Patent Publication Number: US-2011048842-A1

Title: System, device and method for providing audible sounds from a surface

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Embodiments of the present subject matter generally relate to a device, system and method for reproducing sound. It is desirable in many cases to integrate sound information into everyday life. For example, printed products such as magazines, packages, books, greeting cards and the like may provide a sound track that gives the printed product an additional function as a sound reproducing apparatus thereby supplementing any visual information with acoustic information. 
     For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,306, entitled, “Book with Talking Pages,” and U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,680, entitled, “Sound Illustrated Book,” generally discloses a sound track incorporated into the pages of the book by embossing or affixing a stiff material of paper or plastic onto the page, the material having etchings being perpendicular to the direction of travel of a sound reader, e.g., a fingernail, zipper mechanism or other reader. Other similar references also include U.S. Pat. No. 695,159, entitled, “Apparatus for Reproducing Sounds,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,926, entitled “Embossed Sound Track,” and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2004/0074799, entitled, “Pouch with Sound Strip,” each of which provide similar compressible or multilayered sound strips. Each of these listed references are incompatible with producing sound in a more environmentally challenging scenario such as the production of sound for vehicular traffic. 
     Other references have addressed this need. For example, Japanese Pat. Pub. No. JP02008401, entitled, “Acoustic Road,” generally discloses a system having trench zones and flat zones, each of which are perpendicular to the travel of a wheeled vehicle. Each of these trench zones has a shape corresponding to a desired sound and content volume in a specified unit length. The flat zones are formed among the trench zones and correspond to a desired rhythm. Thus, when a vehicle travels on a pavement surface having these trench zones at a predetermined speed, music only in the form of tones may be produced. Because of limitations in its design, this reference, however, cannot be utilized to verbally instruct or direct occupants or users of a vehicle or provide advertisements thereto. Recordings of the human voice and more exact audio reproductions than just tones are not possible. 
     Thus, there is an unmet need to provide directions, instructions, warnings, advertisements, and other verbal/musical sounds to occupants or users of wheeled vehicles. 
     SUMMARY  
     One embodiment of the present subject matter provides a device for reproducing sound. The device may include an elongated strip of material having a ridge substantially extending the length and width thereof, where the elevation of the ridge varies along the length of the elongated strip to produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling substantially along the length of the elongated strip. 
     Another embodiment of the present subject matter may provide another device for reproducing sound. The device may include an elongated strip of material having a channel substantially extending down the length of the elongated strip, where a portion of the channel varies elevationally and laterally to produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling substantially along the length of the elongated strip. 
     A further embodiment of the present subject matter provides a system for reproducing sound. The system may include a surface having a first channel etched therein, and an elongated strip of material affixed in the first channel. The elongated strip may include a second channel substantially extending down the length and width of the elongated strip where the second channel varies elevationally along the length of the elongated strip to produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling substantially along the length of the elongated strip. 
     One embodiment of the present subject matter provides another system for reproducing sound. The system may include a surface having a first channel etched therein, and an elongated strip of material affixed in the first channel. The elongated strip may have a second channel substantially extending down the length the elongated strip where the second channel varies elevationally and laterally to produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling substantially along the length of the elongated strip. 
     Another embodiment of the present subject matter provides a method for reproducing sound. The method may comprise providing a surface upon which vehicular traffic can travel, and affixing an elongated strip of material to the surface. The elongated strip may include a ridge substantially extending the length and width of the elongated strip, where the ridge has an elevation varying along the length of the elongated strip. The method may also comprise producing sound when the elongated strip is contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling along the length of the elongated strip. 
     An additional embodiment of the present subject matter provides a method for reproducing sound. The method may comprise providing a surface upon which vehicular traffic can travel, and embedding an elongated strip of material into the surface. The elongated strip may include a channel substantially extending the length of the elongated strip where the channel has a trough that varies elevationally by a plurality of gradual rises and falls along the length of the elongated strip and has one or more walls that vary laterally by a plurality of gradual excursions and incursions out from or towards a longitudinal centerline of the channel along the length of the elongated strip. The method may also comprise producing sound when the elongated strip is contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling along the length of the elongated strip. 
     These embodiments and many other objects and advantages thereof will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various aspects of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying exemplary non-limiting embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective representation of one embodiment of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 2   a  is a cross section of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  along line X-X. 
         FIG. 2   b  is a cross section of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  along line Y-Y. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective representation of another embodiment of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective representation of a further embodiment of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective representation of another embodiment of the present subject matter. 
         FIGS. 6   a - 6   c  are top plan depictions of a plurality of exemplary channels placed side-by-side. 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram depicting a further embodiment of the present subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to the figures where like elements have been given like numerical designations to facilitate an understanding of the present subject matter, the various embodiments of a system, device and method for providing audible sounds from a surface are herein described. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective representation of one embodiment of the present subject matter.  FIG. 2   a  is a cross section of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  along line X-X, and  FIG. 2   b  is a cross section of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  along line Y-Y. With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2   a  and  2   b,  one embodiment of the present subject matter may be a device  100  having a predetermined length (L), width (W) and height (H). In one non-limiting embodiment, the length of an exemplary device may be approximately fifty feet, the width approximately two and one half feet and the height approximately five inches. Of course, these dimensions are exemplary only and should not limit the scope of the claims appended herewith as varying dimensions are envisioned for embodiments of the present subject matter depending upon the advertisements, warnings, etc. requested by users of the device  100 . By way of further example, embodiments of the present subject matter may provide an exemplary width as wide as an average tire or twice as wide as an average tire. Additionally, some embodiments of the present subject matter may be spread across entire lanes of a road or surface to, for example, notify occupants of a vehicle of an oncoming toll booth, hazard, etc. Further, the more profound the height of an exemplary device from the base thereof, the louder the emanating sound. Thus embodiments of the present subject matter may utilize the tires of a vehicle as a speaker and/or as a means to reverberate the oscillations received by the vehicle. It is also envisioned that, depending upon the type of vehicle expected on a particular surface, e.g., car, truck or bus on a roadway, Segway on a sidewalk, airplane on a landing strip, etc., the width of the respective device may change as a function of the average tire width and/or the series of elevations and/or depressions in or on the device may change in frequency as a function of the average speed of the respective vehicle. It should be noted that for vehicles having two or more axles, an echo may be produced during travel over embodiments of the present subject matter; however, these echoes are reduced at higher speeds. 
     With continued reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2   a  and  2   b,  the device  100  may be an elongated strip or belt of material having a raised portion or ridge  105  with a series  110  of elevations  112  and depressions  114  extending along the length of the device  100 . An exemplary material may be, but is not limited to, a substantially incompressible material. Such materials may be, for example, aluminum, steel, other metals, polymers, concrete, asphalt and combinations thereof. Of course, the beginning  120  and/or terminus  130  of the series  110  may be provided with a bevel  122  to prevent any disturbing crack or noise upon contact by a travelling wheel. The raised portion or ridge  105  extends both along the length and width of the device  100 ; however, the elevation of the ridge  105  may vary only with respect to the length of the device rather than the width. The series  110  of elevations  112  and depressions  114  may be designed to produce predetermined sounds such as a voice, chordal music, a melody, both a voice and melody, an advertisement, a warning, directions, and combinations thereof; in essence, absolutely any previously recorded material may be reproduced using embodiments of the present subject matter. Thus, the elevations  112  and depressions  114  may vary by a plurality of gradual and/or sharp rises and falls along the length of the device  100 . 
     These prerecorded sounds may be audible to occupants and users of wheeled vehicles having one or more wheels in contact with the device  100 . Additionally, as the wheeled vehicle varies its speed, the frequency of any produced sound may also vary with the speed of the vehicle. Thus, it is envisioned that speed signs or other visual informative signals may be provided on respective portions of a roadway or sidewalk to alert users of vehicles of a proper speed to hear the auditory directions, advertisements, etc. 
     The device  100  may be affixed to a substantially planar surface  140  using a bonding mechanism such as, but not limited to, adhesives, glues, spikes, bolts, other mechanical fasteners, etc. Exemplary surfaces  140  may be, but are not limited to, a sidewalk, roadway, landing strip, or other surface contacted by wheeled vehicles such as a car, Segway, truck, bus, airplane, etc. While not shown, the device  100  may include an elongated substrate, such as a polymer substrate, intermediate the device  100  and surface  140  to which the device  100  is affixed. This substrate may act as an interface between the device  100  and surface  140  and account for any differences in thermal expansion and contraction between the device and surface materials. In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the device  100  may be embedded in the surface  140 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective representation of another embodiment of the present subject matter. With reference to  FIG. 3 , the embodiment may include a surface  340  having a first channel  342  etched therein where a device  300  is affixed in the first channel  342 . The device  300  may include a second channel  344  substantially extending down the length and width of the device  300  where the second channel  344  varies elevationally along the length of the device to produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling along the length of the device  300 . In one embodiment, the shape of the first and second channels  342 ,  344  may be substantially similar; therefore, each may vary elevationally by a plurality of gradual rises and falls along the length of the device  300 . While not shown, an elongated substrate may also be provided between the device  300  and the surfaces of the first channel  342  to act as an interface between the device  300  and surface  340  and account for any differences in thermal expansion and contraction between the device and surface materials. In another embodiment, the device  300  may be substantially similar to the device  100  depicted in  FIGS. 1 ,  2   a  and  2   b.    
     In another embodiment of the present subject matter, cars and other vehicles having one or two axles may have the right front tire produced or retrofitted with a rigid rod of steel leading directly to an interior air motion transformer (similar to analog record players) and in accordance with analog acoustic telegraphing, provide a louder audio experience from the road and into the cabin or simply a louder report for a Segway driver. 
     In yet another embodiment of the present subject matter, the vehicle may be produced or retrofitted, in the case of a vehicle having two axles, with a fifth, smaller, transmitter wheel extruding from the right front of the vehicle and acting as a needle in a record groove. The fifth wheel leads via an acoustically conductive rigidity (or material) to an interior air motion transformer. This wheel assembly may in one embodiment contain a separate shock absorption method from the other wheels of the vehicle. In the case of the Segway, this may be a third wheel off one of the two wheels. In both cases, however, this wheel may also have built into its assembly, a swivel and/or a spanner that generally allow for driver error in keeping the wheel in a groove(s) of an embodiment of the present subject matter. 
     Further embodiments of the present subject matter may also be employed in low speed situations to encompass the use of exemplary devices for a wheelchair. Such a vehicle may, in one embodiment, have a tire acting as a stylus-transmitter or may be fitted with a ferrule utilized as the stylus-transmitter as a ‘dragged’ identification cane for the blind. In such embodiments, the tire or stylus-transmitter may contact or engage exemplary devices and provide directions, instructions, or other prerecorded audio to users of the wheelchair. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective representation of a further embodiment of the present subject matter. With reference to  FIG. 4 , one embodiment of the present subject matter may be a device  400  having a predetermined length (L), width (W) and height (H). In one non-limiting embodiment, the length of an exemplary device may be approximately fifty feet, the width approximately two and one half feet and the height approximately five inches. Of course, these dimensions are exemplary only and should not limit the scope of the claims appended herewith as varying dimensions are envisioned for embodiments of the present subject matter depending upon the advertisements, warnings, etc. requested by users of the device  400  and as a function of the speed, type of vehicle, width of average tire, etc. expected on the surface or device  400 . The device  400  may be an elongated strip or belt of material having a channel  405  (which may be raised or not) substantially extending down the length of the device  400 . An exemplary material may be, but is not limited to, a substantially incompressible material. Such materials may be, for example, aluminum, steel, other metals, polymers, concrete, asphalt and combinations thereof. A portion of the channel  405 , such as the trough  406 , may vary elevationally along the length thereof. Further the walls  407  of the channel  405  may vary laterally along the length thereof. This elevational and lateral variation may produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling substantially along the length of the device  400 . For example, a wheel in contact with the channel  405  may, due to the elasticity of the rubber or vulcanized rubber, deflect into the channel  405  and may act as a stylus or needle which reads the elevational and/or lateral variations in the channel  405 . In one embodiment, the elevation of the trough  406  may vary only with respect to the length of the device  400  rather than the width. 
     In another embodiment, the elevation of the trough  406  may vary by a plurality of gradual and/or sharp rises and falls along the length of the channel  405 . Further, the one or more of the walls  407  of the channel  405  may vary laterally by a plurality of gradual excursions and incursions out from or towards a longitudinal centerline of the channel  405  along the length thereof. A plurality of elevations and depressions in the trough  406  may be designed in combination (or not) with a plurality of excursions and incursions of the walls  407  to produce predetermined sounds such as a voice, chordal music, a melody, both a voice and melody, an advertisement, a warning, directions, and combinations thereof. These predetermined sounds may be audible to occupants and users of wheeled vehicles having one or more wheels in contact with the device  400 . Additionally, as the wheeled vehicle varies its speed, the frequency of any produced sound may also vary with the speed of the vehicle. Thus, it is envisioned that speed signs or other visual informative signals may be provided on respective portions of a roadway or sidewalk to alert users of vehicles of a proper speed to hear the auditory directions, advertisements, etc. 
     The device  400  may be affixed to a substantially planar surface  440  using a bonding mechanism such as, but not limited to, adhesives, glues, spikes, bolts, other mechanical fasteners, etc. Exemplary surfaces  440  may be, but are not limited to, a sidewalk, roadway, landing strip, or other surface contacted by wheeled vehicles such as a car, Segway, truck, bus, airplane, etc. While not shown, the device  400  may include an elongated substrate, such as a polymer substrate, intermediate the device  400  and surface  440  to which the device  400  is affixed. This substrate may act as an interface between the device  400  and surface  440  and account for any differences in thermal expansion and contraction between the device and surface materials. In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the device  400  may be embedded in the surface  440 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective representation of another embodiment of the present subject matter. With reference to  FIG. 5 , the embodiment may include a surface  540  having a first channel  542  etched therein where a device  500  is affixed in the first channel  542 . The device  500  may include a second channel  544  substantially extending down the length of the device  500  where the second channel  544  varies elevationally and laterally along the length of the device to produce sound when contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling along the length of the device  500 . In one embodiment, the shape of the first and second channels  542 ,  544  may be substantially similar; therefore, each may vary elevationally by a plurality of gradual rises and falls along the length of the device  500  and may vary laterally by a plurality of gradual excursions and incursions out from or towards a longitudinal centerline of the second channel  544  along the length thereof. While not shown, an elongated substrate may also be provided between the device  500  and the surfaces of the first channel  542  to act as an interface between the device  500  and surface  540  and account for any differences in thermal expansion and contraction between the device and surface materials. In another embodiment, the device  500  may be substantially similar to the device  500  depicted in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIGS. 6   a - 6   c  are top plan depictions of a plurality of exemplary channels placed side-by-side. With reference to  FIGS. 6   a - 6   c,  any one of the exemplary channels  602   a - 602   t  in  FIGS. 6   a - 6   c  may be substituted for the channels  405 ,  542 ,  544  depicted in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . For example, with reference to  FIG. 6   b,  an exemplary channel  602   h  may have walls  607  that vary laterally along the length of the channel  602   h.  Further, the trough  606  of the channel  602   h  may also vary elevationally along the length of the channel  602   h.    
     Devices according to embodiments of the present subject matter, whether the embodiments include channels, ridges, etc., may be fabricated by any known means. For example, one may utilize engineering software to create one or more casts or engravings wherein, for a predetermined speed, an exemplary device may be cast/manufactured with varying dimensions for the ridges and/or channels to produce predetermined sounds such as a voice, chordal music, a melody, both a voice and melody, an advertisement, a warning, directions, and combinations thereof. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram depicting an embodiment of the present subject matter. With reference to  FIG. 7 , one embodiment may include a method  700  for reproducing sound. At step  710 , a surface, such as a sidewalk, roadway or landing strip, may be provided upon which vehicular traffic can travel. At step  720 , an elongated strip of material may be affixed to or embedded in the surface, the elongated strip comprising a ridge substantially extending the length and width of the elongated strip, and the ridge having an elevation varying along the length of the elongated strip. At step  730 , sound may then be produced when the elongated strip is contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling along the length of the elongated strip. An exemplary produced sound may be a voice, chordal music, a melody, both a voice and melody, an advertisement, a warning, voiced directions, and combinations thereof. Further, the frequency of the produced sound may vary with the speed of the vehicular traffic. 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram depicting a further embodiment of the present subject matter. With reference to  FIG. 8 , one embodiment may include a method  800  for reproducing sound. At step  810 , a surface such as a sidewalk, roadway or landing strip, may be provided upon which vehicular traffic can travel. At step  820 , an elongated strip of material may be embedded in or affixed to the surface, the elongated strip comprising a channel substantially extending the length of the elongated strip, the channel having a trough that varies elevationally by a plurality of gradual rises and falls along the length of the elongated strip and having one or more walls that vary laterally by a plurality of gradual excursions and incursions out from or towards a longitudinal centerline of the channel along the length of the elongated strip. At step  830 , sound may then be produced when the elongated strip is contacted by a wheel of a vehicle travelling along the length of the elongated strip. An exemplary produced sound may be a voice, chordal music, a melody, both a voice and melody, an advertisement, a warning, voiced directions, and combinations thereof. Further, the frequency of the produced sound may vary with the speed of the vehicular traffic. 
     As shown by the various configurations and embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 1-8 , a system, device and method for providing audible sounds from a surface have been described. 
     While preferred embodiments of the present subject matter have been described, it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and that the scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence, many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof.