Abstract:
A musical toy includes a vehicle traveling on a track which includes visual indicia representative of a standard nine note musical staff. Note tiles having first fastener halves may engage with second fasteners at predetermined locations on the track corresponding with the locations of notes on the represented staff. Switch operators facing down from the train may sense the note tiles to play the music so represented by the note tiles and track arranged in the staff and note configuration. The note tiles and track fastener features could be constructed in a format similar to the familiar stud and tube blocks of the popular Lego® system. An additional row of fastener halves could reside on the track adjacent to the main musical staff or outside the rails to allow for placement of tiles that could trigger sharp or flat notes, standard chords or perhaps percussive beat patterns. Also a cap placed on the top of the note blocks could trigger a distinct signal that could change the output to produce sharps, flats, a shift to a higher or lower octave or similar effects.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims of the benefit U.S. provisional application No. 61/785,689 filed Mar. 14, 2013 entitled Programmable Track Musical Toy and hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to musical toys and in particular to a musical vehicle that runs on a track representing the standard musical staff on which note tiles may be placed to be played by the vehicle. 
     Toy trains that play music when they run are well known in the art. Spring or battery powered trains including a music box or the like play a tune as they move across a track or a floor. Different tunes may be played by replacing a portion of the music box such as the disk or drum holding pins which engage a sound producing mechanism. Such trains provide limited play value insofar as the songs are either fixed or selected from a fairly narrow repertoire. 
     In order to increase the toy play value, an alternative design may be adopted which allows the child to compose his or her own music that the train may play as it moves along. U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,679, for example, describes one such train in which the ties of a railroad type track are xylophone bars which may be struck by the train as it travels along the track. The ties are replaceable so that by proper selection and sequencing of the ties, an arbitrary melody may be played. Nevertheless, the number of tunes that may be played with this device is severely limited for practical implementations by the number of ties that can be provided. For example for a simple eight note melody, sixty-four different tone bars would be required to allow complete compositional flexibility even constrained to a single octave. Typically, a child will find that one or more notes required for the melody has been exhausted. 
     Also, the xylophone-type train, while allowing greater creative input by the child, uses compositional metaphor (ties on a track) that is foreign to conventional musical notation, thus failing to take advantage of a valuable educational opportunity for early musical training. 
     A more coherent version of the musical metaphor is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,025 wherein the relationship of the musical staff and the notes on the track are referenced. Still, the visual analog of the musical staff therein remains vague, and the beats per note are not readily apparent to the user in the layout of the design. The devise as described does not account for the inclusion of sharp and flat notes or a means to play notes in a higher or lower octave. 
     Additionally, in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,025 the attachment means of the note tiles does not provide a secure snap fit means. Thus, the smallest note tile must be sufficiently large to provide reliable stability to the system when engaging the levers on the vehicle so as to remain upright. This yields a track that is restrictively long for a child&#39;s toy. Particularly when a single line of musical track without curved connecting tracks is preferred to reduce cost and/or space requirements. 
     What is needed is a toy that provides the groundwork for early exposure to musical composition by providing a clear visual representation of the musical staff and having features that allow for playing a wider variety of note types and scales in a system that is compact in size with a secure connection method that is familiar to children. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a toy vehicle and track, the latter depicting the five lines and four spaces of a standard musical staff Detachable note tiles may be snapped into different transverse positions onto the surface of the track approximating the position of notes on the staff and having different lengths to represent different note durations. The train traveling along the track plays notes according to the position of the note tiles and their length in the direction that the train travels. 
     Specifically, the present invention provides a musical toy having a vehicle having a carriage supported by wheels and holding a musical instrument having a plurality of transversely arrayed operators actuable to produce corresponding musical notes, the musical instrument held by the carriage of the vehicle to expose the operators therebelow. A plurality of note tiles have an upper surface for activating the operators and a lower surface having a first fastener half and fit against a track having longitudinally extending guides so the vehicle may move along the track in a longitudinal direction as oriented by the guides. The track further has a plurality of second fastener halves to releasably receive the first fastener halves of the note tiles in engagement at different transverse locations so that the upper surface of the note tiles may actuate the operators of the musical instrument when the vehicle passes over the engaged note tiles. The second fastener half comprises upwardly extending cylindrical studs arranged in rectilinear longitudinal rows and transverse columns and the first fastener half comprises a socket deforming to receive the cylindrical studs. 
     It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a more robust attachment method for the note tiles that provides compatibility with popular building sets. 
     The note tiles may be attached to posts on the track in a the familiar stud and tube method that construction toys such as Lego® utilize. 
     It is thus a feature of the invention to provide a simple, yet rigid means of attachment that is familiar to children. 
     The musical toy may further include a printed diagram depicting the track and note tiles adjacent to a parallel musical staff and notes, where the note tiles are aligned with the notes and wherein the note tiles are arranged on the track to play a song depicted by the musical staff and notes. The rows of studs may correspond in number to lines and spaces of a standard musical staff, for example equaling nine. In addition or alternatively, alternate longitudinal rows of cylindrical studs may be colored in a darker color than the intervening rows of longitudinal studs to depict staff lines. 
     It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide a toy whose track provides a visual analog to the conventional musical staff to help teach musical concepts. 
     A longitudinal outer extent of the tiles may provide a feature such as a notch and the operator may sense the feature to modulate a note. The modulation may for example add tremolo, vibrato, or rhythmic beats to the note. 
     It is thus an object of at least one embodiment of the invention to provide additional dimension of musical control while preserving the basic staff form of the track. 
     The musical instrument may include capping elements having a lower surface releasably attaching to an upper surface of the note tiles having an upper surface for activating the operators to change a note played by the musical instrument with respect to that played by the note tile without the capping element. The capping elements may make the note flat or sharp, move it up or down an octave, or change the instrument or timbre of the note. 
     It is thus a feature of at least one embodiment of the invention to permit advanced musical concepts to be incorporated into the toy as a child&#39;s musical knowledge advances. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof and in which there is shown by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the invention, however, and reference must be made to the claims herein for interpreting the scope of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the toy of the present invention including a housing representing a train engine and incorporating a musical instrument held on a chassis, and further showing a track on which the chassis may ride, the track providing indicia representing a standard musical staff of one octave having various note tiles placed thereon; 
         FIG. 2  is a view of the carriage of the train of  FIG. 1  without the housing showing the engagement of wheels with a motor unit and showing a plurality of switch operators extending through the bottom of the carriage to be engaged by the note tiles; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of the electrical circuitry actuated by the actuators of  FIG. 2  to produce polyphonic music; 
         FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  are perspective representations of two note tiles for half and quarter notes, respectively, showing the actuator elements on top of the note tiles and engaging notches receiving note ridges and measure ridges of the track; 
         FIG. 5  is a pictorial representation of the relationship between note tile lengths and notes used in standard musical notation and showing indicia placed on the note tiles to reflect this correspondence; 
         FIG. 6  is a figure of the underside of the half note tile of  FIG. 4  showing internal structure and grooves for accepting note and measure ridges of the track; 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 1  showing engagement of the note tiles of  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  with the track of  FIG. 1  on note ridges or between note ridges by press fit; 
         FIG. 8  is a graphic representation of a standard musical staff showing the notes corresponding to lines and spaces; and 
         FIG. 9  is a plan view of the track of  FIG. 1  showing the corresponding note ridges and spaces and their representative notes. 
         FIG. 10  is a pictorial representation of an alternative embodiment for the note blocks showing the beats for various notes used in standard musical notation and said note blocks having raised indicia that correspond to the beats for each type of note. 
         FIG. 11   a  is a view of the underside of the quarter note block of  FIG. 10  with engaging studs shown in fragment for one embodiment of the internal socket structure that uses converging central arcs for securing the note block to the track of  FIG. 12 . 
         FIG. 11   b  is a view of the underside of an alternative embodiment of a quarter note block showing the internal structure that uses a central tube for securing the note block to the track of  FIG. 12 , also showing the studs in fragment as engaged to this socket structure. 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the toy of the preferred embodiment showing a track, the track providing posts of alternating black and white color as attachment means for the note blocks of  FIG. 10  and having other indicia representing a standard musical staff of one octave and having various note blocks placed thereon; 
         FIG. 13  is a view of a sample songbook page showing the relationship of the musical staff measures and notes to their corresponding placement on the track. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of the quarter note block of  FIG. 11   a  showing the bridge element between the two posts on the top surface as well as the recessed side surface. 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of the quarter note block of  FIG. 11   b  showing the upper posts that receive the capping plate and have a gap between the posts. 
         FIG. 16  is a full perspective view of the track segment shown in  FIG. 12 ; the track consisting of six measures. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Background Design 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a musical toy  10  of the present invention includes a vehicle, in this case a train  12 , having flanged wheels  14  engaging upwardly extending outer rails  16  of a track  18  to move thereon in a longitudinal direction  30 . Placed at various locations on the upper surface of the track  18  are note tiles  20  having upwardly extending actuator ridges  22  as will be described further below. 
     Referring now also to  FIG. 2 , the train  12  rides upon a carriage  24  holding the wheels  14  for rotation and providing a bottom surface  26  which travels along the upper surface of track  18  above the actuator ridges  22  of the note tiles  20  when the train  12  moves therealong. Supported by the bottom surface  26  is a transverse array of nine switch operators  28 . The operators  28  extend through the bottom surface of the bottom surface  26  to be pressed upward by actuator ridges  22  of different note tiles  20  when a note tile passes beneath an operator  28 . 
     The front two pairs of wheels  14  are attached to a truck  15  that may swivel about vertical axis  17  to allow the train to navigate limited radius curves according to methods well known in the art. The rear wheels  14  are connected to a motor unit  31  such as may be battery powered electric motor or a spring motor or the like and which provides for automatic propulsion of the train  12  along the track  18 . The motor unit  31  may include an actuator lever  32  controlling its speed and thus the speed that the train  12  passes along the track  18 . As will be understood from the description that follows, the lever  32  may thus control the tempo of the played music. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , each operator  28  may press one of a different bank of eight single pole, single throw switches  36  having one side connected to a ground connection and the other side connected to an input of a sound integrated circuit  38 . Sound integrated circuit  38  connects to a speaker  40  and receives a power from a set of batteries  42  through the on/off switch  44  actuated by operator  34  extending from the side of the carriage  24  so as to be accessible when the train housing  13  is on the carriage  24 . 
     It will be appreciated that the operators  28  need not be mechanical operators but may be, for example, proximity sensing operators, such as optical sensors, capacitive sensors, inductive sensors or the like for detecting the note tiles. For this purpose, the note tiles may be treated with a material to improve sensing, for example, retroreflective beads, paint, ferrite, magnets or the like. 
     As configured, one or more tones may be electrically generated by the sound integrated circuit  38  when particular ones of the switches  36  are pressed. Sound integrated circuits are commercially available from a number of suppliers. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b , each note tile  20  is a generally rectangular concave shell molded of a material such as a thermoplastic so as to be press fit into engagement with elements of the track  18  as will be described. The upper surface of the note tiles  20  include actuator ridges  22  extending longitudinally when the train  12  travels along the track  18 . 
     Referring now also to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the concave lower surface of the note tiles  20  include transverse stiffening ribs  46  and having centered notches  48  corresponding to centered notches  48  in longitudinally opposed end panels  50  of the note tiles  20 . The notches  48  may engage one of five note ridges  52  extending longitudinally along the track  18  and spaced apart from other note ridges  52  in a transverse direction. Each note ridges  52  is an upwardly extending rail generally parallel to the rails  16  along which the train travels. The notches  48  may be wedge shaped so as to tightly engage against corresponding wedge shaped note ridges  52 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , a conventional octave staff  56  is shown having five lines  58  and four spaces  60 , the spaces corresponding to the letters F, A, C, E (in ascending order) and the lines corresponding to the notes E, G, B, D, F. Referring to  FIG. 9 , the five note ridges  52  correspond visually to the lines  58  of the stave and provide therebetween four channels  62  corresponding to the spaces  60  of the staff  56 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , the notches  48  of the note tiles  20  may thus engage any one of the note ridges  52  allowing the note tiles  20  to be positioned along a pitch direction  64  in any one of five different locations corresponding generally to notes E, G, B, D, F. Alternatively, the note tiles  20  may be placed between the note ridges  52  in the channels  62  to be press fit with their opposed transverse walls engaged by adjacent note ridges  52  in any one of four locations corresponding generally to the notes F, A, C, E. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 4   a , for a note tile  20  representing an eighth note  67 , its end panels  50  are separated by a unit distance L which, referring to  FIG. 1 , equals the separation of a set of transversely extending measure rails  66  and  68  crossing the note rails  52  on the upper surface of the track  18 . The measure rails  66  and  68  represent a regular fraction of a measure such as a beat, allowing the eighth note tile  67  to fit at regular longitudinal locations between any two measure rails  66  and  68 . Thus precision in rhythm may be enforced by means of the measure rails  68  and  66 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4   b  for longer note tiles, for example, half note tile  70 , having a separation of end panels  50  equal to 3 L, measure rail notches  72  are cut every L distance in the side panels so as to allow the note tile  70  to be placed also at regular intervals of L along the track but spanning several of the measure rails  68  and  66 . 
     Rails  66  and  68  may be visually distinguishable either by shape or color as to provide an indication of the particular beat represented by the measure rails  68  and  66 , for example, in 2/4 time. Alternatively, it will be understood that distinctions may be made between sets of four adjacent measure rails  68  and  66  to provide more metrical resolution. Further numbers or other indicia may be placed near these rails for guidance of the child. 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the longitudinal length of the note tiles  20  corresponds to the type of note represented. As shown in  FIG. 5 , four different note tiles  20   a  through  20   d  may correspond to four types of note from whole note  68   a  through eighth note  68   d . Depending on the circuitry and configuration of the sound integrated circuit  38 , the meaning of the different length of note tiles  20   a  through  20   d  may either be the separation of a played note from the next note, for example, as played on a piano, or the duration of the note, for example as played on an organ. It will be understood that the actuator ridge  22  thus need not be continuous but may be only an initial leading edge of the note tile  20 . The symbol for the particular note  68   a  through  68   d  may be embossed or hot stamped on the surface of the note tiles  20   a  through  20   d . The different note tiles  20  may also be given different colors to facilitate their selection by the child. The length of each note tile  20  is preferably an even integer multiple of the length of shorter note tiles  20  so as to correspond with standard musical convention. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 9 , track  18  is preferably fabricated sections, each section having at one longitudinal end attachment fingers  74  engaging corresponding attachment sockets  76  on the opposed longitudinal end of an adjacent track  18 . Further, it will be recognized that curved track sections  77  may be produced allowing for loops of track to be created. Clearly other train-type track conventions may be blended with the musical capabilities of the present invention allowing, for example, switch sections and multiple loops. In looping configurations, multiple trains  12  may be placed on a track to provide for Rondo-type arrangements. 
     Current Improvement 
     Referring now to another embodiment of the invention, the  FIG. 10  note blocks  86 ( a ) though  86 ( d ) are shown in comparison to their corresponding musical notes  82 . As previously described, each musical note  82  has a tone that is sustained for a prescribed duration of time. This duration is represented in  FIG. 10  as the individual beats of musical time  84 . Similarly, each note block  86  has a prescribed number of raised posts  88  that is equal to the number of beats  84  in its corresponding note type  82 . For example, the last note block  86   d  has four beats  84  and represents a half note  82  as shown. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11   a  there is shown the underside of a quarter note block  86   b . The note block  86   b  made of plastic such as ABS has a thin walled shell design to receive the posts  94  from the track  110 . Thus the note blocks can be securely connected to the track  110  of  FIG. 12  with a press-fit condition between their inner shell and the outer wall of the posts  94 . The thickness of the shell walls and the distance between the posts are designed in such a way that any two or more note blocks  86  can be placed adjacent to each other to play notes consecutively. Optionally, feature  85  of  FIG. 11   a  shows the side walls of the note blocks as necked in between the posts to highlight the number of beats they represent. 
     The note blocks  86  may be configured to be compatible with the popular “Lego” brand of construction blocks and may be sized to use blocks from those collections. The mechanism of such blocks is described in detail, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,282 hereby incorporated by reference.  FIG. 11   b  shows the underside of a typical stud and tube block  85 . The block shown is analogous to the quarter note block  86 ( b ) of  FIG. 10 . The tube  80  protruding downward is press fit between the studs  94  of the note block  85 . Stud-and-tube blocks are known to fit tightly to the posts in that type of system. This method could be employed in the present design if desired. However, because fast assembly and disassembly are desirable benefits of this invention, a lowered removal force could be achieved by making the posts  94  of the track  110  slightly smaller in diameter than typical Lego posts, while maintaining the other inner and outer wall dimensions of a typical Lego. In addition, it may be desirable to produce the blocks at a smaller scale than that of the Lego brand which could provide the benefit by minimizing cost and space considerations. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 12  there is shown a track  110  with rails  90  between which are assembled the note blocks  86 . The rails  90  provide guides for a vehicle that runs along the rails and over the note blocks  86 . The rails  90  are generally trapezoidal and raised above the studs to allow for vertical space in which to place the note blocks  86 . Similar to the aforementioned note tiles  20  of  FIG. 7 , the note blocks  86  are attached to the track  110  by locating them horizontally in the music measures  96  and vertically on one of a series of rows of alternating black and white posts  94 . In this way the alternating rows of posts  94  on the track  110  represent a clear linear analog of the five black lines and four white spaces of a musical staff. Since plastic injection molding is most efficiently done in a single color of resin, a secondary paining operation would be required to apply the alternating rows of black and white color contrast. Tamping or rollers are means to applying the color, and the rows of raised posts are ideally suited for these methods of color application due to the separation of the post tops from one another and from other non-painted surfaces. Note that alternatively, the raised posts  94  could be recessed into the track and the note blocks might have protruding pegs as a connection means. 
     Now referring to  FIG. 13 , the songbook page  112  is a guide for placing the notes  86  onto the track  110 . The musical staff  100  contains the arrangement of the color-coded notes  102  for a given song. Directly beneath the musical staff  100 , the track segment  104  is shown on the songbook page  112  with the corresponding color-coded quarter note block  86 ( b ) in line With the color-coded musical symbol for a quarter note  102 . This provides a clear illustration of the relationship between the actual musical staff  100  and the note blocks on the track segment  104 . In addition, the two posts on the note block  86 ( b ) demonstrate to the user the association between the quarter note symbol  82  and two musical beats  84  as previously described in  FIG. 10 . Thus it is clear to the user that the quarter note  102  is related to the quarter note block  86 ( b ) and covers two posts in length, or one quarter of the posts in a measure  96 . Adding color to the notes and note blocks further reinforces this relationship for children and simplifies the task of proper placement.  FIG. 16  is an isometric view of the track  110  showing the assembled notes that correspond to the six-measure segment of the songbook page  112  shown in  FIG. 13 . 
     Now referring to  FIG. 14 , a design using mechanical levers that engage the posts  88  of a note block  86  may require a bridge  104  between the posts  88  to keep the lever engaged for the full length of the note block. Thus the levers would be allowed to reset as they fell in the gap between the separate notes  86  of a given song. Now referring to  FIG. 15 , it may be desired to have a gap  126  between the posts  122  of the note blocks  98 . In this way, the mechanical levers will fall between the posts  122  (or other operators would detect this) and modulate the output the tone for the note blocks  98 , to provide a rhythmic beat, tremolo or vibrato. 
     It may be useful to allow for each note  98  to be capable of sending a variety of electronic signals to the devise. As shown in  FIG. 15 , one means of accomplishing this is to include caps  120  for the note blocks  98  that would trigger a different signal to the system. The caps  120  might have a symbol  124  indicating the functional change associated with the presence of a capped note block on the track system. In this way the sound generator could be made to produce sharps and/or flats when the cap  120  is present. The cap feature  120  could also signal a shift to a higher or lower octave or perhaps play a chord or drum beat or different instrument when encountered on the track. It will be appreciated that different note tiles may be provided with integrated features  120  if desired. Alternatively, an extra row of posts could be placed in the space  91  adjacent to the post rows  94  (posts not shown). Blocks could be placed on this extra row of posts that would trigger functions similar to those of the aforementioned cap feature  120 . 
     Generally then the invention can provide a musical toy that is a vehicle that rides down a track. Between the rails of the track are rows of alternating black and white colored posts that represent the musical staff or any number of lines of a musical scale. The posts are sized to receive note blocks that are placed in a sequence on the track by following the pattern of a song in the songbook. The note blocks are color-coded for the length of various note types. Each note block has a molded suggestion of the number of musical beats it represents. When a song is completed, a vehicle rides down the track and plays the music by means of switches under the carriage. This toy would allow for programming and then playing many songs. The track has a visual analog of the musical staff and music measures. The posts on the track match the posts on the color-coded note blocks to provide a visible indication of the numerical nature of musical time. Thus the toy would be an entertaining and useful musical teaching tool. 
     The above description has been that of a preferred embodiment of the present invention and it will occur to those that practice the art that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the note tiles may be augmented with a percussion line using standard percussion notation as is understood in the art. In this case, the sound integrated circuit  38  is programmed to produce percussive effects in addition to or as an alternative to the notes described. It may be preferred to include more than the standard nine rows of a typical musical scale to allow for the incorporation of notes above and below a given scale for a given song. The present invention may be used with printed materials providing a visual indication of a setting up of the track and showing the correspondence between the notes and the tiles which differ primarily in the physical length of the tiles along axis  30 . A number of different types of musical instruments may be employed including mechanical equivalents to the electronic device described herein. The music produced by the sound integrated circuit must be understood to include not only notes of a chromatic scale but optionally percussive and other sound with musical potential. It will be recognized that the mechanically actuated electrical switches described may be substituted by other sensing mechanisms including photodiodes detecting reflected light or magnetic or eddy current-type detection systems as are well known in the art. In order to apprise the public of the various embodiments that may fall within the scope of the invention, the following claims are made.