Design Lab, LLC

Other

Avid Technology Limited

Bausch & Lomb Professional Dental Products, Inc.

Hasbro, Inc.

The Ohio Art Company

Stephen Schwartz Design

Stephen A. Schwartz and Design Lab, LLC

Schwartz; Stephen

Schwartz; Stephen A.

Henry D Sharpe, Iii

Ralph A Beckman

Stephen R Schwartz

Stephen A Schwartz

Len L Curado

Stanley O Thompson

John F Murphy

Thomas A Ohanian

Jim McKain

James W Barfoot

Dan R Morrissey

Kipp Bradford

Joseph H Rice

Thomas P Hamilton

James E Watson

Larry E Miller

John F Murphy, Iii

Bryan Thurston

Michael Kent

Kipp L Bradford

Brian R Jones

Howard Kamentsky

Ming K Wong

Roseann Radosovitch

Gary Perkins

Jan Adkins

A toy figure has a movable mouth coupled to an actuator in the belly area. A speech generator stores sound elements for an entire song, verse, or nursery rhyme. The speech generator is provided with a first track of sequenced sound elements (singing version) that form a song when sequentially generated, and a related second track of a like number of sequenced sound elements (humming version). Sound elements from the first and second tracks are interchangeable at any given point during sequential output thereof. A switch located in the mouth is connected to the speech generator to provide input as to the mouth position, i.e. open or closed. Squeezing the belly of the figure opens the mouth, changing the state of the switch and initiating an output sequence from the speech generator. When the mouth is open, the child is able to easily control the mouth position by varying the pressure on the belly actuator. The speech generator checks the state of the mouth switch at given intervals. If the speech generator senses that the mouth is closed, the speech generator switches tracks to begin output of the next corresponding &ldquo;bumming&rdquo; segment of the song. The speech generator continues to check the state of the switch, and if the switch is then reopened, the toy begins to sing again at the same point within the sequenced output.

Method of generating dual track sounds for an electronic toy

A toy figure has a movable mouth coupled to an actuator in the belly area. A speech generator stores sound elements for an entire song, verse, or nursery rhyme. The speech generator is provided with a first track of sequenced sound elements (singing version) that form a song when sequentially generated, and a related second track of a like number of sequenced sound elements (humming version). Sound elements from the first and second tracks are interchangeable at any given point during sequential output thereof A switch located in the mouth is connected to the speech generator to provide input as to the mouth position, i.e. open or closed. Squeezing the belly of the figure opens the mouth, changing the state of the switch and initiating an output sequence from the speech generator. When the mouth is open, the child is able to easily control the mouth position by varying the pressure on the belly actuator. The speech generator checks the state of the mouth switch at given intervals. If the speech generator senses that the mouth is closed, the speech generator switches tracks to begin output of the next corresponding &ldquo;humming&rdquo; segment of the song. The speech generator continues to check the state of the switch, and if the switch is then reopened, the toy begins to sing again at the same point within the sequenced output.

Electronic toy and method of generating dual track sounds for the same

A toy includes a housing with pressure sensitive sensors on each face of the housing. The toy instructs players as to which parts of their body they should use in pressing one or more of the sensors on the toy. A number of games can be played with the toy. Players can pass the toy from one player to another using the body parts the toy calls out and try to set records for the number of passes possible without mistake, or can try to set records for the number of passes that can be made within a two minute time period. A third game involves three or four players trying to cover five or six of the sensors in accordance with the toy's instructions. The players maneuver their bodies to maintain pressure on the sensors being held while pressing holding a new sensor called out by the toy. The voice used in the toy also tries to challenge the players to improve on their previous scores.

Electronic body-bending game

An electronic toy includes a user reprogrammable data storage device, such as recordable tape media, or digital memory, whereby a user can selectively download program information into the data storage device to change the independent operating characteristics of the toy. The program information is preferably generated by a personal computer wherein program information can be accessed from various media, including magnetic disc, CD-ROM, and/or a remote computer system via modem. In one preferred embodiment, the toy consists of an animatronic teddy bear having a reprogrammable digital memory. The program information, which may include audio data for speech and control data for movement of animatronic body parts, is transferred into the toy's reprogrammable memory by removable cables connected between the computer and a control processor in the toy. Program information can also be provided by, and/or downloaded from a remote computer system. After the download of information is complete, the cables are disconnected, and the toy can operate in a stand-alone mode wherein the stored program information is played back to operate the device. Alternatively, the toy can be operated directly from output generated in real-time by the computer while connected to the computer, or by remote computer connected to the local personal computer.

Electronic toy including a reprogrammable data storage device

A multimedia enhancement for an amusement device includes a sound synthesizer for creating a user perceptible signal, such as an audio signal, in response to selective actuation of the controls of the amusement device. The amusement device includes a screen for displaying a viewer perceptible image and a pair of rotary control knobs operatively associated with rotary switches and a selectably actuable on-off switch to provide amusing sounds and feedback indicative of the operator's use of the control knobs. The sound synthesizer is programmed to also create one of a series of sounds from a plurality of families of sounds in a predetermined sequence in response to actuation of the control elements by the user or randomly.

Drawing device with multimedia enhancement

An interactive electronic graphics tablet is provided which utilizes two windows, one large window for the insertion of a standard sheet of paper or other material allowing the user to draw images on the paper and another smaller second window. A cartridge having various icons, such as animal images, is clicked into place in the smaller window. The device is configured such that the paper overlays a touch sensitive pad. The operation of the present invention allows the user to assign any cell of the drawn page corresponding to XY coordinates to particular sounds correlated to the icons in the smaller second window by touching respective locations and icons.

Interactive story book and methods for operating the same

Toy pony

Remote control sound toy

Interactive story book and graphics tablet apparatus and methods for

A mechanical user interface includes a supporting plate and a slider adapted to slide on the supporting plate. A position encoder is attached to the supporting plate to monitor movement of the slider. The position encoder provides an electrical output indicative of the position of the slider on the supporting plate. A sensor may also be provided to detect when the slider is at a zero position, thereby allowing absolute rather than relative, position data to be obtained. In a computerized film editing system, when the absolute position is less than a given threshold, the mechanical user interface may be used to advance film by a single frame. Otherwise the position may be translated to a frame per second rate.

Mechanical user interface

A toy vehicle includes a sound generating mechanism for generating realistic vehicle engine sound and a smoke generating mechanism for generating simulated smoke vapors. The sound generating mechanism and the smoke generating mechanism are simultaneously actuatable by moving an accessory, such as a spoiler, on a cab portion of the vehicle.

Toy vehicle

A toy assembly includes a base toy unit, a plurality of accessories which are removably receivable in predetermined positions on the base toy unit, a plurality of switch assemblies for detecting the absence or presence of the accessories relative to the respective predetermined positions thereof and a control unit which is responsive to the switch assemblies for issuing prerecorded sound effect, including voice messages. The sound effect are preferably related to the removal or repositioning of the accessories relative to the respective predetermined positions thereof on the base toy unit for leading, responding to and reinforcing the activity of a child in a play format. The base toy unit is preferably embodied as a toy vehicle, the accessories are preferably formed as accessories which are related to the vehicle and the sound effect are preferably related to the vehicle and the accessories.

Toy assembly

Combined slider and key pad input device for a computer

Periodontal probe

A periodontal probe includes sequentially disposed, normally connected sensor, shaft and tip portions, and a longitudinally extending fiber element in the tip and shaft portions. The fiber element is retractable into the tip portion to measure the depths of periodontal pockets in the mouth of a patient, and the sensor portion is operative for generating electrical signals which cumulatively provide indications of the relative positions of the tip portion and the fiber element. The shaft portion, the tip portion and the fiber element are preferably disposable and detachably connected to the sensor portion so that they can be discarded after a single periodontal examination. The shaft portion and the tip portion preferably have a combined length of at least approximately 41/2 inches so that only the disposable portions of the probe normally come into contact with the hands of a dentist or the mouth of a patient during a periodontal examination. The terminal end portion of the fiber element preferably has a series of different colored annular bands thereon so that a dentist can visually observe the position of the fiber element relative to the gingival margin during a periodontal examination.

Growing community of inventors

Saunderstown, RI, United States of America

Henry D Sharpe, Iii