Interactive toy doll for image capture and display

• US 8,506,343 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Inventors: Goff, Christopher L., King, Paul, Levine, Jeffrey H., Skifstrom, Eric, Weidetz, Erich
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol, Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): RADA, ALEX P
• Application Number:
  US12/771,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20110269365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,201 Days
• Field of Search: 446/175, 446/268, 446/484, 446/297, 369/429, 396/429
• US Class Current: 446/175
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/00 Dolls puppets or marionettes for shows or theatres A63J19/006
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/28 Arrangements of sound-producing means in dolls; Means in dolls for producing sounds

Abstract

An interactive toy doll is provided having a torso defining a front portion and a back portion. The doll may additionally include legs extending from a lower portion of the torso, an image sensor located on the front portion of the torso, and an image display located on the back portion of the torso. The doll may further include a processor operatively connected to the image sensor and the image display. Additionally, the doll may include legs that may be grasped by a user while leaving the image sensor and the image display exposed so that a user may view an image on the image display while grasping the legs.

Claims

1. A toy doll comprising:

a torso including a sternum region located on a front portion of the torso;

a thoracic region located on a back portion of the torso, generally aligned with the sternum region;

a lumbar region located on the back portion of the torso, generally below the thoracic region;

a camera lens integrated into the sternum region;

an image sensor supported inside the torso and optically connected to the camera lens;

an image display integrated into the thoracic region and operatively connected to the image sensor;

a control panel integrated into the lumbar region, operatively interconnected to the image sensor and the image display, and including at least one manual input so that the image sensor and the image display may be controlled using the control panel.

2. The toy doll of claim 1, further including a microphone integrated into the sternum region and operatively connected to the image sensor.

3. The toy doll of claim 1, further including a processor operatively connected to the image sensor and the image display.

4. The toy doll of claim 3, further including an image memory operatively connected to the processor.

5. The toy doll of claim 3, further including an electrical connector integrated into the torso and operatively connected to the processor.

6. The toy doll of claim 3, further including a power source operatively connected to the processor.

7. The toy doll of claim 6, further including at least one leg, wherein the power source is housed in the at least one leg.

8. The toy doll of claim 1, further including:

legs extending from a lower portion of the torso;

wherein the legs may be grasped by a user while leaving the camera lens and the image display exposed so that a user may view an image on the image display while grasping the legs.

9. A method of playing with a toy doll, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a toy doll, where the doll includes

a torso including a sternum region located on a front portion of the torso;

legs extending from a lower portion of the torso;

a thoracic region located on a back portion of the torso, generally aligned with the sternum region;

a lumbar region located on the back portion of the torso, generally below the thoracic region;

a camera lens integrated into the sternum region;

an image sensor supported inside the torso and optically connected to the camera lens;

an image display integrated into the thoracic region and operatively connected to the image sensor; and

a control panel integrated into the lumbar region, operatively interconnected to the image sensor and the image display, and including at least one manual input so that the image sensor and the image display may be controlled using the control panel;

grasping the legs while leaving the image sensor and the image display exposed;

pressing the manual input on the control panel;

capturing a sensed image using the image sensor;

transmitting the sensed image to the image display;

viewing the sensed image on the image display;

outputting the sensed image to a computer; and

editing the sensed image on the computer.

10. The method of playing with a toy doll of claim 9, further including the steps of providing a processor operatively connected to the image sensor and the image display.

11. The method of playing with a toy doll of claim 10, further including the steps of providing an image memory operatively connected to the processor.

12. The method of playing with a toy doll of claim 10, further including the steps of providing a power source housed in at least one of the legs and operatively connected to the processor.

13. The method of playing with a toy doll of claim 10, further including the steps of providing a microphone integrated into the sternum region and operatively connected to the image sensor.