US 5,484,292 · Granted 1996-01-16

Apparatus for combining audio and visual indicia

An electronic book comprising a plurality of leaves, each leaf comprising pages of printed material bound at one edge to form a spine, with electrical circuits formed in each leaf. A common electronic circuit such as a speech generator and/or controller cooperates with the electrical circuits on each of the various pages, connected to the electrical circuits in the leaves through conductive paths through the spine of the book. The electrical circuits in the leaves include electrical elements such as switches, and sensory output devices (e.g., thermochromic devices, light emitting diodes, thermo-olfactory devices, electrochromic devices, and the like). The electrical elements are associated with particular portions of the printed material so that the particular portions can be selectively highlighted or emphasized (e.g., designated by actuation of a visual or olfactory device and/or text read). A particularly advantageous switch structure formed integral to the page employing standard printing techniques, the bonding of LEDs directly into the printed circuit, and various advantageous methods of construction of the book are also disclosed.

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