US20200298134A1

US20200298134A1 - Iot interactive magnetic smart modular toy

Info

Publication number: US20200298134A1
Application number: US16/361,384
Authority: US
Inventors: Wen-Cheng Hu
Original assignee: APK CO Ltd
Current assignee: APK CO Ltd
Priority date: 2019-03-22
Filing date: 2019-03-22
Publication date: 2020-09-24

Abstract

A magnetic smart modular toy includes a main body and plural external components magnetically assembled to the main body. Users can control the action of the toy by a smart mobile device to carry out a near-distance or long-distance batter or contest game with other persons. During the game, if any one of the external components on the main body of the toy falls out due to collisions, the toy will be able to change an action mode, and upload the information to a cloud platform by the smart mobile device, so that a third party's smart mobile device can display the status of the toy, so as to produce the effect of a long-distance interactive game or contest.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an Internet of Thing (IoT) interactive magnetic smart modular toy characterized in that a magnetic sensor is provided for detecting the position or quantity of external components which are separated from a main body of the toy due to collisions, and a controller is provided for changing an action mode of the main body and the remaining external components, and an IoT technology is used to provide long-distance interactions between a multiple of magnetic smart toys.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A common remote control toy generally controls a driving module of a toy to move the toy by using wireless remote control technologies, and most of the games are stand-alone games or multiplayer racing games. In recent years, the development of social network software advances and mobile devices become popular, and the inventor of the present invention thinks that if a physical remote control toy, a mobile Internet device, a cloud platform, and a social group platform can be combined to let each physical remote control toy participate in a contest game, and be combined with a virtual game through the IoT technology to form an interactive social game system, then it will break through the issue of playing the physical remote control toy by a single device only, and allow game lovers to have good interactions and maximize the fun of social network games.
For example, a tank toy shooting battle game includes a plurality of physical tank toys which shoot at each other, and detect whether or not they are hit by the opponents' magnetic bullet, so as to constitute a combat game. During the game, after a physical tank toy is hit by the magnetic bullet, other subsequent responses such as the tank driving force, the operation response, and the aiming force do not drop. As a result, the game is not very realistic, and the display mode and toy design definite require improvements.
In view of the drawbacks of the conventional game, the inventor of the present invention provides a solution to produce a more realistic response of a remote control toy during a single-player game or a multiplayer racing game. For example, the remote control toy will have a decreased driving force or operational sensitivity after is collided, and this situation will be reflected in a virtual game system through a network, so as to improve the reality and fun of the game.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art by providing an IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy, such that after the magnetic smart modular toy is collided in the game, and the situation can be detected and the power output mode and action mode of the toy can be changed, so as to improve the reality of the game and the fun of the contest. The invention is not just applicable for a single-player game only, but is also capable of allowing a multiple of players to participate into a contest game such as a car racing game, a robot attack game, a tank shooting and guarding game via IoT interactions.
To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the present invention provides an IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy comprising: a main body, and a plurality of external components magnetically assembled to the main body, wherein the main body has a controller capable of receiving a remote control signal from an external smart mobile device, at least one driving module controlled by the controller to drive the action of the main body and the plurality of external components, and a plurality of assembling portions provided for magnetically assembled with the external components, wherein:
Each assembling portion has a magnetic sensor electrically coupled to the controller, and if the main body or external component has a collision which causes at least one external component to separate from the main body during the process of the controller controlling the driving module to drive the action of the main body and the external component, the magnetic sensor at a corresponding position will generate a signal to be transmitted to the controller, so that the controller drives the driving module to change a power output mode according to the position or quantity of the external component separated from the main body detected by each magnetic sensor, so as to change an action mode of the main body and the remaining external components.
The controller includes a wireless transmission module and a network module capable of receiving the remote control signal transmitted from the external smart mobile device, and the controller is capable of transmitting an action status signal of the main body and the plurality of external components to the external smart mobile device through the wireless transmission module or the network module, or uploading the action status signal to a cloud platform through the network module.
The external smart mobile device loads an application program capable of displaying an action status of the main body on a screen according to the action status signal of the main body and the plurality of external components, and the application program includes art operation interface provided for a user to control the action of the main body from a remote end.
The cloud platform is capable of receiving the action status signal of the main body uploaded by the network module or the external smart mobile device and then integrating the action status signal into game information, and transmitting the game information to a third party's smart mobile device through the Internet, so as to display the game information and interact with an application program of the third party's smart mobile device.
With the aforementioned structure, the magnetic sensors are capable of detecting the position or quantity of any external component which is separated from the main body in an action of the magnetic smart modular toy, and the controller is provided for controlling and changing the action mode of the main body and the remaining external components according to the detection result of the magnetic sensor, so that a more realistic response will be produced after the toy is collided, and the long-distance interaction through the cloud platform improves the fun of the game or contest.
Compared with the prior art, the present invention uses the magnetic sensor to detect the position or quantity of the external component which is separated from the main body during an action of the magnetic smart modular toy, and the controller drives the driving module to change the power output mode according to the detection result of the magnetic sensor, so as to change the action mode of the main body and the remaining external components. Regardless of a single-player game or a multiplayer contest game, the invention can improve the reality and fun of the game.
In addition, the wireless transmission module and network module of the controller can simulate and display the action status of the physical magnetic smart modular toy on a user's smart mobile device, and also can display the action status on a third party's smart mobile device via a cloud platform in order to perform a long-distance game contest and achieve the effect of IoT interactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic system block diagram of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a tank shooting and guarding game in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a game with robots attacking each other in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The technical contents of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of preferred embodiments accompanied with the illustration of related drawings as follows. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.
With reference to FIG. 1 for an IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy of the present invention, the IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy 100 comprises a main body 10, and a plurality of external components 20 magnetically assembled to the main body 10, wherein the main body 10 has a controller 30 capable of receiving a remote control signal from an external smart mobile device 200, and at least one driving module 40 is controlled by the controller 30 to drive the action of the main body 10 and the plurality of external components 20, and a plurality of assembling portions 21 for magnetically assembling with the external components 20, and each assembling portion 21 has a magnetic sensor 31 electrically coupled to the controller 30.
In the figure, the external component 20 has a magnet 211 magnetically attached to the assembling portion 21. When the external component 20 is collided by an external force, and if the collision force is greater than the magnetic attraction, the external component 20 will fall off. Now, the magnetic sensor 31 can sense that the external component 20 has fallen off.
In the process of the controller 30 controlling the driving module 40 to drive the action of the magnetic smart modular toy 100, if the main body 10 or the external component 20 is collided to cause at least one external component 20 to separate from the main body 10, the magnetic sensor 31 at the corresponding position will generate a signal to be transmitted to the controller 30, so that the controller 30 will drive the driving module 40 to change the power output mode according to the position or quantity of the external component 20 which is separated from the main body 10 and detected by each magnetic sensor 31, so as to change the action mode of the main body 10 and the remaining external components 20.
For example, the more the external components 20 which are separated from the main body 10 and detected by the magnetic sensors 31, the smaller the power outputted by the driving module 40 which is driven by the controller 30. As a result, the moving speed of the frame becomes slower, or the output of power remains unchanged. The execution of the operation signal is delayed, so that the sensitivity of the main body 10 drops to improve the reality and fun of the game.
In an embodiment, the magnetic smart modular toy 100 can play games including but not limited to a racing game, a shooting game, a collision game, etc. based on different models. With reference to FIG. 2 for a first embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic smart modular toy is a toy car 100A, wherein the main body 10 is a frame, and the external components 20 include a car door, front and rear bumpers, a rear view mirror, a hood, a rear trunk lid, a windshield, a tire, etc.
The controller 30 installed in the frame of the toy car 100A receives an external remote control signal, so that the driving module 40 drives the action of the tire to move the frame. If the toy car 100A hits a wall while moving and lets the rear view mirror fall off, then the magnetic sensor 31 of the corresponding rear view mirror will generate a signal to be transmitted to the controller 30, and the driving module 40 will be driven to lower the output power supplied to the plurality of tires and to reduce the moving speed of the frame.
In another example, if the toy car 100A hits another toy car during the contest and lets the front and rear bumpers, rear view mirror or car door fall off, then the magnetic sensor 31 will detect a number of external components 20 which are separated from the main body 10, the controller 30 will slow down the moving speed of the toy car 100A and reduce the operational sensitivity to improve the fun of the game.
With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 for a second embodiment of the present invention, magnetic smart modular toy is a tank 100B, and the external component 20 includes a launcher 22, and the launcher 22 is driven by the driving module 40 to rotate in a direction and capable of shooting a toy bullet 221 at another tank 100C, and the main body 10 of the tank 10013 is a frame, and the external components 20 include a drive wheel, a track pad, a fuel tank, a baffle, a turret, etc., and the launcher 22 is installed in the turret.
When the driving modules 40 of the two tanks 100B, 100C drive the drive wheel and the track pad to move, and drive the launcher 22 to rotate in a direction towards the opponent to shot a toy bullet 221, and if the tank 100B is hit by the toy bullet 221 of the other tank 100C such that the track pad, fuel tank, or baffle is separated from the frame, then the magnetic sensor 31 at the corresponding position will generate a signal to be transmitted to the controller 30 of the tank 100B, and the driving module 40 of the tank 100B will reduce the output power supplied to the drive wheel and the track pad, or will reduce the shooting force of the toy bullet 221 of the launcher 22 and delay the response.
With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 for a third embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic smart modular toy is a robot 100D, and the main body 10 is a trunk, and the external components 20 include a head, two hands, two legs, and a toy weapon such as a club or a sword magnetically assembled with the two hands, wherein the assembling portions 21 include a neck, an elbow, a wrist, a limb joint, etc.
The driving module 40 of the robot 100D is capable of driving the action of the two legs to move the trunk, or driving the two hands to hold the weapon in a direction towards another robot 100E and brandish their toy weapons to fight with each other. If the robot 100D is hit by the toy weapon of the other robot 100E to cause the toy weapon falling off, then the corresponding magnetic sensor 31 of the robot 100D will generate a signal to be transmitted to the controller 30, and the driving module 40 will change the action mode of the remaining external components 20. For example, the controller 30 only can allow the driving module 40 to drive one of the hands to attack, slow down the moving speed of the two legs, or delay the response, etc.
In addition to the aforementioned games, the users may combine the magnetic smart modular toy freely. For example, several users form a plurality of bumper cars (not shown in the figure) for racing and bumping into each other. The external components include a flag, a plurality of fuel tanks, an anti-collision bar, a rolling cage, etc. The plurality of fuel tanks may be designed as a virtual power source for the bumper car, and if the bumper car is hit by another bumper car such that one of the fuel tanks falls off, then the controller will drive the driving module to output half of the power only, and this is also a feasible way of playing the game.
in FIG. 1, the controller 30 of the magnetic smart modular toy 100 includes a wireless transmission module 32 and a network module 33 capable of receiving an operation instruction signal transmitted from the smart mobile device 200. For example, the wireless transmission module 32 is a Bluetooth module, and the network module 33 is a WiFi module, so that after the controller 30 receives a control instruction sent by a user's smart mobile device 200 through the Bluetooth wireless transmission module 32, the magnetic smart modular toy 100 is driven to move, or coupled to the same local area network connected by the smart mobile device 200 to receive an operating instruction of the smart mobile device 200 via the WiFi network module 33. In addition, the wireless transmission module 32 or the network module 33 can transmit an action status signal of the main body 10 and the plurality of external components 20 to the smart mobile device 200. In this embodiment, the smart mobile device 200 loads an application program 201, wherein the application program 201 can display the action status of the main body 10 on the smart mobile device 200 and includes an operation interface 202 provided for users to operate and control the magnetic smart modular toy 100.
Further, the network module 33 can receive the remote control signal or transmit the action status signal of the main body 10 and the plurality of external components 20 to the smart mobile device 200, and also can transmit the action status signals to the cloud platform 300 via the Internet. After the cloud platform 300 receives the action status signal of the main body 10 and the external component 20 transmitted from the controller 30 or the smart mobile device 200, game information is integrated. After the game information is transmitted to a third party's smart mobile device 400 via the Internet, the game information will be displayed on and interacted with the application program 201 of the third party's smart mobile device 400, and the game information is provided for the viewing by a third party or participating the game, so as to achieve the social network and interaction effects.
In this embodiment, the network module 33 of the controller 30 includes a WIFI, 3G, 4G, or 5G module. If the network module 33 of the magnetic smart modular toy 100 cannot be connected to the Internet, the action status signal of the main body 10 and the plurality of external components 20 still can be transmitted to the cloud platform 300 through the operator's smart mobile device 200.
With the aforementioned structure, the IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy 100 of the present invention can detect the position or quantity of the external component 20 which is separated from the main body 10 and detected by the plurality of magnetic sensors 31, and the controller 30 changes the action mode of the main body 10 and the remaining external components 20 according to the detection result of the magnetic sensor 31. Regardless of a single-player game or a multiplayer contest game, the invention can improve the reality and fun of the game. In addition, the controller 30 or the smart mobile device 200 can transmit the action status signal of the main body 10 and the plurality of external components 20 to the cloud platform 300. Users at different places can participate into the game or view the game from a long distance, so as to improve the fun of the game greatly.
While the present invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention set forth in the claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy, comprising a main body, and a plurality of external components magnetically assembled to the main body, and the main body having a controller capable of receiving a remote control signal from an external smart mobile device, at least one driving module controlled by the controller to drive the action of the main body and the plurality of external components, and a plurality of assembling portions provided for magnetically assembled with the external components, wherein: each assembling portion has a magnetic sensor electrically coupled to the controller, and during the process of the controller controlling the driving module to drive the action of the main body and the external component, if the main body or external component has a collision which causes at least one external component to separate from the main body, the magnetic sensor at a corresponding position will generate a signal to be transmitted to the controller, so that the controller drives the driving module to change a power output mode according to the position or quantity of the external component separated from the main body detected by each magnetic sensor, so as to change an action mode of the main body and the remaining external components; the controller includes a wireless transmission module and a network module capable of receiving the remote control signal transmitted from the external smart mobile device, and the controller is capable of transmitting an action status signal of the main body and the plurality of external components to the external smart mobile device through the wireless transmission module or the network module, or uploading the action status signal to a cloud platform through the network module; the external smart mobile device loads an application program capable of displaying an action status of the main body on a screen according to the action status signal of the main body and the plurality of external components, and the application program includes an operation interface provided for a user to control the action of the main body from a remote end; and the cloud platform is capable of receiving the action status signal of the main body uploaded by the network module or the external smart mobile device and then integrating the action status signal into game information, and transmitting the game information to a third party's smart mobile device through the Internet, so as to display the game information and interact with an application program of the third party's smart mobile device.

2. The IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy according to claim 1, wherein the power output mode changed by the driving module which is driven by the controller drives includes a rule of: the more the external components separated from the main body, the smaller the output power; or the operational sensitivity is lowered while the output power remains unchanged.

3. The IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic smart modular toy is a toy car, and the main body is a frame, and the plurality of external components include a car door, front and rear bumpers, a rear view mirror, a hood, a rear trunk lid, a windshield, or a tire; the driving module drives the action of the tire to move the frame.

4. The IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy according to claim 1, wherein the external component of the magnetic smart modular toy includes a launcher, and the launcher is driven by the driving module to rotate in a rotating direction in order to shoot a toy bullet towards the main body and the external component of another magnetic smart modular toy.

5. The IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic smart modular toy is a tank, and the main body is a frame, and the plurality of external components include a drive wheel, a track pad, a fuel tank, a baffle, or a turret, and the launcher is installed in the turret; and the driving module drives the action of the drive wheel and the track pad to move the frame.

6. The IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy according to claim 1, wherein the IoT interactive magnetic smart modular toy is a robot, and the main body is a trunk, and the plurality of external components include a head, two hands, two legs, or a toy weapon magnetically assembled to the hands.