Hand puppet with controllable audio output

Abstract

A hand puppet in the form of a character has a mouth defined in part by top and bottom surfaces movable by the fingers of the user between a position in which the surfaces are in contact and a position wherein the surfaces are remote from each other. A microcontroller is provided with a memory which stores musical sounds. A touch sensor is associated with one of the mouth surfaces. Each time the mouth surfaces are in contact, the touch sensor generates a pulse output signal to the microcontroller input. A sound generator, connected to the microcontroller output, is adapted to play back the stored musical sounds at a speed which is a function of the number of pulses in a given time interval in the output signal. The puppet may take the form of a character. The musical sounds may be associated with the character.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A hand puppet with a mouth adapted to be manipulated by the user comprising sound generating electronics configured to play back pre-recoded sounds at a speed controlled by the movement of the puppet's mouth. 
     
     
         2 . A puppet adapted to receive the hand of the user having a recess formed of first and second surfaces movable relative to each other by the fingers of the user, a microcontroller comprising a memory for storing one or a series of sounds, a microcontroller input, a microcontroller output, a sensor associated with one of said first and second surfaces and connected to said microcontroller input to provide said microcontroller with an output signal that is a function of the number of times said first and second surfaces are moved relative to each other in a given time period, and a sound generator connected to said microcontroller output and adapted to playback said stored sounds in accordance with said sensor output signal. 
     
     
         3 . The puppet of  claim 2  wherein said puppet takes the form of a character and said recess is the mouth of said character. 
     
     
         4 . The puppet of  claim 3  wherein said first and second surfaces at least partially define said mouth of said character. 
     
     
         5 . The puppet of  claim 2  wherein said sensor is a touch sensor and other of said first and second surfaces is rigid enough to actuate said touch sensor to generate a signal when said touch sensor contacts said other of said first and second surfaces. 
     
     
         6 . The puppet of  claim 2  wherein said series of sounds comprise a musical composition. 
     
     
         7 . A hand puppet in the form of a character adapted to receive the hand of the user, said puppet having a mouth defined in part by top and bottom surfaces movable by the fingers of the user between a position in which said top and said bottom surfaces are in contact and a position wherein said top and bottom surfaces are remote from each other, a microcontroller comprising a memory for storing musical sounds, a microcontroller input, a microcontroller output, a touch sensor associated with one of said top and bottom mouth surfaces and connected to said microcontroller input, said touch sensor, each time said top and said bottom surfaces contact each other, generating a pulse output signal to said microcontroller input, and a sound generator, connected to said microcontroller output, adapted to play back said stored musical sounds at a speed which is a function of the number of pulse signals generated by said touch sensor in a given time interval. 
     
     
         8 . The puppet of  claim 7  wherein said musical sounds comprises a musical composition associated with said character. 
     
     
         9 . The puppet of  claim 8  wherein said musical composition is a song.