Abstract:
An interactive ride-on toy, having a stuffed toy horse&#39;s head which includes ears, a movable mouth and is connected to a stick. One or more buttons, each with an icon depicting an image, is positioned on one or both ears of the horse&#39;s head. An electronically programmed chip responds to activation of the button to operate a speaker and a mechanism for moving the horse&#39;s mouth, the speaker playing sounds relating to the image depicted on each button.

Description:
This is a continuation of patent application Ser. No. 09/968,069, filed Oct. 1, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,156, issued Feb. 25, 2003. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to interactive toys for children that talk and sing, and in particular, to interactive ride-on toys such as stick horses. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ride-on toys, such as stick horses, are well known in the art and allow the child to pretend that he or she is riding an actual horse. Stick horses typically comprise a toy resembling a horse&#39;s head connected to one end of a rigid stick. The child “rides” the stick horse by straddling the stick while holding the head portion. 
     Stick horses and similar toys are useful for enhancing a child&#39;s motor skills, and developing the child&#39;s imagination. However, such toys have limited play value because they are essentially static. Thus, there is a need for stick horse or similar ride-on toy that can interact with a child to encourage creative play and add teaching value to the toy. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     These needs and other needs are satisfied by the interactive ride-on toy of the present invention, comprising a stuffed toy animal&#39;s head connected to a riding member, such as a stick. The head includes a movable mouth, a nose, eyes and ears. At least one button is positioned on at least one ear, the button having an icon depicting an image. In a preferred embodiment, one ear contains two buttons and the other ear contains a single button. An electronically programmed chip responds to activation of the ear button(s) to operate a speaker to produce sounds relating to the image and to operate a mechanism for moving the mouth. Electrical power is supplied by a battery located in a compartment provided, e.g., in the back of the head, such as within the mane of the horse or pony. Where the riding member is a stick, it may comprise two or more parts to facilitate packaging. Where the animal is a play horse or pony, a mane of simulated horse hair is provided, together with a comb for combing the horse&#39;s or pony&#39;s mane. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded front perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a partial rear perspective view of the head portion of the embodiment of FIG. 1, showing the battery compartment and battery. 
     FIG. 3 is a side section view of the head portion of the embodiment of FIG. 1, schematically showing the electrical and mechanical parts. 
     FIG. 4 is a section view taken along lines  4 — 4  of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a side section view of the mouth operating mechanism of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a top section view of the mechanism shown in FIG.  5 . 
     FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of the control system of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, an interactive stick horse or pony  10  is described, comprising a toy resembling a horse&#39;s head  12  that is connected to a riding member, such as a stick  14 . As shown in FIG. 1, horse&#39;s head  12  is a stuffed toy, with left and right ears  16 ,  18 , a movable mouth with upper and lower mouth portions  20 ,  22 , and a rigid base  24 . As shown in FIG. 2, a mane  26  conceals a closure  28  for accessing the interior of horse&#39;s head  12 . In a preferred embodiment, closure  28  is a velcro strip. 
     Stick  14  is a two-piece hollow cylinder comprised of a short upper tube  30  and a longer lower tube  32 . To facilitate packaging of stick horse  10 , lower tube  22  has roughly the same length as height of upper tube  20  plus horse&#39;s head  12 . Stick  14  is assembled from upper and lower tubes  30 ,  32  of by means of a connector  34 , which consists of a pair of sleeves  36  positioned on either side of a spacer  38 . Sleeves  36  are sized and shaped to fit within the inner circumference of upper and lower tubes  30 ,  32 , and hold the two tubes together by friction. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the bottom end  40  of lower tube  32  is provided with a friction fit cap  42 . The top end  46  of upper tube  30  is connected to base  24  of horse&#39;s head  12 . Base  24  is provided with a cylindrical collar  44  that has an inner circumference sized and shaped to receive top end  46  of upper tube  30 . To secure upper tube  30  to collar  44 , complementary openings  48 ,  50  are provided in top end  46  of upper tube  30  and in collar  44 , respectively. Rivets  52  are inserted through both openings  48 ,  50  to fasten upper tube  30  to collar  44 . As shown in FIG. 1, a decorative scarf  54  is attached to the base of horse&#39;s head  12  to conceal the connection between upper tube  30  and base  24 . 
     It is preferred to construct stick  14  and base  24  of a durable, lightweight material, such as plastic. As shown in FIG. 4, rivets  52  are similarly made of plastic and are provided with slotted, tapered ends  54 , that may be compressed to permit rivets  52  to inserted through openings  48 ,  50 . Once end  54  passes completely through openings  48 ,  50 , end  54  expands to its original shape to hold rivet  52  in place and lock upper tube  30  to collar  44 . 
     As shown in FIG. 1, left and right ears  16 ,  18  are provided with buttons  56 ,  58 ,  60 , which mark the position of switches  56   a ,  58   a ,  60   a  (shown in FIG. 7) concealed within the ears. Depressing or squeezing buttons  56 ,  58 ,  60  activates the corresponding switches  56   a ,  58   a ,  60   a , which causes a speaker  62  concealed within horse&#39;s head  12  to play a song, speak a phrase or make other sounds. In a preferred embodiment, buttons  56 ,  58 ,  60  are cloth patches embroidered with different icons depicting various images, such as a horse, a musical note or other design that relates to the sounds produced by activating that button. 
     For example, button  56  may have an icon depicting a horse&#39;s head and may be activated to play a short phrase, such as “let&#39;s go for a ride.” Activating button  56  a second time may produce an alternate phrase, such as “I like it when you brush me.” Button  58  may have an icon depicting a whole horse and may be activated to play the sound of a horse&#39;s neigh or galloping sounds. Button  60  may have an icon depicting a musical note and may be activated to play a song. 
     In addition to playing sounds, the activation of buttons  56 ,  58 ,  60  also causes the horse&#39;s mouth to move while the sounds are being played. As shown in FIGS. 3,  5  and  6 , horse&#39;s head  12  contains a gear box  64 , that controls the up and down movement of lower mouth portion  22 . Gear box  64  comprises a housing  66 , which contains a motor  68  that drives a series of gears  70 ,  72 ,  74 . An arm  76  is pivotally connected to gear box  64  at pivot  78 . End  80  of arm  76  extends beyond gear box  64  and is connected to a plate  82 , which is sized and shaped to fit within lower mouth portion  22 . Opposite end  84  of arm  76  is connected to gear  74  through a push rod  86 , which is pivotally connected to gear  74  at pivot  88  and arm  76  at pivot  90 . 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the operation of motor  68  causes the rotation of gear  74 , which raises and lowers push rod  86 . The movement of push rod  86  raises and lowers end  84  of arm  76 , causing arm  76  to rotate on pivot  78  through a short arc A. The rotation of arm  76  causes the up and down movement of plate  82  through an arc B, which results in the opening and closing movement of lower mouth portion  22  as shown by arrow C in FIGS. 1 and 3. 
     FIG. 7 depicts a general circuit diagram of the control system  91  of the present invention. The operation of the speaker  62  and gear box  64  is controlled by an electronically programmed chip  92  contained within horse&#39;s head  12 , such as a W583 speech synthesizer chip (Winbond Electronics Corp., Taiwan). Depressing or squeezing buttons  56 ,  58 ,  60  actuates switches  56   a ,  58   a ,  60   a , which send a signal to the corresponding trigger inputs  56   b ,  58   b ,  60   b , directing chip  92  to actuate speaker  62  to play a preprogrammed sound or operate gear box motor  68  to move lower mouth portion  22 . 
     A power supply of 4.5 V, 3 AA sized batteries, is required for operation of chip  92 , speaker  62  and motor  68 . As shown in FIG. 2, the batteries are stored in a battery compartment  94  concealed beneath mane  26  of horse&#39;s head  12 , such that battery compartment  94  is readily accessible through closure  28 , which may be a hook and loop fastener (such as Velcro), snaps, a zipper, or other suitable fastening closure means. 
     Although it is preferred that horse&#39;s head  12  is a stuffed toy, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that horse&#39;s head  12  may also be made of a rigid material, such as wood or plastic, having a hollow interior to accommodate the speaker, gear box, control system and batteries described above. The stick horse  10  may also be provided with various accessories to enhance interactive play, such as a bridle  96  and brush  98  (FIG.  1 ). 
     In addition to the stick horse  10  described above, the present invention is readily applied to rocking horses, spring horses, and other ride-on toys. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments illustrated herein, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. Thus, the invention is not to be limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.