Identification carrier for a toy for reproducing music or an audio story

Abstract

An identification carrier for a toy for replaying music or a spoken story, includes a standing surface, a magnet and an identification, wherein the identification changes a property of an external magnetic field when it enters the magnetic field, and the magnet is arranged closer than the identification to the standing surface and/or at least one surface normal to the standing surface passes only through the magnet or only through the identification.

Claims

1. An identification carrier for placement on a toy configured for replaying music or a spoken story, comprising: a standing surface, a magnet positioned to adhere the standing surface of the identification carrier to a placement surface of the toy, and an identification, wherein the identification changes a property of an external magnetic field acting in a region of the toy when the identification enters the external magnetic field to cause a speaker on the toy to play the music or the spoken story; wherein the identification carrier has an external shape comprising one of a human or animal figure that has two or more feet comprising the standing surface; and wherein the magnet is positioned within the identification carrier such that at least one line extending perpendicular to the standing surface from a point on the standing surface passes through the identification but not through the magnet.

2. The identification carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the standing surface is composed of a plurality of partial surfaces that are not interconnected.

3. The identification carrier according to claim 1, wherein the identification comprises an RFID transponder.

4. The identification carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnet is a disk magnet or a rod magnet.

5. The identification carrier according to claim 1, characterized by an external shape in the form of a figure.

6. An identification carrier for a toy for replaying music or a spoken story, comprising: a body comprising at least one first part and one second part, wherein the body comprises a form corresponding to a particular person, a particular type of person, a fantasy figure, or a type of animal; a magnet arranged within the body to adhere a standing surface of the identification carrier to a placement surface of the toy; and an identification arranged within the body corresponding to the particular person, the particular type of person, the fantasy figure, or the type of animal represented by the form of the body, wherein the identification is configured to trigger the replay of music or a spoken story associated with the form of the body; wherein the first part of the body includes an interior recess extending from a top of the first part towards a bottom of the first part; wherein the identification is arranged at a bottom of the interior recess of the first part of the body; and wherein the magnet is arranged within the body closer to the standing surface of the identification carrier than the identification.

7. The identification carrier according to claim 6, wherein the magnet is arranged in the first part of the body.

8. A system composed of: (a) an identification carrier for a toy for replaying music or a spoken story, comprising: a body comprising at least one first part and one second part, wherein the body comprises a form corresponding to a particular person, a particular type of person, a fantasy figure, or a type of animal; a standing surface, a magnet, and an identification, wherein the identification changes a property of an external magnetic field acting in a region of the toy when it enters the external magnetic field, wherein the magnet is positioned closer than the identification to the standing surface, wherein the identification corresponds to the particular person, the particular type of person, the fantasy figure, or the type of animal represented by the form of the body, and wherein the identification is configured to trigger the replay of music or a spoken story associated with the form of the body; wherein the first part of the body includes an interior recess extending from a top of the first part towards a bottom of the first part, and wherein the identification is arranged at a bottom of the interior recess of the first part of the body; and (b) a toy for replaying music or a spoken story, comprising: a loudspeaker or a loudspeaker connection, a sensor, which is able to detect, within a region of its surroundings, a property or a change in a property of a magnetic field acting in the region of its surroundings caused by the identification entering the region, a placement surface configured to receive the standing surface of the identification carrier, and a control unit, which can drive the loudspeaker or the loudspeaker connection to replay music or a spoken story when the sensor detects, within the region of the placement surface, a specific property or a specific change in a property of the magnetic field acting in the region of the sensor, wherein, when the identification carrier is standing with its standing surface on the placement surface, the magnet is positioned within the identification carrier such that at least one line extending perpendicularly from a point on the standing surface through the identification passes through the sensor but not through the magnet.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the magnet is positioned to adhere the standing surface of the identification carrier to the placement surface of the toy.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the second part of the body comprises a projection configured to engage the interior recess of the first part of the body; wherein the projection and the interior recess are configured such that an end of the projection contacts the identification arranged in the bottom of the recess when the first part and the second part are connected to prevent movement of the identification in the interior recess.

11. The identification carrier according to claim 6, wherein the second part of the body comprises a projection configured to engage the interior recess of the first part of the body.

12. The identification carrier according to claim 11, wherein the projection and the interior recess are configured such that an end of the projection contacts the identification arranged in the bottom of the recess when the first part and the second part are connected to prevent movement of the identification in the interior recess.

13. The identification carrier according to claim 11, wherein the projection is configured to engage the interior recess of the first part of the body by one of a force-fit connection or a frictional connection.

14. The identification carrier according to claim 11, wherein the interior recess comprises a uniform cross-section.

15. An identification carrier for placement on a toy configured for replaying music or a spoken story, comprising: a standing surface configured to be placed on a placement surface of the toy, a magnet, and an identification, wherein the identification changes a property of an external magnetic field acting in a region of the toy when the identification enters the external magnetic field to cause a speaker on the toy to play the music or the spoken story, wherein at least one line extending perpendicular to the standing surface from a point on the standing surface passes only through one of the magnet or the identification; and wherein the identification carrier has an external shape comprising one of a human figure or an animal figure that includes two or more feet comprising the standing surface.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to drawings that illustrate embodiments of the invention.

(2) In the drawings:

(3) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the device according to the invention for replaying audio information,

(4) FIG. 2 shows a frontal view of a system according to the invention consisting of a device according to the invention in accordance with FIG. 1 and an identification carrier,

(5) FIG. 3 shows a frontal view of an identification carrier according to the invention,

(6) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an identification carrier according to the invention in an alternative embodiment and

(7) FIG. 5 shows a frontal view of an identification carrier according to the invention in an alternative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) FIG. 1 shows the device according to the invention for replaying audio information. The device 1 comprises a loudspeaker, which is not illustrated in more specific detail in the perspective view in FIG. 1. Furthermore, the device 1 comprises a recess 3 at its top side 2. A sensor (not illustrated in more specific detail) is arranged in the interior of the device 1, below the recess 3, which sensor can detect within the region of the recess 3 a property or a change in a property of these surroundings, namely can read a passive RFID transponder (cf. FIG. 2). Furthermore, the device comprises a control unit (not illustrated in more specific detail) that can drive the loudspeaker for replaying audio information if the sensor detects within the region of its surroundings a specific property or a specific change in a property of said surroundings or the control unit detects a specific change in the property detected by the sensor.

(9) The sensor is arranged within the housing of the device 1 in such a way that the region of the surroundings of the sensor in which the sensor can detect a property or a change in a property of said surroundings extends no further than 100 mm upwards beyond the base surface 4 of the recess 3.

(10) The device according to the invention comprises a first operating element 5 embodied in the shape of an ear, and a second operating element 6 likewise embodied in the shape of an ear. The operating element 5 is configured such that it is larger than the operating element 6. Both the operating element 5 and the operating element 6 can perform a tilting movement relative to the rest of the housing of the device 1 and pivot back into the basic position illustrated in FIG. 1.

(11) Furthermore, the device 1 comprises a display 7.

(12) The system illustrated in FIG. 2 comprises, besides the device illustrated in FIG. 1, an identification carrier 8 embodied in the form of a figure. The identification carrier 8 embodied as a figure has legs 9 and feet and no pedestal to which the feet 9 would be fixedly connected. Magnets (not illustrated in more specific detail) are provided in the feet of the identification carrier 8 embodied as a figure. Said magnets can interact with magnets or metal objects arranged directly below the base surface 4 of the recess 3, such that the identification carrier 8 can be fixedly held releasably on the baseplate 4 of the recess 3.

(13) The operation of the system according to the invention is performed as follows:

(14) FIG. 1 shows the device according to the invention in a basic state in which, in the embodiment illustrated here, it does not replay audio information. The sensor permanently or periodically monitors the region of the recess 3 to determine whether said region has a specific property or a specific change in a property. In the embodiment illustrated here, the sensor monitors the region of the recess 3 to determine whether a specific RFID transponder is brought into the region of the recess. This is not the case in the operating situation illustrated in FIG. 1, and so the device 1 does not replay audio information.

(15) FIG. 2 shows the operating situation in which the system according to the invention has been completed by addition of the identification carrier 8. The identification carrier 8 is placed onto the baseplate 4 of the recess 3 and adheres there by means of the magnets provided in the feet of the identification carrier 8. The identification carrier 8 has an RFID transponder (not illustrated in more specific detail). By virtue of the fact that the identification carrier 8 has now been brought into the region of the surroundings of the sensor that is monitored by the sensor, said region now has a specific property detectable by the sensor. The sensor recognizes the presence of the RFID transponder in the identification carrier 8 and conveys this to the control unit (not illustrated in more specific detail) by means of a signal. The control unit thereupon drives the loudspeaker for replaying audio information, without the need for driving of a further operating element.

(16) The sensor reads out an identification from the RFID transponder of the identification carrier 8 and conveys said identification to the control unit. On the basis of an assignment table stored in the control unit, the control unit assigns the identification read out by the sensor to a specific data set containing a specific item of audio information in a memory (not illustrated in more specific detail) of the device 1. The control unit thereupon drives the loudspeaker in order to replay the audio information contained in the specific data read out from the memory by the control unit. Said audio information is a piece of music whose replay lasts at least 10 s.

(17) FIG. 3 shows the identification carrier 8 according to the invention from a frontal view. The identification carrier 8 in the form of a figure has legs 9 and feet, rather than a pedestal to which the feet would be fixedly connected. In the feet of the identification carrier 8 in the form of a figure, magnets 10 are provided. The feet form partial surfaces 11 and 12, which are not interconnected, of a standing surface of the identification carrier 8. The identification carrier further has an identification 13 embodied as an RFID transponder. The magnets 10 are positioned closer than the identification 13 to the standing surface (partial surfaces 11 and 12). As indicated by the arrow marked by the symbol N1 in FIG. 3, there is at least one surface normal N1 to the standing surface that does not pass through a magnet 10 or through the identification 13. Likewise, there is at least one surface normal N2 to the standing surface that passes only through the magnet 10 and not through the identification 13.

(18) The standing surface lies within one plane E.

(19) FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of an identification carrier 108 according to the invention, from a perspective view. The identification carrier in the form of a figure has a body that includes a first part 101 and a second part 102. The second part 102 has a first opening 103 in the form of a cylindrical blind hole, at the base of which a magnet 110 is positioned. The second part 102 has a second opening 104 in the form of a cylindrical blind hole, at the base of which an identification 113 in the form of an RFID transponder or an NFC tag is positioned. The identification carrier 108 is embodied as a figure that has legs 109 and feet, and no pedestal to which the feet would be fixedly connected. The figure further includes a sack, standing next to the feet of the figure. The feet and the bottom of the sack form partial surfaces 111, 112, 114, not interconnected, of a standing surface of the identification carrier 108. The magnet 110 is positioned closer than the identification 113 to the standing surface. As indicated by the arrow marked by the symbol N1 in FIG. 4, there is at least one surface normal N1 to the standing surface that does not pass through either a magnet 110 or the identification 113. Likewise, there is at least one surface normal N2 to the standing surface that passes only through the magnet 110 and not through the identification 113.

(20) The first part 101 of the body is a free form and has a three-dimensional shape overall that does not correspond to any geometric main body, although its overall three-dimensional shape may be composed of geometric main bodies or may contain geometric main bodies, such as the cylindrical projection 115, for example, and the truncated cone-shaped end 116 thereof. The second part 102 of the body is also a free form and has a three-dimensional shape overall that does not correspond to any geometric main body, although its overall three-dimensional shape may be composed of geometric main bodies or may contain geometric main bodies, such as the cylindrical legs of the figure, for example. The projection 115 is provided for engaging into the opening 103 and securing the magnets 110 positioned at the base thereof.

(21) The standing surface lies within one plane E.

(22) FIG. 5 shows a further alternative embodiment of an identification carrier 208 according to the invention, from a perspective view. The identification carrier in the form of a figure has a body that includes a first part 201 and a second part 202, which is separated from the first part 201 during the manufacturing process and is attached to the first part 201 by means of a joining process. The first part has two magnets 210 and one identification 213. The second part 202 has two magnets 220 and one identification 223. The identification carrier 208 is embodied as a figure, which has legs 209 and feet, but no pedestal to which the feet would be fixedly connected. The figure further has arms 219 with hands. The feet form partial surfaces 211, 212, not interconnected, of a first standing surface of the identification carrier 208. The hands form partial surfaces 221, 222, not interconnected, of a second standing surface of the identification carrier 208.

(23) In the operating situation shown in FIG. 5, the identification carrier 208 is standing with its standing surface formed by the feet on a placement surface 204, which may be the base surface 4 of the device 1 shown in FIG. 1, for example. In this operating situation, the identification 223 is positioned closer than the identification 213 to the placement surface 204. A sensor (not illustrated in more specific detail) arranged beneath the placement surface is able to detect, within a region of its surroundings, a first property or a first change in a property of a magnetic field acting in the region of its surroundings when the identification carrier 208 is placed in this orientation on the placement surface 204. If the identification carrier 208 is placed with its other standing surface, formed by the hands, on the placement surface 204, the sensor (not illustrated in more specific detail) can detect, within a region of its surroundings, a second property or a second change in a property of a magnetic field acting in the region of its surroundings. This can be used for an operating concept, for example to pose a question via the loudspeaker when the first property or the first change is recognized, and to provide a response via the loudspeaker when the second property or the second change is recognized.

(24) These standing surfaces are located in separate planes.