BLOCK TOY FOR MUSIC EDUCATION

• US 20150072586A1
• Filed: 03/08/2013
• Published: 03/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Human League Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Human League Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Suh, Sun Il
• Granted Patent: US 9,266,031 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/91
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/042 Mechanical, electrical, optical, pneumatic or hydraulic arrangements; Motors
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 1/30 wherein the elements are adapted to be arranged in co-operation with the support to form symbols without special support G09B1/40
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 15/00 Teaching music metronomes G04F5/02
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/055 Spint toy, i.e. specifically designed for children, e.g. adapted for smaller fingers or simplified in some way; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces with simplified control features

Abstract

Disclosed is a block toy for music education which recognizes combined melody blocks so as to replay sounds in order having the same pitch as the melody blocks, thereby playing a melody. The corresponding melody block is lit up to display a playing melody block while playing a melody. It is possible to differentiate each melody block by detecting, with a mechanical switch, uneven patterns formed at the lower sides of melody blocks. Since music can be visually understood, the block toy can help the emotion and music education of children.

Claims

1. A block toy comprising:

a plurality of melody blocks that have different heights;

a plurality of melody block sensors that are installed in melody block engaging portions, with which each of the plurality of melody blocks is detachably engaged, and that outputs different electric signals according to heights of the plurality of melody blocks engaged with the respective melody block engaging portions;

a play control portion that includes a melody block play portion that controls playing of melodies by sequentially reproducing sounds that have pitches corresponding to the heights of the plurality of engaged melody blocks according to the electric signals output from the plurality of melody block sensors; and

a reproduction portion that reproduces melodies by the control of the play control portion.

2. The block toy of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of lighting portions that are installed toward the engaged melody blocks in an inner side of the melody block engaging portions; and

a light emitting operation portion that lights up the plurality of lighting portions of played sounds according to the control of the play control portion.

3. The block toy of claim 1, wherein the melody blocks comprises:

a guiding portion that guides light upward from a lower side of the melody blocks; and

an upper side light diffusing portion that diffuses the light guided by the guiding portion at an upper side of the melody blocks.

4. The block toy of claim 1, wherein the melody block sensors:

comprise a plurality of mechanical switches installed in an inner side of the melody block engaging portions to recognize uneven patterns formed at a lower side of the engaged melody blocks; and

recognize the melody blocks regardless of engaging directions of the melody blocks.

5. The block toy of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of sound source blocks; and

a sound source block sensor that is installed in a sound source block engaging portion, with which one of the plurality of sound source blocks is detachably engaged, and that outputs different electric signals to the play control portion according to types of the sound source blocks to designate types of sound sources reproduced by the play control portion.

6. The block toy of claim 1, further comprising a stored melody play portion that extracts melodies stored in a memory to control the reproduction portion to reproduce the stored melodies.

7. The block toy of claim 1, wherein the play control portion further comprises a chord play portion that divides the melody blocks into two groups, and sequentially plays melody blocks of the two groups by synthesizing sounds corresponding to heights of the melody blocks at the same time.

8. The block toy of claim 1, further comprising an inter-device communication portion to communicate with other block toy,

wherein the play control portion further comprises a chord play portion that operates in conjunction with a play control portion of the other block toy through the inter-device communication portion to play sounds by synthesizing the sounds corresponding to the heights of the melody blocks engaged with the two block toys.

9. The block toy of claim 1, further comprising an inter-device communication portion to communicate with other block toy,

wherein the play control portion further comprises a connection play portion that operates in conjunction with a play control portion of the other block toy through the inter-device communication portion to sequentially play sounds corresponding to the heights of the melody blocks engaged with the two block toys.

10. The block toy of claim 1, further comprising a game progress portion that reproduces melodies by using the reproduction portion, and identifies each of the engaged melody blocks according to electric signals output from the melody block sensors to progress a game based on the identification.

11. The block toy of claim 1, comprising:

a game board body that includes an operation portion on a top surface to control the melody block engaging portions and the play control portion, and that has a bottom surface of a table form; and

a frame, to which the game board body is detachably connected with the top surface of the game board body being an upper side or by turning the top surface upside down, and which includes leg-inserting holes into which legs are inserted and fixed.