Other

Toy Biz, Inc.

Mattel, Inc.

Hasbro, Inc.

Tiger Electronics, Ltd.

Cepia, LLC

Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Bang Zoom Design, Ltd.

Robert W Jeffway, Jr

Steven R Casino

Avi Arad

Steven T Fink

Richard C Levy

Abraham A Arad

Adam L Kislevitz

Anne Pitrone

Laureen A Trotto

Maureen T Trotto

James Russell Hornsby

Joseph Lee McGowan

Michael G Hoeting

Michael C Reynolds

Gregory E Hyman

Gary S Silverman

Joseph R Perez

Michael J Goldman

Ross M Albert

Peter David Williams

Robert F Schwartzman

Lynn Tarnoff

Robert A Ruginis

Catherine R Dobosz

A hand-held, cubic, transparent game system containing a cubiform array of individual LEDs arranged as a cubic matrix of rows and columns, an inclinometer, sound chip and speaker and a timer. Electronic control circuitry including a game-programmed processor is connected between the inclinometer and the LED array to control visible operating states of individual lamps in response to output signals from the inclinometer, according to rules of a game program. Sequential LEDs in a direction of inclination are momentarily flashed to define a traveling cursor. Turning the housing through 90 degrees transfers cursor between a row and a column.

Three dimensional lamp array game system

An electronic handheld gesture game device includes a game housing with a speaker and a plurality of lights to provide commands, feedback, and other information to a player. In one type of game play experience, the game device issues one or more commands that indicate a desired movement or gesture to perform, and the player must respond by moving the game housing to simulate the desired movement or gesture. The game device is self-contained and does not require outside computing devices or visual displays to perform the game play experiences.

Handheld electronic gesture game device and method

An interactive multimedia diary system is presented. The system can include one or more interfaces for media content devices (e.g., communications devices, still or video cameras, audio devices, or any other suitable media content storing or generating devices). An interactive multimedia diary can be composed by collecting and arranging a plurality of media types (e.g., images, video, audio, text, etc.). Alternatively, other suitable data collections such as a journal, a scrapbook, an album, a log, a notebook, or a memoir can be composed. The system can prompt a user for input based on input previously entered. The system can scan input text for keywords, such as verbs associated with common activities, previously used or new names, locations, or any other suitable concepts and prompt the user for more information.

Interactive multimedia diary

An entertainment device is configured to receive a limited range wireless signal from at least one other entertainment device when adjacently arranged in close physical proximity to at least one other entertainment device, and to responsively operate in a first mode or a second mode based on whether the other entertainment device is adjacent a first side or second side. In the first mode, the entertainment device initiates one or more wireless activation signals to control an audio/visual element of another entertainment device. In the second mode, the entertainment device receives wireless activation signals from another entertainment device to control activation of an audio/visual element of the receiving entertainment device. Each device is interchangeable between operation in the first mode of controlling at least one other entertainment device and the second mode of being controlled by another entertainment device based on position of one entertainment device relative to the other.

Interactive entertainment devices interchangeably arrangable in adjacent manner

An LCD display system provides colored backlighting to enhance the viewing experience of presentations by the display system. The liquid crystal display (LCD) system includes a monochrome LCD to display monochrome information including at least two sectors; at least two backlighting elements to emit light in a plurality of colors, each backlighting element associated with one sector of the LCD and configured to backlight the one associated sector with a color light; and a processing device to control display of the information on the LCD and to select the color emitted by each backlighting from the plurality of colors. Each backlighting element may include two or more different color light emitting diodes (LEDs) wherein the intensity of each color LED is controlled by the processing device to provide the color selected by the processing device. A reflective element may be positioned relative to the backlighting element to reflect the color light emitted by the backlighting element. A diffusing element may be positioned between the backlighting element and the LCD.

Liquid crystal display with color sector backlighting

A virtual world toy system includes a physical doll and physical props that may be used in conjunction with a virtual world unit. The virtual world unit provides a portal through which the physical doll may enter and explore a virtual world under a user's guidance and control. The physical doll and props may be played with by a user in the real world; however, the physical doll and props also may be placed into the virtual world unit where they manifest themselves in a virtual world presented by the virtual world unit. Once in the virtual world, the virtual world unit provides a virtual representation of the physical doll and props to a user. In addition, the virtual world unit provides an interface to command, assist, direct, and/or influence the virtual doll's interaction with the virtual world. Two or more virtual world units may be connected together so that multiple users may interact together within the virtual world.

Virtual world toy doll system

A toy or game piece for producing color includes a housing formed in the shape of a toy; a color reader to read a sample and generate data; a processing device to process the generated data and determine a color of the sample based on the generated data; and a light emitting element to produce light corresponding to the determined color. The light emitting element may include two or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) of different colors. The processing device controls the intensity of each LED to cause the light emitting element to produce the corresponding color that is substantially similar to the determined color.

Toy adapting to color of surroundings

An electronic toy gun for a toy shooting game includes an infrared beam emitter, a trigger, a game data input device, and an internal processor. The infrared beam emitter is configured to emit an encoded infrared beam. The trigger is configured to activate a state of emission of the infrared beam by the infrared beam emitter so as to indicate that a weapon is being fired. The game data input device is configured to receive game data input from a user. The internal processor is configured to receive the game data input from the game data input device and to cause the infrared beam emitter to emit an infrared beam that is coded with one of a plurality of codes based on the game data input.

Etroops infrared shooting game

An interactive gaming device capable of perceiving user movement includes a controller connected to a display for providing user interaction with a game being played on the gaming device. A light emitter and a light detector input may include multiple light emitters and a single light detector for detecting light, with light detectors positioned in proximity to light emitters for detecting light. In each form, the controller polls the light detectors to see if user or game piece presence about that light emitter has caused the light emitted from the game piece to reflect to the polled light detector. If light has been reflected to the light detector, the controller is notified to determine where the user is and where the user has moved.

Interactive gaming device capable of perceiving user movement

eTroops infrared shooting game

A flashlight has a housing with a recess through which is passed a light beam from a light source to a light receiver. The receiver is coupled through a microprocessor to energize the bulb of the flashlight upon interruption of the light beam by an individual's finger or by a mechanical element movable between positions interrupting and not interrupting the light beam.

Non-mechanical contact actuator for an article

An article, for example, a toy weapon, has a hand grip provided with a trigger zone. The trigger zone is divided into first and second trigger zone portions forwardly of the hand grip and in a common plane therewith. A light source emits a light beam across the second trigger zone portion for reception by a receiver coupled through a microprocessor to electronic devices affording auditory and/or visual responses to interruption of the visible light beam when an individual pulls a trigger finger back toward the hand grip interrupting the light beam.

Non-mechanical contact trigger for an article

A self-contained electronic unit includes a physically manipulable housing such as a mouse, a feedback device, and processing electronics. The housing is constructed to be moved in its entirety during use by a user. The feedback device is incorporated into the housing and is configured to communicate, to the user, movement of a virtual object within a virtual environment. The processing electronics are incorporated into the housing, and are configured to generate the virtual environment, to respond to movement of the housing in its entirety, without regard to relative movement of the housing with respect to any stationary attached hardware, by causing movement of the virtual object within the virtual environment. A trackball is contained within the mouse housing, and the processing electronics are configured to respond to direct physical manipulation of the trackball by a user to cause movement of the virtual object within the virtual environment.

Virtual game board and tracking device therefor

A housing supports a plurality of user depressible buttons including a question and answer button, a repeat or skip button and optionally a category select button. The housing further supports a multisegment liquid crystal display arranged in a linear arrangement. Within the housing, a microprocessor based circuit utilizes an associated memory and supporting apparatus such as display drivers to respond to the user pressing of buttons on the face of the housing to perform a series of question and answer operation. When the user presses the question and answer button, the microprocessor circuit assembles the next question from a stored list of questions and scrolls the question across the liquid crystal display. Thereafter, the circuit waits a predetermined interval for either the next pressing of the question answer button or expiration of a timed interval. When either occurs, the system ceases to wait and if the question and answer button has been pushed during the interval, the system displays the correct answer associated with the question. If, however, the question and answer button has not been pressed during the timed interval, the system preferably performs a negative output such as a razz signal and thereafter displays the answer. Following answer display, the system waits for the next pressing of the question and answer button to repeat the cycle.

Question and answer amusement device

A speech synthesizing circuit includes a speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip and an audio synthesizing integrated circuit chip. The speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip has a microprocessor, a speech synthesizer, a programmable memory, an input/output port, and a speech address register. The audio synthesizing integrated circuit chip has a microprocessor, an audio synthesizer, a programmable memory, an audio data storage memory, and an input/output port. The input/output port of the speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip is connected to input/output port of the audio data storage memory of the audio synthesizing integrated circuit chip. The programmable memory of the speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip is programmed to cause the microprocessor of the speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip to retrieve speech data from the audio data storage memory of the audio synthesizing integrated circuit chip for speech synthesis by the speech synthesizer of the speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip. The programmable memory is programmed by providing software simulations of instructions preprogrammed into the speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip during manufacture thereof that cause an address to be loaded onto the speech address register, and cause speech data located at an address stored in the speech address register to be obtained. The software simulations cause an address to be loaded into the audio synthesizing integrated circuit chip and cause speech data to be obtained by the speech synthesizing integrated circuit chip from the external memory integrated circuit chip at an address stored in the external memory integrated circuit chip.

Growing community of inventors

Leeds, MA, United States of America

Robert W Jeffway, Jr