WO2008096134A2

WO2008096134A2 - Toy in the form of a doll

Info

Publication number: WO2008096134A2
Application number: PCT/GB2008/000412
Authority: WO
Inventors: Casey William Norman; David Gamlin; Tony Thatcher
Original assignee: Genie Toys Plc
Priority date: 2007-02-08
Filing date: 2008-02-06
Publication date: 2008-08-14
Also published as: GB0702461D0; WO2008096134A3

Abstract

A toy in the form of a doll or figurine has an electronic display screen (1) in a face portion thereof, which screen is capable of displaying a face or at least one feature of the face of the doll or figurine. The toy further includes means for displaying at least one of: a movie or onscreen prompts or textual messages or images other than a face. The toy has at least one electrical contact (5, 6, 7, 8) for facilitating interaction with a further toy or device (9, 10, 11) and further includes at least one of: removable image and/or sound recording means (10, 11), removable means for sending or receiving phone calls, text messages, sounds and/or videos, removable means for receiving and playing radio signals or removable means for creating, updating, organising and planning timetables or a diary. Means for downloading and/or uploading software from/to a computer may also be provided.

Description

TOY IN THE FORM OF A DOLL

[0001] This invention relates to an electronic toy in the form of a doll or figurine.

[0002] A known electronic toy, the WowWee P-Bot described at http://www.robotsrule.com/html/p-bot.php, has an LCD screen with a graphically drawn face that will display the P-Bot's current emotion which changes based on the current situation. It is an aim of the present invention to provide a doll providing significant improvements in interactive functionality as compared to known dolls.

[0003] The invention provides a toy in the form of a doll or figurine having an electronic display screen in a face portion thereof, which screen is capable of displaying a face or at least one feature of the face of the doll or figurine, the toy further including means for displaying at least one of: a movie or onscreen prompts or textual messages or images other than a face, the toy having at least one electrical contact for facilitating interaction with a further toy or device and further including at least one of: removable image and/ or sound recording means, removable means for sending or receiving phone calls, text messages, sounds and/ or videos, removable means for receiving and playing radio signals or removable means for creating, updating, organising and planning timetables or a diary. An embodiment of the invention has all of _;these functions,_{^ ^}-Said, displaying means may be operable to display said movie, prompts,, messages or- images using said screen.

[0004] The toy may have at least one button or feature that can be used to interact with the toy.

[0005] The at least one electrical contact of the toy may be arranged for example in an extremity such as a hand or foot.

[0006] The further toy or device that may interact with the toy of the present invention may comprise a toy according to the invention, and/ or a toy in the form of a pet, play piece or play set, or an electronic device to facilitate communication or interfacing with other toys or electronic devices.

[0007] The toy may be provided with means for downloading and/ or uploading software or content or the like from/ to a computer or electronic device, for example via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection and/ or a wireless data link.

[0008] The toy may be provided with a rechargeable battery for storing electrical energy and an electrical connection to facilitate recharging of the battery.

[0009] The toy may be provided with non-removable means for recording sound and/ or images, e.g. moving images.

[0010] The removable sound recording means may comprise a removable microphone. The removable image recording means may comprise a removable camera.

[0011] An amplifier and a loudspeaker may be provided for playing recorded or other sounds.

[0012] The toy may be provided with non-removable means for sending or receiving phone calls, text messages, sounds and/ or videos.

[0013] The toy may be provided with non-removable ^"means for receiving and. playing radio signals.

[0014] The toy may be provided with non-removable administrative means for- creating, updating, organising and planning timetables or a diary^'.

[0015] The toy may be provided with means to allow its characteristics such as its name, friends, personality, voice, eye shape/ colour or skin tone to be configured. [0016] The toy may comprise an articulated doll or figurine.

[0017] The electronic display screen in a face portion of the toy may comprise a colour screen.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] A particular embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 shows a toy according to the invention;

[0020] Figure 2 shows the toy of Figure 1 interacting with a further toy (a pet);

[0021] Figure 3 shows the toy of Figure 1 interacting with a camera;

[0022] Figure 4 shows the toy of Figure 1 interacting with a microphone;

[0023] Figure 5 shows the toy of Figure 1 interacting with a friend;

[0024] Figure 6 shows a toy according to the invention with a body in the style of a robot;

[0025] Figure 7 is a block diagram of the interconnection of the major electronic components inside the toy of Figure 1;

[0026] Figure 8 is a flowchart describing how the setup or ^' configuration information of the toy of Figure 1 might be altered and content or software downloaded/ uploaded to/ from the toy via a website or removable storage media;

[0027] Figure 9 shows the toy of Figure 1 in a car, and

[0028] Figure 10 shows the toy of Figure 1 in a shop. Detailed Description of Particular Embodiments

[0029] Figure 1 shows a doll with an articulated body and an electronic colour display screen 1 for a face. The face is animated and the eye shape and colour and skin tone can be customized. The doll has a button 2, 3 on each shoe and one 4 on the body. The buttons 2, 3 and 4 are used to interact with the doll e.g. to navigate through onscreen menus.

[0030] The doll can play movies, send text messages, play games, tell stories and interact with other toys or dolls. It recognizes accessories e.g. friends, pets, play pieces (such as MP3 players or makeup boxes) and playsets that may contain data/ media clips that can be uploaded to the player. For this purpose the doll has contacts in the hands 5, 6 and feet 7, 8.

[0031] The doll has at least one Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector allowing it to be connected to a computer from which extra content or software can be downloaded. This could be of a conventional size and shape or of a special form and could be located on the body of the doll or on a limb or extremity.

[0032] Simple accessories, for example a pet 9 which is shown in Figure 2, phones or books, need only be identified to the doll to trigger an appropriate response from the doll. For example, when the pet's lead is put in the hand of the doll, the latter recognizes and greets it before.-, setting off, , on. , virtual adventures. Additionally or alternatively, connection with the doll can cause movement of the pet or accessory. For example, the tail of the dog in Figure 2 can be made to wag when the dog contacts the doll.

[0033] The doll may include at least one further electrical contact or socket for connection to one or more garments and/ or accessories (e.g. a hat) that can be recognised and trigger specific responses and associated media clips.

[0034] More complex accessories such as a camera 10, shown in Figure 3, and a microphone 11 shown in Figure 4, or a makeup box (which can trigger dress-up games) or an identical doll shown in Figure 5, transmit and receive data from the doll enabling the doll and accessory to interact. The camera 10 captures images that are stored and can be shown on the display screen 1. The microphone 11 records speech and music that the doll can play back. Power for accessories such as the camera or microphone is provided from the doll. The hand and/ or foot contacts, which may be in the form of sockets, should be considered as expansion sockets that allow new hardware to be connected to the system so that the doll can talk on the phone, record sound, drive a car, etc.

[0035] When two dolls are connected together, as shown in Figure 5, they start to tell stories and gossip and swap favourite new media clips.

[0036] The toy in Figure 6 with a body in the style of a robot, which is likely to be more attractive to boys, may be armed with weapons that it recognizes and which might interact with video games played on the screen.

[0037] Figure 7 shows the major electronic components of the system. The electronic display screen 1 is interfaced with a multimedia processor 12, for example of type ATJ 2085 from Actions Semiconductor. The processor interfaces with external flash memory 13 and has an integrated Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) with headphone driver and an Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) for digitizing microphone, line level, and radio input signals 15. The processor can also interface with Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices via a USB interface 16 and with external or internal devices via analog or digital inputs/ outputs 14. It has a removable storage media interface 17 for media such as MultiMediaCard (MMC) cards or Secure Digital (SD) cards. A speaker 18 in the doll is driven by an audio amplifier 19 connected to the processor headphone output. Power for all the electronic components in the doll may be provided by a 3.7 V Li-Ion rechargeable battery 20 which may be recharged via the USB connection 16 or via a conventional adapter. [0038] As shown in Figure 8, when the doll is switched on for the first time, the user is presented with a "Setup?" prompt 21. Selecting "No" causes the doll to be configured with factory preset settings 22. Selecting "Yes" at the setup prompt causes the prompt "Connect to computer?" to be displayed 23.

[0039] If "No" is selected at the "Connect to computer?" prompt, the user can personalize 24 the doll e.g. by inputting a name and the user's birthday, for example by selecting alphanumeric characters on the screen, and friends' names and their birthdays. The doll can be told when the user eats and sleeps so that she can synchronize her routine to the user's routine. It can also be programmed to wake up and remind the user about tasks and ask afterwards how they progressed. The doll can also be told what type of entertainment is preferred.

[0040] If "Yes" is selected at the "Connect to computer?" prompt, the user is prompted 25 with "Connecting to website?" If "No" is selected, the doll attempts to download additional content from removable media 26 inserted into the computer. If the user chooses to connect to the website 27, additional content and customization options such as a new doll identity, new features, games, music and video can be downloaded to the doll 28. The doll can also network with other dolls or toys over the Internet.

[0041] If provided with a headphone socket, the doll-can function's a-n.MP3._or.i similar player.

[0042] Figure 9 shows the toy of Figure 1 interacting with a car accessory. When the doll sits in the car she can talk about her travel adventures and show pictures and movies from holidays. The car may contain apparatus to drive its wheels so that it will follow a route programmed into it via the doll.

[0043] Figure 10 shows the toy of Figure 1 interacting with a shop (a playset accessory). When the doll is placed in a shop she shows the items that can bought in the shop. When the doll goes to a boutique she can help the user to choose items and buy new outfits to dress up in. Data may be transferred in either direction between the playset and the doll and can be used to trigger movement and the playback of audio or visual data in the playset or doll or both.

[0044] New media or data may be supplied with or stored in the playset so that the doll can obtain content that will allow more effective roleplay in a particular playset environment e.g. a car might contain fun travel games and travel adventures or a cartoon about driving.

[0045] References herein to a "doll" include human, animal or fantasy figures.

[0046] As an alternative to the screen 1 showing the entire face of the doll, the screen may display only a facial feature. For example, two screens may each display an eye of the doll or one screen may be split, for example into two portions, each for display of an eye.

[0047] The electronic display screen may comprise a passive face portion of the doll together with electronic means for projecting an image on to said face portion from the inside or outside.

[0048] The doll may be provided with means to allow audio and/ or visual content emitted by the doll to be played back on a TV screen or a personal computer screen.

Claims

1. A toy in the form of a doll or figurine having an electronic display screen in a face portion thereof, which screen is capable of displaying a face or at least one feature of the face of the doll or figurine, the toy further including means for displaying at least one of: a movie or onscreen prompts or textual messages or images other than a face, the toy having at least one electrical contact for facilitating interaction with a further toy or device and further including at least one of: removable image and/ or sound recording means, removable means for sending or receiving phone calls, text messages, sounds and/ or videos, removable means for receiving and playing radio signals or removable means for creating, updating, organising and planning timetables or a diary.

2. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said displaying means are operable to display said movie, prompts, messages or images using said screen.

3. A toy according to claim 1 or 2, having at least one button or feature that can be used to interact with the toy.

4. A toy according to claim 1, 2, or 3, wherein said at least one electrical contact is arranged in an extremity such as a hand or foot of the toy.

5. A toy according to any preceding claim, wherein said further, toy or-, device comprises a toy according to the invention, and/ or a toy in the form of a pet, play piece or play set, or an electronic device to facilitate communication or interfacing with other toys or electronic devices.

6. A toy according to any preceding claim, provided with -^"-means for downloading and/ or uploading software or content or the like from/ to a computer or electronic device.

7. A toy according to claim 6, wherein the downloading and/ or uploading means are arranged to operate via a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection and/ or a wireless data link.

8. A toy according to any preceding claim, provided with a rechargeable battery for storing electrical energy and an electrical connection to facilitate recharging of the battery.

9. A toy according to any preceding claim, provided with non-removable means for recording sound and/or images, e.g. moving images.

10. A toy according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the removable sound recording means comprises a removable microphone.

11. A toy according to any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the removable image recording means comprises a removable camera.

12. A toy according to any preceding claim wherein an amplifier and a loudspeaker are provided for playing recorded or other sounds.

13. A toy according to any preceding claim, provided with non-removable means for sending or receiving phone calls, text messages, sounds and/ or videos.

14. A toy according to any preceding claim, including -non-removable means for- receiving and playing radio signals.

15. A toy according to any preceding claim, provided with non-removable administrative means for creating, updating, organising and planning timetables or a diary.

16. A toy according to any preceding claim, including means to allow its characteristics such as its name, friends, personality, voice, eye shape/ colour or skin tone to be configured.

17. A toy according to any preceding claim, comprising an articulated doll or figurine.

18. A toy according to any preceding claim, wherein said electronic display screen is a colour screen.