EDUCATIONAL TOY SET

Abstract

The present invention relates to educational toy sets and methods for generating an auditive signal. An educational toy set according to the present invention comprises a shape 2, 2′, 3, 4 having at least one shape-identifier 2, 1, 2, 2 corresponding to one or more shape-features. The toy set further comprises an identification element having at least one reader to detect and/or activate at least one shape-identifier inside an effective range of the at least one reader and a processing unit adapted at processing a detecting and/or activating of at least one shape-identifier by the reader. It also comprises an output unit adapted at giving an auditive input reflective of the processing of said detecting and/or activating in conjunction with the one or more shape-features.

Claims

1. An educational toy set comprising: a. a shape (2, 2′, 3, 4) having at least one shape-identifier (2.1, 2.2) corresponding to one or more shape feature(s); b. a shape-identification element having at least one reader (10, 10′) to detect and/or activate at least one shape-identifier inside an effective range of the at least one reader; c. a processing unit (11), adapted at processing a detecting and/or activating of at least one shape-identifier (2.1, 2.2) by the reader (10, 10′), and d. an output unit (17), adapted at giving an auditive output, reflective of the processing of said detecting and/or activating in conjunction with the one or more shape feature(s).

2. The educational toy set of claim 1, comprising a plurality of shapes (2, 2′, 3, 4), each having at least one shape-identifier (2.1, 2.2) corresponding to one or more shape feature(s).

3. The educational toy set of claim 1, comprising a plurality of shape-identification elements each having at least one reader and each having an effective range of the at least one reader.

4. The educational toy set of claim 3, where the output is reflective of a feature of the plurality of shape-identification elements has performed the detecting and/or activating of at least one shape-identifier.

5. The educational toy set of claim 1, comprising a memory unit for storing a sequence of detecting and/or activating of at least one shape-identifier(s) by any one number of reader(s).

6. The educational toy set of claim 1, comprising an interface for connecting the processing unit with at least one further information processing device.

7. The educational toy set of claim 1, comprising a plurality of effective ranges, each of a particular reader, and the effective ranges are adjusted so that they essentially do not overlap.

8. The educational toy set of claim 1, wherein the output in conjunction with the one or more shape feature(s) is reflective of a feature such as shape form value, number value, letter value, picture value of the shape.

9. The educational toy set of claim 1, whereby shape-identification element comprises at least one shape receptacle adapted at receiving a shape such as to bring the shape into an effective range associated with said shape receptacle.

10. The educational toy set of claim 1, whereby the shape has a shape surface essentially made of wood.

11. The educational toy set of claim 1, whereby the processing unit is further adapted at prompting a user by means of auditive output by the output unit.

12. The educational toy set of claim 1, whereby the shape-identification element(s), the processing unit and the output unit, and preferably also the shape receptacle, are part of a play tray (1) and the shape(s) are separate and adapted to be brought into an effective range of at least one reader inside the play tray, in particular by fitting a shape into a shape receptacle.

13. The educational toy set of claim 1, whereby at least two of a plurality of shapes are designed to be stackable.

14. A method for generating an auditive output by an educational toy set according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: a. triggering a detecting and/or activating of at least one shape-identifier by bringing at least one shape inside an effective range of the least one reader; b. processing the triggering dependent on at least one parameter dependent on either one or a combination of: shape feature(s), number of shape-identifier(s), position of the reader; time of reading; C. outputting an auditive output by means of an output unit as a result of that processing.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the shape feature(s) are reflective of any one or a combination of: shape form value, number value, letter value, picture value of the shape and the processing comprises setting that value in context with a sequence of shape feature(s) to generate a meaningful output reflective of this sequence in the form of an auditive output.

16. The method according to claim 14, where the processing unit matches the sequence of shape feature(s) with a set of predetermined operations stored in a memory.

17. The method according to claim 15, where the processing unit prompts an error notification if a sequence of one or more shape feature(s) does not match a predetermined operation stored in a memory.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0069] FIG. 1 shows schematically an illustration of an educational toy set according to the present invention;

[0070] FIG. 2 shows schematically a play tray prompting the user;

[0071] FIG. 3a shows schematically a use step of the educational toy set of FIG. 1;

[0072] FIG. 3b shows a subsequent use step of the educational toy set of FIG. 1;

[0073] FIG. 3c shows a final use step of the educational toy set according to FIG. 1;

[0074] FIG. 4 shows a detail of a play tray and part;

[0075] FIG. 5 shows a series of alternative embodiment of the play tray of FIG. 1;

[0076] FIG. 6a shows an inside look into a play tray, and

[0077] FIG. 6b shows a schematic inside look into a shape for use with an educational toy set according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0078] FIG. 1 shows the most basic implementation of an educational toy set according to the present invention. The educational toy set here comprises a play tray 1 which is an elongated tray with an essentially wooden surface and two end pieces at the front ends. In this particular example the end pieces at the front end are made of a different material than wood. These can be advantageous for incorporating loudspeakers into the educational toy set, which might be easier to implement in a metallic front end piece than having respective bore throughs for the loudspeakers in a wooden piece. The front end pieces can further be designed to be removable, such as to be able to open the educational toy set and access the electronic inside. Preferably the front end pieces also house batteries and/or power source(s) for powering the electronic functions of the educational toy set.

[0079] In a particularly preferred implementation, the front end pieces are made of a material or coated with a material that is agreeable to the touch and/or provides a good gripping, such as for example a silicon and/or rubber material. Alternatively, the front-end pieces can also be encased in a wood surface.

[0080] The educational toy set of FIG. 1 has a number of five shapes 2, 3, 2′, 4 placed on the play tray 1. As can be seen in the present example, each of the shapes 2, 3, 2′, 4 has a respective number value or an operator value as a shape feature. Three first shapes 2, 2′ have a number value and two second shapes 3, 4 have an operator value. Presently the shapes having a number value have a first shape with a number value 3 and a second shape 2′ with a number value 2. The first shape with an operator value has a «+» sign that signifies an addition and the second shape 4 with an operator value has an «=» operator. Finally, the correct answer has been placed on the play tray 1 of FIG. 1 in the form of a shape with the number value «5».

[0081] A use of the play tray and the educational toy set of the present invention can be initiated by the educational toy set in the form of a prompting the user to perform a certain task. This is illustrated in FIG. 2, where the educational toy set invites the user to perform certain actions. In the present example no shapes are yet placed on the play tray and the play tray by means of loudspeakers emits an auditive invitation A: «Please place any one of the toy blocks onto the tray!». Alternatively, or in addition to that the educational toy set can issue an invitation to place a particular shape onto the tray B: «Please place the toy block with a number three onto the tray!».

[0082] According to the present invention the play tray is equipped with shape-identification elements that can detect and/or activate the presents of nearby shapes and a verification step can be performed according to a specific timer by a processing unit (not shown in the present figure) whether a respective invitation that has been prompted has been fulfilled or not. The processing unit can then decide to either repeat the invitation or move on to issue another may be different prompt from the first one.

[0083] For the sake of the present example, in FIG. 3a the user has placed a shape 2 in the form of a toy block with a number value 3 on it on the play tray 1. The educational toy set can then provide the output C: «Number three!». In the following then as depicted in FIG. 3b the educational toy set can issue the further invitation D: «Please place a toy block with an operator onto the tray!». This is interactively followed through until a complete mathematical operation is placed on the play tray upon which the following sequence of auditive output can be outputted: A: «Three!» E: «Plus!» F: «Two!» G: «Equals!» H: «Five!». This corresponds to a sequence of shapes that have been placed on the play tray. A first shape 2 has a number value 3, a second shape 3 has an operator value +, a third shape 2′ has a number value 2, a fourth shape 4 has an operator value=2.

[0084] A more detailed example is shown in FIG. 4, which represents an end part of a play tray 1 according to the present invention with a shape 2 that has been placed in a first shape receptable. The play tray end part has a frontend piece 1.1 that is made of metal and has loudspeakers on the side (not explicitly shown) through which the auditive output is played. A first shape 2 has been placed into a first shape receptable which is made so that the shape 2 fits snugly in it. The second shape receptable 1.2 is not filled with a shape. In the second shape receptable 1.2 visible is a shape receptable feature 1.3 which in the present example takes the form of a printed surface 1.3. This printed surface 1.3 can be used for providing certain tasks and features, such as place a shape of the same color as the shape receptable feature 1.3 into the second shape receptable from the left.

[0085] In this particular example the shape has three visible shape surfaces. The first shape surface 2.1 shows a number value associated with the respective shape. The second shape feature 2.3 can be printed with a particular color or design, for instance, to be used in combination with a respective corresponding shape receptable feature 1.3 in a task that can be formed by the educational toy. The third shape surface 2.2 can be also implemented with a particular feature, such as a further color or for instance with a picture value, letter value or operator value. In the context of the present invention the processing unit can process and provide an output depending on the context in which a particular shape is placed in conjunction with further shapes on the play tray. This means that a shape-identifier which is associated with an addition can also be associated with a particular number, such as for instance a “Two”. Depending on the context in which the shape is placed on the play tray the processor determines either by itself or by relying on a database which of the functions would be relevant for the specific context. The output is then provided to suit the respective context. In a specific example this can mean that placing two shapes with the value “two” in subsequent manner can be interpreted to mean “twenty-two” instead of just «two» and «two». Different variants on how shape surfaces can be used for shape features are shown in FIG. 5, where the shapes 2, 3, 2′ are used for depicting numbers as line count, dice pips or as letters. Whereby in the instance of the line sticks in FIG. 5 the result would prompt an output in the sense of «This answer is not correct, try again!)». In the example of FIG. 5 a tray is shown where a complex task is in the context of being given to the user. The task of FIG. 5 can be started for instance by placing a first shape 5 with the image of an apple onto the play tray. The following task can encompass the placement of subsequent shapes 6, 6′ with letter values either writing out the word apple or it can encompass a task where missing letters are to be placed on the play tray in a specific order. It can also encompass the task of stating how many letters are missing in the word that has been placed on the play tray, where the correct answer has been placed onto the first shape 5 in the form of a shape 2 with the number value 1. Another different task could be to count the apples by placing the correct endings such as one apple, two apples requiring one shape at the end, respectively requiring two further shapes at the end. It becomes evident to the skilled artisan that the possibilities of implementing the present invention are nearly endless. As the shown shapes of the present example as already outlined in FIG. 4 are simple cubes with six different surfaces already a near infinite number of operations can be implemented into an educational toy set consisting of a play tray and a set of between six and ten shapes in the form of cubes.

[0086] One particular advantage of the present invention is that in the example of FIG. 5 the shapes are stackable. This stackability requires that the play tray has the respective features for recognizing two shapes above each other, i.e., requires means to distinguish two shape-identifiers within an effective range of a reader.

[0087] FIG. 6a shows a play tray 1 for use with an educational toy set according to the present invention with parts of the cover removed, such as to allow a schematic view onto the interior. From left to right a frontend piece is followed by a first shape receptable 1.2 with a printed surface as a first shape receptable feature 1.3. The nth shape receptable is shown with the cover removed and has an RFID antenna 10 within a shape-identification element 12. The shape-identification element 12 is separated by the subsequent nth plus 1 shape receptable by means of a shield unit 18, which is a metallic block interposed between the first antenna 10 and a second antenna 10′. In operation both antennas 10, 10′ each provide for a unique and specific effective range of the antennas 10, 10′ which take the place of the reader in this present implementation. After any number of such shape-identification elements a processing unit 11 processes detection and/or activation that is performed by the antennas and based on a sequence of activation and/or the shape feature(s) recognized by means of the individual shape feature tags that are placed inside the shapes and are inductively activated by the antennas 10, 10′ generates an output that is emitted from an output unit 17 in the form of an auditive signal. This auditive signal has already detailed above is refractive of these shape features and/or sequence and timing of the placement in the respective shape identification elements. To update the software all to load a power source 14 a connection 13 is provided. In the present example the connection 13 is an USB protocol connection. The battery 16 can be any kind of rechargeable battery as are commonly used in peripheral devices.

[0088] In the present example the processing unit 11 can also access a memory unit 16 that has certain voice files stored or that provides a database of sequences that are logical and that the processing unit can check again to against to determine whether a specific operation makes sense and which the correct output would then be.

[0089] In the present implementation of FIG. 6a the play tray comes further equipped with a TCP/IP microcontroller capable of WiFi communication with further devices.

[0090] In the present example the antennas 10, 10′ are RFID/NFC antennas adapted at providing an effective range in the proximity of the shape-identification element, such that only a correctly placed shape is capable of being activated/detected such as to prevent interference between different shapes that are placed next to each other.

[0091] A shape usable for such a device is shown in FIG. 6b. The shape 2 in the present example has two shape features that are dependent on two shape-identifiers 2.1, 2.2. In the present example the shape-identifiers 2.1, 2.2 are two passive tags that can be activated and/or detected by means of a RFID/NFC antenna in a play tray as described above.

[0092] With an educational toy of the present invention a toy is provided that stimulates tactile, visual and auditive senses of a child can pose a variety of learning problems and a playful approach to different topics while at the same time being highly customizable and interactive in its use in a way that does not lag behind the usual tablet implemented educational apps.