U.S. patent application number 12/727548 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-30 for power-driven construction toy assembly with a touch-control remote controller.
Invention is credited to Wen-Pin Lin.
Application Number | 20100248583 12/727548 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42664217 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100248583 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Wen-Pin |
September 30, 2010 |
POWER-DRIVEN CONSTRUCTION TOY ASSEMBLY WITH A TOUCH-CONTROL REMOTE
CONTROLLER
Abstract
A power-driven construction toy assembly includes a remote
controller spaced apart from a movable brick assembly driven by
electric power and including a transmitter transmitting a control
signal corresponding to an input signal generated by a touch panel.
A power supply unit includes a brick-like casing assembled
detachably to the brick assembly and receiving a battery set
therein, a receiver mounted on the casing for receiving the control
signal from the transmitter, and a control circuit controlling,
based on the control signal received by the receiver, electrical
connection between the battery set and a socket unit mounted on the
casing and connected electrically to the brick assembly such that
the battery set supplies the electric power to the brick assembly
through the control circuit and the socket unit.
Inventors: |
Lin; Wen-Pin; (Taichung
City, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CHRISTIE, PARKER & HALE, LLP
PO BOX 7068
PASADENA
CA
91109-7068
US
|
Family ID: |
42664217 |
Appl. No.: |
12/727548 |
Filed: |
March 19, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/91 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 33/042 20130101;
A63H 30/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/91 |
International
Class: |
A63H 33/04 20060101
A63H033/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 26, 2009 |
TW |
098109897 |
Claims
1. A power-driven construction toy assembly comprising: a movable
brick assembly driven by electric power; a remote controller remote
from and spaced apart from said brick assembly, and including a
touch panel operable so as to generate an input signal, and a
transmitter coupled to said touch panel for receiving the input
signal therefrom, and transmitting a control signal corresponding
to the input signal received thereby; and a power supply unit
including a brick-like casing assembled detachably to said brick
assembly, a battery set received detachably in said brick-like
casing, a socket unit mounted on said brick-like casing and
connected electrically to said brick assembly, a receiver mounted
on said brick-like casing for receiving the control signal
transmitted by said transmitter of said remote controller, and a
control circuit connected electrically to said receiver, said
battery set and said socket unit, receiving the control signal from
said receiver, and controlling electrical connection between said
battery set and said socket unit based on the control signal
received thereby such that said battery set supplies the electric
power to said brick assembly through said control circuit and said
socket unit.
2. The power-driven construction toy assembly as claimed in claim
1, wherein: said brick assembly is formed with a plurality of
connecting holes; and said brick-like casing of said power supply
unit is formed with a plurality of connecting plugs engaging
detachably and respectively said connecting holes in said brick
assembly.
3. The power-driven construction toy assembly as claimed in claim
1, wherein said touch panel of said remote controller is a
capacitive touch panel.
4. The power-driven construction toy assembly as claimed in claim
3, wherein said touch panel of said remote controller is configured
with a plurality of sensing areas each of which is adapted to sense
movement of a user' finger thereon to generate an input
corresponding to the movement of the user's finger, the inputs
generated by said sensing areas constituting the input signal.
5. The power-driven construction toy assembly as claimed in claim
4, wherein said remote controller further includes an indicator for
generating an audio output to indicate operation of each of said
sensing areas of said touch panel.
6. The power-driven construction toy assembly as claimed in claim
1, wherein said remote controller further includes a casing mounted
with said touch panel and said transmitter thereon, and a battery
unit received detachably in said casing for supplying electric
power to said remote controller.
7. The power-driven construction toy assembly as claimed in claim
1, wherein: said brick assembly includes a plurality of driven
brick units, and a plurality of driving brick units each of which
is operable to drive movement of a corresponding one of said driven
brick units; and said socket unit of said power supply unit
includes a plurality of sockets each connected electrically to a
corresponding one of said driving brick units of said brick
assembly through an electrical wire.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application
No. 098109897, filed on Mar. 26, 2009.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a power-driven construction toy
assembly with a remote controller.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional remote controller 1 for
remotely controlling movement of a power-driven brick assembly (not
shown), such as a Lego-style brick assembly. The brick assembly
includes a battery unit, a receiver unit, first and second driving
brick units each including a motor for driving movement of a
respective driven brick unit, and a control circuit coupled to the
battery unit, the receiver unit, and the motors of and the first
and second driving brick units.
[0006] The conventional remote controller 1 includes a housing 12,
two operating buttons 121 mounted movably on the housing 12, a mode
button 122 mounted movably on the housing 12, and a transmitter
123. The mode button 122 is operable to generate a mode input
corresponding to control of one of the motors of and the first and
second driving brick units. The operating buttons 121 are operable
so as to generate an operating input. The transmitter 123 transmits
a control signal based on the mode input generated by the mode
button 122, and the operating input generated by the operating
buttons 121. The receiver unit receives the control signal
transmitted by the transmitter 123 and outputs the control signal
received thereby to the control circuit. The control circuit is
operable based on the control signal from the receiver unit to
supply electric power from the battery unit to said one of the
motors of the first and second driving brick units such that said
one of the motors of the first and second driving brick units is
operated in response to the electric power from the battery
unit.
[0007] In use, the conventional remote controller 1 must be held by
user's hands so that the operating buttons 121 are respectively
operated by thumbs of the user's hands. Furthermore, operation of
the mode button 122 is required to decide which one of the motors
is to be controlled. In other words, the motors cannot be
controlled simultaneously, thereby resulting in inconvenience
during use. Moreover, the conventional remote controller 1 is not
suitable for relatively complicated control of a brick assembly
with more than two motors.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide
a power-driven construction toy assembly with a touch-control
remote controller that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the
prior art.
[0009] According to the present invention, a power-driven
construction toy assembly comprises:
[0010] a movable brick assembly driven by electric power;
[0011] a remote controller remote from and spaced apart from the
brick assembly, and including [0012] a touch panel operable so as
to generate an input signal, and [0013] a transmitter coupled to
the touch panel for receiving the input signal therefrom, and
transmitting a control signal corresponding to the input signal
received thereby; and
[0014] a power supply unit including [0015] a brick-like casing
assembled detachably to the brick assembly, [0016] a battery set
received detachably in the brick-like casing, [0017] a socket unit
mounted on the brick-like casing and connected electrically to the
brick assembly, [0018] a receiver mounted on the brick-like casing
for receiving the control signal transmitted by the transmitter of
the remote controller, and [0019] a control circuit connected
electrically to the receiver, the battery set and the socket unit,
receiving the control signal from the receiver, and controlling
electrical connection between the battery set and the socket unit
based on the control signal received thereby such that the battery
set supplies the electric power to the brick assembly through the
control circuit and the socket unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent in the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings,
of which:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional remote
controller for controlling a power-driven brick assembly;
[0022] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the preferred
embodiment of a power-driven construction toy assembly according to
the present invention;
[0023] FIG. 2a is a schematic circuit block diagram illustrating
the preferred embodiment;
[0024] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a remote
controller of the preferred embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view showing the remote
controller of the preferred embodiment; and
[0026] FIG. 5 is a partly exploded perspective view showing a power
supply unit of the preferred embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0027] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 2a, the preferred embodiment of a
power-driven construction toy assembly according to the present
invention is shown to include a movable brick assembly 2, a remote
controller 3, and a power supply unit 4.
[0028] The brick assembly 2 is driven by electric power.
[0029] In this embodiment, the brick assembly 2 is constructed as a
crane, and includes three driven brick units 21, 21', 21'', and
three driving brick units 22, 22', 22'' each of which includes a
drive motor operable to drive movement of a corresponding one of
the driven brick units 21, 21', 21''. Each of the driven brick
units 21, 21', 21'' is formed with a plurality of connecting holes
23.
[0030] Referring further to FIGS. 3 and 4, the remote controller 3
is remote from and is spaced apart from the brick assembly 2. In
this embodiment, the remote controller 3 includes a casing 31, a
touch panel 32, a transmitter 33, and an indicator 34. The casing
31 consists of complementary first and second casing parts 311,
312, and a cover body 313. The second casing part 312 is configured
with a battery-receiving space (not shown) for receiving a battery
unit 35 therein that supplies electric power to the remote
controller 3. The battery unit 35 consists of two batteries in this
embodiment. The cover body 313 is mounted detachably on the second
casing part 312 for covering the battery-receiving space. The touch
panel 32 is operable so as to generate an input signal. In this
embodiment, the touch panel 32, such as a capacitive touch panel,
is mounted to the first casing part 311 of the casing 31, and is
configured with a plurality of pairs of sensing areas 321, 322,
323. Each pair of the sensing areas 321, 322, 323 is associated
with operation of a corresponding one of the driving brick units
22, 22', 22''. Each of the sensing areas 321, 322, 323 is adapted
to sense movement of a user's finger thereon to generate an input
corresponding to the movement of the user's finger. The inputs
generated by the sensing areas 321, 322, 323 constitute the input
signal. The transmitter 33 is mounted to the first casing part 311
of the casing 31, is coupled to the touch panel 32 for receiving
the input signal therefrom, and transmits a control signal
corresponding to the input signal received thereby. The indicator
34, such as a buzzer, is disposed in the casing 31, and is coupled
to the touch panel 32 for generating an audio output to indicate
operation of each of the sensing areas 321, 322, 323 of the touch
panel 32.
[0031] Referring further to FIG. 5, the power supply unit 4
includes a brick-like casing 41, a battery set 45, a socket unit
42, a receiver 43, and a control circuit 46. The brick-like casing
41 is assembled detachably to the brick assembly 2. In this
embodiment, the casing 41 is formed with a plurality of connecting
plugs 412 engaging detachably and respectively corresponding
connecting holes 23 in the brick assembly 2. The battery set 45
includes a plurality of batteries 451, is received detachably in
the casing 41. The socket unit 42 is mounted on the casing 41, and
includes three sockets 421, each connected electrically to a
corresponding one of the driving brick units 22, 22', 22'' of the
brick assembly 2 through an electrical wire 44. The receiver 43 is
mounted on the casing 41 for receiving the control signal
transmitted by the transmitter 33 of the remote controller 3. The
control circuit 46 is connected electrically to the receiver 43,
the battery set 45 and the socket unit 42, receives the control
signal from the receiver 43, and controls electrical connection
between the battery set 45 and the socket unit 42 based on the
control signal received thereby such that the battery set 45
supplies the electric power to the brick assembly 2 through the
control circuit 46 and the socket unit 42.
[0032] In use, the drive motor of the driving brick unit 22 drives
movement of the driven brick unit 21 based on operation of the
sensing areas 321. The drive motor of the driving brick unit 22'
drives rotation of the driven brick unit 21' based on operation of
the sensing areas 322. The drive motor of the driving brick unit
22'' drives movement of the driven brick unit 21'' based on
operation of the sensing areas 323. It is noted that the sensing
areas 321, 322, 323 can be operated simultaneously. As a result,
the driven brick units 21, 21', 21'' can be driven together,
thereby resulting in convenience during use.
[0033] While the present invention has been described in connection
with what is considered the most practical and preferred
embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to
the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various
arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest
interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and
equivalent arrangements.
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