Abstract:
An electric toy ( 10 ) is disclosed as including a microphone ( 14 ) for recording sound, and a speaker ( 16 ) for automatically playing back, after cessation of recording, the recorded sound at a different speed and/or different pitch.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a toy and, in particular, an electric toy capable of recording sound and playing back the recorded sound. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    There are various electric toys which are capable of recording sound and playing back the recorded sound. In most such toys, once sound is recorded, it will only be played back upon activation of a switch or button. In addition, the sound as played back is exactly that as recorded. Such an arrangement is monotonous and lacking in interest. It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a toy in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the trade and public. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    According to the present invention, there is provided an electric toy including means for recording sound; means for automatically playing back, after cessation of recording, the recorded sound at a different speed and/or different pitch; and means for randomly increasing or decreasing the speed of said recorded sound and/or raising or lowering the pitch of said recorded sound. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    An electric toy according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below, as an example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an electric toy incorporating the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a diagram of an exemplary electronic circuit suitable for use in the toy of the present invention; and 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart of the operation of the toy of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , an electric toy according to the present invention is in the form of a stuffed toy, generally designated as  10 , although it is of course readily apparent that the toy  10  may be in any other appropriate form or shape. A switch or button (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) may be positioned within a finger or toe of the toy  10  and actuatable by a user, e.g. by pressing the finger or toe. A microphone and a speaker (both not shown in  FIG. 1 ) forming part of an electronic circuitry (to be further discussed below) are placed within the body of the toy  10 . The speaker may be positioned close to the mouth  11  of the toy  10 , to provide talking effect of the animal represented by the toy  10 . A light-emitting-diode (LED) (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) may be positioned close to or on the surface of the toy  10  (e.g. as one of the eyes of the toy  10 ). Alternatively, the circuitry may be provided with two LEDs, each as one of the eyes of the toy  10 . 
         [0009]    An exemplary electronic circuit suitable for use in the present invention is shown in  FIG. 2 . The circuit includes a switch or button  12  for changing the circuit from “Standby” mode to “Operation” mode, a microphone  14  for receiving sound from the outside environment and transmitting the received sound to a sound controller (to be discussed below) for recording and manipulation, a speaker  16  for playing back the recorded sound which has been manipulated by the electronic circuit in a manner to be discussed below, and an LED  18  for signifying the mode of operation of the toy  10 . As discussed above, two LEDs may be arranged in parallel with each other so that each acts as one of the eyes of the toy  10 . 
         [0010]    An audio driver  20  suitable for use in the electronic circuit in the present invention may be one traded by Generalplus Technology Inc. of Taiwan under their Model No. GPY0030B; a CMOS serial flash memory  22  suitable for use in the electronic circuit in the present invention may be a chip which is in 512 k×1 bit structure and traded by Generalplus Technology Inc. of Taiwan under their Model No. GPR25L005B; and a sound controller  24  suitable for use in the electronic circuit in the present invention may be a 16-bit sound controller traded by Generalplus Technology Inc. of Taiwan under their Model No. GPCE048A, which includes a 16-bit microprocessor, a 24 k-word ROM, and a 2 k-word working SRAM. 
         [0011]    The circuit also includes a motor M. In particular, within the toy  10  and close to the mouth  11  of the toy  10  are provided a number of mechanical linkages (not shown) which are drivable by the motor M to open and close the mouth  11 , to mimic speaking movement of the mouth  11 . 
         [0012]    A flow-chart showing the steps of operation of the toy  10  according to this invention is shown in  FIG. 3 . When the toy  10  is switched on, it is usually in a “Standby” mode (Step  102 ). It will detect whether the button  12  is pressed (Step  104 ). If not, it will remain in its “Standby” mode. If the button  12  is pressed, the LED  18  will turn on (Step  106 ), thus emitting light, signifying that the toy  10  is “awakened”, and is in an “Operation” mode. 
         [0013]    If sound is made and detected by the toy  10  when it is awakened, the sound will be received by the microphone  14  and recorded in the sound controller  24  (Step  108 ). It is pre-set that the toy  10  will record sound of time duration of up to a maximum of four seconds. An analog-to-digital converter (A/D Converter) in the electronic circuit converts the recorded analog sound into digital data (Step  110 ). 
         [0014]    The toy  10  will keep on recording (Step  112 ) until it has recorded for up to four seconds (Step  114 ) or until there has been a period of silence of at least 0.5 second (Step  116 ). In either of these cases, the toy  10  will stop recording (Step  118 ). The LED  18  will also turn off (Step  120 ). 
         [0015]    The sound controller  24  will manipulate the digital data of the recorded sound by, randomly: 
         [0016]    a. increasing or decreasing the speed of the recorded sound by up to 30% of the original speed of the sound; and/or 
         [0017]    b. raising or lowering the pitch of the recorded sound. 
         [0018]    A digital-to-analog converter (D/A Converter) in the electronic circuit then converts the manipulated digital data of the recorded sound into analog signals for playback (Step  122 ). The amplifier in the circuit will also gain the analog signals for subsequent playback, the speaker  16  will then play back the amplified analog signals, and the motor M will operate to drive the mechanical linkages to move the mouth  11  of the toy  10  synchronously during the time of playback, so as to mimic the speaking movement of the mouth  11  (Step  124 ). When playback is finished, the motor M will turn off (Step  126 ), and the LED  18  will turn on again (Step  128 ). The toy  10  will then remain in this awakened “Operation” mode for up to thirty seconds (Step  130 ). If sound is detected within this thirty-second period, the toy  10  will proceed to Step  106  and  108 , and so on. If, on the other hand, no sound is detected within this thirty-second period, the toy  10  will return to “Standby” mode (Step  132 ). 
         [0019]    It can be seen that, in the toy  10  according to the present invention: 
         [0020]    1. the toy  10  will play back the (changed) recorded sound automatically without the user having to further press any button or switch, thus enhancing the ease of playing the toy  10 ; 
         [0021]    2. the sound as played back by the toy  10  differs from the originally recorded sound in terms of speed and/or pitch, thus adding to the fun of playing the toy  10 ; and 
         [0022]    3. whether the sound as played back by the toy  10  is faster, slower, of a higher pitch or of a lower pitch than the originally recorded sound is random and not controlled by the user. This element of randomness/uncertainty adds further fun to the playing of the toy  10 . 
         [0023]    It should be understood that the above only illustrates and describes an example whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination.