowing the reader to take his time to turn a page, to go back, without the animation not triggers unexpectedly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a book whose number of pages can be modified.

To this end, the invention relates to an animated book of the type comprising a generally rigid or semi-rigid support forming a cover, at least one rotatable sheet forming a page linked to said support and an electronic device generating one or more sensitive signals to produce at least one predetermined sound and / or visual and / or olfactory animation, each animation corresponding to a given positioning of the pages of the book, characterized in that the cover and each page are indifferently equipped, at least one with a detector, the other of an element detectable by said detector called actuator of the detector, positioned in correspondence, the so-called proximity detector delivering, when entering or leaving said actuator in the detection zone of the detector caused by the movement of at least one page, a control signal capable of activating the electronic device to generate a predetermined animation corresponds ant to the page where the book is opened.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the actuators and the detectors are positioned in correspondence so that each detector is sensitive only to the movement of a single page.

The invention will be clearly understood on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a
first embodiment of a book according to the invention
Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a
another embodiment of a book conforming to
the invention and
Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a
book whose animation is visual.

The animated book, object of the invention, consists of a generally rigid or semi-rigid support 1, such as cardboard, forming a cover and at least one rotatable sheet 2 forming a page linked to said support 1. The sheet / cover connection can be made by gluing, sewing or by means of suitable special connecting members, such as a hinge, the book constituting in this case a binder in which a certain number of sheets can be added or removed. Each sheet 2, thus connected to the support 1, can pass, during its movement, on one side or the other of its connecting axis
XX 'on cover 1 to come either on the right side of cover 1 or on the left side of cover 1.

This book also includes an electronic device generating one or more sensitive signals, that is to say perceptible by humans, to produce at least one predetermined sound and / or visual and / or olfactory animation. This animation will preferably be chosen relating to the pages being read. Thus, for example, in the case of a book on animals, it will be possible, through a sound animation, to reproduce on each page dealing with a given subject the cries of animals or any other characteristic of said animal in the process to be studied. The same will apply in the case of visual and / or olfactory animation. However, great freedom is left to the manufacturer of such a book to choose the animation corresponding to the images he will also have selected. This electronic device is generally partially integrated into the cover 1 of the book.

Because the electronic device is capable of controlling x animations, it is necessary to incorporate into the book a device for selecting animations so that each animation produced corresponds to a given positioning of the pages of the book. To allow this selection of animations, the cover 1 and each page 2 are equally equipped, at least one with a detector, the other with an element detectable by said detector called the detector actuator, the detector and the actuator being positioned in correspondence.The detector D1, D2, ..., DN delivers, when entering or leaving said actuator Al, A2, ..., AN in the detection zone of the detector, caused by the movement of 'at least one page, a control signal capable of activating the electronic device to generate a predetermined animation corresponding to the page where the book is opened. The detection area of the detector is generally determined by the manufacturer of this detector, so it can vary from one detector to another. To allow an optimal functioning of such a system, in particular in the case where the book is equipped with several pages requiring the implementation of several detectors, each detector is positioned on the cover or on the pages in such a way that the areas of detection of said detectors do not overlap. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the actuators A1, A2, ..., AN and the detectors D1,
D2, ... DN must be positioned in correspondence. This actually means that each detector D1, D2, ..., DN is only sensitive to the movement of a single page 2. When, for example, the actuator Al enters the detection zone of the detector D1, this detector, connected to the electronic circuit, then delivers a signal D1 making it possible to activate said electronic circuit, this signal corresponding for the circuit to a given animation.

A large number of detectors and actuators are capable of enabling operation in accordance with that which will be described below. However, to obtain a particularly reliable operation of the book, it is preferable that the detectors D1, D2, ... DN are constituted by inductive sensors while the actuators Al, A2, ... AN will be pellets made of a material driver. Also suitable solutions consist in using instead of inductive sensors Hall effect sensors, the actuators being constituted in turn by magnets. It is also possible to envisage using analog inductive sensors which deliver in the detection zone prescribed by the manufacturer a variable voltage, proportional to the distance which separates the sensor from the steel pad. In this case, the steel pellets inserted in the sheets overlap when they are turned to the same side, to the left or to the right of the book. The more or less significant superposition of the steel pellets in front of the analog inductive sensor makes it possible to obtain a more or less significant voltage coming from the inductive sensor. Thanks to an interface composed of operational amplifiers used in voltage comparators, it is possible to locate the chosen sheet. This solution, however, is not the preferred solution. To this solution, it is preferred the use of inductive sensors placed either in the thickness of the cover of the book, or in each sheet and of actuators constituted by pellets inserted conversely either in each sheet, or in the book cover In this case, the inductive sensor is active if the patch is in its detection zone, zone predefined by the sensor manufacturer. The principle of these detectors is such that, when each actuator enters or leaves the detection zone of the detector positioned in correspondence, it causes a change of state of said detector, the position 1 of said detector generally corresponding to the logic and electrical 1 which allows the triggering of an animation when position 0 corresponds to the logical and electrical zero where the animation is stopped and reset.

A large number of possibilities are offered with regard to the positioning of detectors and actuators. Two examples have been respectively provided in Figures 1 and 2. In the case of Figure 1, for a given animation, the cover 1 houses a series of detectors D1, D2, ..., DN, while each page 2 includes a actuator A1, A2, ..., AN, the detectors and the actuators being positioned in such a way that each detector can only be activated by a single actuator entering or leaving the detection zone of said detector.

Thus, for example, the detector D1 housed in the cover 1 will be activated by the sensor A1 carried by the first sheet capable of being turned. Similarly A2 will activate D2, A3, D3 and A4, D4. When we open the book, assuming we open it on the first page, the animation corresponding to a sound 0 will be triggered automatically. Conversely, when all the sensors are activated, i.e. Al, A2, A3, A4 will be in the detection zone of
D1, D2, D3, D4, sound 4 will be produced. The other sound animations will each correspond to a predetermined page position according to the activated sensors. In such a case, generally, the last detector activated by the output or entry of the actuator in its detection zone causes successively or simultaneously the change of state of the detectors previously activated. Thus, for example, when the page carrying the actuator A1 is turned, D1 is activated, that is to say goes to logic state 1. When the sound animation corresponding to sound 1 is completed, the actuator A2 is turned to come into the detection area of D2. D1 is still in logic state 1. Entering A2 in the detection area D2 causes D1 to be reset and so on. If we turn several pages at the same time, the last sensor activated will reset successively or simultaneously all the other sensors already activated to the zero state. Similarly, it can be envisaged to arrange the detectors D1, D2, D3 and D4 not on the left side of the cover but on the right side of the cover. In this case, the control signals will be delivered by the sensors when the latter are deactivated.

It is also possible to envisage a positioning of the detectors and actuators in accordance with that represented in FIG. 2. This embodiment makes it possible to determine with precision the moment when the animation will be triggered.

In this case, cover 1 houses a series of detectors
D1, D2, ..., DN arranged on either side of the axis XX 'connecting pages 2 to cover 1 while each page 2 is equipped with an actuator A1, A2, ..., AN. Each page is likely, during its movement corresponding to the fact of turning the page, to deactivate a first detector positioned on one side of the axis of connection of the cover in order to activate another detector disposed on the other side of the connecting axis of the cover. Thus, in the example of FIG. 2, when the page incorporating the actuator A1 is turned from the right to the left, it deactivates the actuator D10 to come and activate the detector D1.The triggering of the animation cannot be do that when on the one hand the detector D1 will be activated, on the other hand, the detector D20 will be activated. This will be the proof that page 1 is correctly placed on the left side of the cover and that, conversely, the page carrying the actuator A2 is still in position on the detector D20. For the following pages, the operation will be similar. Thus, here the delivery of a control signal by an activated detector is managed with respect to other signals from the other detectors to guarantee that the animation is triggered at a predetermined instant. To allow this, the electronic device includes logic operating mode integrated into a control and command interface, this logic processing the control signals delivered by the various detectors so as to determine so-called priority detector signals to trigger the corresponding animation.

It is obvious that in the two exemplary embodiments described above corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2, and in particular in FIG. 1, the positioning of the actuators and of the detectors can be reversed without modifying in any way the operation of the assembly. , that is to say that the actuators can be housed in the cover of the book while the detector will be housed in the pages of the book.

Generally, when the actuators are incorporated into the pages of the book, the sheets of the book forming a page are formed of a double thickness so as to accommodate the pad between said thicknesses of said sheet. In the example of Figure 2, reversing the actuators and detectors would be of little interest. It is noted that in this example, in accordance with that of FIG. 2, the detectors are positioned with respect to the axis of connection of the pages to the cover in a symmetrical manner, an actuator being capable of activating two detectors.

The animations thus triggered by means of the actuator / detector assemblies can again affect a large number of forms. These animations can be sound, visual and / or olfactory. In the case of a sound animation, the electronic device comprises a sound generator circuit, the output of which is amplified by at least one amplifier and one loudspeaker, the loudspeaker preferably being incorporated in the cover of the book.

This speaker can be removably incorporated into the cover of the book to allow its extraction from the cover in the case of particular uses.

One can also imagine, in the case of visual animation, that the electronic device is equipped with an image generator circuit. In this case, these images can be displayed on at least one screen 4, such as a liquid crystal screen, incorporated in said cover 1, as shown in FIG. 3, where the cover is equipped with two screens. Each page of the book is hollowed out to allow, when maneuvering the pages, the viewing of the screen through the hollowed out portions of said pages. The images thus produced can be fixed or animated. They will correspond, according to a principle analogous to a sound animation, to the page that has just been turned. The sound or image generating circuits are generally reset to zero after each use. Timing circuits can also be envisaged to allow, when a page has been turned, the triggering of an animation only after a predetermined time.

Obviously, the invention is not limited to the abovementioned embodiments but on the contrary encompasses a large number of other embodiments remaining within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. Animated book of the type comprising a support (1) generally rigid or semi-rigid forming a cover, at least one rotatable sheet (2) forming a page linked to said support (1) and an electronic device generating one or more sensitive signals to produce minus a predetermined sound and / or visual and / or olfactory animation, each animation corresponding to a given positioning of the pages of the book, characterized in that the cover (1) and each page (2) are equipped indifferently, at least one of a detector, the other of an element detectable by said detector called actuator of the detector, positioned in correspondence, the so-called proximity detector delivering, during the entry or exit of said actuator in the detection zone of the detector caused by the movement of at least one page, a control signal capable of activating the electronic device to generate a predetermined animation corresponding to the page where the book is open. 2. Animated book according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuators (Al, A2, ..., AN) and the detectors (D1, D2, ..., DN) are positioned in correspondence so that each detector (D1, D2, ..., DN) is only sensitive to the movement of a single page (2). 3. Animated book according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that said detectors (D1, D2, ..., DN) are inductive sensors and actuators (Al, A2, ..., AN) pellets made of a conductive material. 4. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each actuator, when it enters or leaves the detection zone of the detector positioned in correspondence, causes a change of state of said detector. 5. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that for a given animation the cover (1) houses a series of detectors (D1, D2, ..., DN), respectively of actuators (Al, A2, ..., AN), while each page (2) includes an actuator (Al, A2, ..., AN), respectively of a detector (D1, D2 , ..., DN), the detectors and actuators being positioned in such a way that each detector can only be activated by a single actuator entering or leaving the detection zone of said detector. 6. Animated book according to claim 5, characterized in that the last detector activated by the output or entry of the actuator in its detection zone successively or simultaneously causes the state of the detectors previously activated to change. 7. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that the cover (1) houses a series of detectors (D1, D2, ..., DN) arranged on either side of the axis ( XX ') connecting the pages (2) to the cover (1) while each page (2) is equipped with an actuator (Al, A2, ..., AN), each page being liable, during its movement corresponding to the fact of turning the page, to deactivate a first detector positioned on one side of the cover's linking axis to activate a another detector placed on the other side of the cover's connection axis. 8. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the electronic device comprises an operating logic integrated in a control and command interface, this logic processing the control signals delivered by the various detectors so to determine so-called priority detector signals to trigger the corresponding animation. 9. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the electronic device comprises a sound generator circuit whose output is amplified by at least one amplifier and one loudspeaker, the loudspeaker being incorporated in the cover. of the book. 10. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the electronic device comprises an image generator circuit, these images being displayed on at least one screen incorporated in said cover, each page of the book being hollowed out to allow, when maneuvering the pages, the viewing of the screen through the hollowed out portions of said pages. 11. Animated book according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the sound or image generating circuits are reset to zero after each use.