Claims
- 1. A crystal ball or globe display system comprising:a support base; a display mounted to said support base; a globe assembly mounted to said support base, said globe assembly comprising a transparent enclosure surrounding said display; a transparent fluid sealed within the space defined by said transparent enclosure in a manner providing for the viewing of said display through said fluid; an audio producing means housed in said support base, said audio producing means driven by a touch sensitive means which is activated upon contact with said globe assembly; a rotating arm used to continuously circulate said fluid within said globe assembly providing for further enhancing the display; a magnetic drive disc housed within said support base adapted to cause the turning of said rotating arm upon contact with said globe assembly; a drive means having at least one output drive shaft which is capable of rotational motion, said drive means housed in said support base and connected to said magnetic drive disc at said output shaft for rotating said disc; a magnetic strip comprising a first end and a second end, said first end immersed in said fluid within said globe assembly and coupled with electrostatic means, said second end electrically mounted to said touch sensitive means housed in said support base, said magnetic strip adapted to transfer a touch signal to said touch sensitive means upon contact with the external wall of said globe assembly; and a circuitry means installed within said support base to control said drive means and said audio producing means with said touch sensitive means.
- 2. The globe display system according to claim 1 wherein said drive means comprises an electric rotating motor.
- 3. The globe display system according to claim 2 wherein said circuitry means further comprises:said touch sensitive means for generating a sense signal in response to said touch signal from said magnetic strip, said sense signal having a predetermined voltage level; audio storage means including an integrated circuit for storing voice and sound data therein, said audio storage means adapted for synthesizing said stored voice and sound data and delivering a synthesized audio signal to said audio producing means; a motor driver for controlling an input voltage to said drive means in order to stabilize the operation of said electric rotating motor; an audio output driver for amplifying said audio signal from said audio storage means and supplying the amplified audio signal to said audio producing means; a control means responsive to said sense signal from said touch sensitive means for controlling the operations of said audio storage means, drive means and audio output driver; and a power supply circuit for supplying desired power to said electric rotating motor, touch sensitive means, audio producing means, audio storage means, motor driver, audio output driver and control means.
- 4. The globe display system according to claim 1 wherein said system further comprises a switch means for controlling the activation and de-activation of said touch sensitive means.
- 5. The globe display system according to claim 4 wherein said switch means is further defined as comprising one selected from the group consisting of manual switches, photo cells, and motion sensors.
- 6. The globe display system according to claim 1 wherein said rotating arm and magnetic drive disc comprise, respectively, permanent magnets for rotating said rotational arm according to magnetic flux variations of said magnetic drive disc when said disc rotates.
- 7. The globe display system according to claim 1 wherein said touch sensitive means comprises an electrostatic-type touch sensor including:an oscillation circuit adapted for oscillating with high frequency initiated by human contact with said external wall of said globe assembly; and a detection circuit for detecting the inductance and capacitance variations of said oscillation circuit.
- 8. The globe assembly according to claim 1 wherein said touch sensitive means comprises a commercial alternating current (AC) power of 60 Hz-type touch sensor further comprising:a first operational amplifier for amplifying an electromagnetic wave signal of commercial power induced in said globe assembly through the human body; and a second operational amplifier for operating active states by the output of said first operational amplifier.
- 9. The globe display system according to claim 1 wherein said fluid is selected from the group consisting of glycerin, glycol, distilled water, and bacteria-free water.
- 10. A water globe display system having a support base comprising:a display mounted to said support base; a globe assembly mounted to said support base, said globe assembly comprising a water-filled transparent enclosure surrounding said display; an audio producing means housed in said support base, said audio producing means driven by a touch sensitive means which is activated upon contact with said globe assembly; a rotating arm used to continuously circulate said water within said globe assembly upon activation of said audio producing means providing for further enhancement of the display; a magnetic drive disc housed within said support base adapted to cause the turning of said rotating arm upon contact with said globe assembly; a drive means having at least one output drive shaft which is capable of rotational motion, said drive means housed in said support base and connected to said magnetic drive disc at said output shaft for rotating said disc; a magnetic strip comprising a first end and a second end, said first end immersed in said water within said globe assembly and coupled with electrostatic means, said second end electrically mounted to said touch sensitive means housed in said support base, said magnetic strip adapted to transfer a touch signal to said touch sensitive means upon contact with the external wall of said globe assembly; and a circuitry means installed within said support base to control said drive means and said audio producing means with said touch sensitive means.
- 11. The globe display system according to claim 10 wherein said system further comprises a lighting means adapted to be activated and de-activated upon contact with said globe assembly.
- 12. The globe display system according to claim 10 wherein said drive means comprises an electric rotating motor.
- 13. The globe display system according to claim 10 wherein said system further comprises a switch means for controlling the activation and de-activation of said touch sensitive means.
- 14. The globe display system according to claim 13 wherein said switch means is further defined as comprising one selected from the group consisting of manual switches, photo cells, and motion sensors.
- 15. The globe display system according to claim 10 wherein said circuitry means further comprises:said touch sensitive means for generating a sense signal in response to said touch signal from said magnetic strip, said sense signal having a predetermined voltage level; audio storage means including an integrated circuit for storing voice and sound data therein, said audio storage means adapted for synthesizing said stored voice and sound data and delivering a synthesized audio signal to said audio producing means; a motor driver for controlling an input voltage to said drive means in order to stabilize the operation of said drive means; an audio output driver for amplifying said audio signal from said audio storage means and supplying the amplified audio signal to said audio producing means; a control means responsive to said sense signal from said touch sensitive means for controlling the operations of said audio storage means, drive means and audio output driver; and a power supply circuit for supplying desired power to said drive means, touch sensitive means, audio producing means, audio storage means, motor driver means, audio output driver and control means.
- 16. The globe display system according to claim 10 wherein said rotating arm and magnetic drive disc comprise, respectively, permanent magnets for rotating said rotating arm according to magnetic flux variations of said magnetic drive disc when said disc rotates.
- 17. The globe display system according to claim 10 wherein said touch sensitive means comprises an electrostatic-type touch sensor comprising:an oscillation circuit adapted for oscillating with high frequency initiated by human contact with said external wall of said globe assembly; and a detection circuit for detecting the inductance and capacitance variations of said oscillation circuit.
- 18. The globe assembly according to claim 10 wherein said touch sensitive means comprises a commercial alternating current (AC) power of 60 Hz-type touch sensor further comprising:a first operational amplifier for amplifying an electromagnetic wave signal of commercial power induced in said globe assembly through the human body; and a second operational amplifier for operating active states by the output of said first operational amplifier.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The application is commonly assigned and related to Provisional Application Serial No. 60/147,976 entitled “Water Globe With Touch Sensitive Sound Activation”, by Jin K. Song, filed Aug. 6, 1999, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application claims priority on the aforementioned related provisional application.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/147946 |
Aug 1999 |
US |