Toy vehicle programmed to follow a manually drawn path

• US 20020111118A1
• Filed: 02/08/2002
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Mattel Incorporated
• Inventors: Neal, Philip H., Dorogusker, Jesse, Klitsner, Daniel B., McCall, Charles S., Weiss, Stephen N., Wong, Yeung Chung, Clemens, Brian P.
• Granted Patent: US 6,632,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/484
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 17/395 steered by program

Abstract

A toy vehicle is configured for itinerant maneuvers and is programmed by manually drawing a path on an exposed surface of a mechanical touch screen assembly on the vehicle. A microprocessor, coupled with the touch screen assembly, reads the manually drawn path and controls movement of the vehicle to follow the manually drawn path. In one embodiment, the drawn path is erased to enter a new path by pivoting the first sheet of the assembly away from the second sheet and, in another embodiment, by separating the first and second sheets by sliding a horizontal plate between the sheets. A sensor on the vehicle detects the presence of a stylus in a holder. The microprocessor responds to the presence to initiate the itinerant movement and/or activate a visual indicator or an audio generator or both in the toy vehicle.

Claims

1. A programmable toy vehicle configured for itinerant maneuvers, the vehicle comprising:

a motive chassis with at least one maneuver motor;

a microprocessor on the motive chassis operably coupled with at least the one motor and configured to control itinerant maneuvers of the vehicle at least in part through the motor; and

a mechanical touch screen assembly on the motive chassis operably coupled with the microprocessor and configured to input to the microprocessor a path of itinerant movement of the vehicle manually drawn on an exposed surface of the touch screen assembly, wherein the microprocessor reads the manually drawn path and controls movement of the motive chassis to follow the manually drawn path.

2. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 1 wherein the touch screen assembly comprises:

a first flexible sheet having a major surface defining the exposed surface;

a second flexible sheet underlying the first sheet; and

a frame with an open center which holds the flexible sheets together on the motive chassis, wherein pressure applied by a stylus moving across the exposed surface causes the first sheet to temporarily adhere to the second sheet, the adherence causing the appearance of a line pattern that corresponds to the manually drawn path.

3. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 2 wherein the touch screen assembly further comprises a plurality of pressure switches, at least a subset of the switches being closed in a sequence determined by the path manually drawn on the exposed surface.

4. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 3 wherein the microprocessor at least monitors the state of the plurality of pressure switches, identifies the sequential closures of the subset of switches, and processes a set of coordinates associated with the line pattern from the sequential closures.

5. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 3 wherein the pressure switches comprise laterally spaced, transversely overlapping pairs of bar electrodes.

6. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 3 wherein one of the first and second sheets include permanent markings which indicate the locations of the pressure switches, the markings serving as a guide to manually draw the line pattern.

7. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 2 wherein the line pattern is erased when the first and second sheets are separated.

8. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 7 wherein the sheets are separated by sliding a horizontal plate element between the sheets.

9. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 7 wherein sheets are separated by pivoting the first sheet away from the second sheet.

10. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 2 wherein the line pattern is formed by a set of consecutive line segments, and the line segments are substantially proportional to the distances traveled by the vehicle when it follows the manually drawn path.

11. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 1 wherein the touch screen assembly comprises a rectangular frame which is pivotally mounted to the motive chassis.

12. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 11 further comprising a switch operably coupling the microprocessor with the frame so as to determine a pivotal state of the frame with respect to the motive chassis.

13. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 12 further comprising at least one visual indicator and an audio generator, wherein at least one of the visual indicator and audio generator is activated by the microprocessor when the pivotal state changes.

14. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 1 further comprising:

a sensor on the motive chassis operably coupled with the microprocessor, the sensor supplying a signal to the microprocessor in response to the sensor detecting presence of a stylus away from the exposed surface.

15. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 14 wherein the itinerant movement is initiated in response to the sensor detecting presence of the stylus away from the exposed surface.

16. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 14 further comprising at least one visual indicator and an audio generator, wherein at least one of the visual indicator and audio generator is activated by the microprocessor in response to the sensor detecting the presence of the stylus.

17. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 1 further comprising an audio generator, wherein an audible sound is outputted from the generator when the vehicle completes the controlled movement and a predetermined period of time elapses without another path being manually drawn.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the toy vehicle further includes a sensor on the motive chassis operably coupled with the microprocessor, and wherein the actuating step further comprises supplying a signal to the microprocessor in response to the sensor detecting presence of a stylus away from the exposed surface.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of:

the microprocessor outputting an audible signal in response to the sensor no longer detecting presence of the stylus.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of:

the microprocessor outputting at least one of a visual and audible signal in response to the sensor detecting the presence of the stylus.

22. The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of:

erasing the manually drawn path; and

activating the microprocessor to output at least one of a visual and audible signal.

23. The programmable toy vehicle of claim 18 wherein a line pattern corresponding to the manually drawn path is formed by a set of consecutive line segments, and the line segments are substantially proportional to the distances traveled by the vehicle when it follows the drawn path.

24. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of:

the microprocessor outputting an audible signal in response to the vehicle completing the controlled movement.

25. The method of claim 18 further comprising the step of:

the microprocessor deactivating the vehicle after the vehicle completes the controlled movement and a predetermined period of time elapses without another path being manually drawn on the exposed surface of the touch screen assembly.

18. A method of programming a toy vehicle including a motive chassis with at least one maneuver motor, a microprocessor on the motive chassis operably coupled with the motor and configured to control itinerant maneuvers of the vehicle at least in part through the motor, and a mechanical touch screen assembly on the motive chassis operably coupled with the microprocessor, the method comprising:

manually applying pressure to an exposed surface of the touch screen assembly while moving along the exposed surface so as to manually draw on the exposed surface a path of itinerant movement of the vehicle; and

activating the microprocessor to read the manually drawn path and control movement of the motive chassis to follow the manually drawn path.