Toy projectile launching system

• US 9,004,976 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2014
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eyespy Toys Limited
• Original Assignee: Eyespy Toys Limited
• Inventors: Rosenberg, Benjamin
• Primary Examiner(s): Fernstrom, Kurt
• Application Number:
  US14/168,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20150038048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 439 Days
• Field of Search: 446/175, 446/429, 446/435, 434/11, 434/14, 434/15, 434/16
• US Class Current: 446/435
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/0286 Discs
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2489 by radio transmitters, e.g. using RFID
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/02 Shooting or hurling games throwing-implements for sports or recreational use A63B65/00; throwing or projecting toys per se A63H33/18; gun simulators F41A33/00, e.g. light- or radiation-emitting guns F41A33/02; practice apparatus for gun-aiming F41G3/26, e.g. using a light-emitting device F41G3/2616; targets, target ranges, bullet catchers F41J, photo-electric hit-detector systems F41J5/02
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0204 Targets therefor for ball games A63B63/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0252 Shooting devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0278 Projectiles A63F9/0208, A63F9/0247 and A63F9/0252 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 33/00 Adaptations for training adaptations of barrels for recoil reinforcement F41A21/26; Gun simulators teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26 ; shooting games A63F9/02; military simulation G09B9/003

Abstract

A toy projectile launching system including at least one launchable toy projectile, including at least one RFID tag, and a toy projectile launching apparatus, including a housing, a projectile launching mechanism, a projectile receptacle, and an RFID writer adapted to write tag data to the at least one RFID tag, wherein the toy projectile is adapted to be loaded into the projectile receptacle and launched by the projectile launching mechanism.

Claims

1. A toy projectile launching system comprising:

at least one launchable toy projectile, comprising at least one RFID tag; and

a toy projectile launching apparatus, comprising;

a housing;

a projectile receptacle into which said at least one toy projectile is loaded;

a projectile launching mechanism for physically launching said at least one toy projectile after it is loaded into said projectile receptacle; and

an RFID writer adapted to write tag data to said at least one RFID tag, after said at least one toy projectile is loaded into said projectile receptacle and before said at least one toy projectile is physically launched by said projectile launching mechanism.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising an RFID reader adapted to read said at least one RFID tag when said at least one toy projectile is in contact with said project launching mechanism.

3. The system of claim 2 in which said RFID reader and said RFID writer form part of an RFID manager device.

4. The system of claim 2 in which said RFID writer forms part of a smart phone adapted to dock and interoperate with said toy projectile launching apparatus.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a wireless communications module adapted to wirelessly transmit the tag data of said at least one RFID tag.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said projectile receptacle is a magazine for holding a plurality of said at least one toy projectile.

7. The system as claimed of claim 1 in which said RFID writer writes a launch timestamp to said at least one RFID tag at the time said projectile launching mechanism launches said at least one toy projectile.

8. The system of claim 1 in which said RFID writer writes an identifier associated with said toy projectile launching apparatus to said at least one RFID tag.

9. A system comprising:

a launchable toy projectile, comprising an RFID tag;

a toy projectile launching apparatus, comprising;

a projectile launching mechanism;

a projectile receptacle; and

an RFID writer adapted to write tag data to said RFID tag, the tag data including an identifier of the projectile launching apparatus; and

a wireless communications module; and

a projectile target, comprising;

an RFID reader adapted to read the identifier of the projectile launching apparatus from the tag data of said RFID tag when said projectile comes into contact with the projectile target; and

a wireless communications module to send a wireless message to said projectile launching apparatus after said projectile comes into contact with said projectile target.

10. A toy projectile launching apparatus, comprising:

a housing;

a projectile receptacle into which a toy projectile is loaded;

a projectile launching mechanism for physically launching the toy projectile after it is loaded into said projectile receptacle; and

an RFID writer adapted to write data to an RFID tag that is embedded within the toy projectile, after the toy projectile is loaded into said projectile receptacle and before the toy projectile is physically launched by said projectile launching mechanism.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising an RFID reader adapted to read the RFID tag when the toy projectile is in contact with said projectile launching mechanism.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said RFID reader and said RFID writer form part of an RFID manager device.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising a wireless communications module adapted to wirelessly transmit the tag data of the RFID tag.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said projectile receptacle is a magazine for holding a plurality of toy projectiles.

15. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said RFID writer is adapted to write a timestamp to the RFID tag at the time said projectile launching mechanism launches the toy projectile.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein said RFID writer is adapted to write an identifier associated with the toy projectile launching apparatus to the RFID tag.

17. A toy projectile suitable for being physically launched from a toy projectile launching apparatus, the toy projectile comprising an RFID tag with data that identifies a time of physical launch of the projectile from the projectile launching apparatus.

18. The toy projectile of claim 17 wherein said RFID tag is repeatedly writable.

19. The toy projectile of claim 17 wherein said RFID tag is written with an identifier associated with a toy projectile launching apparatus that physically launched the toy projectile.

20. The toy projectile of claim 17 wherein said RFID tag is written with a serial number.

21. The toy projectile of claim 17 wherein the projectile comprises a dart having an elongate cylindrical dart body and a tapered dart tip, and wherein said RFID tag is located in a hollow of said dart tip.

22. The toy projectile of claim 17 wherein the projectile comprises a disc having a disc body closed on the top and a support ring, and wherein said RFID tag sits under the top of said disc body and is held in place by said support ring.

23. A toy projectile launching system comprising:

at least one toy projectile comprising at least one RFID tag; and

a toy projectile launching apparatus, comprising;

a housing;

a projectile receptacle into which said at least one toy projectile is loaded;

a projectile launching mechanism for physically launching said at least one toy projectile after it is loaded into said projectile receptacle; and

an RFID reader adapted to read the RFID tag of the at least one toy projectile when said at least one toy projectile is in contact with the projectile launching apparatus.

24. The system of claim 23 further comprising an RFID writer adapted to write tag data to said at least one RFID tag, after said at least one toy projectile is loaded into said projectile receptacle and before said at least one toy projectile is physically launched by said projectile launching mechanism.

25. The system of claim 23 further comprising a wireless communications module adapted to wirelessly transmit the tag data of said at least one RFID tag.

26. The system of claim 23 wherein said projectile receptacle is a magazine for holding a plurality of said at least one toy projectile.