METHOD OF CONTACTLESS CHARGING OF AQUATIC TOY, TOY AND TANK THEREFOR

• US 20160256792A1
• Filed: 10/24/2014
• Published: 09/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mathew Peter Mowbray
• Original Assignee: Mathew Peter Mowbray
• Inventors: MOWBRAY, Mathew Peter, LU, Xiaoping
• Granted Patent: US 10,086,308 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 23/04 Self-propelled boats, ships or submarines
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 23/10 Other water toys, floating toys, or like buoyant toys
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 23/14 Special drives

Abstract

A combination aquatic toy and a reservoir wherein the reservoir comprises a container to contain a body of water and a contactless electrical power transfer transmitter, the toy is a submersible or is submersible and comprises a body carrying a battery and a battery powered propeller (fin or screw propeller or foil or impeller or other) to drive the toy through the body of water and contactless power transfer receiver to receive power, when in sufficient proximity to the transmitter, from the transmitter.

Claims

1. Apparatus for providing a kinetic display the apparatus comprising:

a container defining a movement limiting environment in which a mobile apparatus is to move; and

a mobile apparatus comprising an inductively chargeable battery and being capable of self-locomotion in the environment under power derived from the battery;

wherein there is a defined zone in said environment to inductively interact to charge the battery of the mobile apparatus when said mobile apparatus is at least in a position selected from one of (a) sufficient proximity to the zone and (b) stationed at or in the zone; and

wherein the mobile apparatus is arranged to

i. self-station when below a first threshold charge status; and

ii. self-linger in sufficient proximity to the zone when below a second threshold charge status.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second threshold charge status is higher than the first threshold charge status.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container is configured to contain a medium in which said mobile apparatus is capable of self-locomotion.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said zone is defined by a charge transmitter.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container comprises a base and at least one sidewall projecting upwardly from the base, and the zone defined is adjacent the juncture of the base and side wall.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the container comprises a shallow trough defined in said environment to facilitate the retention of the mobile apparatus at or proximate said zone when charging.

7. A submersible toy vehicle comprising:

a control circuit and an onboard inductively chargeable battery system, said battery system comprises at least a rechargeable battery, the toy vehicle being able to move through a body of medium under its own propulsion, said control circuit monitors the charge status of the battery and controls propulsion of the toy vehicle, whereby the control circuit;

a) allows unrestricted movement of vehicle in the medium when the battery charge status is above a first charge status and below a full charge status,

b) if below said first charge status, allows movement of the vehicle only sufficient to at least one of locate to and localize to an inductive charge receiving zone provided in said body of medium for the battery,

c) if (b) has occurred, allows movement of the vehicle only sufficient to localize to the inductive charge receiving zone even when the charge status is above said first charge status, and

d) if (c) has occurred, allows unrestricted movement of the vehicle when the battery charge status achieves a full charge status or a second charge status below full charge status, but above the first charge status.

8. An assembly, comprising:

the toy vehicle as claimed in claim 7, and

a tank to retain the body of medium and to define a movement limiting environment for the vehicle, wherein the tank provides in use an inductive charge receiving zone in which said toy vehicle can be charged.

9. Apparatus comprising:

a control circuit, the apparatus being adapted to move on a surface of, or in a medium, under its own propulsion reliant on energy derived from an on board battery able to be inductively charged, the control circuit;

i. allowing unrestricted movement when the battery charge status is above a ‘

need to charge’

threshold below full charge, and

ii. allowing restricted movement, if any, only sufficient to localize in, or to locate and localize in, an inductive charging zone when below said ‘

need to charge’

threshold charge status and maintain that restricted mode until a full charge status or a ‘

now free to roam unrestricted’

charge status is reached being higher than the ‘

need to charge’

status.

10. A battery powered submersible toy vehicle, comprising:

a control circuit able to move under its own propulsion in a tank confining a body of water within which is provided an inductive charge field, said propulsion being reliant on energy derived from an onboard inductively chargeable battery system, the control circuit monitoring the charge status of the battery and controlling propulsion whereby;

a) allows unrestricted movement of said vehicle in the body of water when the battery charge status remains above a first charge status and below full charge status,

b) if below said first charge status and when charge field inducted charging of said battery is detected, stops vehicle propulsion, and

c) if (b) has occurred, allows unrestricted movement of the vehicle when the battery charge status achieves a full charge status or a second charge status below full charge status but above the first charge status.

11. An assembly, comprising:

a device able to self-propel under its own battery powered drive when the battery has a charge, the device comprising a battery circuit able to receive an inductive input to charge the battery; and

an inductive charging device;

wherein the device to be self-propelled has a control functionality able to affect the drive and able to favor proximity to the charging device to charge the battery; and

wherein the control functionality is responsive to the battery charge status such that it;

a) if fully charged, allows unrestricted movement when the battery charge status remains above a first charge status below full charge status,

b) if below said first charge status, allows movement only sufficient to at least one of locate to and localize to an inductive charge receiving zone for the battery,

c) if (b) has occurred, allows movement only sufficient to localize to the inductive charge receiving zone even when the charge status is above said first charge status, and

d) if (c) has occurred, allows unrestricted movement when the battery charge status achieves a full charge status or a second charge status below full charge status but above the first charge status.

12. An assembly, comprising:

an aquatic toy; and

a tank;

wherein the tank can retain a body of water and comprises a contactless or wireless electrical power transfer transmitter, the toy is submersible and comprises a body carrying a rechargeable battery and a battery powered propeller to self-propel the toy through the body of water and a contactless power transfer receiver to receive electrical power to charge the battery, when in sufficient proximity to the transmitter, from the transmitter;

wherein the toy comprises a controller to stop the propeller to allow the toy to settle and allow a recharge of the battery when a condition situation is met.

13. The assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the powered propeller is one or more selected from a fin or screw propeller or foil or impeller or other.

14. The assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the toy is arranged and configured so that when the propeller is powered, the toy moves through the body of water but when not powered, the toy sinks in the body of water.

15. The assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the transmitter is at the bottom of the body of water.

16. The assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the propeller is driven by an electrically powered driver and the toy sinks in the body of water when the battery power supplied to the driver falls below a certain limit or is terminated.

17. The assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the toy comprises a controller to stop the propeller to allow the toy to settle and allow a recharge of the battery in a situation selected from one of:

when the battery runs out of electrical power, and

when the battery drops below a certain voltage level, and

after a certain time interval.

18. The assembly as claimed in claim 12 wherein the toy includes a controller to terminate propulsion until a certain battery voltage is exceeded before starting propulsion.

19. A submersible self-propelled rechargeable battery powered toy comprising:

a body carrying a battery;

a battery powered propeller to propel the toy through a body of water; and

a contactless power transfer receiver to receive power and recharge said battery, when in sufficient proximity to a compatible power transmitter, from said transmitter;

wherein the toy is arranged and configured so that when the propeller is powered the toy moves through the body of water, but when the battery voltage drops below a certain limit the power to the propeller is reduced so the toy sinks in the body of water, and when the battery voltage is above a certain limit the power to the propeller is increased so the toy rises in the body of water.

20. A submersible toy as claimed in claim 19 wherein the powered propeller is one selected from a fin or screw propeller or foil or impeller or other.

21. A submersible toy as claimed in claim 19 wherein the toy sinks in the body of water to become charged.

22. A submersible toy as claimed in claim 19 wherein the toy comprises a controller to terminate power delivered to the propeller when recharging of said battery is detected, when said battery voltage is below a predetermined level that is below its peak charge.

23. A submersible toy as claimed in claim 19 wherein the toy comprises a controller to reduce the power delivered to the propeller when the battery voltage drops below a certain limit, and to terminate power delivered to the propeller when recharging of said battery is detected.

24. A submersible toy as claimed in claim 19 wherein the toy comprises a controller that terminates power to the propeller when the battery voltage drops below a predetermined low voltage level or after a certain interval and recommences provision of power to the propeller when the battery voltage exceeds a recharge voltage.

25. A submersible toy as claimed in claim 19 wherein the toy comprises an external controller which receives input from an onboard controller of the toy, said external controller is arranged to activate a charge seeking model of the toy and to control the movement of the toy by controlling the power supplied to the propeller.

26. A tank assembly, comprising:

a tank defining a containment region to retain a body of water; and

a contactless electrical power transfer transmitter located at the base of the tank;

wherein the tank is configured to receive a self-propelling battery powered water submersible negatively buoyed toy that comprises;

a body carrying a battery;

a battery powered propeller to propel the toy through the body of water; and

a contactless power transfer receiver to receive power from the transmitter when the toy has lost charge and sunken within the tank so that the toy is in sufficient proximity to the transmitter.

27. A tank assembly as claimed in claim 26 wherein the toy is arranged and configured so that when the propeller is powered, the toy moves through the body of water but when not powered, the toy sinks in the body of water to be able to be charged at the transmitter region.

28. A method of recharging a self-propelled toy contained in a movement limiting environment defined by a tank, said toy comprises an onboard wirelessly rechargeable battery, said tank comprises a wireless power transfer transmitter arranged to recharge the onboard battery of the toy, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting proximity of the toy to the power transfer transmitter and generating a representative proximity signal;

controlling movement of the toy based on the proximity signal to encourage the toy to settle in a desired recharging zone generated by the transmitter; and

wirelessly charging the battery in the recharging zone.

29. A method of recharging a self-propelled toy as claimed in claim 28 wherein before detecting the proximity of the toy to the transmitter, detecting battery voltage and activating a charge seeking mode when the voltage detected falls below a predetermined threshold voltage.

30. A method of recharging a self-propelled toy as claimed in claims 28 further comprising starting propulsion of the toy again after a predetermined time period or after the battery voltage increases to a predetermined voltage level.