CA2082393C - Sound association and learning system - Google Patents
Sound association and learning systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA2082393C CA2082393C CA002082393A CA2082393A CA2082393C CA 2082393 C CA2082393 C CA 2082393C CA 002082393 A CA002082393 A CA 002082393A CA 2082393 A CA2082393 A CA 2082393A CA 2082393 C CA2082393 C CA 2082393C
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- digital
- random access
- storage
- player
- logic
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Fee Related
Links
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09B—EDUCATIONAL OR DEMONSTRATION APPLIANCES; APPLIANCES FOR TEACHING, OR COMMUNICATING WITH, THE BLIND, DEAF OR MUTE; MODELS; PLANETARIA; GLOBES; MAPS; DIAGRAMS
- G09B5/00—Electrically-operated educational appliances
- G09B5/06—Electrically-operated educational appliances with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied
- G09B5/062—Combinations of audio and printed presentations, e.g. magnetically striped cards, talking books, magnetic tapes with printed texts thereon
Abstract
A learning and identification support system for birders and such comprising, a media having a plurality of visually recognizable bird pictures thereon associated with respective ones of a plurality of birds to have birdsong associated therewith. A
plurality of scannable barcodes are disposed on the media and associated with respective ones of the bird pictures. Each of the plurality of scannable barcodes comprises a unique index indicating the one of the bird pictures with which it is associated. A
barcode scanner is used for scanning individual selected ones of the barcodes to obtain an electrical signal at an output thereof containing the unique index. There is a Compact Disc (CD) containing a plurality of birdsongs associated with respective ones of the plurality of birds, each of the plurality of birdsongs being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith. There is also a CD player for playing the CD to output digital data streams reflecting selected ones of the birdsongs as well as a headest or speaker connected to the Compact Disc player means for reproducing birdsongs from the digital data streams. A data compression technique is employed which permits the system to be used for "talking book" applications with as much as nine hours of playing from a single CD. An interactive audio system configuration of the invention is also shown which can improve language learning and provide an environment for interactive audio adventures.
plurality of scannable barcodes are disposed on the media and associated with respective ones of the bird pictures. Each of the plurality of scannable barcodes comprises a unique index indicating the one of the bird pictures with which it is associated. A
barcode scanner is used for scanning individual selected ones of the barcodes to obtain an electrical signal at an output thereof containing the unique index. There is a Compact Disc (CD) containing a plurality of birdsongs associated with respective ones of the plurality of birds, each of the plurality of birdsongs being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith. There is also a CD player for playing the CD to output digital data streams reflecting selected ones of the birdsongs as well as a headest or speaker connected to the Compact Disc player means for reproducing birdsongs from the digital data streams. A data compression technique is employed which permits the system to be used for "talking book" applications with as much as nine hours of playing from a single CD. An interactive audio system configuration of the invention is also shown which can improve language learning and provide an environment for interactive audio adventures.
Description
wo 91/l753~ 2 ~ ~ 2 3 ~ 3 PCr/US91/03168 SOUND ASSOCIATION ~1) LE~NI~ G S~STEi\~I
Bac~;ground o~ the Invention:
This invention relates to sound associ~tion and learnin~
s~st~ms for human and anim~l lano~ua~es an~ in particula~ ~o 2 sound association and learnin~ system of Ihe pres~nt in~tention comprising, ~ media havin~ ~ plur~lirv of visu~llv reco~nizable indicia thereon associated with resp~ctive ones of a pluralit~ ot' items to h:~ve sounds associateà therewith; a pluralir~ of scannable ~a barcodes disposed on the media and associated with respective on~s o~ th~ indicia, e~ch of the pluralitv of sc~nnable b2rcodec comprisin~ a unique inde~ in~iC~tinc the on~ of t~e indicia with wh,~h }. is ~ssocia;~, sc;lnrl~.r mr ;lns lor sC~nninC~ àividuai sel~cteà ones or the barcodes to obtain an electrical signal a. ~n 15 OUtpUt thereof containin~ the unique index; a Compact Disc containin a plurality of sounds associated with respective ones ot' the plurality of items, each of the plurality of sounds being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith; Compact Disc player means for playin~ the Compact 20 Disc to output digital data stre~ms reflecting selected ones of the sounds; and, sound reproduction means connected to the Compact Disc player means for reproducing sounàs ~rom the digital da streams.
Sound association and learnin~ systems are not new~ E-en tov companies produce such systems for the very yourl~. For example, a toy pi_ which when squeezed produces an "oink" sound is, in fact, a tvpe of sound association and learning system. Other "tovs'' which have sound association and le~rning capability for small children include a box in which a dial is pointed at the item of 38 interest and' a string pulled to cause a brief recording of the sound produced by the item of interest to be played.
L~n uage le~rning is probably the most important are.~ of interest in this regarà. With the advenl of microcomputer and logic chips, langua e le~rning can be ''computerized" on a scale that will ~'5 literallv fit into one's pocket. ~Vhen in a forei_n countr~, th~
tr~veler can simply type in th~ English ~vord of interesl on a W O 91/17535 PC~r/US91/03168 ~ 2 miniature ke~bo~rd and have the correspondina foreian ~orà
displaved on an alph~numeric displav in ~ d~vice which fils inro the palm ot' th~ h~nd. There ~re ~Iso products pr~sentlv on th~ m~r' ~t h~t accept voice inputs in one lan~ua~e~ t~nsl~t~ to a second l~n uage, ~nd oulput the second lan-~u~o~e ~quiv~l~nt in voice~
There is a v~st di~ference betwe~rl IParnin~ nctu~e throuch the ~vritten word and learnin~ the s~m~ lanc-ua ~ throu~h ~h~ spoken word. This is even more tru~ hen the lan~ua~ o~
interest is a non-human 1ano~uage su~h ~s birdson~.
o TIIere are a number o~ ~vst~ms for learnin~ ''spo~;en" lan-~uaae ~human ar otherwise)~ A learnin_ environm~nt (~ormal or informal~ with a one on-one relati~nshi~ ~et~een. ~tuder.~ and t~.~cher is undoubtedlv the bes.. It is the natural ~ one l~.qrns ~
lang~ua~e as an infant~ Quite often~ however~ it iS not possible or , convenient for one to have such a teachino!learnin~ relationshiD
~ith a native speaker. In such cases, so-called "self-learnin_' have been employed. In years past, recordings on phonograph records were used extensively~ More recently, the audio cassette has replaced the record~ Cassettes, of course, can be played in an autornobile while driving or can be played by one of the small portable players while bilcing, walking, jog .in_, or what have vou.
For many ye~rs (and in many cases still todav) such self-learnin~
svstems are simply rote svstems wherein the En_lish word or phrase is first pronounced by the recording and then the corresponding ~5 word or phase is pronounced one or two times followed by a pause during which the student can pronounce it aloud.
Recently, lan~ua.e learnin~ systems have been made available which attempt to make language learning a more pleasant ~nd enjoyable task (and therefore easier in which to maintain an interest). While better than the older systems, thev are still held bac~ bv the limitations of the cassette recordings that thev employ.
While random access sound recording devices are available in the recording art, they have not been incorporated into the art of language learnin~ and recognition.
Most recordin~ methods and associated apparatus are also e~tremel~, limited in the ~mount oî data which can be p Ut on 2 ~VO 91/1753~ ~ ~ ,'; s? 3 9 ~ PCl/US91/03168 single recording medium. This is ~articularly limiling in portabie equipment such as the language translator mentioned above.
Wherefore, it iS an object of the pr~sent invention to pro~ià~
a sound recognition and learnin~ system which is eqsv anà
5 enjoyable tO use so as to stimulate the le~rnin ~ e~peri~nce~
It is another object of the preserlt invention to provide a sound recognition and learning system which is particularlv useful for the le~rnin~ of human and non-human l~n-ouaoes~
It is still another object of the pres~nt in~ention to provide a o sound reco~nition and learning, system useful for human ~nà non-human lan~uages which emplo~s mo~ern technolo~ includin r~ndom acc~ss recordin~ devices.
Il is yel ~notner object ot the present invention to ~rovide 2 sound reco~nition and learnin~ s~stem useful for hum~n and non-15 human languages which permits extended recordin~ of dat~ on asingle recording medium.
Other objects and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows hereinafter when taken in coniunction with the drawin~ figures 20 which accompany it.
Summarv:
The foregoin~ objects have been achieved by the sound association and learning system of the present invention comprising, a media having a piurality of visually recognizable indicia thereon ~ssociated with respective ones of a plurality of items to have sounds associated therewith; a plurality of scannable barcodes disposed on the media and associated wirh respective ones of the indicia, each of the plurality of scannable barcodes comprising a 30 unique index indicating the one of the indicia with which it is associated; scanner means for scanning individual selected ones of the barcodes to obtain an electrical signal at an o~tput thereof containing the unique index; a Compact Disc containing a plurality of sounds associated with respective ones of the plurali~v of items, ~5 each of the plurality of sounds being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith; Compact Disc plaver WO 91~17S35 PCI'/US91/03168 means for playing the Compact Disc to output digital data s~reams reflecting selected ones of the sounds: and~ sound reproàuction means connected to the Compact Disc plaver means for reproducing sounds from the dig~tal data streams~
The pret'erred scanner me~ns comprises a hanà-held wand ha~ing an optical scanrler in a sc~nnin~ ~n~ thereof. A~ditionally, the wand includes memory me~ns for storin~, a pluralitv of the barcodes after indi~idual scannin, thereof and s~lector means ~or manually selectin~ ones o~ the bar~odes in the memory means for which the associated sound is to be reproduceà~ Pr~er~blv, the selector means comprises ~ first manua.llv activate~ble switch and there is logic means ~or sensing acti~ation of the first m~nuall~
acti~ateable switch, for accessing the memor~.~ mP~ns~ and for c~usin~ the associated the sound to ~e reproduced. Also 15 preferably, there is a second manually activateable switch and the logic means includes means for sensin~ the seconà manuallv activatea~le switch and for storing a scanned barcode in a next available position on a list in the memoIy means when the second manually activateable switch is activated.
~o To increase the capabi~ity of the system, the Compact Disc includes control information thereon; there is read interface means connected to the Compact Disc player means and the memory means for inputting digital control data from the Compact Disc into the memory means; and, the lo~,ic means includes reprogramable 25 logic means for executing lo_ic sequences determined by the digital control data whereby the sound association and learning system can be a general system which is specialized by diaital control data added to respective ones of a plurality of specialized Compact Discs~
In one version, the sound reproduction means comprises an earphone to be worn by a user of the system. In another version, the sound reproduction means comprises an audio speaker and a digital amplifier connected to drive the audio speaker~
To obtain desired data compression for certain applications, 35 the sounds on the Compact Disc are di~itized sounds created bv samplin_ analog sounds at a first sampling rate and then storing WO 91/1~535 PCl'/US91/03168 S ~0~239~
them on the Compact Disc as if sampled at a second samplin~ rate which is faster than the ~irst samplin~ r~te. Further, the sound reproduction means includes, dicital bu~fer means Ior receiving th~
di~ital data streams ~rom the Compact Disc pl~yer me~ns ~nd for outputtin~ revised digital data str~ams lo the di_it~l amplifier, an~
bi-stable cloc~; me~ns connected to the buff~r means for inputtin~
the digital dat~ streams ~t the sec3nd samplina r~ and for outputting the di~ital data stre~m~ ~s r~vise~ di~it~l data streams a~
the first samplin~ rate. There is ~ls~ accordion store lo~ic means connected to a control input o~ the Compact Disc plaver means~ to the buffer means ~nd to the bi-st~ble clo~; means for pausin~ input ~rom the Compact Disc player me~ns into the buf~er means if the huffer means bec~rl~s fuii. .~ccording to one apDroach~ the accordion s~ore lo~ic means first inputs a portion o~ a ~he digital 15 data stream into the buf~er means, then pauses the Compact Disc plaver means, then outputs the portion from the buffer means, and then repeats the fore~oing process until a full the digital data stream ~s selected has been output to the digital amplifier. For "t~lkin~ book" applications and the like, the second sampling rate is 20 about five times faster than the first sampling rate and there are means for artificially adding overtones to each the digital data stre~m whereby more re~listic human speech is recrea~ed from compressed data.
According to one embodiment, the pluralitv of visuallv ~5 recognizable indicia comprises pictures of animals and the sounds comprise sounds made by respective ones of the animals. The preferred version of this embodiment is for birders wherein the animals are birds and the sounds are birdsong.
According to another embodiment, the plurali~ of visually 30 recogni~able indicia comprises pictures of things and concepts and the sounds comprise verbal sounds corresponding to the things and concepts in a human language. ln a more specialized version of this embodiment, the plurality of visually recognizable indicia comprises words describin~ thin~s and concepts in a ~lrst human language and ~'5 the sounds comprise verbal sounds corresponding to the thin~s and WO 91/1753~i PCl'/US91/03168 concepts in a secc)nd human language~ Both these svstems are~ or course, intended primarilv ~or lan~ua_e translation applications~
D~scnption o~ the Dr~wings:
Fia~ure 1 iS a s;mplified drawina de?ic in~ several prior ar ~vstems emploving an optical wand ~r readin~ b~r code t~ ma~;~
sel~ctive inputs to the system.
Figure 2 is a simplified drawin~ of a birdson~ nti~;cation and learning system accordin ~ to the present invention.
a Fi~ure 3 is ~ simplified partial functional block di~gram o~ a pre~rred SongWandtm barcode reader and control input device which could be emploved in the sv~tem of Fi~ure Figure 4 is an e:Ytern ~I vie~v ot the Son~ andtm of Figure 3 in a ~ested embodiment thereo~.
Figure ~ is a simplified func~ion~l block diagram showina one way o~ controlling the CD player accordin_ lo the present invention Figure 6 is a simplified functional block diagram showing another way of controlling the CD player according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a simplified functional block dia~ram showing one way of getting the sounds from the CD plaver according to the present invention.
Figure 8 is a simpliIied functional bloc~ diagram showing another way of getting the sounds from the CD player according to 2 :~ the present invention when the recorded sounds have been compressed.
Figure 9 is a drawing depicting the manner in which the decompressor of the preferred embodiment works~
Figure 10 is a simpli~led functional block diagrarn showin_ a 30 preferred embodiment of the present invention wher~ the recorded sounds have been compressed, the decompression circuitry is included within the CD player, and programming information rel~tive to recorded data is contained with the data on the associated CD disc to be read by the smart ~vand~
WO 91/17~i35 PCI'/US91/03168 ~ a ~ 9 ~
Description of the Preferred Embodiment:
Before beginning~ the description of the present invenlion ~nd its preferred ernbodiment, it should be pointed out that for convenience only and because the svstem h2s be~n built and tested in this form for introduction in the ~uture ~s a commerci~l product~
the description which follows herein~fter is directed to ~ svstem ~r l~rning and id~ntifyin~ the sonos o~ birds (i.e~ bird~on~ s those skilled in the art will re~ reco~nize ~nd appreci~te, the scope and spirit o~ the invention is much l~r-er th~n that limi~d 10 application. Bird pictures and recorded birdson~, could be repl~ceà
with written En_lish words and spoken Spanish equiv~lent words to turn the s~stem into a human lan~uage le~rnin~ andlor tr~nslation svs~em. The audio compression techniques emploved therein could be used to ~ood advant~ge in so-c~lled "t~lkin_ book" svstems a~
employed by the visually h~ndic~pped, and the like. It is, therefore~
the applicant's intent that the claims appended hereto be accorded a breadth in keeping with the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein and that they not be limited in any wav by the choice of a particular example.
In attempting to provide a system which would meet all the stated objectives, the inventor herein was faced with several aspects of the total system for which improved capability had to be provided~ It was first decided that the ~oals of ease of use and providing, of a ''fun'' environment in which to learn called for an 25 interactive system rather than a start and play device~ An interactive system, in turn, called for an e:~sv to use and convenient input device by means of which a user could indicate selections, options~ and the like. AS a basis upon which to build the desired input device, an optical barcode reader was chosem Hand-held 30 barcode readers are, of course, well known in the art. As depicted in Fi~ure 1, the barcode reading wand 10 is scanned across the barcode 1~ to cre~te an output sional on line 1~ reflecting the digits encoded by the barcode 1~. This data can then be employed by a video display system 16 (such as that shown in U.S. patent no 3~ S1, '1~ of Fields), a VCR 13 (sucn 2S emploved bv severa~
presently bein~ sold commerci~llv wirh so-called "on screen' W O 91/t7535 ~ 3 PC~rt~S91103168 .~ s~ .'. ' programming), an inventory system 20 (as seen in use in manv supermarkets)~ or the like, to which the line 1~ is connected as an input. Their use in conjunction with sound and learnin~ systems is~
li~;ewise, not unique as exemplified bv U~S~ patents 4,466,801 (Dittakavi et al.), ~,~49,867 (Dittakavi), ~,~0~,682 ~Thompson), 4,4~7,719 (Dittakavi et al.~ and 4,337,37~ ~Fre~man~. As will be appreciated from ~ review of the above-re~erenced p~tents, the barcode reading wands thereo~ were nothin~ more than passiv~
devices which ~as described abo~ turn a scanned barcode into an 10 ~lectrical si~nal representing the encoded dat~ o~ the barcode. A~
will be seen ~rom the description herein~f~er, the sma~t wand o~ the present invention is ~r from bein~ a passive device~
A Compact Disc ~CD~ was chosen as the pr~ferred recording medium for several major reasons~ First, it is a random access storage device~ Second, there are truly portable pla~ers therefor such as those made bv Sony of Japan~ This was an important aspect with respect to a system intended for the field identification of birds~ A third consideration is that the Sony CD players provided a control input whereby the functions of the CD player could be controlled~ This, of course, was an important consideration relative to an interactive system~ As will be seen later herein, it was also important to being able to increase the storage capability of a single CD disc according to the techniques of the present invention and tO
meel all of the stated objects thereof~
2~ The resultant system is shown in veIy simpli~led form in Fi~ure 2 wherein it is generally indicated as 2~. The system 2~
includes a book '24 h~ving pages 26 therein by means of which the visual portions of the system are defined. In the implemented version of the present invention intended for birdsong recognition, the book 24 is a published fieldguide for birders. Each page 26 includes a plurality of pictures 28 of birds~ Under each picture 28, a a pre-printed barcoded sticker 30 associated with the bird in the picture 28 is aff;xed. The barcode could, of course, be printed on the pa~e if desired. In this particular implementation it was more expedient to employ one of the fine published birdwatchers' fieldguides that are available. The barcoded stickers 30 are ~O 91/17S35 PCI/US9ltO3t68 g ~ ~ ~ ? ~
opticallv sc~nned by a smartwand 3~ in a manner tO be described shortl~,~. The smartvand 3~ is connect~d bv c~ble 31 lo the CD
plaver 36. The CD plaver 36 con~ains a pr~-recorded CD àisc (not shown in this drawina fi_ure) havin_ the birdson_s thereon , according to ~ patt~rn which can be ran~omiv accessed trom th~
data contained on the barcode of a sc~nned sticker 30~ The CD
plaver 36 also h~s an earphone 3~ connected thereto which can be placed over ~ user's ear so as to heqr the birdson,~ pl~ved by the CD player ~. For this particular use~ it is pr~f~rre~ that onlv one ~v ~ar o~ the user be covered so th~t the other ear c~n hear the birdson~ the bird ~or comp~rison purposes. For other applic~tions, a dual~speaker headset m~y be more desirable so as to block out outside distr~ctions; or~ one m~v ~ish to use the ne~v ''open air" headphones which allo~v you to hear outside noises even ~vith the he~dphones on~ With re~rd to birdin_, one mav also want to amplifv the output from the CD plaver 36 sufficiently to drive an actual audio speaker so as to attract birds of a particular species by playing their birdsong.
As stated earlier herein, contrary to prior art devices which ~o use a barcode reading wand as a passive device doing nothing more than inputting scanned data to an intelligent device, in the system '7'~ of the present invention those rolls are reversed~ While the preferred CD player 36 may have c~pabilities over and above those of a standard CD player as will be described later herein~ the basic '5 objects of the present invention can be achieved with a standard commercial CD player. As depicted in _reater detail in Figures 3 and ~, the smart wand 3~ of the svstem '~'~ (referred tO as a Son,~Wandtrn in the birdsong identification system of the inventor herein) includes considerable capability over and above simplv 3 O being able to scan a barcode and produce an electrical signal OUtpUt reflectin~ the encoded data which has been scanned~ The basic smart wand 3~ has an optical read he~d 40 in the tip for scanning over barcodes~ The read head 40 is of any commercial varietv available for such purposes and, per se, is not a point of novel~ of ~, the present invention~ In the usu~l manner, the electrical output o~
he read head 10 is connected as an input tO an amplifier 4~ which ~'10 91/17535 PCI'/US91/03168 ~,~3~'3'~ ~ lo raises the electrical si~nal ~rom the re~d he~d ~0 tO a useable level.
R.~ther th~n simplv being OUtpUt 3S in prior ~rt b~rcode re~din~
wands, however~ the OUtpUt O~ the ~mplifier '~ is connecled :?S an input to di~ital control lo~ic ~. Th~ control logic " h~ ~n OU~pUt ~o which is connected to control the CD pla~ 6 in a manner to be discussed shortlv~ The control lo~ic ~ is also connected to input ~rom the function buttons ~ The function ~uttons '~ ~which in this exemplarv embodiment comprise a Qljl~ button ~0, ~n .~NNOUNCE button j~ ~ RE~E~BER button ~ nd ~ PL~Y
button ~6~ control the manner in which the s!st~m 2~ oper~tes~
which will be described in further detail shortly~ There is also a memor~ i tO which the contrQ! !c~lc ~ is connec~ct'~ I-, e'~e init~
tested embodiment~ the memor ~3 includes F~O~I cont.~inin~ the programs which define the lo~ic o~ the svstem ~2 as ~~ell as RAM
' 5 which holds temporaIv data associated with the mod~ of oper~tion of the system 22 presently in progress. Also depicted in Figure 3 is a read interface 60 which in a preferred and future version of the svstem 2~ will allow the smarl wand 3~ to secure individualized progr~mrrin~ information associated with a CD disc from the disc 20 itself. This too will be discussed in gre~ter detail shortlv~
Before describino the various hardware combinations possible within the scope and spirit of the present ir.vention, the use of the smart wand 3" in its birdi~g ad~ptation will first be described in det~il so th~t the full c~pability and potential of the system '' being ~5 described can be appreciated. In this version, the pre-recorded birdsongs and the associated directorv data on the CD disc are pre-coordinated to the barcodes on the stickers 30. Thus, if the stickers 30 are attached to the pa_es 26 of the book ~ ' in association with the proper bird pictures '~3, the sc~nning thereof will result in the 30 location and playin_ of the proper birdsong for the bird selected. In the culTent version which is in the process of being implememed for commercial sale, the RO~I uses relative addressino and there are three bird discs. The system as being described herein will also wor~ with barcodes th~t have 3bsolute addresses for future discs '5 such as those which mioht be usee~ with a hum~n language system.
The smart wand 3~ ~s impiemented 2110ws the user to employ the WO 91/t7~35 ' 1 2 ~ ~ 2 3 ~ ~Cr/lJS91/03168 runction buttons 48 so as to operale the svstem '~ in various wavs.
The AN~OUNCE button 5~ allows a verbal announcement ~ssociated ~vith each birdsong to be turned ofr and on. In a ie~rnin_ mode, the announcement is turned on. Thus, for e~mple~
the user ~vould he~r an ex~mple ot birdsong followed b~ the description thereo~ such as "English Sp~rrow''~ In an identi~cation mode, the ~nnouncement would be turned ot'f. When the user heard what heishe thou~hl was the birdsong o~ an English Sparrow~
tor example, the En~lish Sparrow barcode would ~e scanned and :~ the birdson-~ plaved without announcQment for comparison purpases~
The RE~IE~IBEF~ button 5~ ~aus~s the barcodes scanned to ~e s;ore~ in the ~/I porlion o~ the memorv ~ A deiav is bullt into the control lo~ic 4-1 so that when the PLAY button ~6 is , pressed~ the CD plaver 36 is not activ~ted immediately~ Thus, the user can de~ress the PLAY button ~ to indicate the item on the pre-scanned list in memory j8 which is to be played. For example, to plav the third item, the PLAY button 56 would be pressed three times in succession. As those skilled in the art will readily 20 appreciate, tbis feature would be particularly useful in a language translating device accordin~g to the present invention. Before going into a restaurant, for example, the traveler could select several items from the ''menu" portion of his~her translation book emploving the smart wand 3~. To retrieve the appropriate foreign worà when in the restaurant, the PLAY button ~6 need only be depressed the proper number of times. The smart wand 3~ could be in the user~s pocket out of si~ht. As c~n be appreciated, the ~nnounce function would probablv want to be on so as to verifv the selection.
.o The QUIZ button ~0 provides an interesting and entertaining le~rning mode for the svstem '~? which would also be useful for human l~ngu~_e learning as well. In the quiz mode, several items are sc~nned into the memory 53 employing the REMEMBER
button ~ Each time the QUIZ button 50 is pressed, the control , logic 1 t randomlv selects one Ot the entries from the list in memorv 5~. The birdsong of the item is piaved, and after a delav to allow WO 91/1753~ PCI'/US91/03168 the user to mentally identifv the bird associaled with the birdsong~
the name is verbally given ~s when the ~nnounce mode is on. ~s those skilled in the art will re~dilv appreci~t~ variation~ could be made on this learnin~ approach if desired~ For e~mpl~, ~rter the items h~ve been scanned into the memorv ~3 and the birdsong o~ ~
random item plaved~ the control ~o_ic ~ coul~ w~it ~or the user to scan the barcode of a stic~er 30 under the picture ~ of the bird believed to be ~ssoci~ted with the birdson-o~ The control lo ~ic "
could then veri~v the choice ~s h~vin~g be~n proper or improper~ .~
those sL;illed in the art will readilv r~co~nize an~ ~ppreciate~ us~r-pro~rammable ~unction buttons ~ould b~ ~ b~ne~cial ~dition tha~
coulà be added in cert~in embodiments of the present invention! i~
desired~ ~dition~l function~ could al~o be de~ined ~or implementation by the activation o~ e.Yisting function buttons in combination and/or in sequence~
Turning now to ~igures ~-9, various hardware combinations and features according to the present invention in various embodiments wiIl now be described~ Figure ~ depicts the control arTangement in a preferred embodiment wherein the CD player 36 20 has an inpùt jack as at 62 into which the output line 46 from the smart wand 3~ can be plugged (using an appropriate plug electrically mounted on the end thereof) so as to provide control inputs to the CD player ~6. .~s mentioned earlier, a portable moàei made by Sony includes this feature~ As those familiar with CD
25 players are aware~ tbe typical CD plaver has buttons on the plaver itself as well as buttons on a remote device by means of which various functions of the player such as PL~Y, PAUSE, SKIP, and STOP can be controlled. By providing the expected signals through the jack 6?~ the smart wand 3? can control the same functions so as 3 0 to provide its various features~
Figure 6 shows how the control of the CD player 36 bv the smart wand 3'~ could be effected where the CD player 36 did not have the control signal input jack 6?~ Such might be the case where a shelf model CD player was emploved to plav a talking book CD
35 disc to the visuallv impaired ln this c~se~ the sm.~rt wand ~~ is connected to a control input j~c!; 6~' of 2n IR tr:~nsmitter 6~. The WO 91/17535 13 ~ ~ ~ 2 3 9 ,~cr/us9l/03168 IR Iransmitter 64 receives the control si~nals from the sm~rl w~nd ~2 and out?uls them as the expec~ed si~als on an IR beam 66 direc~ed inlo the IR control input ~vindow 63 or the CD player 3~.
Figure, depicts Ihe basic wa~ in wnich the sys.em 22 , procuces s~unà plavbac~;~ The sm~rt w:?nd ~'' is c~nn~c~d t~
contr~l the CD pl~yer 36 and the CD plavcr 3~ is connected to the sp~a~;er 70~ .~ those sk;lled in the ar. ~i;l appreciate~ this is ~
simpiifieti repres~ntation only ~nd the CD pl~ver 36 m~v ~riv~ the ~pea~ r ,0 ~irectlv when the spe~Xer 70 is a h~dphon~ devicc :.~ rea~.rinc lo~, po~ er; or, it mav dri~ .;al amplifier 71 ~ctuallv ~rivin~ the spe~er 1O when the spea~;~r ~0 is of ~ ~ind r~quirinC
rnor~ power~ In either case, ~s ~e?icted ~ tever is plaved on the ~D disc ~ithin the CD plaver ~6 is produc~ on the ''s?e~er" 70~
A prererred approach to producin~ sound pl~vback according to 15 the present inver,tion so as to e~ctend th~ ~mount of information that can be contained on a single CD disc is depicted in Fi~ure ~.
In this case, the smart wand 3~ is a~ain connected to control the CD
player 36~ The output from the CD plaver 36, however, is connected as an input to a decompressor 7~ which, in turn, is 20 connected (directly or throuoh a di~ital amplifier) to the speaker 70.
A control output 74 from the decompressor 72 is also connected to control the CD player 36. The decompressor 72 operates as de?icted in Fi~ure 9. Compact disc recordin~ and playbaclc systems we~e developed primarily as high fideli~v music svstems. The data ~5 on a CD disc is in digital form. Thus, at the time of recoràing the analog sound si~nal is tr~nsformed into di~ital data by an analo~-to-di~it~l (A-D) converter. As those skilled in the art know, an A-D
converter samples the incomin_ analo~ sigr~al at spaced intervals to create the di~it~l representation thereor. The faster the A-D
30 converter samples the incoming analo~ si~nal (i.e. the closer the sample points are together), the more accurate the di~ital representation is of the original analog signal. Since it is typically desirable in hi_h fidelity music to record and reproduce sound in a range ~enerallv from 20 Hz to ~0 KHz, it can be appreciated that the .~-D converter used in C~ audio is a high qualitv device that sampies verv rapidlv~ e.~. ".1 KHz. As ~vith all binarv devices.
WO 91/17535 PCI'/US91/03168 st~1' s~e is a limitin_ consideration. The CD disc is no exception. Given its size and packin~ density, it can hold onlv so many bits of digi;al data. At the samplin_ ratP emploved for hi~h fidelirv sound applications, the t~ical CD disc can hold about 7 ' minutes worth of music as a m~ximum. ~ those s};ill~d in the ar;
will readily recognize and appreciate, while the di~ital stora~e medium being~ emploved herein is ~ Compact Disc, the same compression anà decompression techniqu~s bein~ described herein could be used ~ith any digit~l stor~ge m e~iu m, such ~s di~it~ltap~
o It is intended, therefore, that the bre~dth accorded the invention and the appended claims be in accord with the scope ~nd spirit ot ~he invention and no~ be limite~ in ~nv wav bv the use of a par~icular exarnple for convenienc_ onlv~
If one is not interested in hi_h fidelitv, si_niticantly more 15 audio data can be put on a CD disc employin, the technique of the present invention as depicted in Figure 9~ The inventor herein has found that given the tonal range of the typical voice and the portions thereof required to produce acceptable voice reproduction, the A-l~ converter of a typical CD player has a 20 sampling rate which is as least four or ~lve times more than required. Thus, if the data stored on the CD disc were representative of speech sampled say four or five times slower, the CD disc could hold four to six hours of talking This, of course, is dependent on band width~ Telephone grade (~ KHz) requires at 25 least 8 KHz sampling, which is about ~3 times slower yielding about 6~8 hours of plavback time on a CD disc~ Lower qualitv would go even hi~,her~ It is anticipated that one could reasonably go as low as 6 KHz samplin rate which, at 7~3~ times slower, would yield about 9 hours of playbaclc time~ If one were to ~o to sav 4 KHz, the result 30 would be understandable, but not cle~r~ As can be appreciated, this vast increase in playback time from a single CD would be particularly useful in tal~;ing boo~ applications, or the like~ To accomplish this objective, the audio is first recorded in analog form at a first (i.e. slow) speed on a variable s~eed device~ A variable ~5 speed tape r~ecordin~g device is prererred because of its convenience ot use and readv availabilirv~ The diait~l audio si~nal is then , WO 91/1753~ 1 2 a ~ Pcr/US91/03168 recorded in its normal manner using norm~31 equipment with the e~ception that the analog input is plaved back as an input to the CD
audio recording equipment at a second s?eed which is faster than the first speed by the compression factor tO be emploved, say four 5 times ~aster for a four-to-one compression ratio. The di~ital r~cordin~ equipment~ of course, samples al itS normal hiCh rate as part of the A-D conversion process; but~ since the input is four times faster than normal, the sampling takes place ~t four times the spacin~ ~long the incomin~ signaL Thus, the ~t~ on the CD disc 7~ is the ~me as i~ the data were input at normal sp~e~ and s~mpled b~ an A-D converter with one-~ourth the s~mpling r~te~
When played bac~ by the svst~m 2~ employing the ~ompresso~ 7", th~ ~ec~m?ressor 7" ~ r~uyh it~ c~ntrol output ,-1) plays a segment of data from the CD disc 76 into a buffer 7~
15 The CD plaver 36 is then PAUSE'd while the contents of the buffer ~8 is "plaved'' at the original slow spee~ The process is then repeated until the entire portion of the CD disc 76 which is to be played has been played. While a variable speed tape recorder or other analog means could be employed for the buffer 78, since the 20 data from the CD disc 76 is di~ital in nature, it is much cheaper and more convenient to employ a digital buffer having two clock speed inputs connected thereto. Data is clocked into the buffer 78 at a clock speed (CLOCK1) which is matched to the CD player 36.
Data is clocked out of the buffer 78 at a clock speed (CLOCK2) ~s whi~h is matched to the compression ratio. Thus, in the above example, CLOCK1=4CLOCK~. In this manner, the balance of the audio portions of the CD player 36 can be employed.
When used in a talking book environment, one may wish to ~dd several additional features to the system 22 and the 30 d~compressor 72. First, the title of the CD disc could be included as part of the audio data thereof so as to be retrievable by pressin~
a button or combination of buttons on the control wand (which mav or mav not include the optical read head)~ Optionally, a spoken inde~ could be included. Thus, the visually impaired could 3- àeter~ine the contents of a disc withou; having to know braille.
Second~ another button or combina;ion could provide an WO 91/17535 ,~ , PCI'/US91/03168 "electronic bookmark" by storin~ the currem position on the CD
disc into the memolv 53. Thus~ the ''reader'' could re~urn to where heishe left off with e~se. Finally, one mav wish tO artificiall~
reproduce and ~dd in the overtones of the ori~lnal r~cordin~ ~ oice s ~hich were lost ~s a result of the siow sampleà ~-D con~ersion th~;
was emplo~ed to pac~c the compressed dat~ on the CD disc J6~
Such d~ta reconstruction techniqu~s ~re w~ll kno~vn to those ~killed in the audio reproduction ~rt ~nd the implement~tion th~reoi ~vithin the svstem ~ of the present invention coul~ be ac~omplishe~
o ~sily without undue e~perimentation~
Finallv, as presently implemented th~ invention emplo~ ~
~on~entional o~f-the-shel~ C~ pl~ers. This m~ p~o~!e ;o b~ ~he best appro~ch commercially with the ~ustom teatures now tO be ~escribed included parti~lly in the smart w~nd 3~ an~ partiallv in a 15 "black box'' decompressor 7~ sold ~s an accessorv for use with off~
~he-shelf CD plavers~ Alternativelv, however, the CD plaver could be built for speci~lc use with the system of this invention with these additional capabilities built in. Such an approach is depicted in simplified form in Figure 10~ AS depicted, the decompressor 7~ is 20 built into the CD player 36'~ While not specifical]y shown, the digital amplifier 71 could also be included within the CD player 36', if desired. Also, a data line 80 is connected from the CD player 36' back tO the smart wand 3~ where it connects to the read interface 60 of Figure 3 thus pro~iding a feedback si~n~l from ~he CD plaver 25 36' to the control lo~ic 44 This provides considerable flexibilitv tO
the system ~2' of Figure 10~ It will b~ remembered from the descriptions above that the CD àiscs 76 employed therein oniv contained data, that the memo~y 5~ contained the pro~ramming for the sys~m, and tha~ the data on the CD discs 76 and the stickers 30 30 had to be coordinated. With the addition of the feedback provided by the data line 80, the system ~'~' can be general purpose in nature with the ~unctioning bein~ defined on the CD discs 76 loaded therein~ As depicted in Figure 10, the preferred CD discs 76 cont~in both pro~ram and sound à2ta. Such CD discs are alread~
35 used in the computer arts as pro~ram storage media; so, the use thereof for such purpose is not in anà of itsel~ novel. In fact, the WO 91/t7535 PCr/US91/03168 17 ~0~23~3 CD audio standard provides for data channels along side the audio channels to be defined and used for such purposes~ The novelt resides in combinin,~ the pro~,rammin_ ~nd sound d~ta and havin~
the generalized system 2'~' of this invention customize ilself in each case as a function of the CD disc 16 which h~s been loaded therein.
In this manner, the enhanced svstem 2~' is a trulv multi-functional s~stem (such as personal cornputers ~nd the like) which c~n afîord benefits to m~nv members of a familv or other or~anization for multiple purposes~
In addition to the sound ~ssociation and learnin~ functions an~ the e~tended-plav talking book ~ppli~ations possible ~vith the present invention as describ~d abo~Je, the invention is also ad~pt2ble ~r use to provid~ a more in-depth interactive en~ironment for both learning and "audio adventure" applications.
, This is particularly true with a svstem such as the system 2~' o~
Fi ~ure 10 where programming dat~ is included with each Compac~
Disc 76. The smart wand 32 can be employed to provide decisional inputs from the user back to the logic of the program being run.
This could be through barcode sc~nning and/or use of the function 20 buttons 48. As those f~ r with radio before the advent of television will remember, the adventure and other types of pro,~rams supplemented by only sound effects could prove to be much more intriguing when occurring in the listener~s ima~,ination than when reduced tO visual images~ For e?~ample, video games 5 reauire total atten;ion of the player and are desi, ,ned for action and reaction in a pla~ environment which stimulates the player to pay a maximum amount for the continuing experience and challenge. It is a delicate balance ~or the designer to achieve~ If the game is too simple, the player is bored and the "cashbox" is low. If it iS too 3 3 hard, the player ,_ets frustrated and stops playing. Attempts to put player involvement adventure type games such as Dungeons and Dragons onto a video environment have general~y proved to be less than successful because the adventure is subordinated to the action for the above-described profit reasons. The same game . implemented on the present in~,ention, on the other hand, would provid~ rnan~ hours of changing entertainment in a home WQ 91/17535 PCl/US9t/03168 ~; 18 environment once the initial Compact Disc was purchased. Each adventure with the Compact Disc would bP 2 new one ~s the p~ths followed could be changed as a function ot the plaver's decisions along the route. The player could t~ke one fork in the road one , time and the opposite the next resulting in completely di~ferent adventures based on that one decision alone~ The playe~ could also ~ecide to ''picli up'' articles alon_ the path or not when given the opportunitv with the presence or l~ck thereof of given articles ch~n~ing the decision path~ of the ~dventure as well~ The o ''electronic bookmark'' d~scribed above could, of course~ b~
employed to ~llow the plaver to pause in his/her adventure and then resume at a later time~
As applied to a human l~n~ua~e svs.em the interactive aspects of this invention coùld be used to select functions such as "translate'', ''define'', "conju~ate'', ''repeat"~ or anv other aspec~ of language learning and use that one might aslt a language tutor. In this regard, the present invention becomes the next best thing to a human langua~e tutor in that the course of le~rning and use of the language can be set by the needs of the student/user.
Wherefore, having thus described my invention, what is claimed is:
Bac~;ground o~ the Invention:
This invention relates to sound associ~tion and learnin~
s~st~ms for human and anim~l lano~ua~es an~ in particula~ ~o 2 sound association and learnin~ system of Ihe pres~nt in~tention comprising, ~ media havin~ ~ plur~lirv of visu~llv reco~nizable indicia thereon associated with resp~ctive ones of a pluralit~ ot' items to h:~ve sounds associateà therewith; a pluralir~ of scannable ~a barcodes disposed on the media and associated with respective on~s o~ th~ indicia, e~ch of the pluralitv of sc~nnable b2rcodec comprisin~ a unique inde~ in~iC~tinc the on~ of t~e indicia with wh,~h }. is ~ssocia;~, sc;lnrl~.r mr ;lns lor sC~nninC~ àividuai sel~cteà ones or the barcodes to obtain an electrical signal a. ~n 15 OUtpUt thereof containin~ the unique index; a Compact Disc containin a plurality of sounds associated with respective ones ot' the plurality of items, each of the plurality of sounds being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith; Compact Disc player means for playin~ the Compact 20 Disc to output digital data stre~ms reflecting selected ones of the sounds; and, sound reproduction means connected to the Compact Disc player means for reproducing sounàs ~rom the digital da streams.
Sound association and learnin~ systems are not new~ E-en tov companies produce such systems for the very yourl~. For example, a toy pi_ which when squeezed produces an "oink" sound is, in fact, a tvpe of sound association and learning system. Other "tovs'' which have sound association and le~rning capability for small children include a box in which a dial is pointed at the item of 38 interest and' a string pulled to cause a brief recording of the sound produced by the item of interest to be played.
L~n uage le~rning is probably the most important are.~ of interest in this regarà. With the advenl of microcomputer and logic chips, langua e le~rning can be ''computerized" on a scale that will ~'5 literallv fit into one's pocket. ~Vhen in a forei_n countr~, th~
tr~veler can simply type in th~ English ~vord of interesl on a W O 91/17535 PC~r/US91/03168 ~ 2 miniature ke~bo~rd and have the correspondina foreian ~orà
displaved on an alph~numeric displav in ~ d~vice which fils inro the palm ot' th~ h~nd. There ~re ~Iso products pr~sentlv on th~ m~r' ~t h~t accept voice inputs in one lan~ua~e~ t~nsl~t~ to a second l~n uage, ~nd oulput the second lan-~u~o~e ~quiv~l~nt in voice~
There is a v~st di~ference betwe~rl IParnin~ nctu~e throuch the ~vritten word and learnin~ the s~m~ lanc-ua ~ throu~h ~h~ spoken word. This is even more tru~ hen the lan~ua~ o~
interest is a non-human 1ano~uage su~h ~s birdson~.
o TIIere are a number o~ ~vst~ms for learnin~ ''spo~;en" lan-~uaae ~human ar otherwise)~ A learnin_ environm~nt (~ormal or informal~ with a one on-one relati~nshi~ ~et~een. ~tuder.~ and t~.~cher is undoubtedlv the bes.. It is the natural ~ one l~.qrns ~
lang~ua~e as an infant~ Quite often~ however~ it iS not possible or , convenient for one to have such a teachino!learnin~ relationshiD
~ith a native speaker. In such cases, so-called "self-learnin_' have been employed. In years past, recordings on phonograph records were used extensively~ More recently, the audio cassette has replaced the record~ Cassettes, of course, can be played in an autornobile while driving or can be played by one of the small portable players while bilcing, walking, jog .in_, or what have vou.
For many ye~rs (and in many cases still todav) such self-learnin~
svstems are simply rote svstems wherein the En_lish word or phrase is first pronounced by the recording and then the corresponding ~5 word or phase is pronounced one or two times followed by a pause during which the student can pronounce it aloud.
Recently, lan~ua.e learnin~ systems have been made available which attempt to make language learning a more pleasant ~nd enjoyable task (and therefore easier in which to maintain an interest). While better than the older systems, thev are still held bac~ bv the limitations of the cassette recordings that thev employ.
While random access sound recording devices are available in the recording art, they have not been incorporated into the art of language learnin~ and recognition.
Most recordin~ methods and associated apparatus are also e~tremel~, limited in the ~mount oî data which can be p Ut on 2 ~VO 91/1753~ ~ ~ ,'; s? 3 9 ~ PCl/US91/03168 single recording medium. This is ~articularly limiling in portabie equipment such as the language translator mentioned above.
Wherefore, it iS an object of the pr~sent invention to pro~ià~
a sound recognition and learnin~ system which is eqsv anà
5 enjoyable tO use so as to stimulate the le~rnin ~ e~peri~nce~
It is another object of the preserlt invention to provide a sound recognition and learning system which is particularlv useful for the le~rnin~ of human and non-human l~n-ouaoes~
It is still another object of the pres~nt in~ention to provide a o sound reco~nition and learning, system useful for human ~nà non-human lan~uages which emplo~s mo~ern technolo~ includin r~ndom acc~ss recordin~ devices.
Il is yel ~notner object ot the present invention to ~rovide 2 sound reco~nition and learnin~ s~stem useful for hum~n and non-15 human languages which permits extended recordin~ of dat~ on asingle recording medium.
Other objects and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows hereinafter when taken in coniunction with the drawin~ figures 20 which accompany it.
Summarv:
The foregoin~ objects have been achieved by the sound association and learning system of the present invention comprising, a media having a piurality of visually recognizable indicia thereon ~ssociated with respective ones of a plurality of items to have sounds associated therewith; a plurality of scannable barcodes disposed on the media and associated wirh respective ones of the indicia, each of the plurality of scannable barcodes comprising a 30 unique index indicating the one of the indicia with which it is associated; scanner means for scanning individual selected ones of the barcodes to obtain an electrical signal at an o~tput thereof containing the unique index; a Compact Disc containing a plurality of sounds associated with respective ones of the plurali~v of items, ~5 each of the plurality of sounds being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith; Compact Disc plaver WO 91~17S35 PCI'/US91/03168 means for playing the Compact Disc to output digital data s~reams reflecting selected ones of the sounds: and~ sound reproàuction means connected to the Compact Disc plaver means for reproducing sounds from the dig~tal data streams~
The pret'erred scanner me~ns comprises a hanà-held wand ha~ing an optical scanrler in a sc~nnin~ ~n~ thereof. A~ditionally, the wand includes memory me~ns for storin~, a pluralitv of the barcodes after indi~idual scannin, thereof and s~lector means ~or manually selectin~ ones o~ the bar~odes in the memory means for which the associated sound is to be reproduceà~ Pr~er~blv, the selector means comprises ~ first manua.llv activate~ble switch and there is logic means ~or sensing acti~ation of the first m~nuall~
acti~ateable switch, for accessing the memor~.~ mP~ns~ and for c~usin~ the associated the sound to ~e reproduced. Also 15 preferably, there is a second manually activateable switch and the logic means includes means for sensin~ the seconà manuallv activatea~le switch and for storing a scanned barcode in a next available position on a list in the memoIy means when the second manually activateable switch is activated.
~o To increase the capabi~ity of the system, the Compact Disc includes control information thereon; there is read interface means connected to the Compact Disc player means and the memory means for inputting digital control data from the Compact Disc into the memory means; and, the lo~,ic means includes reprogramable 25 logic means for executing lo_ic sequences determined by the digital control data whereby the sound association and learning system can be a general system which is specialized by diaital control data added to respective ones of a plurality of specialized Compact Discs~
In one version, the sound reproduction means comprises an earphone to be worn by a user of the system. In another version, the sound reproduction means comprises an audio speaker and a digital amplifier connected to drive the audio speaker~
To obtain desired data compression for certain applications, 35 the sounds on the Compact Disc are di~itized sounds created bv samplin_ analog sounds at a first sampling rate and then storing WO 91/1~535 PCl'/US91/03168 S ~0~239~
them on the Compact Disc as if sampled at a second samplin~ rate which is faster than the ~irst samplin~ r~te. Further, the sound reproduction means includes, dicital bu~fer means Ior receiving th~
di~ital data streams ~rom the Compact Disc pl~yer me~ns ~nd for outputtin~ revised digital data str~ams lo the di_it~l amplifier, an~
bi-stable cloc~; me~ns connected to the buff~r means for inputtin~
the digital dat~ streams ~t the sec3nd samplina r~ and for outputting the di~ital data stre~m~ ~s r~vise~ di~it~l data streams a~
the first samplin~ rate. There is ~ls~ accordion store lo~ic means connected to a control input o~ the Compact Disc plaver means~ to the buffer means ~nd to the bi-st~ble clo~; means for pausin~ input ~rom the Compact Disc player me~ns into the buf~er means if the huffer means bec~rl~s fuii. .~ccording to one apDroach~ the accordion s~ore lo~ic means first inputs a portion o~ a ~he digital 15 data stream into the buf~er means, then pauses the Compact Disc plaver means, then outputs the portion from the buffer means, and then repeats the fore~oing process until a full the digital data stream ~s selected has been output to the digital amplifier. For "t~lkin~ book" applications and the like, the second sampling rate is 20 about five times faster than the first sampling rate and there are means for artificially adding overtones to each the digital data stre~m whereby more re~listic human speech is recrea~ed from compressed data.
According to one embodiment, the pluralitv of visuallv ~5 recognizable indicia comprises pictures of animals and the sounds comprise sounds made by respective ones of the animals. The preferred version of this embodiment is for birders wherein the animals are birds and the sounds are birdsong.
According to another embodiment, the plurali~ of visually 30 recogni~able indicia comprises pictures of things and concepts and the sounds comprise verbal sounds corresponding to the things and concepts in a human language. ln a more specialized version of this embodiment, the plurality of visually recognizable indicia comprises words describin~ thin~s and concepts in a ~lrst human language and ~'5 the sounds comprise verbal sounds corresponding to the thin~s and WO 91/1753~i PCl'/US91/03168 concepts in a secc)nd human language~ Both these svstems are~ or course, intended primarilv ~or lan~ua_e translation applications~
D~scnption o~ the Dr~wings:
Fia~ure 1 iS a s;mplified drawina de?ic in~ several prior ar ~vstems emploving an optical wand ~r readin~ b~r code t~ ma~;~
sel~ctive inputs to the system.
Figure 2 is a simplified drawin~ of a birdson~ nti~;cation and learning system accordin ~ to the present invention.
a Fi~ure 3 is ~ simplified partial functional block di~gram o~ a pre~rred SongWandtm barcode reader and control input device which could be emploved in the sv~tem of Fi~ure Figure 4 is an e:Ytern ~I vie~v ot the Son~ andtm of Figure 3 in a ~ested embodiment thereo~.
Figure ~ is a simplified func~ion~l block diagram showina one way o~ controlling the CD player accordin_ lo the present invention Figure 6 is a simplified functional block diagram showing another way of controlling the CD player according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a simplified functional block dia~ram showing one way of getting the sounds from the CD plaver according to the present invention.
Figure 8 is a simpliIied functional bloc~ diagram showing another way of getting the sounds from the CD player according to 2 :~ the present invention when the recorded sounds have been compressed.
Figure 9 is a drawing depicting the manner in which the decompressor of the preferred embodiment works~
Figure 10 is a simpli~led functional block diagrarn showin_ a 30 preferred embodiment of the present invention wher~ the recorded sounds have been compressed, the decompression circuitry is included within the CD player, and programming information rel~tive to recorded data is contained with the data on the associated CD disc to be read by the smart ~vand~
WO 91/17~i35 PCI'/US91/03168 ~ a ~ 9 ~
Description of the Preferred Embodiment:
Before beginning~ the description of the present invenlion ~nd its preferred ernbodiment, it should be pointed out that for convenience only and because the svstem h2s be~n built and tested in this form for introduction in the ~uture ~s a commerci~l product~
the description which follows herein~fter is directed to ~ svstem ~r l~rning and id~ntifyin~ the sonos o~ birds (i.e~ bird~on~ s those skilled in the art will re~ reco~nize ~nd appreci~te, the scope and spirit o~ the invention is much l~r-er th~n that limi~d 10 application. Bird pictures and recorded birdson~, could be repl~ceà
with written En_lish words and spoken Spanish equiv~lent words to turn the s~stem into a human lan~uage le~rnin~ andlor tr~nslation svs~em. The audio compression techniques emploved therein could be used to ~ood advant~ge in so-c~lled "t~lkin_ book" svstems a~
employed by the visually h~ndic~pped, and the like. It is, therefore~
the applicant's intent that the claims appended hereto be accorded a breadth in keeping with the scope and spirit of the invention disclosed herein and that they not be limited in any wav by the choice of a particular example.
In attempting to provide a system which would meet all the stated objectives, the inventor herein was faced with several aspects of the total system for which improved capability had to be provided~ It was first decided that the ~oals of ease of use and providing, of a ''fun'' environment in which to learn called for an 25 interactive system rather than a start and play device~ An interactive system, in turn, called for an e:~sv to use and convenient input device by means of which a user could indicate selections, options~ and the like. AS a basis upon which to build the desired input device, an optical barcode reader was chosem Hand-held 30 barcode readers are, of course, well known in the art. As depicted in Fi~ure 1, the barcode reading wand 10 is scanned across the barcode 1~ to cre~te an output sional on line 1~ reflecting the digits encoded by the barcode 1~. This data can then be employed by a video display system 16 (such as that shown in U.S. patent no 3~ S1, '1~ of Fields), a VCR 13 (sucn 2S emploved bv severa~
presently bein~ sold commerci~llv wirh so-called "on screen' W O 91/t7535 ~ 3 PC~rt~S91103168 .~ s~ .'. ' programming), an inventory system 20 (as seen in use in manv supermarkets)~ or the like, to which the line 1~ is connected as an input. Their use in conjunction with sound and learnin~ systems is~
li~;ewise, not unique as exemplified bv U~S~ patents 4,466,801 (Dittakavi et al.), ~,~49,867 (Dittakavi), ~,~0~,682 ~Thompson), 4,4~7,719 (Dittakavi et al.~ and 4,337,37~ ~Fre~man~. As will be appreciated from ~ review of the above-re~erenced p~tents, the barcode reading wands thereo~ were nothin~ more than passiv~
devices which ~as described abo~ turn a scanned barcode into an 10 ~lectrical si~nal representing the encoded dat~ o~ the barcode. A~
will be seen ~rom the description herein~f~er, the sma~t wand o~ the present invention is ~r from bein~ a passive device~
A Compact Disc ~CD~ was chosen as the pr~ferred recording medium for several major reasons~ First, it is a random access storage device~ Second, there are truly portable pla~ers therefor such as those made bv Sony of Japan~ This was an important aspect with respect to a system intended for the field identification of birds~ A third consideration is that the Sony CD players provided a control input whereby the functions of the CD player could be controlled~ This, of course, was an important consideration relative to an interactive system~ As will be seen later herein, it was also important to being able to increase the storage capability of a single CD disc according to the techniques of the present invention and tO
meel all of the stated objects thereof~
2~ The resultant system is shown in veIy simpli~led form in Fi~ure 2 wherein it is generally indicated as 2~. The system 2~
includes a book '24 h~ving pages 26 therein by means of which the visual portions of the system are defined. In the implemented version of the present invention intended for birdsong recognition, the book 24 is a published fieldguide for birders. Each page 26 includes a plurality of pictures 28 of birds~ Under each picture 28, a a pre-printed barcoded sticker 30 associated with the bird in the picture 28 is aff;xed. The barcode could, of course, be printed on the pa~e if desired. In this particular implementation it was more expedient to employ one of the fine published birdwatchers' fieldguides that are available. The barcoded stickers 30 are ~O 91/17S35 PCI/US9ltO3t68 g ~ ~ ~ ? ~
opticallv sc~nned by a smartwand 3~ in a manner tO be described shortl~,~. The smartvand 3~ is connect~d bv c~ble 31 lo the CD
plaver 36. The CD plaver 36 con~ains a pr~-recorded CD àisc (not shown in this drawina fi_ure) havin_ the birdson_s thereon , according to ~ patt~rn which can be ran~omiv accessed trom th~
data contained on the barcode of a sc~nned sticker 30~ The CD
plaver 36 also h~s an earphone 3~ connected thereto which can be placed over ~ user's ear so as to heqr the birdson,~ pl~ved by the CD player ~. For this particular use~ it is pr~f~rre~ that onlv one ~v ~ar o~ the user be covered so th~t the other ear c~n hear the birdson~ the bird ~or comp~rison purposes. For other applic~tions, a dual~speaker headset m~y be more desirable so as to block out outside distr~ctions; or~ one m~v ~ish to use the ne~v ''open air" headphones which allo~v you to hear outside noises even ~vith the he~dphones on~ With re~rd to birdin_, one mav also want to amplifv the output from the CD plaver 36 sufficiently to drive an actual audio speaker so as to attract birds of a particular species by playing their birdsong.
As stated earlier herein, contrary to prior art devices which ~o use a barcode reading wand as a passive device doing nothing more than inputting scanned data to an intelligent device, in the system '7'~ of the present invention those rolls are reversed~ While the preferred CD player 36 may have c~pabilities over and above those of a standard CD player as will be described later herein~ the basic '5 objects of the present invention can be achieved with a standard commercial CD player. As depicted in _reater detail in Figures 3 and ~, the smart wand 3~ of the svstem '~'~ (referred tO as a Son,~Wandtrn in the birdsong identification system of the inventor herein) includes considerable capability over and above simplv 3 O being able to scan a barcode and produce an electrical signal OUtpUt reflectin~ the encoded data which has been scanned~ The basic smart wand 3~ has an optical read he~d 40 in the tip for scanning over barcodes~ The read head 40 is of any commercial varietv available for such purposes and, per se, is not a point of novel~ of ~, the present invention~ In the usu~l manner, the electrical output o~
he read head 10 is connected as an input tO an amplifier 4~ which ~'10 91/17535 PCI'/US91/03168 ~,~3~'3'~ ~ lo raises the electrical si~nal ~rom the re~d he~d ~0 tO a useable level.
R.~ther th~n simplv being OUtpUt 3S in prior ~rt b~rcode re~din~
wands, however~ the OUtpUt O~ the ~mplifier '~ is connecled :?S an input to di~ital control lo~ic ~. Th~ control logic " h~ ~n OU~pUt ~o which is connected to control the CD pla~ 6 in a manner to be discussed shortlv~ The control lo~ic ~ is also connected to input ~rom the function buttons ~ The function ~uttons '~ ~which in this exemplarv embodiment comprise a Qljl~ button ~0, ~n .~NNOUNCE button j~ ~ RE~E~BER button ~ nd ~ PL~Y
button ~6~ control the manner in which the s!st~m 2~ oper~tes~
which will be described in further detail shortly~ There is also a memor~ i tO which the contrQ! !c~lc ~ is connec~ct'~ I-, e'~e init~
tested embodiment~ the memor ~3 includes F~O~I cont.~inin~ the programs which define the lo~ic o~ the svstem ~2 as ~~ell as RAM
' 5 which holds temporaIv data associated with the mod~ of oper~tion of the system 22 presently in progress. Also depicted in Figure 3 is a read interface 60 which in a preferred and future version of the svstem 2~ will allow the smarl wand 3~ to secure individualized progr~mrrin~ information associated with a CD disc from the disc 20 itself. This too will be discussed in gre~ter detail shortlv~
Before describino the various hardware combinations possible within the scope and spirit of the present ir.vention, the use of the smart wand 3" in its birdi~g ad~ptation will first be described in det~il so th~t the full c~pability and potential of the system '' being ~5 described can be appreciated. In this version, the pre-recorded birdsongs and the associated directorv data on the CD disc are pre-coordinated to the barcodes on the stickers 30. Thus, if the stickers 30 are attached to the pa_es 26 of the book ~ ' in association with the proper bird pictures '~3, the sc~nning thereof will result in the 30 location and playin_ of the proper birdsong for the bird selected. In the culTent version which is in the process of being implememed for commercial sale, the RO~I uses relative addressino and there are three bird discs. The system as being described herein will also wor~ with barcodes th~t have 3bsolute addresses for future discs '5 such as those which mioht be usee~ with a hum~n language system.
The smart wand 3~ ~s impiemented 2110ws the user to employ the WO 91/t7~35 ' 1 2 ~ ~ 2 3 ~ ~Cr/lJS91/03168 runction buttons 48 so as to operale the svstem '~ in various wavs.
The AN~OUNCE button 5~ allows a verbal announcement ~ssociated ~vith each birdsong to be turned ofr and on. In a ie~rnin_ mode, the announcement is turned on. Thus, for e~mple~
the user ~vould he~r an ex~mple ot birdsong followed b~ the description thereo~ such as "English Sp~rrow''~ In an identi~cation mode, the ~nnouncement would be turned ot'f. When the user heard what heishe thou~hl was the birdsong o~ an English Sparrow~
tor example, the En~lish Sparrow barcode would ~e scanned and :~ the birdson-~ plaved without announcQment for comparison purpases~
The RE~IE~IBEF~ button 5~ ~aus~s the barcodes scanned to ~e s;ore~ in the ~/I porlion o~ the memorv ~ A deiav is bullt into the control lo~ic 4-1 so that when the PLAY button ~6 is , pressed~ the CD plaver 36 is not activ~ted immediately~ Thus, the user can de~ress the PLAY button ~ to indicate the item on the pre-scanned list in memory j8 which is to be played. For example, to plav the third item, the PLAY button 56 would be pressed three times in succession. As those skilled in the art will readily 20 appreciate, tbis feature would be particularly useful in a language translating device accordin~g to the present invention. Before going into a restaurant, for example, the traveler could select several items from the ''menu" portion of his~her translation book emploving the smart wand 3~. To retrieve the appropriate foreign worà when in the restaurant, the PLAY button ~6 need only be depressed the proper number of times. The smart wand 3~ could be in the user~s pocket out of si~ht. As c~n be appreciated, the ~nnounce function would probablv want to be on so as to verifv the selection.
.o The QUIZ button ~0 provides an interesting and entertaining le~rning mode for the svstem '~? which would also be useful for human l~ngu~_e learning as well. In the quiz mode, several items are sc~nned into the memory 53 employing the REMEMBER
button ~ Each time the QUIZ button 50 is pressed, the control , logic 1 t randomlv selects one Ot the entries from the list in memorv 5~. The birdsong of the item is piaved, and after a delav to allow WO 91/1753~ PCI'/US91/03168 the user to mentally identifv the bird associaled with the birdsong~
the name is verbally given ~s when the ~nnounce mode is on. ~s those skilled in the art will re~dilv appreci~t~ variation~ could be made on this learnin~ approach if desired~ For e~mpl~, ~rter the items h~ve been scanned into the memorv ~3 and the birdsong o~ ~
random item plaved~ the control ~o_ic ~ coul~ w~it ~or the user to scan the barcode of a stic~er 30 under the picture ~ of the bird believed to be ~ssoci~ted with the birdson-o~ The control lo ~ic "
could then veri~v the choice ~s h~vin~g be~n proper or improper~ .~
those sL;illed in the art will readilv r~co~nize an~ ~ppreciate~ us~r-pro~rammable ~unction buttons ~ould b~ ~ b~ne~cial ~dition tha~
coulà be added in cert~in embodiments of the present invention! i~
desired~ ~dition~l function~ could al~o be de~ined ~or implementation by the activation o~ e.Yisting function buttons in combination and/or in sequence~
Turning now to ~igures ~-9, various hardware combinations and features according to the present invention in various embodiments wiIl now be described~ Figure ~ depicts the control arTangement in a preferred embodiment wherein the CD player 36 20 has an inpùt jack as at 62 into which the output line 46 from the smart wand 3~ can be plugged (using an appropriate plug electrically mounted on the end thereof) so as to provide control inputs to the CD player ~6. .~s mentioned earlier, a portable moàei made by Sony includes this feature~ As those familiar with CD
25 players are aware~ tbe typical CD plaver has buttons on the plaver itself as well as buttons on a remote device by means of which various functions of the player such as PL~Y, PAUSE, SKIP, and STOP can be controlled. By providing the expected signals through the jack 6?~ the smart wand 3? can control the same functions so as 3 0 to provide its various features~
Figure 6 shows how the control of the CD player 36 bv the smart wand 3'~ could be effected where the CD player 36 did not have the control signal input jack 6?~ Such might be the case where a shelf model CD player was emploved to plav a talking book CD
35 disc to the visuallv impaired ln this c~se~ the sm.~rt wand ~~ is connected to a control input j~c!; 6~' of 2n IR tr:~nsmitter 6~. The WO 91/17535 13 ~ ~ ~ 2 3 9 ,~cr/us9l/03168 IR Iransmitter 64 receives the control si~nals from the sm~rl w~nd ~2 and out?uls them as the expec~ed si~als on an IR beam 66 direc~ed inlo the IR control input ~vindow 63 or the CD player 3~.
Figure, depicts Ihe basic wa~ in wnich the sys.em 22 , procuces s~unà plavbac~;~ The sm~rt w:?nd ~'' is c~nn~c~d t~
contr~l the CD pl~yer 36 and the CD plavcr 3~ is connected to the sp~a~;er 70~ .~ those sk;lled in the ar. ~i;l appreciate~ this is ~
simpiifieti repres~ntation only ~nd the CD pl~ver 36 m~v ~riv~ the ~pea~ r ,0 ~irectlv when the spe~Xer 70 is a h~dphon~ devicc :.~ rea~.rinc lo~, po~ er; or, it mav dri~ .;al amplifier 71 ~ctuallv ~rivin~ the spe~er 1O when the spea~;~r ~0 is of ~ ~ind r~quirinC
rnor~ power~ In either case, ~s ~e?icted ~ tever is plaved on the ~D disc ~ithin the CD plaver ~6 is produc~ on the ''s?e~er" 70~
A prererred approach to producin~ sound pl~vback according to 15 the present inver,tion so as to e~ctend th~ ~mount of information that can be contained on a single CD disc is depicted in Fi~ure ~.
In this case, the smart wand 3~ is a~ain connected to control the CD
player 36~ The output from the CD plaver 36, however, is connected as an input to a decompressor 7~ which, in turn, is 20 connected (directly or throuoh a di~ital amplifier) to the speaker 70.
A control output 74 from the decompressor 72 is also connected to control the CD player 36. The decompressor 72 operates as de?icted in Fi~ure 9. Compact disc recordin~ and playbaclc systems we~e developed primarily as high fideli~v music svstems. The data ~5 on a CD disc is in digital form. Thus, at the time of recoràing the analog sound si~nal is tr~nsformed into di~ital data by an analo~-to-di~it~l (A-D) converter. As those skilled in the art know, an A-D
converter samples the incomin_ analo~ sigr~al at spaced intervals to create the di~it~l representation thereor. The faster the A-D
30 converter samples the incoming analo~ si~nal (i.e. the closer the sample points are together), the more accurate the di~ital representation is of the original analog signal. Since it is typically desirable in hi_h fidelity music to record and reproduce sound in a range ~enerallv from 20 Hz to ~0 KHz, it can be appreciated that the .~-D converter used in C~ audio is a high qualitv device that sampies verv rapidlv~ e.~. ".1 KHz. As ~vith all binarv devices.
WO 91/17535 PCI'/US91/03168 st~1' s~e is a limitin_ consideration. The CD disc is no exception. Given its size and packin~ density, it can hold onlv so many bits of digi;al data. At the samplin_ ratP emploved for hi~h fidelirv sound applications, the t~ical CD disc can hold about 7 ' minutes worth of music as a m~ximum. ~ those s};ill~d in the ar;
will readily recognize and appreciate, while the di~ital stora~e medium being~ emploved herein is ~ Compact Disc, the same compression anà decompression techniqu~s bein~ described herein could be used ~ith any digit~l stor~ge m e~iu m, such ~s di~it~ltap~
o It is intended, therefore, that the bre~dth accorded the invention and the appended claims be in accord with the scope ~nd spirit ot ~he invention and no~ be limite~ in ~nv wav bv the use of a par~icular exarnple for convenienc_ onlv~
If one is not interested in hi_h fidelitv, si_niticantly more 15 audio data can be put on a CD disc employin, the technique of the present invention as depicted in Figure 9~ The inventor herein has found that given the tonal range of the typical voice and the portions thereof required to produce acceptable voice reproduction, the A-l~ converter of a typical CD player has a 20 sampling rate which is as least four or ~lve times more than required. Thus, if the data stored on the CD disc were representative of speech sampled say four or five times slower, the CD disc could hold four to six hours of talking This, of course, is dependent on band width~ Telephone grade (~ KHz) requires at 25 least 8 KHz sampling, which is about ~3 times slower yielding about 6~8 hours of plavback time on a CD disc~ Lower qualitv would go even hi~,her~ It is anticipated that one could reasonably go as low as 6 KHz samplin rate which, at 7~3~ times slower, would yield about 9 hours of playbaclc time~ If one were to ~o to sav 4 KHz, the result 30 would be understandable, but not cle~r~ As can be appreciated, this vast increase in playback time from a single CD would be particularly useful in tal~;ing boo~ applications, or the like~ To accomplish this objective, the audio is first recorded in analog form at a first (i.e. slow) speed on a variable s~eed device~ A variable ~5 speed tape r~ecordin~g device is prererred because of its convenience ot use and readv availabilirv~ The diait~l audio si~nal is then , WO 91/1753~ 1 2 a ~ Pcr/US91/03168 recorded in its normal manner using norm~31 equipment with the e~ception that the analog input is plaved back as an input to the CD
audio recording equipment at a second s?eed which is faster than the first speed by the compression factor tO be emploved, say four 5 times ~aster for a four-to-one compression ratio. The di~ital r~cordin~ equipment~ of course, samples al itS normal hiCh rate as part of the A-D conversion process; but~ since the input is four times faster than normal, the sampling takes place ~t four times the spacin~ ~long the incomin~ signaL Thus, the ~t~ on the CD disc 7~ is the ~me as i~ the data were input at normal sp~e~ and s~mpled b~ an A-D converter with one-~ourth the s~mpling r~te~
When played bac~ by the svst~m 2~ employing the ~ompresso~ 7", th~ ~ec~m?ressor 7" ~ r~uyh it~ c~ntrol output ,-1) plays a segment of data from the CD disc 76 into a buffer 7~
15 The CD plaver 36 is then PAUSE'd while the contents of the buffer ~8 is "plaved'' at the original slow spee~ The process is then repeated until the entire portion of the CD disc 76 which is to be played has been played. While a variable speed tape recorder or other analog means could be employed for the buffer 78, since the 20 data from the CD disc 76 is di~ital in nature, it is much cheaper and more convenient to employ a digital buffer having two clock speed inputs connected thereto. Data is clocked into the buffer 78 at a clock speed (CLOCK1) which is matched to the CD player 36.
Data is clocked out of the buffer 78 at a clock speed (CLOCK2) ~s whi~h is matched to the compression ratio. Thus, in the above example, CLOCK1=4CLOCK~. In this manner, the balance of the audio portions of the CD player 36 can be employed.
When used in a talking book environment, one may wish to ~dd several additional features to the system 22 and the 30 d~compressor 72. First, the title of the CD disc could be included as part of the audio data thereof so as to be retrievable by pressin~
a button or combination of buttons on the control wand (which mav or mav not include the optical read head)~ Optionally, a spoken inde~ could be included. Thus, the visually impaired could 3- àeter~ine the contents of a disc withou; having to know braille.
Second~ another button or combina;ion could provide an WO 91/17535 ,~ , PCI'/US91/03168 "electronic bookmark" by storin~ the currem position on the CD
disc into the memolv 53. Thus~ the ''reader'' could re~urn to where heishe left off with e~se. Finally, one mav wish tO artificiall~
reproduce and ~dd in the overtones of the ori~lnal r~cordin~ ~ oice s ~hich were lost ~s a result of the siow sampleà ~-D con~ersion th~;
was emplo~ed to pac~c the compressed dat~ on the CD disc J6~
Such d~ta reconstruction techniqu~s ~re w~ll kno~vn to those ~killed in the audio reproduction ~rt ~nd the implement~tion th~reoi ~vithin the svstem ~ of the present invention coul~ be ac~omplishe~
o ~sily without undue e~perimentation~
Finallv, as presently implemented th~ invention emplo~ ~
~on~entional o~f-the-shel~ C~ pl~ers. This m~ p~o~!e ;o b~ ~he best appro~ch commercially with the ~ustom teatures now tO be ~escribed included parti~lly in the smart w~nd 3~ an~ partiallv in a 15 "black box'' decompressor 7~ sold ~s an accessorv for use with off~
~he-shelf CD plavers~ Alternativelv, however, the CD plaver could be built for speci~lc use with the system of this invention with these additional capabilities built in. Such an approach is depicted in simplified form in Figure 10~ AS depicted, the decompressor 7~ is 20 built into the CD player 36'~ While not specifical]y shown, the digital amplifier 71 could also be included within the CD player 36', if desired. Also, a data line 80 is connected from the CD player 36' back tO the smart wand 3~ where it connects to the read interface 60 of Figure 3 thus pro~iding a feedback si~n~l from ~he CD plaver 25 36' to the control lo~ic 44 This provides considerable flexibilitv tO
the system ~2' of Figure 10~ It will b~ remembered from the descriptions above that the CD àiscs 76 employed therein oniv contained data, that the memo~y 5~ contained the pro~ramming for the sys~m, and tha~ the data on the CD discs 76 and the stickers 30 30 had to be coordinated. With the addition of the feedback provided by the data line 80, the system ~'~' can be general purpose in nature with the ~unctioning bein~ defined on the CD discs 76 loaded therein~ As depicted in Figure 10, the preferred CD discs 76 cont~in both pro~ram and sound à2ta. Such CD discs are alread~
35 used in the computer arts as pro~ram storage media; so, the use thereof for such purpose is not in anà of itsel~ novel. In fact, the WO 91/t7535 PCr/US91/03168 17 ~0~23~3 CD audio standard provides for data channels along side the audio channels to be defined and used for such purposes~ The novelt resides in combinin,~ the pro~,rammin_ ~nd sound d~ta and havin~
the generalized system 2'~' of this invention customize ilself in each case as a function of the CD disc 16 which h~s been loaded therein.
In this manner, the enhanced svstem 2~' is a trulv multi-functional s~stem (such as personal cornputers ~nd the like) which c~n afîord benefits to m~nv members of a familv or other or~anization for multiple purposes~
In addition to the sound ~ssociation and learnin~ functions an~ the e~tended-plav talking book ~ppli~ations possible ~vith the present invention as describ~d abo~Je, the invention is also ad~pt2ble ~r use to provid~ a more in-depth interactive en~ironment for both learning and "audio adventure" applications.
, This is particularly true with a svstem such as the system 2~' o~
Fi ~ure 10 where programming dat~ is included with each Compac~
Disc 76. The smart wand 32 can be employed to provide decisional inputs from the user back to the logic of the program being run.
This could be through barcode sc~nning and/or use of the function 20 buttons 48. As those f~ r with radio before the advent of television will remember, the adventure and other types of pro,~rams supplemented by only sound effects could prove to be much more intriguing when occurring in the listener~s ima~,ination than when reduced tO visual images~ For e?~ample, video games 5 reauire total atten;ion of the player and are desi, ,ned for action and reaction in a pla~ environment which stimulates the player to pay a maximum amount for the continuing experience and challenge. It is a delicate balance ~or the designer to achieve~ If the game is too simple, the player is bored and the "cashbox" is low. If it iS too 3 3 hard, the player ,_ets frustrated and stops playing. Attempts to put player involvement adventure type games such as Dungeons and Dragons onto a video environment have general~y proved to be less than successful because the adventure is subordinated to the action for the above-described profit reasons. The same game . implemented on the present in~,ention, on the other hand, would provid~ rnan~ hours of changing entertainment in a home WQ 91/17535 PCl/US9t/03168 ~; 18 environment once the initial Compact Disc was purchased. Each adventure with the Compact Disc would bP 2 new one ~s the p~ths followed could be changed as a function ot the plaver's decisions along the route. The player could t~ke one fork in the road one , time and the opposite the next resulting in completely di~ferent adventures based on that one decision alone~ The playe~ could also ~ecide to ''picli up'' articles alon_ the path or not when given the opportunitv with the presence or l~ck thereof of given articles ch~n~ing the decision path~ of the ~dventure as well~ The o ''electronic bookmark'' d~scribed above could, of course~ b~
employed to ~llow the plaver to pause in his/her adventure and then resume at a later time~
As applied to a human l~n~ua~e svs.em the interactive aspects of this invention coùld be used to select functions such as "translate'', ''define'', "conju~ate'', ''repeat"~ or anv other aspec~ of language learning and use that one might aslt a language tutor. In this regard, the present invention becomes the next best thing to a human langua~e tutor in that the course of le~rning and use of the language can be set by the needs of the student/user.
Wherefore, having thus described my invention, what is claimed is:
Claims (13)
1. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system comprising:
a) a media (26) having a plurality of visually recognizable indicia (28) thereon symbolizing respective ones of a plurality of items to have sounds associated therewith;
b) a plurality of scannable barcodes (30) disposed on said media (26) and associated with respective ones of said indicia (28), each of said plurality of scannable barcodes (30) comprising a unique index indicating the one of said indicia (28) that symbolizes the item with which it is associated;
c) scanner means (32) for scanning individual selected ones of said barcodes (30) to obtain an electrical signal at an output thereof containing said unique index;
d) a random access digital storage means (76) containing a plurality of sounds associated with respective ones of said plurality of items, each of said plurality of sounds being individually addressable by means of a said unique index associated therewith;
e) random access digital storage player means (36) for playing said random access digital storage means (76) to output digital data streams reflecting selected ones of said sounds;
f) sound reproduction means (38, 70) connected to said random access digital storage player means (36) for reproducing sounds from said digital data streams;
g) logic means (44) for receiving and decoding said scannable barcodes (30) and controlling said random access digital storage player means (36) thereby causing a selected sound to be reproduced through said sound reproduction means (38, 70); and h) memory means (58) for storing data used by said logic means (44);
characterized in that the logic means (44) is programmed to execute logic sequences; said random access digital storage means (76) including control information;
and read interface means (60) is provided between the random access digital storage player means (36) and the logic means (44) by which the control information on the random access digital storage means (76) may be downloaded to the memory means (58) to alter the logic sequences; and said logic means (44) including reprogrammable logic means for executing logic sequences determined by said control information whereby said sound storage and retrieval system can be a general system which is specialized by control information carried by respective ones of a plurality of specialized random access digital storage means (76).
a) a media (26) having a plurality of visually recognizable indicia (28) thereon symbolizing respective ones of a plurality of items to have sounds associated therewith;
b) a plurality of scannable barcodes (30) disposed on said media (26) and associated with respective ones of said indicia (28), each of said plurality of scannable barcodes (30) comprising a unique index indicating the one of said indicia (28) that symbolizes the item with which it is associated;
c) scanner means (32) for scanning individual selected ones of said barcodes (30) to obtain an electrical signal at an output thereof containing said unique index;
d) a random access digital storage means (76) containing a plurality of sounds associated with respective ones of said plurality of items, each of said plurality of sounds being individually addressable by means of a said unique index associated therewith;
e) random access digital storage player means (36) for playing said random access digital storage means (76) to output digital data streams reflecting selected ones of said sounds;
f) sound reproduction means (38, 70) connected to said random access digital storage player means (36) for reproducing sounds from said digital data streams;
g) logic means (44) for receiving and decoding said scannable barcodes (30) and controlling said random access digital storage player means (36) thereby causing a selected sound to be reproduced through said sound reproduction means (38, 70); and h) memory means (58) for storing data used by said logic means (44);
characterized in that the logic means (44) is programmed to execute logic sequences; said random access digital storage means (76) including control information;
and read interface means (60) is provided between the random access digital storage player means (36) and the logic means (44) by which the control information on the random access digital storage means (76) may be downloaded to the memory means (58) to alter the logic sequences; and said logic means (44) including reprogrammable logic means for executing logic sequences determined by said control information whereby said sound storage and retrieval system can be a general system which is specialized by control information carried by respective ones of a plurality of specialized random access digital storage means (76).
2. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to claim 1 characterized in that the random access digital storage means (76) is a Compact Disc and the random access digital storage player means (36) is a Compact Disc player means.
3. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said selector means (48) includes one or more switches (50, 52, 54, 56) for manual activation by a user to indicate a selection of options.
4. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to claim 3 characterized in that said selector means (48) includes a first manually activatable switch (50, 52, 56) said logic means (44) sensing activation of said first manually activatable switch (50, 52, 56) and accessing said memory means (58) to cause said associated sound to be reproduced.
5. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to claim 3 or 4 characterized in that the selector means (48) comprises a second manually activatable switch (54); and wherein, said logic means (44) includes means or sensing said second manually activatable switch (54) and for storing a scanned barcode (30) in a next available position on a list in said memory means (58) when said second manually activatable switch (54) is activated.
6. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that said sounds on said random access digital storage means (76) are digitized sounds created by sampling analog sounds at a first sampling rate and then storing them on said random access digital storage means (76) as if sampled at a second sampling rate which is faster than said first sampling rate.
7. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to claim 6 characterized in that said sound reproduction means (70) includes, a) digital buffer means (78) for receiving said digital data streams from said random access digital storage player means (36) and for outputting revised digital data streams to a digital amplifier (71), and b) bi-stable clock means (CLK1, CLK2) connected to said buffer means (78) for inputting said digital data streams at said second sampling rate and or outputting said digital data streams as revised digital data streams at said first sampling rate.
8. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to claim 6 or 7 characterized in that accordion store logic means is connected to a control input of said random access digital storage player means (36), to said buffer means (78) and said bi-stable clock means (CLK1, CLK2) for pausing input from said random access digital storage player means (36) into said buffer means (78) if said buffer means (78) becomes full.
9. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to claim 8 characterized in that said accordion store logic means first inputs a portion of a said digital data stream into said buffer means (78) then pauses said player means (36), then outputs said portion from said buffer means (78), and then repeats the foregoing process until a full digital data stream as selected has been output to said digital amplifier (71).
10. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to any one of claims 6 to 9 characterized in that said second sampling rate is at least five times faster than said first sampling rate.
11. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to any one of claims 6 to 10 characterized in that means is provided for artificially adding overtones to each said digital data stream whereby more realistic human speech is recreated from compressed data.
12. An interactive digital sound storage and retrieval system according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that said logic means (44) is arranged to; store data indicative of the current position on said random access digital storage means (76) in said memory means (58) upon actuation of a first manually activated switch (50, 52, 54, 56); and retrieve said data from the memory means (58) and restart the system at said current position on said random access digital storage means (76) upon actuation of a second manually activated switch (50, 52, 54, 56).
13. An interactive audio system for performing interactive applications programs comprising:
a) a Compact Disc containing a plurality of soundtracks, each of said plurality of soundtracks containing sounds associated with an applications program and being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith, said Compact Disc further including applications program control information thereon;
b) Compact Disc player means for playing said Compact Disc to output digital data streams reflecting selected ones of said soundtracks;
c) sound reproduction means connected to said Compact Disc player means for reproducing selected one of said soundtracks from said digital data streams;
d) memory means for receiving and holding applications program control information;
e) read interface means connected to said Compact Disc player means and said memory means for inputting digital applications program control information from said Compact Disc into said memory means;
f) user selection input means for allowing a user to indicate selections of options contained within an application program; and g) logic means for sensing selections of options by a user through said user selection input means, for accessing said memory means, and for selecting and causing a said associated said soundtrack to be reproduced, said logic means including reprogramming logic means for executing logic sequences determined by said applications program control information in said memory means whereby the interactive audio system can be a general system which is specialized by digital applications program control information added to respective ones of a plurality of specialized Compact Discs.
a) a Compact Disc containing a plurality of soundtracks, each of said plurality of soundtracks containing sounds associated with an applications program and being individually addressable by means of a unique index associated therewith, said Compact Disc further including applications program control information thereon;
b) Compact Disc player means for playing said Compact Disc to output digital data streams reflecting selected ones of said soundtracks;
c) sound reproduction means connected to said Compact Disc player means for reproducing selected one of said soundtracks from said digital data streams;
d) memory means for receiving and holding applications program control information;
e) read interface means connected to said Compact Disc player means and said memory means for inputting digital applications program control information from said Compact Disc into said memory means;
f) user selection input means for allowing a user to indicate selections of options contained within an application program; and g) logic means for sensing selections of options by a user through said user selection input means, for accessing said memory means, and for selecting and causing a said associated said soundtrack to be reproduced, said logic means including reprogramming logic means for executing logic sequences determined by said applications program control information in said memory means whereby the interactive audio system can be a general system which is specialized by digital applications program control information added to respective ones of a plurality of specialized Compact Discs.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/520,765 US5059126A (en) | 1990-05-09 | 1990-05-09 | Sound association and learning system |
| US520,765 | 1990-05-09 | ||
| PCT/US1991/003168 WO1991017535A1 (en) | 1990-05-09 | 1991-05-08 | Sound association and learning system |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2082393A1 CA2082393A1 (en) | 1991-11-10 |
| CA2082393C true CA2082393C (en) | 1999-07-27 |
Family
ID=24073969
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002082393A Expired - Fee Related CA2082393C (en) | 1990-05-09 | 1991-05-08 | Sound association and learning system |
Country Status (9)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5059126A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0527911B1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPH05507160A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR0169324B1 (en) |
| AT (1) | ATE149723T1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU7884091A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2082393C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE69125000T2 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1991017535A1 (en) |
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| US20130046541A1 (en) * | 2011-08-19 | 2013-02-21 | Ronald L. Klein | Apparatus for assisting visually impaired persons to identify persons and objects and method for operation thereof |
| CN107977390B (en) * | 2017-03-09 | 2021-10-26 | 北京物灵智能科技有限公司 | Method, device and system for identifying picture book and electronic equipment |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3744150A (en) * | 1972-01-03 | 1973-07-10 | Mattel Inc | Sound illustrated book |
| GB1525691A (en) * | 1974-08-27 | 1978-09-20 | Dolby Laboratories Inc | Reproduction of optical sound tracks |
| US4124943A (en) * | 1975-09-25 | 1978-11-14 | Mitchell Beazley Encyclopedias, Ltd. | Audio visual information system |
| NL7904469A (en) * | 1979-06-07 | 1980-12-09 | Philips Nv | DEVICE FOR READING A PRINTED CODE AND CONVERTING IT TO AN AUDIO SIGNAL. |
| US4457719A (en) * | 1982-05-25 | 1984-07-03 | Texas Instruments Incorporated | Electronic learning aid for providing sequencing and spelling exercises |
| US4481412A (en) * | 1982-06-21 | 1984-11-06 | Fields Craig I | Interactive videodisc training system with bar code access |
| US4570250A (en) * | 1983-05-18 | 1986-02-11 | Cbs Inc. | Optical sound-reproducing apparatus |
| EP0155970B1 (en) * | 1983-09-09 | 1991-08-07 | Sony Corporation | Apparatus for reproducing audio signal |
| WO1987006752A1 (en) * | 1986-05-01 | 1987-11-05 | Trevor Gwilym Lloyd | Language teaching apparatus |
| US4841132A (en) * | 1986-07-21 | 1989-06-20 | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Program recording scheduling apparatus using an optical reader |
| GB2201028B (en) * | 1987-02-09 | 1991-05-01 | Pioneer Electronic Corp | Method and apparatus for controlling data recording medium playback apparatus |
| CA1301313C (en) * | 1987-02-20 | 1992-05-19 | Lorne A. Parker | Method and apparatus for producing an audio magnetic tape recording at high speed from a preselected music library |
| FR2633424A1 (en) * | 1988-06-24 | 1989-12-29 | Verin Georges | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRODUCING INTERACTIVE SCENARIOS USING AUDIOVISUAL INFORMATION AND MATERIAL FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROCESS |
-
1990
- 1990-05-09 US US07/520,765 patent/US5059126A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1991
- 1991-05-08 WO PCT/US1991/003168 patent/WO1991017535A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1991-05-08 CA CA002082393A patent/CA2082393C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1991-05-08 EP EP91909869A patent/EP0527911B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1991-05-08 DE DE69125000T patent/DE69125000T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1991-05-08 AU AU78840/91A patent/AU7884091A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1991-05-08 KR KR1019920702795A patent/KR0169324B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1991-05-08 JP JP91509850A patent/JPH05507160A/en active Pending
- 1991-05-08 AT AT91909869T patent/ATE149723T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0527911B1 (en) | 1997-03-05 |
| AU7884091A (en) | 1991-11-27 |
| CA2082393A1 (en) | 1991-11-10 |
| JPH05507160A (en) | 1993-10-14 |
| EP0527911A1 (en) | 1993-02-24 |
| US5059126A (en) | 1991-10-22 |
| DE69125000D1 (en) | 1997-04-10 |
| KR0169324B1 (en) | 1999-01-15 |
| DE69125000T2 (en) | 1997-10-09 |
| WO1991017535A1 (en) | 1991-11-14 |
| ATE149723T1 (en) | 1997-03-15 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| MKLA | Lapsed |