JP2022187135A - Toy for learning - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a toy for learning which allows a user to effectively learn words while enjoying the toy in a game feeling.SOLUTION: A toy 1 for learning comprises: a plurality of cards 2 on which at least information about words and a unique identifier are displayed; and a voice unit 10 which optically reads the identifier displayed on the touched card 2 and outputs the information corresponding to the read identifier by a voice. The voice unit 10 comprises: a camera (imaging means) 20; an image data processing part 30; a voice information control part 40 which has a storage section 41 that stores the voice information corresponding to the identifier and a discrimination section 42 that receives a signal transmitted from the image data processing section 30 to discriminate the identifier; a speaker (voice output part) 60 which outputs the voice information output from the voice information control part 40 by a voice; a power supply 70; and a power supply switch 18.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

There is an application for exception to loss of novelty

According to the present invention, when a card on which information related to language learning is recorded by printing or the like is touched, information for learning words, including foreign languages such as English, corresponding to the card, and arithmetic, etc., is output by voice. related to learning toys.

Karuta is one of the effective ways for young children to learn Japanese words in a game-like way. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes what is called "associative karuta." This associative karuta consists of cards having English words and pictures corresponding to them on the front of one card, and cards having names in Japanese corresponding to the English words and pictures of the same kind as the pictures on the front of the other card. The reverse side of one of the cards is written with a hint in Japanese that is associated with the English word, and the reverse side of the other is written with the hint in English. It is configured. According to such an associative card, by searching for the other card using one card as a hint, it is possible to deepen thinking power and vocabulary while playing.

Further, Patent Document 2 proposes a social studies learning card that can enhance the learning effect of social studies by incorporating playfulness. This social studies learning card has one area (prefecture name) displayed on one side and the characteristics of the area described on the other side. According to such social studies learning cards, two sets of the same cards are prepared, one of which is arranged with one side on which the prefecture name is written as a torifuda, and the remaining one is specified as a reading card. It is possible to learn in a karuta format, in which one person reads out the other side and multiple other people compete for the cards arranged as tofuda.

However, the associative karuta proposed in Cited Document 1 and the social studies learning cards proposed in Patent Document 2 do not accompany audio, so they are not particularly suitable for audiovisual education, and correct pronunciation of Japanese and foreign languages. I have a problem that I can't.

Therefore, Patent Document 3 proposes a system called "Voice Carta" that utters the phrases of reading cards as voice. This voice karuta is mainly used as Hyakunin Isshu karuta, and each verse is independently recorded on a voice card as a reading card, and played back by a dedicated card recorder for reading. is. In addition, the above-mentioned Patent Documents 1 to 3 are toys for learning about words (national language) and social studies, and toys for learning mathematics using voice, for example, are not found.

Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-085362 Utility Model Registration No. 3005126 JP-A-58-027572

The voice karuta using voice proposed in the above Patent Document 3 is limited to Hyakunin Isshu karuta, etc., and is used for learning other subjects such as English learning, Japanese learning, or arithmetic learning for infants. I can't.

The present invention has been made in view of the current state of learning toys that use cards and sounds. To provide a learning toy with which a child can learn effectively.

In order to achieve the above object, the learning toy according to the present invention, which can be used for learning words such as Japanese and English (hereinafter simply referred to as "words") and learning arithmetic, contains at least information about words or arithmetic. A plurality of cards on which a unique identifier linked to the information is displayed, and the identifier displayed on the touched card are read, and information corresponding to the read identifier is output by voice. and an audio unit.

Here, the audio unit comprises reading means for reading the identifier displayed on the touched card, a read data processing section for processing data read by the reading means, and audio information corresponding to the identifier. a storage unit for storing data; and a determination unit for receiving a signal transmitted from the read data processing unit to determine the identifier, and audio information corresponding to the identifier determined by the determination unit is extracted from the storage unit. an audio information control section for outputting the audio information output from the audio information control section; an audio output section for outputting the audio information output from the audio information control section as audio; a power supply; and a power switch for turning on/off the power supply. In the present invention, the identifier has an optically readable indication or a magnetically readable indication. Therefore, optical reading means such as a camera or reading means such as a magnetic reader can be selected as the means for reading the identifier. The audio information of the present invention includes learning element information related to language learning including foreign languages such as Japanese and English, as well as learning element information related to each learning subject such as arithmetic, science, and social studies.

According to the present invention, when a card is touched to an audio unit, a unique identifier displayed on the touched card is read, and information about learning elements such as words corresponding to the read identifier is output by voice. Therefore, by listening to the pronunciation of the words displayed on the cards, the user can effectively learn words such as Japanese and various subjects such as arithmetic while enjoying the feeling of playing a game.

1 is a perspective view of an example in which the present invention is applied to a language learning toy; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a card used in the word learning toy of FIG. 1, where (a) shows the front side and (b) shows the back side. (a) to (j) are diagrams showing examples of word cards of all 10 groups. (a) to (e) are diagrams showing five types of song cards. (a) to (e) are diagrams showing five types of setting cards. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the audio unit of the learning toy of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the audio unit of the learning toy of FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the learning toy of FIGS. 1, 6 and 7; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a user touches a card to the sound unit of the toy for learning in FIG. 1;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which the learning toy of the present invention is applied to a language learning toy (hereinafter also referred to as a language learning toy) will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Configuration of toys for language learning>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a word learning toy according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a card (word card) of the word learning toy, in which (a) is the front side and (b) is the back side, respectively. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing;

A language learning toy 1 according to the present invention is mainly used for language education, specifically English language education, and as shown in FIG. ) 2 and an audio unit 10 for outputting information (pronunciation of the word, etc.) related to the word (English) displayed on the touched one of these cards 2 by voice.

As will be described later (see FIGS. 3 to 5), there are a plurality of types of cards 2, but the one shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a word card 2A, which is: It is made of thin (about 0.5 mm thick) paper (cardboard) and shaped into an oval shape. On the surface of this word card 2A, as shown in FIG. 2(a), there are an English word (for example, "glasses") 2a and a picture (for example, a picture of "glasses") 2b representing the English word. , an identifier display portion 2c displaying an identifier unique to the word card 2A is displayed by printing, and on the back side, as shown in FIG. An identifier unique to the word card 2A is formed by printing or the like on the identifier display portion 2c for displaying it. Identifiers may be optical, magnetic, or of any other type. The identifier is preferably invisible or non-readable to the naked eye, but may be visible or readable. An example is an optically readable identifier.

Here, examples of types of cards 2 are shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The cards 2 include word cards 2A shown in FIG. 3, song cards 2B shown in FIG. There is 2C. The word cards 2A, the word cards 2B, and the setting cards 2C will be described below.

As an example, 30 word cards 2A are prepared for each of the 10 groups, and FIGS. 3(a) to 3(j) show some of the 30 word cards 2A belonging to each group. ing. Specifically, the 10 groups include a group belonging to "animals" shown in FIG. 3(a), a group belonging to "fruits and vegetables" shown in FIG. 3(b), and a group belonging to " The group belonging to "food and drink", the group belonging to "stationery, belongings, clothes" shown in FIG. ), those belonging to "colors, numbers" shown in FIG. 3(g), those belonging to "persons, occupations" shown in FIG. There are those belonging to "body, sports" shown in (i) and those belonging to "things related to school, season" shown in FIG. 3(j).

Also, the song card 2B shown in FIG. 4 is used in a "chattering mode" of operation modes to be described later, and is for pronouncing English words in a song form. As shown in FIG. 4(a), the song cards 2B have the English alphabet "A, B, C..." pronounced in a song format, and the day of the week "Sunday" as shown in FIG. 4(b). , Monday..." in song form, and the part of the body as shown in FIG. 4(c), "Head, Shoulders..." in song form. As shown in FIG. 4(e), there are those that pronounce the month "January, February..." in a song form, and those that pronounce the Seven Steps of "one to seven" in a song form as shown in FIG. 4(e).

Further, the setting card 2C shown in FIG. 5 is for switching the operation mode by touching the audio unit 10 and for adjusting the volume of the audio output from the audio unit. Like the word cards 2A and the song cards 2B, they are made of paper (cardboard) and formed into a circle. Specifically, the setting card 2C has a card for switching the operation mode shown in FIG. 5(a) to the "chattering mode" and a card for switching the operation mode shown in FIG. 5(b) to the "karuta mode". 5(c) for switching the operation mode to "Quis mode", FIG. 5(d) for increasing the volume, and FIG. 5(e) for decreasing the volume. There is something for. Details of the operation modes "chatter mode", "karuta mode" and "quiz mode" will be described later.

Next, the configuration of the audio unit 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6 to 8. FIG.

6 is a plan view of the voice unit, FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the same voice unit, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the language learning toy according to the present invention.

The audio unit 10, which constitutes the word learning toy 1 according to the present invention together with the card 2, optically reads the identifier displayed on the card 2, and outputs information corresponding to the read identifier by voice. As shown in FIG. 1, a hollow truncated cone-shaped case 11 is provided. The case 11 is constructed by covering the bottom opening of a case body 11A with a bottom opening with a detachable dish-shaped cover 11B. The case 11 (case body 11A and cover 11B) is made of synthetic resin. Further, the shape of the case 11 is not limited to the truncated cone shape of the above example, and may be selected from, for example, a cylindrical shape, a cubic shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a pyramid shape, and the like.

At the center of the upper surface of the case 11, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a circular opening (reading portion) through which the lens of a camera 20 (see FIG. 8) serving as imaging means built in the case 11 faces. 11a is formed. Around the opening 11a on the upper surface of the case 11, there is a circular switch button (with the number "1" attached) 12 for switching the operation mode to the "talking mode" and the "karuta mode". and a round switch button 14 (with the number "3") for switching the operation mode to the "quiz mode". is provided. Further, on the upper surface of the case 11, a repeat button 15 is provided which constitutes repeat means for repeating the output of the sound from the sound unit 10. As shown in FIG. Note that the switching buttons 12 to 14 constitute mode switching means for switching operation modes.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the bottom surface of the case 11 is provided with two round volume buttons 16 and 17 and a power switch 18, which constitute volume adjusting means for adjusting the sound volume. . Here, one volume button (+) 16 is for increasing the volume, and the other volume button (-) 17 is for decreasing the volume. 17 can adjust the volume by one step each time it is pressed, up to a maximum of five steps.

The bottom of the case 11 is formed with a rectangular opening 11b for inserting and removing three AAA batteries, which are the power source 70 (see FIG. 8). It is covered with a plate-shaped battery cover 19 . The power switch 18 turns on/off the power supply 70 by sliding it in the horizontal direction.

By the way, inside the case 11, as shown in FIG. a camera 20 as means, an image data processing unit 30 for processing an image captured by the camera 20, an audio information control unit (ECU) 40 for extracting and outputting audio information corresponding to an identifier, and the audio information An amplifier 50 and a speaker 60 forming an audio output section for outputting audio information output from the control section 40, a power supply 70, and the power switch 18 for turning on/off the power supply 70 are incorporated. When the identifier is formed by an element other than an optical element, a detector such as an identifier reader capable of reading the identifier is installed in place of the camera 20. FIG.

Here, the voice information control unit (ECU) 40 receives a signal transmitted from the storage unit 41 for storing voice information corresponding to the identifier optically read from the card 2 and the image data processing unit 30. It has a discriminating section 42 for discriminating an identifier, and has the function of extracting from the storage section 41 and outputting voice information corresponding to the identifier discriminated by the discriminating section 42 . Further, as described above, as the operation modes of the audio unit 10, "chatter mode", "karuta mode" and "quiz mode" are set. , a program for executing each operation mode is stored.

As shown in FIG. 8, switching buttons 12 to 14, a repeat button 15, and volume buttons 16 and 17 are electrically connected to an audio information control unit (ECU) 40, respectively.

<Effects of language learning toys>
Next, the operation (how to use) of the word learning toy 1 configured as described above will be described for each operation mode ("chattering mode", "karuta mode" and "quiz mode").

1) "Talk Mode":
In the "chattering mode", as shown in FIG. 9, when the user touches the word card 2A (see FIG. 3) on the upper surface of the case 11 of the audio unit 10, the word displayed on the touched word card 2A (for example, "apple") is read aloud. In this case, the word card 2A may be touched on either side. Note that when the power switch 18 is turned on to start learning, the operation mode is automatically set to the "chattering mode".

Here, when adjusting the volume to be read aloud, press the volume button (+) 16 or the volume button (-) 17 (see FIG. 6) provided on the top surface of the case 11, or press FIG. The upper surface of the case 11 is touched with the setting card 2C shown in FIG. 5(e). To switch the operation mode from the "chattering mode" to the "karuta mode", the switching button 13 (see FIG. 6) provided on the upper surface of the case 11 is pressed, or the setting card shown in FIG. 5(b) is pressed. 2C touches the upper surface of the case 11. Similarly, when switching the operation mode from the "chattering mode" to the "quiz mode", the switching button 14 (see FIG. 6) provided on the upper surface of the case 11 is pressed, or the setting button shown in FIG. 5(c) is pressed. The card 2C is touched on the upper surface of the case 11.

2) "Karuta mode":
The "karuta mode" is a mode in which a word card 2A on which a word read out by the voice unit 10 is displayed is picked up and touched. Specifically, the game progresses in the following procedure.

(1) A voice saying "Please touch the type of card you want to play" is heard.

(2) Touch one of the cards in the group you want to play karuta.

(3) A voice saying "Karuta starts from the card of the touched group" is played.

(4) Hints about the torifuda play in English.

(5) When you touch the card that matches the hint, you will hear the sound of "ping-pong" and the pronunciation in English. If you touch the wrong card, you will hear a "boo" buzzer, the English pronunciation of the word displayed on the wrong card, and the English pronunciation of the correct word.

(6) When all the questions are finished, a voice signal for the end is heard.

3) "Quiz Mode":
The "quiz mode" is a mode in which the voice unit 10 selects and touches the card 2 corresponding to the quiz given, and the game progresses according to the following procedure.

(1) A voice saying "Please touch the type of card you want to play" is heard.

(2) Touch one of the cards of the group you want to take the quiz on.

(3) The voice of the touched group's name is played.

(4) A voice of "quiz start" is played.

(5) Questions will be given in Japanese.

(6) When the question is answered correctly, the voice of "Ding-Pong" is played and the English pronunciation is played. If the answer is incorrect, a buzzer sounds and the same question is presented again.

(7) When all the questions are finished, a voice signal for the end is heard.

As described above, according to the language learning toy 1 of the present invention, when the card 2 is touched on the sound unit 10, the unique identifier displayed on the touched card 2 is optically read and read. Since the information about the words corresponding to the identifiers is output by voice, the user can effectively learn the words (English) by listening to the pronunciation of the words (English) displayed on the card 2 while enjoying it like a game. can do.

In particular, in this embodiment, since "chat mode", "karuta mode" and "quiz mode" are set as operation modes, it is possible to become familiar with English words while playing, and it can be played by one or more people. It is possible to obtain the effect of being able to promote the establishment of knowledge.

In the above embodiment, an example of using the learning toy according to the present invention for learning English has been described, but the learning toy according to the present invention can be used in any other foreign language including Japanese. Language learning such as words and proverbs, or knowledge and learning of science (animals, plants, etc.) and social studies (geography, history, etc.), using the display of the card and the sound of the sound unit corresponding to the display It can be developed and used as a learning toy for learning through intellectual training such as karuta play, Shiritori play, or quiz play.

Also, the learning toy described above can be developed into a math learning toy. For example, the card 2 may be a card printed with a plurality of printed numbers (for example, 0 to 9) and an identifier associated with each number, or a simple arithmetic formula (addition, (subtraction, multiplication, division) display and the identifiers associated with each display are printed, or cards with the display of each stage of the multiplication table and the identifiers associated with each display are printed, etc. create and prepare. On the other hand, as audio information provided in the audio unit 10, audio information corresponding to each information printed on each card and an identifier linked to each audio information are recorded, and the above-mentioned words are recorded. By the same operation as a learning toy, it is possible to learn numbers through display of cards and sound indicating the display, or learn four arithmetic operations and multiplication table through display of cards and sound corresponding to the display.

In addition, the application of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, the specification, and the drawings. is of course.

1 word learning toy 2 card 2A word card 2B song card 2C setting card 10 voice unit 12-14 switching button (mode switching means)
15 Repeat button (repeat means)
16, 17 volume button (volume control means)
18 power switch 20 camera (imaging means)
30 image data processing unit 40 audio information control unit (ECU)
41 storage unit 42 determination unit 50 amplifier (audio output unit)
60 speaker (audio output unit)
70 power supply

Claims (11)

a plurality of cards displaying at least language-related information and a unique identifier linked to the information;
an audio unit that reads the identifier displayed on the touched card and outputs information corresponding to the read identifier by audio;
A learning toy comprising: The audio unit comprises:
reading means for reading the identifier displayed on the touched card;
a read data processing unit for processing data read by the reading means;
a storage section for storing voice information corresponding to the identifier; and a determination section for receiving a signal transmitted from the read data processing section to determine the identifier, and corresponding to the identifier determined by the determination section. an audio information control unit for extracting and outputting audio information from the storage unit;
an audio output unit for outputting audio information output from the audio information control unit;
a power supply;
a power switch for turning on/off the power;
A learning toy according to claim 1, comprising: wherein said audio unit comprises a plurality of operation modes and mode switching means for switching said operation modes, and wherein said storage unit stores a program for executing each operation mode. 3. A learning toy according to item 2. The operation modes include a "chattering mode" in which the words displayed on the cards are read aloud, a "karuta mode" in which the cards on which the words read out by the voice unit are displayed are picked up and touched, and a quiz set by the voice unit. 4. The learning toy according to claim 3, further comprising a "quiz mode" in which a card corresponding to the above is selected and touched. 5. A learning toy according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the cards include a mode setting card for switching the operation mode by touching the audio unit. 6. The learning toy according to claim 2, wherein said audio unit comprises volume adjusting means for adjusting the volume of the audio output from said audio output section. 7. The study according to claim 6, wherein the cards include a volume setting card for adjusting the volume of the audio output from the audio output section by touching the audio unit. toy for. A learning toy according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein said audio unit comprises repeat means for repeating output of audio from said audio output section. 9. The learning card according to claim 8, wherein the cards include a repeat setting card for repeating the output of the sound output from the sound output unit by touching the sound unit. toy. A learning toy according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the information is related to Japanese or English. 10. A learning toy according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the information relates to any one of mathematics, science and social studies.

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