GB2552344A

GB2552344A - Flying toy

Info

Publication number: GB2552344A
Application number: GB1612535.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alexander Scott Curtis-Oliver Damian
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-07-19
Filing date: 2016-07-19
Publication date: 2018-01-24
Also published as: GB201612535D0

Abstract

A flying toy in the form of a multicopter comprises electrically motor driven propellers 10, a power source and control device carried on a frame 12. The arrangement is adapted to provide air-flow thrust in a downwards direction to lift the toy. A common cover 22 is connected to the frame and is positioned over the propellers 10 to provide a finger-contact surface 28. The cover is in the form of a network to allow air-flow there-through. In use, the downward thrust lifts the toy and the user places one or more fingers on the finger-contact surface 28. By using a finger or fingers to tip the toy, forwards, backwards or sideward flight can be achieved, providing an exciting realistic scaled surfing experience.

Description

(71) Applicant(s):

DAMIAN ALEXANDER SCOTT CURTIS-OLIVER 55 GREENING STREET, ABBEY WOOD, LONDON, SE2 OLY, United Kingdom (72) Inventor(s):

DAMIAN ALEXANDER SCOTT CURTIS-OLIVER (74) Agent and/or Address for Service:

Derek Gambell

Brangbourne Road, BROMLEY, Kent, BR1 4LL, United Kingdom (51) INT CL:

A63H 27/133 (2006.01) (56) Documents Cited:

CN 104787325 A US 20160023759 A1

US 20140131507 A1 US 20070105474 A1

US 20020104921 A1

Hover camera is a safe and foldable drone that follows you by Engadget. Published 26/04/2016. Available from www.engadget.com/2016/04/26/hovercamera-drone-zero-zero-robotics/ (58) Field of Search:

INT CLA63H

Other: WPI, EPODOC, Internet (54) Title of the Invention: Flying toy

Abstract Title: Flying toy controlled by the fingers of a user (57) A flying toy in the form of a multicopter comprises electrically motor driven propellers 10, a power source and control device carried on a frame 12. The arrangement is adapted to provide air-flow thrust in a downwards direction to lift the toy. A common cover 22 is connected to the frame and is positioned over the propellers 10 to provide a finger-contact surface 28. The cover is in the form of a network to allow air-flow there-through. In use, the downward thrust lifts the toy and the user places one or more fingers on the finger-contact surface 28. By using a finger or fingers to tip the toy, forwards, backwards or sideward flight can be achieved, providing an exciting realistic scaled surfing experience.

FLYING TOY

Field of the invention

This invention relates to a lying toy, end In particular to e movement of which can be controlled by the fingers of the user.

g toy the

Background

Flying toys of many different configurations are known.

For example. United States patent application US2010/0216388 (Del Principe) describes a hover toy system having a static scarce of air-flow and a hover toy having a board-lske structure, which is adapted to fly In the asr-fiow and which can be manipulated by at least one digit of the users hand

United States patent application US2015/0202539 (Slackhsm) describes a finger toy in the form of a board which, when exposed to an air-flow from an unspecified source, provides the user with a scaled surfing experience

The marketed product Airhogs Roiiercopter ex Spin Master Ltd, Toronto,

Canada Is a remote controlled double -rotor toy helicopter surrounded by a generally spherical cage. The Roiiercopter Is adapted to drive across the ground in its roiling cage cr take to the air and fly. The cage acts as a protective shield allowing the toy to bump into walls or objects without damage.

None of these described devices realistically provides the user with an experience approaching that of the fictional hoverboard. made popular in some science fiction films.

The present Invention seeks therefore to provide a flying toy which gives the user a more Interesting experience than can be obtained with the known prior art toys

Summary of the invention

According to the invention, there is provided flying toy In the form of a 30 multicopter comprising electrically motor driven propellers, a power source and control device carrsed on a frame, the arrangement being adapted to provide air-flow thrust in a downwards direction to lift the toy, and a common cover connected to the frame and being positioned over the propellers to provide a finger-contact surface, said cover being in the form of a network to allow air-flow there-through.

The toy will usually be used In an orientation where the frame is generally horizontal, the propellers are upwardly facing to provide the downward air-flow thrust

2and the cover will also be generally horizontal. io this specification, directional terras such as downward, upward, above, over and the like are tc be interpreted aceordinaiy.

The control device controls the power to toe propellers to adjust the rotational speed thereof, thereby to control the orientation of the toy in flight, In use. when the motor driven propellers are activated, the downward thrust lifts the toy and the user places one or more fingers on the finger-contact surface. By using this finger or fingers to tip the toy, forwards, backwards or sidewards flight can be achieved, providing an exciting realistic scaled surfing experience. Thus, while the control 1.0 device should be adapted to provide the toy With lift., there is no necessity for the control device tc provide for lateral movement of the toy.

The power source, carried by the frame, Is ideally one or mere batteries, which may be rechargeable or replaceable,

Preferably, the cover is a unitary Item, substantially encasing the ether .15 components of the toy. It should be built of light-weight matenai such as PLA polymer (poiyiaotic acid) or carbon fibre. If may be formed by various techniques, including injection moulding and 3D printing. The network may have a repeated geometric shape such as a hexagonal cell configuration, fo maximise strength and minimise weight. The wails of the network cells or apertures should ideally occupy no more than 40% of the surface area of the cover, thereby to limit the reduct-οη of air--flow there-through to a minimum The apertures of the network ideally have a maximum dimension of not more than 12.5mm, thereby to reduce the risk that the user’s fingers could pass through the network and contact a rotating propeller blade, ideally, the cover provides a substantially planar finger-contact surface, which may be generally rectangular and of dimensions from a maximum of 200mm by 100mm to a minimum of 100mm by 50 mm,

Multicopters comprise at least three motor driven propellers. For ease of control, it Is preferred to use an even number of motor driven propellers, half of the number rotating in one direction and the half rotating in the opposite direction, ail propellers being adapted to provide downward air-flow thrust. In this manner, lift can be achieved without rotation of the toy as a whole. Again, for ease of control if is preferred that the motor driven propellers are arranged in a configuration which is horizontally symmetrical about the centre of gravity of the toy. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, eight motor driven propellers are provided, ideally arranged in a rectangular configuration. This provides sufficient lift for a toy with the most preferred dimensions.

The toy will usually include a control switch. This may he carried on the cover and in an ideal embodiment is a touch sensitive switch, such as a capacitive touch sensitive switch, which is ideally located in the finger-contact surface of the cover. For example, a capacitive touch sensitive control switch may constituted by an exposed portion of the finger-contact surface of the cover being formed of electrically conductive material (such as conductive PLA) or coafed in electrically conductive material such as graphite or metal foil. This portion of the cover may extend around the toy fo be connected fo the control circuit to cause the power to the propellers to be modified when the user touches the switch. The control switch may act as a simple on / off switch or it may be adapted to cause the control device io modify (e.g. increase) the power to the propellers, and thereby modify (e.g. increase) the hover height, when the user operates the switch. In a preferred embodiment, the switch cycles the control device through a number of hover height options.

The toy may further Include one or more proximity sensing devices, such as ultra sonic proximity devices which, when activated, are adapted to cause the distance between the toy and a surface or other object to be maintained at a predetermined minimum distance. This may be achieved by increasing power to selected one or more of the propellers when a surface or other object Is detected.

Introdacdonto the drawings

The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which.

Figure 1 is an exploded view of a flying toy according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view of the assembled flying toy of Figure 1, viewed from the front and above;

Figure 3 Is a view of the assembled flying toy of Figure 1, viewed from below, Figure 4 is a view of the assembled flying toy of Figure 1, together with adjacent surfaces; and

Figure S shows the flying toy of Figure 1 in use.

As shown In the drawings, a flying toy In the form of a multicopter includes eight upwardly facing electrically motor driven fixed pitch bladed propellers 10 arranged in a rectangular configuration on a generally horizontal frame 12 in the form of a pnnted circuit board. The propellers 10 provide air-flow thrust in a downwards

- 4 10 direction to Hfl the toy. The motor driven propellers 10 are arranged in a configuration which -s horizontally symmetrical about the centre of gravity of the toy.

As seen in Figure 3, two rechargeable batteries 14 are carried on the frame 12. A battery charging socket 16 is positioned at one end of the frame 12, adjacent a master on / off switch I S,

A control circuit 20 Is carried on the printed circuit board frame 12, The control circuit 20 Is adapted fo provide the toy with lift, without any need to provide for lateral movement of the toy. The control circuit controls the power to the propellers 10 to adjust the rotational speed thereof, thereby to control the orientation of the toy in flight. All eight propellers provide downward thrust. They are arranged in pairs, symmetrical about the toy’s centre of gravity, one propeller of each pair rotating in a clockwise direction while the other propeller, having an opposite pitch, rotates in the clockwise direction, thereby to prevent the body of the toy rotating when the propellers are driven.

A generally horizontal one-piece common cover 22 connected to the frame 12 encases the ether components of the toy. Figure 1 shows the toy in exploded view, simply for the sake of clarity, in practice, portions 24 and 28 of the cover are integral with the other portions of the cover and serve to connect the cover 22 to the frame

12. The cover 22 is generally rectangular and of dimensions from 180 mm 1 mm. The cover 22 is formed of PL.A and Is formed by 3D printing. The cover 22 is in the form of a hexagonal cell network, the walls of which occupy only 20% of the surface area of the cover 22, fo allow air-flow there-through.

The cover 22 is positioned over the propellers 10 to provide a substantially planar finger-contact surface 28. The cross-sectional area of the cells of the network have a maximum dimension of 10 mrn, thereby fo reduce the risk that the user’s fingers 30 (see Figure 5) could pass through the network and contact a rotating propeller blade. As shown in the drawings, the underside of the circuit board frame 12 is largely exposed, In practice however, It would be preferred for the cover 22 to extend further beneath the frame 12, for the sake of safety, provided that access to the battery charging socket 18 and the master on/off switch 18 is retained.

A capacitive touch sensitive control switch is constituted by an exposed portion 32 of the finger-contact surface of the cover 22 being coated In electrically conductive graphite, this portion of the cover extending around one corner of the toy fo be connected via the cover portion 28 fo an npn transistor on the printed circuit board frame 12. The control switch 32 Is thereby electrically connected fo the control circuit 20 which causes the power to the propellers 10 to be modified when the user touches the switch 32. The switch 32. Is adapted to increase the power to the propellers when the user taps the switch, by cycling the control circuit through four options, namely: (i) off; (ii) low propeller speed: (III) medium propeller speed; and (iv) high propeller speed thereby providing different hover heights for the toy, such as 0 cm, 5 cm, 15 cm and 25 cm off the ground.

The toy aiso includes four ultrasonic proximity sensing devices 34 (see Figure

3).. located adjacent the corners of the frame, end d-rected at angles of approximately 45° to the horizontal, which, when activated, are adapted to cause the distance between the toy and a horizontal surface 36 or other object 38 to be maintained at a predetermined distance. This is achieved by increasing power to selected one or more of the propellers 10 whenever one or more of these sensing devices senses a surface within the hover height distance of the toy. This adjustment of the drive to the propellers is triggered if an object lies within the detection zone (indicated by the broken lines 40 in Figure 4) of a sensing device 34, Thus, the proximity sensing devices 34, together with the control circuit 20, ensure that the toy hovers at a prescribed height above any horizontal surface 36 and is prevented Oom crashing into any other object 38,

In use, when the motor driven propellers 10 are activated, the downward thrust lifts the toy end the user places one or more fingers 30 on the finger-contact surface

28. By using this finger or fingers 30 to tip the fey, forwards, backwards or sidewards can be achieved, providing an exciting realistic scaled surfing experience.

Claims

-δ1, A flying toy in the form of a multicopter comprising electrically motor driven propellers-(10), a power source (14) and control device (20) carried on a frame (12), the arrangement being adapted to provide air-flow thrust In a downwards direction to lift the toy, and a common cover (22) connected to the frame (12) and being positioned over the propellers (10) to provide a finger-contact surface (28), said cover (22) be· ng in the form of a network to allow sir-flow there-fhrough.

10
2. The flying toy of Claim 1, wherein the apertures of the network, have a maximum dimension of not more than 10mm.
3, The flying toy of Claim 1 or 2, wherein the cover (22) provides a substantially planar finger-contact surface (28).
4 The flying toy of any preceding claim, wherein comprising eight said propellers HO).
5. The flying toy of any preceding claim, wherein said propellers (10) are in a rectangular configuration.
8. The flying toy of any preceding claim, wherein a control switch (32) is carried on the cover (22).

; he flying toy of Claim 6, wherein said switch (32) Is a touch-sensitive switch (3Ξ

8. The flying toy of Claim 7, wherein the touch sensitive switch (32) Is located in the finger-contact surface (28) of said cover (22)
9. The flying toy of Claim 8, wherein the touch sensitive switch is adapted to cause the control device (20) fo modify the power to the propellers (10), and thereby modify' the hover height, when the user operates the switch.

35 10. The flying toy of any preceding claim, further including one or more proximity sensing devices (34).

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Intellectual

Property

Office

GB1612535.3

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