A toy figure with an electronic tag

Abstract

A toy figure comprising a body part with a number of articulated legs attached thereto, the body part including a bell-shaped torso with an inner space and a lower rim that forms an opening to the inner space. An electronic tag is arranged in the inner space of the bell-shaped torso and the articulated legs are attached to a hip part that is attached to the bell-shaped torso via a snap lock, and so that the hip part rests against the lower rim and covers the opening.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a U.S. National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of co-pending International Application No. PCT / EP 2024 / 061499, filed on Apr. 26, 2024, which claims priority to Danish Patent Application No. PA 202370210, filed on Apr. 28, 2023, the contents of each are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for any purpose whatsoever.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a toy figure comprising a body part with a number of articulated legs attached thereto, and where the body part comprises a bell-shaped torso with an inner space and a lower rim forming an opening to the inner space. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to providing such a figure with an electronic tag.BACKGROUND

[0003] An embodiment of a toy figure as mentioned above is disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,482, showing a toy figure with a torso part and a separate hip part with articulated legs. The hip part has coupling knobs and the torso part has complementary coupling sockets adapted for frictionally receiving the coupling knobs on the torso part to form an assembly with articulated legs.

[0004] Toy figures provided with tags exist in many different embodiments and are used, e.g., in toy construction sets or board games where the electronic tag can be read by other equipment, such as a tag reader, in the board game or the toy construction set.

[0005] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 155,156 discloses one embodiment of such a board game comprising toy figures having an electronic tag attached underneath the feet of the toy figure.SUMMARY

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a toy figure as disclosed herein with an electronic tag without sacrificing the option of being able to manipulate the articulated legs.

[0007] As disclosed herein, the electronic tag is arranged in the inner space of the bell shaped torso and the articulated legs are attached to a hip part that is attached to the bell shaped torso via a snap lock comprising at least one flexible cantilever beam, preferably a U-shaped cantilever beam, being attached to the hip part so that the hip part extends into the inner space and engages with a protrusion arranged on an inner side of the torso when the hip part and the torso are mutually assembled and shaped so that the hip part rests against the lower rim and covers the opening and thereby encloses the electronic tag in the inner space.

[0008] For the purpose of this application, and unless otherwise specified, the term electronic tag covers any embodiment of an electronic device that can submit or transmit a wireless signal to identify the electronic tag. Examples of such electronic tags are the widely used passive or active RFID tags.

[0009] In order to ensure that the hip part and the torso are inseparable after being mutually assembled the snap lock is preferably adapted to provide a retention force being significantly higher than the insertion force. The retention force meaning the force required to dismantle the hip part from the torso must be so high that it will require some kind of plastic deformation to do so.

[0010] The bell-shaped torso may advantageously comprise a flat or planar front wall and back wall, and where the front and back walls may be mutually parallel and arranged opposite to each other and sidewalls may be arranged extending between the periphery of the front wall and back wall.

[0011] The electronic tag may advantageously comprise an electronic chip and an antenna connected to the electronic chip, and where the antenna comprises an electric conductor and at least a first stretch of the electric conductor is arranged in a coil or a spiral.

[0012] In this relation, the first stretch of the electric conductor is preferably arranged in a plane close to one of the flat or planar front wall or back wall.

[0013] Furthermore, a second stretch of the electric conductor is preferably arranged in a coil or a spiral in a plane close to the other one of the flat or planar front wall or back wall. Thereby the second stretch of the electric conductor leaves optimal space for the snap lock but may also be used with other connector types than the snap lock.

[0014] In order to provide a simple and efficient assembly of the electronic tag, the electronic tag advantageously comprises a bobbin with the electronic chip attached thereto and the electric conductor being wound around the bobbin to form each coil.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment the bobbin comprises two planar structures being mutually held apart by a bridging structure so that one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with and close to the planar front wall and the other one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with and close to the planar back wall, and the first stretch of the electric conductor is wound around the periphery of one of the planar structures and the second stretch of the electric conductor is wound around the periphery of the other one of the planar structures.

[0016] The cantilever beam can advantageously extend between the two planar structures.

[0017] The toy figure may further comprise articulated arms each being attached to the torso via an annular snap into a hole arranged in the torso.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] FIG. 1: Shows one embodiment of the disclosure in an exploded perspective view.

[0019] FIG. 2: Shows the same embodiment of the disclosure as shown in FIG. 1 but as a vertical cross section of the embodiment in an assembled state.

[0020] FIG. 3: Shows an enlarged perspective view of one part of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0021] FIG. 4: Shows a vertical cross section of a second part of the assembled toy figure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of a toy figure according to the disclosure where FIG. 1 shows a perspective and exploded view of the toy figure, while FIG. 2 shows a vertical cross section through the toy figure in an assembled state.

[0023] The toy figure has a bell-shaped torso 1 adapted for mounting a head 20 on a stud 21, a set of arms and hands 7, 8, and a hip part 4 with articulated legs 5 that can be mounted on hip axles 23.

[0024] The torso 1 is bell shaped with an inner space and a lower rim 3 providing an opening from below the torso 1. According to the disclosure, the toy figure comprises an electronic tag 11 that can be inserted into the inner space via the opening provided by the lower rim 3. The electronic tag can thereby be designed having a significant size with respect to the overall size of the complete toy figure. This is important in order to achieve good connectivity between the electronic tag and, e.g., other equipment such as an electronic tag reader.

[0025] The hip part 4 comprises a set of flexible U-shaped cantilever beams 6 that extend into the inner space of the bell-shaped torso 1 where the set of flexible U-shaped cantilever engage with protrusions 24 arranged on the inside of the bell-shaped torso so that the protrusions provide a snap lock, adapted for locking the hip part 4 onto the bell shaped torso 1. In this embodiment, the hip part 4 completely covers the opening as the hip part rests against the complete lower rim 3 surrounding the opening. The design of the snap lock is adapted such that the snap lock would require destruction of either the bell-shaped torso 1 or the hip part 4 in order to release snap lock and thereby the bell shaped torso and the hip part efficiently encloses the inner space so that the electronic tag 11 is safe from being tampered with.

[0026] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the bell-shaped torso 1 has a flat or planar front wall and back wall 9, 10 that are arranged opposite to each other and mutually inter-connected via side walls 12 extending between the periphery of the front wall 9 and back wall 10. The side walls 12 have annular openings 2 arranged at the upper end of the torso 1 and each being adapted for snap insertion of a tap 13 arranged on the arms 7, so as to form an articulated joint between each arm 7 and the torso 1.

[0027] The electronic tag in this embodiment comprises a bobbin as shown in detail in FIG. 3 where an electronic chip 22 is arranged at the bobbin and is connected to the ends of an electric conductor 16. A first stretch 14 of the electric conductor 16 is wound around the bobbin to form a coil arranged in a plane close to the front wall 9, and a second stretch 15 of the electric conductor 16 is wound around the bobbin to form a separate second coil in a pane close to the back wall 10.

[0028] As shown in detail in FIG. 4 the bobbin comprises two planar structures 19, 20 being mutually held apart by a bridging structure. One of the planar structures 19 is positioned parallel with and close to the planar front wall 9 and the other one of the planar structures 20 is positioned parallel with and close to the planar back wall 10. The first stretch 14 of the electric conductor 16 is wound around the periphery of one of the planar structures 19 and the second stretch 15 of the electric conductor is wound around the periphery of the other one of the planar structures 20. Thereby, a significant space is provided between the two planar structures 19, 20 allowing that the cantilever beams can extend into the inner space of the bell-shaped torso between the two planar structures. This provides freedom to design the first 14 and the second 15 stretch of the electric conductor 16 into relatively large coils, and to shape the coils in order to fine tune the antenna frequency for optimal connectivity with e.g. an electronic tag reader.

Claims

1. A toy figure, comprising: a body part with a plurality of articulated legs attached thereto,wherein the body part comprises a bell-shaped torso with an inner space and a lower rim forming an opening to the inner space, andwherein an electronic tag is arranged in the inner space of the bell-shaped torso and the articulated legs are attached to a hip part that is attached to the bell-shaped torso and shaped so that the hip part rests against the lower rim and covers the opening, the hip part being attached to the bell-shaped torso part via a snap lock comprising at least one flexible cantilever beam, wherein the cantilever beam is attached to the hip part and extends into the inner space, and engages with a protrusion arranged on an inner side of the bell-shaped torso when the hip part and the bell-shaped torso are mutually assembled.

2. The toy figure according to claim 1, wherein the snap lock is adapted to provide a retention force being sufficiently higher than the insertion force to ensure that the hip part and the bell-shaped torso are inseparable after being mutually assembled.

3. The toy figure according to claim 1, wherein the bell-shaped torso comprises a flat or planar front wall and back wall, and wherein the front and back walls are arranged opposite to each other and are mutually interconnected via side walls extending between the periphery of the front wall and back wall.

4. The toy figure according to claim 1, wherein the electronic tag comprises an electronic chip and an antenna connected to the electronic chip, and wherein the antenna comprises an electric conductor and at least a first stretch of the electric conductor is arranged in a coil or a spiral.

5. The toy figure according to claim 4, wherein the first stretch of the electric conductor is arranged in a plane proximate with one of the flat or planar front wall or back wall.

6. The toy figure according to claim 5, wherein a second stretch of the electric conductor is arranged in a coil or a spiral in a plane proximate with the other one of the flat or planar front wall or back wall.

7. The toy figure according to claim 4, wherein the electronic tag comprises a bobbin with the electronic chip attached thereto and the electric conductor being wound around the bobbin to form each coil.

8. The toy figure according to claim 6, wherein the bobbin comprises two planar structures being mutually held apart by a bridging structure so that one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with and proximate with to the planar front wall and the other one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with and proximate with to the planar back wall, and wherein the first stretch of the electric conductor is wound around a periphery of one of the planar structures and the second stretch of the electric conductor is wound around a periphery of the other one of the planar structures.

9. The toy figure according to claim 1, wherein the cantilever beam extends between the two planar structures.

10. The toy figure according to claim 1, further comprising articulated arms, each being attached to the bell-shaped torso via an annular snap into a hole arranged in the bell-shaped torso.

11. The toy figure according to claim 11, wherein the flexible cantilever is U-shaped.

12. A toy figure, comprising:a bell-shaped torso defining an inner space, an opening to the inner space bounded by a lower rim, and a protrusion arranged on an inner side of the bell-shaped torso;an electronic tag arranged within the inner space; anda hip part supporting a plurality of articulated legs, the hip part being shaped to rest against the lower rim and cover the opening,wherein the hip part is attached to the bell-shaped torso by a snap lock comprising at least one flexible cantilever beam extending from the hip part into the inner space to engage with the protrusion when the hip part and bell-shaped torso are assembled.

13. The toy figure according to claim 12, wherein the snap lock is adapted to provide a retention force being sufficiently higher than the insertion force, thereby coupling the hip part with the bell-shaped torso.

14. The toy figure according to claim 12, wherein the bell-shaped torso comprises a flat front wall and a flat back wall, the flat front and back walls being arranged opposite to each other and interconnected via side walls extending between a periphery of the front wall and back wall.

15. The toy figure according to claim 12, wherein the electronic tag comprises an electronic chip and an antenna connected to the electronic chip, and wherein the antenna comprises an electric conductor and at least a first stretch of the electric conductor is arranged in a coil or a spiral.

16. The toy figure according to claim 12, wherein the flexible cantilever is U-shaped.

17. The toy figure according to claim 12, wherein the electronic tag comprises:a bobbin coupled with the electronic chip, the bobbin comprising two planar structures that are mutually held apart by a bridging structure; andan electric conductor connected to the electronic chip,wherein a first stretch of the electric conductor is wound around a periphery of one of the planar structures and is arranged in a coil or a spiral,wherein a second stretch of the electric conductor is wound around a periphery of the other one of the planar structures and is arranged in a coil or a spiral, andwherein one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with and proximate with the planar front wall and another other one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with and proximate with the planar back wall.

18. A toy figure, comprising:a bell-shaped torso defining an inner space, an opening to the inner space bounded by a lower rim, and a protrusion arranged on an inner side of the bell-shaped torso, the bell-shaped torso having a planar front wall and an opposite planar back wall interconnected by side walls;an electronic tag arranged within the inner space, the electronic tag comprising a bobbin with an electronic chip attached thereto, the bobbin comprising two planar structures mutually held apart by a bridging structure;an electric conductor connected to the electronic chip, a first stretch of the electric conductor being wound around a periphery of one of the planar structures and is arranged in a coil or a spiral, and a second stretch of the electric conductor being wound around a periphery of the other one of the planar structures to form a second coil or spiral, andwherein one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with, and proximate to, the planar front wall and the other one of the planar structures is positioned parallel with, and proximate to, the planar back wall; anda hip part supporting a plurality of articulated legs, the hip part being shaped to rest against the lower rim and cover the opening, the hip part being attached to the bell-shaped torso via a snap lock comprising at least one cantilever beam, extending from the hip part into the inner space to engage the protrusion when the hip part and the bell-shaped torso are assembled.

19. The toy figure according to claim 18, wherein the flexible cantilever is U-shaped.

20. The toy figure according to claim 18, wherein the snap lock is adapted to provide a retention force being sufficiently higher than the insertion force, thereby coupling the hip part with the bell-shaped torso.

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