US20080305709A1 - Toy Sensitive to Human Touch - Google Patents

Toy Sensitive to Human Touch Download PDF

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Publication number
US20080305709A1
US20080305709A1 US11/571,789 US57178905A US2008305709A1 US 20080305709 A1 US20080305709 A1 US 20080305709A1 US 57178905 A US57178905 A US 57178905A US 2008305709 A1 US2008305709 A1 US 2008305709A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
collection
toy
capacitor
living
mean value
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US11/571,789
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English (en)
Inventor
Thomas Chan
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Mattel Inc
Original Assignee
Corolle SA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Corolle SA filed Critical Corolle SA
Assigned to COROLLE reassignment COROLLE ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: CHAN, THOMAS
Publication of US20080305709A1 publication Critical patent/US20080305709A1/en
Assigned to MATTEL, INC. reassignment MATTEL, INC. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: COROLLE
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H3/00—Dolls
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
    • H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
    • H03K17/00—Electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making and –breaking
    • H03K17/94—Electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making and –breaking characterised by the way in which the control signals are generated
    • H03K17/945—Proximity switches
    • H03K17/955—Proximity switches using a capacitive detector
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H2200/00—Computerized interactive toys, e.g. dolls
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H03—ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY
    • H03K—PULSE TECHNIQUE
    • H03K2217/00—Indexing scheme related to electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making or -breaking covered by H03K17/00
    • H03K2217/94—Indexing scheme related to electronic switching or gating, i.e. not by contact-making or -breaking covered by H03K17/00 characterised by the way in which the control signal is generated
    • H03K2217/96—Touch switches
    • H03K2217/9607—Capacitive touch switches
    • H03K2217/96071—Capacitive touch switches characterised by the detection principle
    • H03K2217/960715—Rc-timing; e.g. measurement of variation of charge time or discharge time of the sensor

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a toy including means for detecting the approach of a portion of a living being, in particular for the purpose of triggering an effect, e.g. a sound effect, a light effect, or even a movement performed by said toy. More particularly, the invention relates to a doll including means for detection by the capacitive effect, combined with other detection systems.
  • the field concerned is that of toys and the electronics in such toys.
  • the toy detects the presence of the plate and therefore triggers its effects.
  • the toy thus appears to respond even though no portion of a living being is in the proximity of the sensor.
  • Such interference can be caused in this way by any nearby metal object of large weight or area.
  • the invention thus proposes a detection system avoiding that kind of interference. It is based on the fact that the body of a living being transmits radio waves. More precisely, the electrical power distribution network emits radio waves having the same waveform as the electricity it distributes. These waves are picked up by nearby living beings and re-emitted.
  • the present invention thus provides a toy including at least one capacitive sensor comprising a metal plate constituting one of the two plates of a capacitor, the second plate being constituted by a portion of a living being in the proximity of the toy,
  • control circuit including means for causing effects to take place in response to stimulation of said capacitive sensor
  • the toy being characterized in that said metal plate of said at least one capacitive sensor is used as an antenna for picking up radio frequency transmission from said portion of a living being in the proximity of the toy.
  • the radio frequency transmission is at the frequency of an electrical power distribution network.
  • the toy of the invention advantageously comprises:
  • the invention provides a doll having a plurality of capacitive sensors situated at various locations on the doll.
  • the invention provides a method of detecting human presence for a toy including a capacitive sensor having a metal plate constituting one of the two plates of a capacitor, the second plate of the capacitor being constituted by a portion of a living being in the proximity of the toy, said method comprising at least the steps consisting in:
  • this second aspect of the invention comprises the following characteristics:
  • FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a doll in accordance with the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic of an electronic circuit associated with a capacitive sensor plate in the FIG. 1 doll;
  • FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the detection method of the invention implemented by the FIG. 2 circuit.
  • FIG. 4 is a graph plotting variations in discharge time within a collection during a contact.
  • FIG. 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the invention. It shows a doll 1 having a plurality of sensors at various locations of its body. These sensors may be of several kinds. Thus, capacitive sensors 2 in accordance with the present invention are situated on the feet, one of the wrists, and one of the cheeks of the doll 1 , while inductive sensors 3 are situated on the lips, the chest, and the other wrist of the doll 1 . Whereas the inductive sensors 3 are used for detecting accessories that are not shown, the capacitive sensors 2 are used for detecting the presence of a portion of a living being in the proximity of the sensor. Other sensors such as gravimetric or radio sensors (not shown) could also be installed on the doll 1 .
  • Each capacitive sensor 2 can lead to a different action depending on its location in the body of the doll 1 . By means of this system, malfunction due to the presence of metal objects are avoided.
  • a capacitive sensor 2 is constituted by a detection plate 5 and a resistor 6 connected between the detection plate 5 and ground.
  • the capacitor 50 formed by the detection plate 5 and the portion of the human being 4 changes so that the discharge time of the RC circuit formed by the resistor 6 and the capacitor 50 is changed.
  • An amplifier 7 serves to recharge the capacitor 50 so that a counter 8 measures the discharge time of the RC circuit.
  • the counter 8 co-operates with the amplifier 7 by means of a start-count signal 81 .
  • the start-count signal 81 informs the counter 8 that it should start counting.
  • a stop-count signal 82 serves to stop the counter 8 and to inform a central processor unit (CPU) 9 that it can read the data delivered by the counter 8 on a data bus 84 .
  • the counter 8 and the CPU 9 are synchronized by means of a common clock signal 83 .
  • the CPU 9 instructs the amplifier 7 to start charging by putting the signal 81 in the one state.
  • the amplifier 7 then delivers electrical power to the detection plate 5 until it is charged.
  • the signal 81 changes to zero, thus stopping the amplifier 7 and starting the counter 8 .
  • a Schmidt comparator 10 puts the stop-counting signal 82 to zero, thus stopping the counter 8 and informing the CPU 9 that it should store the discharge-time value present on the bus 84 .
  • the detection plate 5 acts as an antenna for receiving the radio waves transmitted by the nearby portion of a living being. This has the effect of causing the time required for the capacitor 50 to discharge to vary over time, with this variation presenting the form of a sinusoidal signal having the same frequency as the frequency of the electrical power distribution network.
  • FIG. 3 a flow chart shows how the detection method in accordance with the invention runs. The method takes place in two distinct stages P 1 and P 2 , P 1 being the sampling stage during which a collection of discharge time values for the capacitor 50 is built up using the circuits shown in FIG. 2 , and stage P 2 being the analysis stage during which the data collected during the stage P 1 is analyzed.
  • the stage P 1 begins with initializing the system (S 100 ). During this step (S 100 ), the value of N is initialized to 10. This value determines the number of discharge times that go to making up a single collection.
  • the capacitor 50 is charged during the next step (S 110 ). Once the capacitor 50 is charged, the counter 8 is started in the next step (S 120 ). The capacitor 50 discharges at this time.
  • the detector 10 serves to detect the end of capacitor discharging in the next step (S 130 ).
  • the stop-count signal is activated and the CPU stores the value presented by the counter 8 in the next step (S 146 ).
  • a test serves to determine the value of N (S 150 ). If the value of N is not zero, then N is decremented in a step (S 151 ) and another charge cycle is begun: the method returns to step (S 110 ). When the value of N is zero in test step (S 150 ), then the stage P 1 has terminated and a collection of ten values has been built up in the memory of the CPU 9 .
  • the stage P 2 serves to analyze the data collected during the stage P 1 .
  • the mean value of the collection is compared with a reference value. If the mean value is substantially equal to the reference value, then it can be concluded that there is no portion of a living being in the proximity of the detector 5 (S 161 ). otherwise, if the mean value of the collection is not substantially equal to the reference value, then said current mean value of the collection is compared with the mean value of a preceding collection (S 162 ). If these two mean values are substantially identical and if during the preceding cycle it was concluded that a portion of a living being was in the proximity of the detector of the invention, then it can again be concluded that said portion continues to be in the proximity of the detector. Otherwise, if the mean collection values are not identical, or if it was not decided previously that a portion of a living being was in the proximity of the detector, then the process continues to the next step (S 163 ).
  • step S 163 variations in the values of discharge time around the mean value of the collection are compared with a sinusoidal signal of frequency substantially equal to the frequency of the electrical power distribution network.
  • FIG. 4 is a graph showing the discharge times T 1 to T 10 of a single collection. These discharge times T 1 to T 10 vary about a collection mean value Tmean.
  • the CPU 9 looks for a sinusoidal waveform at a frequency substantially equal to the frequency of the electrical power distribution network in the variations in the values T 1 to T 10 of the discharge time. If, as is the case in FIG.
  • the reference value of step (S 161 ) is readjusted as a function of external conditions such as the temperature, the pressure, or indeed the humidity of the surrounding air.

Landscapes

  • Toys (AREA)
  • Electronic Switches (AREA)
  • Electrophonic Musical Instruments (AREA)
  • Push-Button Switches (AREA)
US11/571,789 2004-07-08 2005-07-08 Toy Sensitive to Human Touch Abandoned US20080305709A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR04/07655 2004-07-08
FR0407655A FR2872714B1 (fr) 2004-07-08 2004-07-08 Jouet sensible au toucher humain
PCT/EP2005/008208 WO2006005635A1 (fr) 2004-07-08 2005-07-08 Jouet sensible au contact d'un etre humain

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20080305709A1 true US20080305709A1 (en) 2008-12-11

Family

ID=34949580

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US11/571,789 Abandoned US20080305709A1 (en) 2004-07-08 2005-07-08 Toy Sensitive to Human Touch
US12/943,831 Abandoned US20110281492A1 (en) 2004-07-08 2010-11-10 Method of Sensing the Proximity of a Human

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US12/943,831 Abandoned US20110281492A1 (en) 2004-07-08 2010-11-10 Method of Sensing the Proximity of a Human

Country Status (8)

Country Link
US (2) US20080305709A1 (fr)
EP (1) EP1776167B1 (fr)
CN (1) CN100566785C (fr)
AT (1) ATE490010T1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2572909C (fr)
DE (1) DE602005025130D1 (fr)
FR (1) FR2872714B1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2006005635A1 (fr)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8115498B1 (en) * 2009-10-02 2012-02-14 The Boeing Company Proximity sensor interface device and method for its use
US20130182867A1 (en) * 2012-01-12 2013-07-18 Plantronics, Inc. Wearing Position Derived Device Operation
US8766649B1 (en) 2009-10-02 2014-07-01 The Boeing Company Proximity sensor interface device and method for its use
US10188957B2 (en) 2016-10-18 2019-01-29 Mattel, Inc. Toy with proximity-based interactive features
US10779179B2 (en) * 2016-03-08 2020-09-15 Aurora Insight Inc. System and method for large-scale radio frequency signal collection and processing
US20230201730A1 (en) * 2021-12-28 2023-06-29 Anthony Blackwell Speaking Doll Assembly

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2749347C (fr) 2008-02-07 2018-03-27 The University Of Queensland Fabrication de timbre transdermique
DE112009000941T5 (de) 2008-04-15 2011-05-26 Mattel, Inc., El Segundo Fernbedienungsgerät mit berührungsempfindlichem Bildschirm zur Verwendung mit einem Spielzeug
US8975900B2 (en) 2010-04-08 2015-03-10 Disney Enterprises, Inc. System and method for sensing human activity by monitoring impedance
US20120046102A1 (en) * 2010-08-17 2012-02-23 Michael Leonard Tully Method and system for facilitating electronic communications with children
US8775103B1 (en) * 2011-06-17 2014-07-08 Amazon Technologies, Inc. Proximity sensor calibration and configuration
US9259659B2 (en) 2013-04-30 2016-02-16 Mattel, Inc. Twist-waist punching figure
CN115211274A (zh) * 2015-12-17 2022-10-21 苏州宝时得电动工具有限公司 割草机

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3559336A (en) * 1968-09-16 1971-02-02 Asahi Trading Co Ltd Toy having capacitance switch
US4272916A (en) * 1979-12-06 1981-06-16 Cpg Products Corp. Proximity responsive toy
US5413518A (en) * 1994-01-18 1995-05-09 Lin; Ming-Tuan Proximity responsive toy
US6238262B1 (en) * 1998-02-06 2001-05-29 Technovation Australia Pty Ltd Electronic interactive puppet
US20020081937A1 (en) * 2000-11-07 2002-06-27 Satoshi Yamada Electronic toy
US20040043696A1 (en) * 2002-08-30 2004-03-04 Bill Goodman Consulting, Llc Non-contact capacitive sensing system for use in toys
US6742188B1 (en) * 1997-02-04 2004-05-25 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for encoding data in the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2978698A (en) * 1950-07-27 1961-04-04 Mortimer A Schultz Radar target tracking system
US2967905A (en) * 1958-01-13 1961-01-10 Hirsch Max Three dimensional display apparatus
US4479329A (en) * 1981-09-30 1984-10-30 Jacob Fraden Toy including motion-detecting means for activating same
US5289391A (en) * 1992-02-10 1994-02-22 Aerometrics, Inc. Method and apparatus for optimum signal burst detection
US5490502A (en) * 1992-05-07 1996-02-13 New York University Method and apparatus for optimizing the continuous positive airway pressure for treating obstructive sleep apnea
US7405372B2 (en) * 2004-08-27 2008-07-29 Jack Chu Low powered activation electronic device

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3559336A (en) * 1968-09-16 1971-02-02 Asahi Trading Co Ltd Toy having capacitance switch
US4272916A (en) * 1979-12-06 1981-06-16 Cpg Products Corp. Proximity responsive toy
US5413518A (en) * 1994-01-18 1995-05-09 Lin; Ming-Tuan Proximity responsive toy
US6742188B1 (en) * 1997-02-04 2004-05-25 Microsoft Corporation Method and system for encoding data in the horizontal overscan portion of a video signal
US6238262B1 (en) * 1998-02-06 2001-05-29 Technovation Australia Pty Ltd Electronic interactive puppet
US20020081937A1 (en) * 2000-11-07 2002-06-27 Satoshi Yamada Electronic toy
US20040043696A1 (en) * 2002-08-30 2004-03-04 Bill Goodman Consulting, Llc Non-contact capacitive sensing system for use in toys

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US8115498B1 (en) * 2009-10-02 2012-02-14 The Boeing Company Proximity sensor interface device and method for its use
US8766649B1 (en) 2009-10-02 2014-07-01 The Boeing Company Proximity sensor interface device and method for its use
US20130182867A1 (en) * 2012-01-12 2013-07-18 Plantronics, Inc. Wearing Position Derived Device Operation
US9300386B2 (en) * 2012-01-12 2016-03-29 Plantronics, Inc. Wearing position derived device operation
US10779179B2 (en) * 2016-03-08 2020-09-15 Aurora Insight Inc. System and method for large-scale radio frequency signal collection and processing
US11553361B2 (en) 2016-03-08 2023-01-10 Aurora Insight Inc. System and method for large-scale radio frequency signal collection and processing
US11825324B2 (en) 2016-03-08 2023-11-21 Aurora Insight Inc. System and method for large-scale radio frequency signal collection and processing
US10188957B2 (en) 2016-10-18 2019-01-29 Mattel, Inc. Toy with proximity-based interactive features
US20230201730A1 (en) * 2021-12-28 2023-06-29 Anthony Blackwell Speaking Doll Assembly

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2572909C (fr) 2012-09-04
CA2572909A1 (fr) 2006-01-19
WO2006005635A1 (fr) 2006-01-19
CN101014395A (zh) 2007-08-08
FR2872714A1 (fr) 2006-01-13
FR2872714B1 (fr) 2006-10-06
CN100566785C (zh) 2009-12-09
DE602005025130D1 (de) 2011-01-13
EP1776167A1 (fr) 2007-04-25
US20110281492A1 (en) 2011-11-17
ATE490010T1 (de) 2010-12-15
EP1776167B1 (fr) 2010-12-01

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: COROLLE, FRANCE

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:CHAN, THOMAS;REEL/FRAME:020391/0507

Effective date: 20070620

AS Assignment

Owner name: MATTEL, INC., CALIFORNIA

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:COROLLE;REEL/FRAME:023422/0868

Effective date: 20081231

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION