This invention relates to a method of preventing overlap delivery of a plurality of audible indications of information in an audible announcing output apparatus.
In the case of visual indications of information, it need not take a great deal of time to complete the visual delivery of information. Nevertheless, audible indications of information require necessarily a substantial amount of time as compared with the visual indications. Accordingly, when different kinds of information are to be indicated at a time, many problems will occur mainly with audible indications. If different kinds of information, like news and weather forecasts, are audibly announced at the same time, one would not be able to hear both of those announcements. For instance, if only first information is allowed to be announced, then it is impossible for the operator to know information other than the first information.
These problems are most severe with talking clocks and the like which deal with time information. There are great possibilities that a certain kind of information may overlap with another kind of information, when considering (1) announcement of updated or real time, (2) announcement of alarm information, and (3) announcement of each sharp time, that is, time information which is audibly recited each specific time period within the hour, for example, each 59 minutes, 48 second time period.
Overlap occurs between (1) and (2); alarm time is reached in the middle of announcement of real time or real time is recalled in the middle of announcement of alarm information.
Overlap occurs between (2) and (3): the clock shows sharp time to be audibly announced during the course of announcement of alarm information. Instead, alarm time is reached during announcement of sharp time.
And overlap occurs between (1) and (3): sharp time arrives during the course of announcement of updated or real time and the operator recalls updated or real time during the course of announcement of sharp time.
The same is true of the relationship among (1), (2) and (3).
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds