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Method and apparatus for facilitating communication between a user and a toy

a communication method and a technology for toy use, applied in the field of radio frequency tags, can solve the problems of limiting the scope of interactive play between the child and the toy, the conventional method and the apparatus suffer from a number,

Inactive Publication Date: 2006-01-26
SONY CORP +1
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for interacting with a toy using a mobile item with a radio frequency tag. The toy emits a query electromagnetic wave and receives the answer electromagnetic wave from the mobile item. The toy then selects an output that is perceptible to the user based on the answer electromagnetic wave. The technical effect of this invention is to provide a new way for users to interact with toys using a mobile item with a radio frequency tag.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, the conventional method and apparatus suffers from a number of disadvantages, e.g., the audible signals issued from the audio circuit 18 of the base 12 bear no relationship to the relative positions of the child and the toy 14.
This severely limits the scope of interactive play between the child and the toy 14.

Method used

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  • Method and apparatus for facilitating communication between a user and a toy
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  • Method and apparatus for facilitating communication between a user and a toy

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Embodiment Construction

[0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus 100 suitable for facilitating communication between a user 102, such as a child, and a toy 104 in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. The apparatus 100 preferably includes at least one mobile item 106 having an RF tag 108, and the toy 104, which includes an interaction circuit 110 and a query circuit 130. The one or more mobile items 106 may take on any suitable form, where a piece of apparel is most preferred, such as a ring, a bracelet, a necklace, a glove, a belt, a hat, a pair of glasses, etc.

[0017] The one or more mobile items 106 are preferably operable to be carried by the user 102 and the RF tag 108 is preferably operable to produce an “answer” electromagnetic wave in response to receiving a “query” electromagnetic wave from the query circuit 130 of the toy 104. The RF tag 108 may be implemented utilizing any of the known technologies, such as the use of a RF transponder having an antenna, rectificati...

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Abstract

An apparatus includes a plurality of radio frequency tags operable to produce respective answer electromagnetic waves in response to a query electromagnetic wave; and a toy including a query circuit and an interaction circuit, the query circuit being operable to emit the query electromagnetic wave and receive one or more of the answer electromagnetic waves, and the interaction circuit being operable to select an output perceptible by a user based on which of the one or more answer electromagnetic waves are received.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 803,250, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A USER AND A TOY, filed Mar. 9, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for facilitating communication between a user and a toy and, more particularly, to the use of radio frequency tags in facilitating such communication. [0003] With reference to FIG. 1, a convention apparatus 10 is shown which facilitates communication between a base 12 and a toy 14 to facilitate a semi-interactive play experience for a child (not shown). The base 12 includes a microprocessor 16, an audio circuit 18 and a query circuit 20. The toy 14 includes a responder 22. In operation, the query circuit 20 outputs a pulse signal, usually in the radio frequency spectrum, that is received by the r...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H04Q5/22G01S13/75G06K7/00
CPCG01S13/753G06K7/10039G06K7/0008
Inventor FEINBERG, PAUL H.
Owner SONY CORP