Patent Publication Number: US-6661407-B2

Title: Communication system with interchangeable overlays

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to augmentive communication devices and more specifically it relates to a communication system with interchangeable overlays for recording and playing audio data corresponding to graphical and/or textual elements on an overlay wherein the audio data is stored upon the overlay. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Augmentative communication devices that allow individuals with a speaking disability to communicate have been in use for years. Augmentative communication devices are typically utilized to assist individuals with speaking disabilities to communicate to others. With most devices commercially available, audio or visual information is controlled by the user. There are two main types of communications devices on the market: visual output and audio output. Visual output devices include mechanical pointers, phrase books, picture symbol books, and CRT or LCD displays. Audio output included recorded speech, sound, or synthesized speech for indicating user choices, phrases and sentences to other people. There are also devices available that combine visual output and audio output that will not be discussed. 
     A commonly utilized communication system involves the usage of a communication device having a touch pad which utilizes various overlays. Each overlay includes a plurality of “items” such as pictures or text. When the user positions an overlay upon the communication device, the user must directly input to the communication device an identifier describing the overlay that is currently being utilized. When an individual presses upon an item or area of the overlay, the communication device accesses its memory to play the associated sound, word or sentence. 
     While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for providing an incrementally expandable and diverse storage capacity that can be utilized upon various communication devices. Conventional communication devices do not allow for the recording of structure data and audio data stored upon a removable overlay and require difficult programming for a user to utilize the devices. 
     In these respects, the communication system with interchangeable overlays according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing an incrementally expandable and diverse storage capacity that can be utilized upon various communication devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of augmentive communication devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new communication system with interchangeable overlays construction wherein the same can be utilized for providing an incrementally expandable and diverse storage capacity that can be utilized upon various communication devices. 
     The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new communication system with interchangeable overlays that has many of the advantages of the augmentive communication devices mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new communication system with interchangeable overlays which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art augmentive communication devices, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
     To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a communication device having a touch pad integrated within, an overlay removably positionable within the communication unit, and a control unit attached to the overlay. An interface within the control unit allows communication with the communication unit when the overlay is positioned upon the touch pad. The control unit has two main types of recordable data contained within: “structure data” for identifying one or more elements upon the overlay, and “audio data” that corresponds to the elements of the overlay. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     A primary object of the present invention is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices. 
     A second object is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays for providing an incrementally expandable and diverse storage capacity that can be utilized upon various communication devices. 
     Another object is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays that eliminates the need to coordinate stored structure and audio data with an overlay when changing overlays within a communication device. 
     An additional object is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays that can be utilized as a communication tool, learning aid, or an entertainment device. 
     A further object is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays that allow for a wide variety of elements comprised of graphics and/or textual. 
     Another object is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays that allows for an overlay to be reutilized with different elements and structures without requiring the purchase of separate overlay. 
     A further object is to provide a communication system with interchangeable overlays that is programmable. 
     Another object is to provide a communication system that does not require a user to program or set the communication unit according to the overlay to be utilized. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention. 
     To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded upper perspective view of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is an upper perspective view of an overlay being positioned within the communication unit. 
     FIG. 3 is an upper perspective view of an overlay being positioned within the communication unit. 
     FIG. 4 is an upper perspective view of an overlay positioned within the communication unit. 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the overlay positioned within the communication unit. 
     FIG. 6 is an upper perspective view of an overlay. 
     FIG. 7 is a magnified cutaway upper perspective view of the communication port. 
     FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the programming of the control unit positioned upon the communication unit. 
     FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the playing of audio data corresponding to selected items upon the overlay. 
     FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the downloading of printable element information, corresponding structure data and corresponding audio data. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIGS. 1 through 11 illustrate a communication system with interchangeable overlays  10 , which comprises a communication device having a touch pad  21  integrated within, one or more overlays  30  removably positionable within the communication unit  20 , and a control unit  40  attached to the overlay  30 . An interface  42  within the control unit  40  allows communication with the communication unit  20  when the overlay  30  is positioned upon the touch pad  21 . The control unit  40  has two main types of recordable data contained within: “structure data” for identifying one or more elements  32  upon the overlay  30 , and “audio data” that corresponds to the elements  32  of the overlay  30 . 
     The communication unit  20  preferably includes a housing structure that may have various shapes, sizes and structures as can be appreciated by one skilled in the art. The communication unit  20  preferably is comprised of a portable structure, however non-portable structures may also be utilized to construct the communication unit  20 . The communication unit  20  is the central unit for receiving, reading and programming each of the overlays  30  as desired by a user. The communication unit  20  preferably includes a keypad  24 , a display  22 , touch pad  21 , microphone  60  and speaker  70  contained within. 
     The communication unit  20  preferably includes a microprocessor, a memory bus, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a peripheral bus, and a keypad  24  controller as is commonly found upon conventional computers today. The microprocessor is a general purpose digital processor which controls the operation of the communication unit  20 . Microprocessor can be a single-chip processor or implemented with multiple components. Using instructions retrieved from memory within the control unit  40 , microprocessor controls the reception and manipulations of input data and the output and display  22  and play of data on output devices. 
     The memory bus is used by microprocessor to access RAM and ROM. RAM is used by microprocessor as a general storage area and as scratch-pad memory, and can also be used to store input data and processed data. ROM can be used to store instructions or program code followed by microprocessor as well as other data. 
     Peripheral bus is used to access the input, output and storage devices used by the communication unit  20 . In the described embodiment(s), these devices include a computer monitor, a printer device, a floppy disk drive, a hard disk drive, and a network interface. A keyboard controller is used to receive input from a standard keyboard and send decoded symbols for each pressed key to microprocessor over the bus. 
     The display  22  is an output device that displays  22  images of data provided by the microprocessor via the peripheral bus or provided by other components in the computer system. The printer device when operating as a printer provides an image on a sheet  34  of paper or a similar surface. Other output devices such as a plotter, typesetter, etc. can be utilized in place of, or in addition to, the printer device. 
     The floppy disk drive and the hard disk drive can be utilized to store various types of data. The floppy disk drive facilitates transporting such data to other computer systems, and the hard disk drive permits fast access to large amounts of stored data. The microprocessor together with an operating system operate to execute computer code and produce and use data. The computer code and data may reside on RAM, ROM, hard disk drive and the control unit  40 . 
     The network interface circuit is utilized to send and receive data over a network connected to other computer systems. An interface card or similar device and appropriate software implemented by microprocessor can be utilized to connect the communication unit  20  to an existing network and transfer data according to standard protocols. 
     The communication unit  20  includes a cavity  26  within for removably receiving an overlay  30  as best illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings. An upper groove and a lower groove within the cavity  26  receive the upper and lower portions of the overlay  30 . A cutout  28  within the communication unit  20  allows for an individual to retrieve an overlay  30  positioned within the communication unit  20 . 
     The touch pad  21  is positioned within the cavity  26  for reading the position of an item touching the touch pad  21  with the overlay  30  positioned over the touch pad  21 . The touch pad  21  preferably operates upon the detection of increased pressure points upon the touch pad  21 , however various other touch pad  21  technologies may also be utilized within the present invention that operate with an overlay  30  positioned over the touch pad  21 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings, a microphone  60  and a speaker  70  are preferably positioned within the communication unit  20  though it can be appreciated these devices may be positioned externally. The microphone  60  allows for a user to record audio data upon memory within the control unit  40  and may be comprised of any standard microphone  60  structure. The speaker  70  emits audio from audio data contained upon the control unit  40  that corresponds to an element  32  of the overlay  30  selected by a user. The speaker  70  may be comprised of any standard speaker  70  structure. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 of the drawings, the overlay  30  is a generally planar structure having a bar member  36  and a sheet  34  extending from the bar member  36 . The sheet  34  may be preprinted with the elements  32 , written or printed upon with conventional instruments/devices, or receive a printed piece of paper. The control unit  40  is attached to the bar member  36  as further shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 of the drawings. The bar member  36  is preferably rigid in structure while the sheet  34  is preferably flexible and resilient for allowing insertion into the cavity  26  of the communication unit  20 . It can be appreciated that various other structures utilized to receive overlays  30  may be utilized within the communication unit  20  and overlay  30  for the present invention. 
     The overlay  30  may have various shapes and sizes as can be appreciated. FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate a rectangular overlay  30 , however various other shapes may be utilized to construct the overlay  30 . The elements  32  of the overlay  30  may be arranged in columns and rows as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings. It can be appreciated that the element  32  or elements  32  may be organized in various other structures and designs. The physical location and shape of each element  32  upon the overlay  30  is “structure data” that identifies each of the elements  32 . In addition, the overlay may include elements  32  on the first side and the second side of the overlay that relate to different items thereby allowing the overlay  30  to be “flipped” to an opposing side to display new elements  32 . The control unit  40  communicates to the communication unit  20  the relative position of the overlay  30  within the communication unit  20 . The structure data for each overlay  30  is stored solely within the control unit  40  of the overlay  30 . The elements  32  of the overlay  30  may consist of graphical designs and/or textual. 
     The control unit  40  is attached to the bar member  36  as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 of the drawings. The control unit  40  contains the “structure data” and the “audio data” for the specific overlay  30  that the control unit  40  is attached to. The control unit  40  may be constructed of any integrated circuit (IC) design having memory. An interface  42  within the control unit  40  allows electronic communications to occur between the communication unit  20  when the overlay  30  is properly positioned within the communication unit  20 . It can be appreciated that the communication unit  20  is capable of connecting with the interface  42  regardless of whether the first side or second side of the overlay  30  is face up. 
     The memory utilized within the control unit  40  may be comprised of any combination of random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). The control unit  40  preferably utilizes EEPROM for storing structure data and audio data associated with the elements  32  of an overlay  30 . 
     The control unit  40  may be programmed within the communication unit  20  to relate structure data to audio data. The structure data stored upon the control unit  40  may be permanent with respect to preset structures such as a grid-structure having a set number of columns and rows. However, the structure data stored upon the control unit  40  may also be programmable within the communication unit  20  to allow for the defining of elements  32  having uneven perimeters such as pictures, objects and graphical designs. Each individual element  32  may be programmed by the user “tracing” the perimeter of each element  32  with their finger or an object. After the element  32  has been identified, the corresponding audio may then be recorded upon the control unit  40  through the microphone  60 . 
     In use, the user positions the overlay  30  into the communication unit  20  as shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings. The user then selects or traces an element  32  that is to have audio data recorded for. Once the element  32  is selected or traced, the user then records the audio that is to be associated with the selected/traced element  32 . The structure data and the audio data corresponding to the element  32  is thereafter recorded upon the programmable memory within the control unit  40 . This process continues until all elements  32  have had their respective structure data and audio data properly recorded as illustrated with FIG. 9 of the drawings. Once the overlay  30  has been properly programmed with the necessary structure data and audio data, when the user positions the overlay  30  into the communication unit  20  the interface  42  of the control unit  40  electrically mates with and communicates with the communication unit  20 . When the user presses upon a specific item of the overlay  30 , the touch pad  21  identifies the specific location upon the overlay  30  and accesses the audio data upon the control unit  40  that corresponds to the selected element  32  as defined by the structure data stored upon the control unit  40  as illustrated in FIG. 10 of the drawings. The audio data is then played via the speaker  70  for the user and others to hear thereby allowing the user to communicate with others. For example, if the elements  32  of the overlay  30  comprise a face having a head, ears, eyes, nose and a mouth, if the user selects the nose the phrase “nose” may be played via the speaker  70  along with any additional audio information. If the user removes the first overlay  30  and inserts a second overlay  30  having a different set of elements  32  positioned upon, the structure data and the audio data contained upon the second overlay  30  are preferably preprogrammed into the control unit  40  to allow the user to immediately begin usage of the second overlay  30 . In addition, the first overlay  30  may be transferred to a second communication unit  20  and be usable without requiring programming of the second communication unit  20 . 
     In addition to manually programming the control unit  40  and manually modifying the elements  32  upon the overlay  30 , structure and audio data may be downloaded via a global computer network such as the Internet as illustrated in FIG. 11 of the drawings. This data may be directly recorded upon the control unit  40  as received. In addition, printouts and other graphical tools may be utilized to create the elements  32  for the overlay  30  and may be directly attached to the sheet  34  of the overlay  30 . Various other methods may be utilized to program the present invention. 
     As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed to be within the expertise of those skilled in the art, and all equivalent structural variations and relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Index of Elements for Communication System With 
               
               
                 Interchangeable Overlays 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                   
                 □ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS 
               
               
                   
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                 □10. Communication System With Interchangeable Overlays 
               
               
                   
                 □11. 
               
               
                   
                 □12. 
               
               
                   
                 □13. 
               
               
                   
                 □14. 
               
               
                   
                 □15. 
               
               
                   
                 □16. 
               
               
                   
                 □17. 
               
               
                   
                 □18. 
               
               
                   
                 □19. 
               
               
                   
                 □20. Communication Unit 
               
               
                   
                 □21. TouchPad 
               
               
                   
                 □22. Display 
               
               
                   
                 □23. 
               
               
                   
                 □24. Keypad 
               
               
                   
                 □25. 
               
               
                   
                 □26. Cavity 
               
               
                   
                 □27. 
               
               
                   
                 □28. Cutout 
               
               
                   
                 □29. 
               
               
                   
                 □30. Overlay 
               
               
                   
                 □31. 
               
               
                   
                 □32. Element 
               
               
                   
                 □33. 
               
               
                   
                 □34. Sheet 
               
               
                   
                 □35. 
               
               
                   
                 □36. Bar Member 
               
               
                   
                 □37. 
               
               
                   
                 □38. 
               
               
                   
                 □39. 
               
               
                   
                 □40. Control Unit 
               
               
                   
                 □41. 
               
               
                   
                 □42. Interface 
               
               
                   
                 □43. 
               
               
                   
                 □44. 
               
               
                   
                 □45. 
               
               
                   
                 □46. 
               
               
                   
                 □47. 
               
               
                   
                 □48. 
               
               
                   
                 □49. 
               
               
                   
                 □50. 
               
               
                   
                 □51. 
               
               
                   
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                 □53. 
               
               
                   
                 □54. 
               
               
                   
                 □55. 
               
               
                   
                 □56. 
               
               
                   
                 □57. 
               
               
                   
                 □58. 
               
               
                   
                 □59. 
               
               
                   
                 □60. Microphone 
               
               
                   
                 □61. 
               
               
                   
                 □62. 
               
               
                   
                 □63. 
               
               
                   
                 □64. 
               
               
                   
                 □65. 
               
               
                   
                 □66. 
               
               
                   
                 □67. 
               
               
                   
                 □68. 
               
               
                   
                 □69. 
               
               
                   
                 □70. Speaker 
               
               
                   
                 □71. 
               
               
                   
                 □72. 
               
               
                   
                 □73. 
               
               
                   
                 □74. 
               
               
                   
                 □75. 
               
               
                   
                 □76. 
               
               
                   
                 □77. 
               
               
                   
                 □78. 
               
               
                   
                 □79.