Context-based interactive plush toy

• US 9,421,475 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2012
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hallmark Cards Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hallmark Cards Incorporated
• Inventors: Smith, Randy D., Brown, William L. Jr., Gentry, Mary E., Swanson, Kevin W., Garbos, Jennifer R., Bodendistel, Timothy G., Friedmann, Peter B., Langley, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): HARPER, TRAMAR YONG
• Application Number:
  US13/650,420
• Publication Number:
  US 20130072080A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 2200/00 Computerized interactive toys, e.g. dolls
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/28 Arrangements of sound-producing means in dolls; Means in dolls for producing sounds
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/26 Magnetic or electric toys electric drives A63H29/22 ; indoor games played with small balls using magnetic power A63F7/0088, A63F7/068
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/38 Picture books with additional toy effects, e.g. pop-up or slide displays picture books B42D1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/00 Speech recognition G10L17/00 takes precedence

Abstract

An interactive toy for interacting with a user while a story is being read aloud from a book or played from a movie/video. The toy includes a speech recognition unit that receives and detects certain triggering phrases as they are read aloud or played from a companion literary work. The triggering phrase read aloud from the book or played in the movie/video may have independent significance or may only have significance when combined with other phrases read aloud from the book or played in the movie/video. In one embodiment, the toy is configured to detect only certain types of triggering prompts in certain states, such as, for example, triggering phrases or triggering terms. In this embodiment, and others, the toy is configured to switch between states such that it can at times respond to triggering terms and at other times respond to triggering phrases.

Claims

1. An interactive toy that performs a method for interacting with a user, the method comprising:

activating a phrase-detection state in which said toy is configured to receive a first plurality of audible sounds corresponding to text read aloud from a book;

receiving, through a microphone embedded in the toy, the first plurality of audible sounds;

processing a signal associated with the first plurality of audible sounds to detect one or more triggering phrases, wherein the one or more triggering phrases are a combination of words corresponding to text from the book;

detecting a triggering phrase was read aloud by the user reading the book;

upon detecting the triggering phrase, switching to a term-detection state in which said toy is configured to receive a second plurality of audible sounds;

receiving, through the microphone, the second plurality of audible sounds;

processing a signal associated with the second plurality of audible sounds to detect one or more single triggering terms, wherein the one or more single triggering terms are predetermined words or commands;

detecting the one or more single triggering terms spoken by the user; and

upon detecting the triggering term, activating a response sequence that supplements a story told in the book, wherein the response sequence is determined from a pre-programmed response program.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein triggering phrases include a plurality of non-triggering terms.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein triggering phrases include one or more terms that would be triggering terms in the term-detection state, but wherein analyzing the one or more terms that would be triggering terms in the term-detection state does not cause activation of the response sequence.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the response sequence is only activated when the triggering term is detected within a predetermined amount of time after activating the term-detection state.

5. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

when the triggering term is not detected within a predetermined amount of time after activating the term-detection state, switching from the term-detection state back to the phrase-detection state.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactive toy is a wearable device having electronic components therein for activating an interactive program to perform the method in response to received audio, the components including a processor, a memory with audio files and programs stored therein, a power supply, and a speaker.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein activation of the response sequence that supplements a story told in the book includes the device playing an audio file of responsive content when a triggering term is detected.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the device plays an audio file responsive to activation of the term-detection state to acknowledge the desired change in state and to inform the wearer of the new state in which the device is operating.

9. An interactive toy that performs a method for interacting with a user, the method comprising:

activating a first state in which said toy is configured to receive a first plurality of audible sounds corresponding to text read aloud from a book containing a triggering phrase, wherein the triggering phrase is a combination of words corresponding to text from the book;

receiving, through a microphone embedded in the toy, the first plurality of audible sounds;

processing a signal associated with the first plurality of audible sounds to detect the triggering phrase;

detecting that the triggering phrase was read aloud by the user reading the book;

upon detecting that the triggering phrase was read aloud by the user reading the book, switching to a second state in which the toy is configured to receive a second plurality of audible sounds;

receiving, through the microphone, the second plurality of audible sounds;

processing a signal associated with the second plurality of audible sounds to detect one or more single triggering terms, wherein the one or more single triggering terms are predetermined words or commands related to the book;

detecting that the one or more single triggering terms spoken by the user reading the book; and

upon detecting that the triggering term was spoken by the user reading the book, activating a response sequence that supplements a story told in the book, wherein the response to the triggering term is only activated when the toy is in the second state and the triggering term is detected within a predetermined amount of time after detecting the triggering phrase and wherein the response sequence is determined from a pre-programmed response program.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein triggering phrase includes one or more terms that would be a triggering term in the second state.

11. The method of claim 9, the method further comprising:

if the triggering phrase is not detected within a predetermined amount of time after activating the second state, switching from the phase-detection state to the first state.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the interactive toy is a wearable device having electronic components therein for activating an interactive program to perform the method in response to received audio, the components including a processor, a memory with audio files and programs stored therein, a power supply, and a speaker.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein activation of the response sequence that supplements a story told in the book includes the device playing an audio file of responsive content when a triggering term is detected.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the device plays an audio file responsive to activation of the second state to acknowledge the desired change in state and to inform the wearer of the new state in which the device is operating.