Mattel, Inc.

The Quaker Oats Company

James P Meade

James A Bishop, Jr

Philip R Pyrce

Stephen M Ernst

John W Taylor

Christopher D Cimerman

Mark Alan Wollen

James Paul Baker

Ross Allan Niver

Charles D Smith

Brian S Kelly

David M Dubois

Kenneth G Parker

Jennifer M Long

Joseph E Hoppy

Peter Truman Vom Scheidt, Jr

William R Hewitt

Marjorie D Yoder-Parr

Dagan Galarneau

Elisabeth Krisel

James A Bishop

A control system for a child swing that comprises a drive mechanism that includes a motor configured to impart torque to the at least one swing arm so that a child seat moves in an arcuate path. A phase control subsystem generates a motor drive signal configured to maintain a desired lead angle between a phase of the drive mechanism and a phase of the swing arm. An amplitude control subsystem configured to steer the phase control subsystem based on a correlation of an actual height of the child seat to a selected height of the child seat.

Control system for a child swing

A control system for a child swing comprising a swing arm mechanically coupled to a motor. The control system is configured to monitor electromotive force (EMF) generated by the motor at an input signal line and is configured to use the monitored EMF to control a speed of the motor.

Electromotive force-based control system for a child swing

A control system for a child swing that comprises an amplitude control subsystem configured to use one or more electrical signals from a swing sensor to compare an actual amplitude of the child swing to a pre-set amplitude of the child swing to generate an adjustment signal representing a desired adjustment to the phase of the drive mechanism. The child swing also comprises a phase control subsystem configured to use an electrical signal representative of a phase of the drive mechanism and the adjustment signal to generate a motor drive signal configured to cause the desired adjustment to the phase of the drive mechanism.

An electronic learning device for receiving a book having a plurality of successive page spreads, at least one page spread having selectable content and an optically readable page identifier. The device includes a housing configured to receive the book, a position sensor in the housing configured to determine the location of the selectable content on the at least one page spread, an optical sensor in the housing configured to irradiate and detect the page identifier on the at least one page spread and control electronics in the housing operatively coupled to the optical sensor and to the position sensor and configured to synchronize sequential operation of the position sensor and the optical sensor.

Interactive electronic device with optical page identification system

A toy having a motion detector that detects motion of the toy and generates a signal indicative of the motion. There is a visual display that is capable of selectively producing a visual output and an audio system capable of producing an audible output corresponding to, and descriptive of, the visual output.

Moveable toy with corresponding audio and visual outputs

An electronic learning/teaching device operates with and without a printed sheet element having an arrangement of selectable content by means of a user responsive sensor array beneath a surface configured to receive the element. The sensor array is formed by cross-points of two sets of crossing conductive lines, one set being driven sequentially with a radio frequency square wave and the other set being sampled sequentially though a high impedance amplifier connection with an asynchronous detection circuit. Where more than one cross-point location is user activated, algorithms are used to identify one cross-point sensor location as the user activated selection.

Interactive multi-sensory reading system electronic teaching/learning device

An infant swing that may be parent activated or sound activated and a method of using the same are disclosed.

Infant swing

Infant swing and method of using the same

A method and apparatus for maintaining a determinate operational state for a controller is provided that involves supplying an input voltage to the controller via a main power supply and periodically supplying a voltage step pulse to the controller in addition to the input voltage being supplied to the controller by the main power supply so that the voltage step pulse does not affect the controller's operational state when that state is determinate and so that the voltage step pulse will cause the controller to enter a reset mode when its state is indeterminate because of a low input voltage level being supplied via the main power supply. The voltage step pulse is continuously and periodically supplied to the controller via a low voltage reset circuit regardless of the voltage level being supplied to the controller via the main power supply.

Electronic apparatus having a low voltage auto-reset circuit

A remotely-controlled crib toy generates audio and/or video sensible output in response to user commands received by a remote control system. The nature and duration of the sensible output can be selected by the user. The sensible output is selected to be soothing to an infant.

Remotely controlled crib toy

A radio frequency transmitter of the type that is adapted to be powered from an internal battery power source, or from an external power supply that is connected to the transmitter by an electrical conductor, which conductor acts as a part of the antenna system for such transmitter and increases the strength of the signal radiated by the transmitter when the transmitter is powered from the external power supply, and which includes a circuit for reducing the power output of the transmitter, when the transmitter is connected to the external power supply.

Growing community of inventors

Hamburg, NY, United States of America

James P Meade