Hand-held playback device, system and method

Claim 2

In a hand-held audio transducing device for transducing signals relative to a stationary record carried on a sheet of material, which sheet has observable information adjacent said record related to information playback in said record, a housing small enough to be held in one hand, a playback assembly within said housing including a rotatable body, means for rotating said body, a transducer carried by said body during rotation of said body for following a path of said record, means forming a substantially unobstructed observation portion through said housing allowing observation of said information contained in and to be reproduced from said record, means carried by said rotatable body, registration means and movable into and out of engagement with new sheet for registering said transducer to permit the transducer to follow the record path, and means serving to retract said registration means clear of said sheet and to commence rotation of said body and transducer so as to transduce said information of said record for reproduction to the operator while indicating said information in said observation portion to be observed by the operator during reproduction of said information.

Claim 3

In a hand-held audio device according to claim 1 wherein said observation portion includes a passage serVing to accommodate entry therethrough of a person''s finger to pass into contact with Braille characters formed on said sheet of material to observe said information by touch.

Claim 4

In a hand-held transducing device according to claim 1 wherein said body is formed and constructed to provide a substantially unobstructed observation portion, and including means serving to arrest said registration means at a predetermined position relative to said housing upon completion of rotation of said body to align said first and last named portions and said registration means so as to permit said observable information to be observed therethrough.

Claim 5

In a hand-held audio player device adapted to play back information from circular records disposed upon a page where information to be played back is disposed adjacent thereto for recognition by one of the human senses, arcuate registration portions disposed on the page and displaced substantially equally in opposite directions laterally from a midline on the page through the center and opposite sides of the record, said device including a housing adapted to be held in the hand of a student, said housing including a portion serving to isolate on said page in tactile or visually observable form at least a portion of said information to be played back, a rotatable transducer assembly for playing back said record containing said information, said assembly comprising a body carried for rotation within said housing, said body including an opening therethrough, a transducer of a type for following a record path of said record, said assembly being pivotally disposed within said opening and said transducer being free to move from one side of said opening to the other during rotation of said body so as to follow the path of said record, means for rotating said body, registration means movable between advanced and retracted positions carried by said body for engaging, while in said advanced position, said arcuate registration portion so as to register said transducer assembly with respect to said record path, and means for conjointly retracting said registration means and rotating said body.

Claim 6

In a hand-held audio player device adapted to play back information from circular records disposed upon a page where information to be played back is disposed adjacent thereto for recognition by one of the human senses, arcuate registration portions disposed on the page and displaced substantially equally in opposite directions laterally from a midline on the page through the center and opposite sides of the record, said device including a housing adapted to be held in the hand of a student, said housing including a portion serving to isolate on said page in tactile or visually observable form at least a portion of said information to be played back, a rotatable transducer assembly for playing back said record containing said information, said assembly comprising a body carried for rotation within said housing, said body including an opening therethrough, a transducer of a type for following a record path of said record, said assembly being pivotally disposed within said opening and said transducer being free to move from one side of said opening to the other during rotation of said body so as to follow the path of said record, means for rotating said body, registration means movable between advanced and retracted positions carried by said body for engaging, while in said advanced position, said arcuate registration portion so as to register said transducer assembly with respect to said record path, and means for conjointly retracting said registration means and rotating said body.

Claim 7

In a hand-held audio transducing device for transducing information signals relative to a stationary record carried on a sheet of material, a housing small enough to be held in one hand, playback assembly within said housing including a rotatable body, a transducer carried by said body during rotation of said body for following a path of said record, means carried by said housing and serving to isolate therethrough an observable area on a portion of said sheet adjacent said record said area being adapted to inculde information related to the information to be tranduced relative to said record, means movable between advanced and retracted positions relative to said body and substantially normal thereto carried by said rotatable housing to position for said transducer to permit it to follow the record path, and means for rotating said body and transducers to play back the information of said path while contemporaneously designating said portion of the information via the first named means to be observed by the operator during playback of said information.

Claim 8

In a hand-held audio transducing device for transducing information signals relative to a stationary record carried on a sheet of material, a housing small enough to be held in one hand, playback assembly within said housing including a rotatable body, a transducer carried by said body during rotation of said body for following a path of said record, means carried by said housing and serving to isolate therethrough an observable area on a portion of said sheet adjacent said record said area being adapted to inculde information related to the information to be tranduced relative to said record, means movable between advanced and retracted positions relative to said body and substantially normal thereto carried by said rotatable housing to position for said transducer to permit it to follow the record path, and means for rotating said body and transducers to play back the information of said path while contemporaneously designating said portion of the information via the first named means to be observed by the operator during playback of said information.

Claim 9

In a hand-held audio device according to claim 5 wherein said the first named means includes passage serving to accommodate entry therethrough of a person''s finger to pass into contact with Braille characters formed on said sheet of material to observe said information by touch.

Claim 10

In a hand-held transducing device for transducing information signals relative to a stationary record carried on a sheet of material and including said information, a housing small enough to be readily held in one hand, a transducing assembly within said housing including a rotatable body, a transducer carried by said body during rotation of said body for following a path of said record, means movable between projected and retracted positions carried by said rotatable body for registering said transducer In operative position to follow the record path, and means for rotating said body and transducer to cause transducer to follow the record path to transduce the information of said path.

Claim 11

In a hand-held transducing device for transducing information signals relative to a stationary record carried on a sheet of material and including said information, a housing small enough to be readily held in one hand, a transducing assembly within said housing including a rotatable body, a transducer carried by said body during rotation of said body for following a path of said record, means movable between projected and retracted positions carried by said rotatable body for registering said transducer In operative position to follow the record path, and means for rotating said body and transducer to cause transducer to follow the record path to transduce the information of said path.

Claim 12

Transducing apparatus use with a medium having a support surface and a sound record disposed thereon, said surface including registration means associated with said record, said apparatus comprising a body small enough to be held in one hand and large enough to overlay said record and associated registration means, said body having upper and lower sides, the lower side having portions for engaging the support surface with the body overlying the record and registration means, means carried by the body for reproducing information from record, said means including a transducer and a transport means for carrying the transducer for movement along the record track, means including a registration element movable relative to said transport means and substantially normal to said support surface and extending downwardly away from the lower side of the transport means said registration element serving to register said transducer with respect to said record in response to sliding said body across said support surface in a single general direction toward said registration means of said surface for engagement therewith, said engagement of said registration means with said registration element serving to accurately dispose said transducer with respect to said record, means carried by the body for energizing the transport means, and means carried by the body and manually operable to initiate operation of said transport means.

Claim 13

Transducing apparatus use with a medium having a support surface and a sound record disposed thereon, said surface including registration means associated with said record, said apparatus comprising a body small enough to be held in one hand and large enough to overlay said record and associated registration means, said body having upper and lower sides, the lower side having portions for engaging the support surface with the body overlying the record and registration means, means carried by the body for reproducing information from record, said means including a transducer and a transport means for carrying the transducer for movement along the record track, means including a registration element movable relative to said transport means and substantially normal to said support surface and extending downwardly away from the lower side of the transport means said registration element serving to register said transducer with respect to said record in response to sliding said body across said support surface in a single general direction toward said registration means of said surface for engagement therewith, said engagement of said registration means with said registration element serving to accurately dispose said transducer with respect to said record, means carried by the body for energizing the transport means, and means carried by the body and manually operable to initiate operation of said transport means.

Claim 14

An audio transducing system including a stationary information carrying record carried on a sheet of material, said sheet of material having Braille characters formed thereon adjacent said record and containing at least a portion of said information carried by said record, an audio transducing device having a housing small enough to be held in one hand, a playback assembly located in said housing, and means carried by said housing including an opening serving to accomodate entry therein of a person''s finger to pass into contact with said Braille characters when said playback assembly is in position to playback said record.

Claim 15

An audio transducing system including a stationary information carrying record carried on a sheet of material, said sheet of material having Braille characters formed thereon adjacent said record and containing at least a portion of said information carried by said record, an audio transducing device having a housing small enough to be held in one hand, a playback assembly located in said housing, and means carried by said housing including an opening serving to accomodate entry therein of a person''s finger to pass into contact with said Braille characters when said playback assembly is in position to playback said record.