Patent Publication Number: US-2006017543-A1

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

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      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  
      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.  
      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 responder  22  of the toy  14 . The responder  22  produces a response signal, also in the radio frequency spectrum, in response to the pulse signal from the query circuit  20  of the base  12 . The query circuit  20  is further operable to detect the response signal from the responder  22  and to provide an indication to the microprocessor  16  of the proximity of the toy  14 . When the microprocessor  16  receives an indication of the proximity of the toy  14 , it commands the audio circuit  18  to produce an audible signal directed to the child.  
      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 . Rather, the audible signals from the base  12  are a function of the relative positions of between the toy  14  and the base  12 . This severely limits the scope of interactive play between the child and the toy  14 . Further, there is no relationship between the audio signal from the base  12  and the surroundings in which the base  12 , the toy  14 , and the child are located. Indeed, the only variable that affects the audible signal issued by the audio circuit  18  is the proximity and/or orientation of the toy  14  with respect to the base  12 .  
      Accordingly, it would be desirable to employ new methods and/or apparatuses for facilitating communication between a user, for example a child, and a toy which take into account the proximity of the user to the toy and/or the surroundings in which the user and toy are located, thereby greatly expanding the range of interactive play enjoyed by the user.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus includes: at least one mobile item operable to be carried by a user and including a radio frequency tag operable to produce an answer electromagnetic wave 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 the answer electromagnetic wave, and the interaction circuit being operable to select an output perceptible by the user based on the answer electromagnetic wave.  
      In accordance with at least one further aspect of the present invention, an apparatus includes: a plurality of radio frequency tags operable 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.  
      In accordance with at least one still further aspect of the present invention, a method includes: providing at least one mobile item operable to be carried by a user and emit an answer electromagnetic wave in response to receiving a query electromagnetic wave; providing a toy operable to emit the query electromagnetic wave and receive the answer electromagnetic wave; and selecting an output to issue from the toy that is perceptible by the user based on the answer electromagnetic wave.  
      Other features, aspects, advantages and the like with become apparent to one skilled in the art when the disclosure herein is taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      For the purposes of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings forms which are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.  
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a conventional apparatus for facilitating communication between a base and a toy in accordance with the prior art;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a method and/or apparatus for facilitating communication between a user and a toy in accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating an example of circuitry which may be employed to facilitate the communication between the user and the toy in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus and/or method of facilitating communication between one or more users and a toy and/or one or more locations in which the user(s) and toy may be deposed in accordance with one or more further aspects of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the process steps that may be carried out in accordance with the invention shown in  FIGS. 2, 3 , or  4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       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.  
      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, rectification power supply, logic/memory, a receiver, and an oscillator. Additional details concerning this type of RF tag  108  may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,912,632, entitled SINGLE CHIP RF TAG OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT SYNCHRONIZED BY BASE STATION MODULATION FREQUENCY, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Alternatively, the RF tag  108  may be implemented utilizing resonant LC circuitry, Which is significantly less complex. Additional details concerning the use of resonant RF tags may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,470, entitled OBJECT RECOGNITION SYSTEM, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
      The query circuit  130  is preferably operative to produce the query electromagnetic wave either periodically or otherwise such that when the mobile item  106  comes within sufficient proximity to the toy  104 , the query circuit  130  is operable to receive the answer electromagnetic wave issued from the RF tag  108 . The interaction circuit  110  is preferably operable to select and issue an output that is perceptible by the user  102  and that is based on the answer electromagnetic wave. By way of example, the toy  104  may be a stuffed animal, e.g., a teddy bear, and the interaction circuit  110  may be operable to issue an audible output based on an answer electromagnetic wave issued by the RF tag  108 . When the user  102 , carrying the mobile item  106 , comes sufficiently close to the toy  104 , for example, when the user  102  enters a room in which the toy  104  is located, the query circuit  130  may issue a query electromagnetic wave causing the RF tag  108  to issue an answer electromagnetic wave. The query circuit  130  may then provide an indication to the interaction circuit  110  that an answer electromagnetic wave was received. In response, the interaction circuit  110  may issue an appropriate audible output, for example, “Teddy would love a hug.” As the interaction circuit  110  would not issue the audible output until the user  102 , carrying the mobile item  106 , came within proximity to the toy  104 , it would appear that the toy  104  issued the audible output in response to the user  102  himself. Advantageously, this yields enjoyable interactive play between the user  102  and the toy  104 .  
      With reference to  FIG. 3 , additional details concerning the query circuit  130  and interaction circuit  110  will now be described. The query circuit  130  preferably includes a send circuit  132  operable to produce the query electromagnetic wave, and a sense circuit  134  operable to receive the answer electromagnetic wave. Any of the known circuit topologies and/or techniques may be employed in implementing the send circuit  132  and the sense circuit  134 . As illustrated, the send circuit  132  and the sense circuit  134  includes an antenna  132 A,  134 A, respectively, it being understood that a single antenna may be employed when suitable circuit techniques are used.  
      The interaction circuit  110  preferably includes a microprocessor  112  operating under the control of a suitable software program. The interaction circuit  110  also preferably includes a memory  114 , a power supply  116 , an output circuit  118 , and one or more output transducers  120 . The memory  114  is preferably operable to store the software program mentioned above and/or a plurality of selectable outputs, which will be described in more detail hereinbelow. The power supply  116  is preferably operable to supply operating voltage and current to the various circuits within the toy  104 , it being most preferred that the power supply  116  is controllable by the microprocessor  112  to selectively supply the operating voltage and current to at least some of the circuits. The output circuit  118  is preferably operable to convert a signal issued by the microprocessor  112  that corresponds to the selected output into another signal suitable for driving the one or more output transducers  120 . For example, the output transducers  120  may include at least one of an audio transducer (such as a speaker); a visual transducer (such as one or more lights, a video display, etc.); a tactile transducer (such as a vibrating element, a heating element, a cooling element, etc.); and a mechanical transducer (such as a motorized element or elements directed to movement of the toy  104 ). Depending on the type and number of output transducers  120 , the output circuit  118  includes the necessary circuitry for driving such transducers  120 . Any of the known circuit configurations and/or techniques may be employed in implementing the output circuit  118 .  
      In accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention, the memory  114  preferably stores a plurality of outputs selectable by the microprocessor  112 . For example, the selectable outputs may include a plurality of phrases that, when issued as audible signals from the output transducer  120  (such as a speaker), result in suitable interactive play between the user  102  and the toy  104 . In accordance with at least one further aspect of the present invention, a plurality of mobile items  106  are preferably employed, where each mobile item  106  includes a separate RF tag  108 , such as RF tag  1 , RF tag  2 , . . . RF tag N. The respective RF tags  1 ,  2 , . . . N are preferably operable to issue differing answer electromagnetic waves that are distinguishable by the sense circuit  134  and/or the microprocessor  112 . Irrespective of whether one or many mobile items  106  are employed, the microprocessor  112  is preferably operable to select one of the plurality of selectable outputs (such as a particular phrase) corresponding to the received answer electromagnetic wave. When a plurality of mobile items  106  are employed, the output issued by the output transducer  120  may be dependent on which of the one or more mobile items  106  came within proximity of the toy  104 .  
      By way of illustration, if the memory  114  includes two selectable phrases, namely, phrase 1: “Hello mommy;” and phrase 2: “Hello daddy,” the software program may be implemented such that the microprocessor  112  selects phrase 1 when the answer electromagnetic wave issued by RF tag  1  is received by the sense circuit  134  and/or selects phrase 2 when the answer electromagnetic wave issued from RF tag  2  is received by the sense circuit  134 . Thus, the user  102  may select one or more of the mobile items  106  to suit his or her desires for interactive play. Alternatively, more than one user  102  may take part in the interactive play, where one of the users  102  possesses a first mobile item  106  and another user  102  possess a second mobile item  106 .  
      In accordance with at least one further aspect of the present invention, the interaction circuit  110  is preferably operable to associate a user defined output with one or more answer electromagnetic waves such that the interaction circuit  110  is operable to select the user defined output based on receiving the associated answer electromagnetic wave. For example, the user  102  may be prompted by the interaction circuit  110  as to which of phrases 1 and 2 (i.e., a user defined phrase) should be associated with the answer electromagnetic wave issued from the first mobile item  106  and from the second mobile item  106 , respectively.  
      Alternatively, when only one mobile item  106  is employed, the user  102  may be prompted to select which one or more stored phrases should be issued by the output transducer  120  in response to the answer electromagnetic wave received from that mobile item  106 .  
      In accordance with at least one further aspect of the invention, the interaction circuit  110  is preferably operable to receive a user defined phrase from the user  102  and associate the user defined phrase with one or more of the answer electromagnetic waves, specified by the user  102 . For example, the microprocessor  112  may be operable to receive the user defined phrase through a port  122  (e.g., a data port) or through the output transducer  120  (e.g., a speaker operating as a microphone) and to store the user defined phrase in the memory  114  for selection when the associated answer electromagnetic wave is received. By way of illustration, the user  102  may input his or her name (i.e., a user defined phrase) into the interaction circuit  110  such that the toy  104  greets the user  102  by name.  
      In accordance with at least one further aspect of the present invention, the microprocessor  112  is preferably operable to turn on certain portions of the interaction circuit  110  in response to the detection of an answer electromagnetic wave. For example, the power supply  116  may supply sufficient “stand by” power for the send circuit  132  and sense circuit  134  to perform their functions from time to time, but not supply power to other portions of the interaction circuit  110 , such as the memory  114 , the output circuit  118 , the output transducers  120 , etc. When an answer electromagnetic wave is received by the sense circuit  134 , however, the microprocessor  112  is preferably operable to signal the power supply  116  to provide power to the other circuits in order to facilitate issuing an output from the one or more output transducers  120  that is perceptible by the user  102 . Advantageously, this can conserve power and prolong use of the toy  104 .  
      Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which is a block diagram illustrating one or more further aspects of the present invention. In particular,  FIG. 4  illustrates an apparatus  200  including a plurality of RF tags.  1 ,  2 , . . . N, preferably disposed at different locations A, B, etc.; at least one toy  104 , such as that shown and described hereinabove with respect to  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; and at least one further RF tag  108  in the possession one or more users  102 , preferably within one or more mobile items  106 .  
      With reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a flow diagram is shown illustrating process actions that may take place in accordance with the invention shown in  FIG. 4 . When the process has started, the interaction circuit  110  preferably makes a determination as to whether any RF tag is in proximity to the toy  104  (action  300 ). If no RF tag is in the vicinity of the toy  104 , the process flow loops back to action  300  until an RF tag is detected. At that point, the interaction circuit  110  preferably determines which of the one or more RF tags are in the vicinity of the toy  104 . This may be carried out in parallel (as shown in  FIG. 5 ) or serially without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the interaction circuit  110  preferably determines whether RF tag  1  is in the vicinity of the toy  104  (action  302 ) if so, the interaction circuit  110  preferably stores information indicating that the RF tag  1  is present (action  304 ). If RF tag  1  is not in the vicinity of the toy  104 , then the process flow moves to action  306 . Similar determinations are made as to whether RF tag  2  is in the vicinity of the toy  104  (e.g., actions  308 ,  310 ) and whether other RF tags, such as RF tag N is in the vicinity of the toy  104  (e.g., actions  312 ,  314 ).  
      The interaction circuit  110  is preferably capable of discriminating between the plurality of RF tags  1 ,  2 , . . . N from the plurality of locations A, B, . . . N and/or the plurality of mobile items  106  using any of the known techniques. For example, each RF tag may issue an answer electromagnetic wave at a slightly different frequency in response to the query electromagnetic wave. Thus, the interaction circuit  110  may discriminate between the frequencies of the answer electromagnetic waves in determining whether a particular RF tag is in the vicinity of the toy  104 . Alternatively, the answer electromagnetic waves may include a unique code identifying the RF tag from which it is issued and the interaction circuit  110  may discriminate between the RF tags based on the extraction of the unique codes from the received answer electromagnetic waves. In either of these two cases, or using any other known technique, the interaction circuit  110  preferably stores information as to whether one or more of the RF tags are in the vicinity of the toy  104 . By way of example, this may achieved by the microprocessor  112  assigning (e.g., tagging, creating, etc.) an index number, e.g.,  001 ,  002 , . . .  00 N when the sense circuit  134  provides an indication that a particular answer electromagnetic wave has been received. The index number may then be stored in memory  114  for later reference.  
      The interaction circuit  110  is preferably operable to select an output perceptible by the one or more users  102  in response to answer electromagnetic wave(s) received from one or more of the plurality of RF tags  1 ,  2 , . . . N (such as from locations A, B, . . . N and/or mobile items  106 ). It is most preferred that the interaction circuit  110  select an output, such as a phrase, that includes characteristics that correspond to one or more of the locations, A, B, . . . and/or N, from which the answer electromagnetic wave(s) are received. For example, the locations A, B, . . . N may represent rooms in the home of the user  102 , such as a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, a family room, a bedroom, a bathroom, a basement, a garage, a foyer, an attic, a hallway, etc. When RF tag  1  is dispose at location A, for example, a kitchen, the answer electromagnetic wave issued by the RF tag  1  preferably includes information identifying location A as such, e.g., by way of unique code or-frequency of oscillation. When RF tag  2  is disposed at location B, a bedroom, the answer electromagnetic wave issued by the RF tag  2  preferably includes information identifying location B as such, etc. The interaction circuit  110  preferably selects an appropriate output from among the plurality of stored outputs based on which RF tags are present. In particular, the microprocessor  112  may retrieve the stored index number(s) from the memory  114  indicating which of RF tags were found to be in the vicinity of the toy  104 . An appropriate output may then be selected by the microprocessor  112  based on the index numbers.  
      By way of example, index number  001  may be associated with location A, e.g., the kitchen; index number  002  may be associated with location B, e.g., the bedroom, etc. When the microprocessor  112  determines that an RF tag of a mobile item  106  is in the vicinity of the toy  104  and that RF tag  1  of location A (e.g., the kitchen) has been sensed (e.g., actions  302 ,  304 ), then the microprocessor  112  may select the phrase “Its time for breakfast” (action  306 ). Alternatively, when the microprocessor  112  determines that RF tag  2  of location B (e.g., the bedroom) has been sensed (e.g., actions  308 ,  310 ), then the microprocessor  112  may preferably select the phrase “Its time for bed.” Still further, when the RF tag of the mobile item  106  has been associated with a particular user defined phrase (such as the user&#39;s name), the microprocessor  112  may be operable to select the phrase “John, its time for bed.” 
      When the selection of the appropriate output is complete (action  306 ), then the process loops back to action  300 .  
      It will be apparent to the skilled artisan having read the disclosure herein that many differing combinations of RF tags, mobile items  106 , users  102 , toys  104 , and outputs may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.  
      Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.