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Talking toy ball having impact data sensorTalking toy ball having impact data sensor description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080015064, Talking toy ball having impact data sensor. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001]1. Field of the Invention [0002]In general, the present invention relates to toy balls. More particularly, the present invention relates to toy balls with internal sensors that detect impact forces experienced by the balls. [0003]2. Prior Art Description [0004]Balls, in various forms, have been a favorite toy of children for many centuries. During this long history, balls have been created in countless forms using a wide variety of materials. For example, a tennis ball has a different structure and is made from different materials than is a baseball or a golf ball. [0005]Most balls have an intended use. For instance, baseballs are used in the game of baseball; soccer balls are used in the game of soccer. Only a small percentage of balls that are sold every year are just general use balls having no intended purpose other than a child's play. The present invention is directed to such a general use toy ball. [0006]One of the most popular general use toy balls is known in the toy industry as high-bounce balls. High-bounce balls are made from dense, highly resilient polymers. This enables the ball to reutilize over ninety percent of its kinetic energy after impacting a hard surface. A high-bounce ball therefore has the ability to bounce to nearly the same height from which it is dropped. This enables high-bounce balls to bounce for long periods of time. It also enables high-bounce balls to bounce very high if thrown against the ground with force. [0007]A high-bounce ball depends upon its large mass of resilient polymer to rebound efficiently from an impact. A high-bounce ball must, therefore, be solid or have a very thick shell in order to retain its rebound characteristics. The requirement of such a thick shell structure has limited the ways high-bounce balls can be designed. If a ball is not made with the required thick shell, or if the ball is not made from the right type of resilient polymers, then the ball will not have the bounce characteristics of a proper high-bounce ball. [0008]In the toy industry, high-bounce balls have been molded in a variety of different colors and patterns to make the high-bounce balls more visually appealing to children. The change in color does not effect the bounce characteristics of the ball. High-bounce balls have also been molded with objects inside of them. Again, the purpose is aesthetics to increase the visual appeal of the high-bounce ball. Since the object is embedded deep inside the high-bounce ball, the embedded object has no appreciable effect on the bounce characteristics of the high-bounce ball. [0009]Other than to change the visual appearance of a high bounce ball, the technology of the high-bounce ball has remained stagnant for decades. The same is not true for other types of balls. Many other types of balls have incorporated microelectronics technology to make the balls more interesting, if not better. For instance, talking modules have been added to some prior art toy balls, so that the balls can make sounds. Such prior art balls are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,839 to Pagani, entitled Impact Sensitive Talking Ball. However, such technology cannot be readily added to high-bounce balls. High-bounce balls are commonly thrown against hard surfaces with the full force of the thrower. Any part of an electronics module that is exposed on the surface of the high-bounce ball would be quickly broken from such impacts. Furthermore, if part of an electronics module were to be exposed on the impact area of the high-bounce ball, the high-bounce ball would not bounce as expected. [0010]Electronics have been added to balls that are intended to experience extreme impacts. Such high tech balls are typically used in golf. For example, golf balls exist with internal sensors that measure impact. The data is transmitted to an external computer using radio signals. Such prior art golf balls are exemplified by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0233815 to McCreary, entitled Method Of Determining A Flight Trajectory And Extracting Flight Data For A Trackable Golf Ball; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0227784 to Corzillius, entitled Self-Recording Golf Ball, Golf Ball Cup, and Reading Device System. [0011]Internal sensors, such as those used in golf balls, are used strictly for training purposes in helping a golfer improve his/her game. The sensor system is unpractical to add to a child's toy since the sensors are expensive, complex, and require an external signal reading computer. Furthermore, the use of such a sensor system in a toy ball would do little or nothing to improve the play value of the toy. [0012]A need therefore exists for a system and method for adding an electronics module to the structure of a high-bounce ball, wherein the electronic module will not detract from the bounce characteristics of the ball and adds play value to the high-bounce ball. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0013]The present invention is a toy ball assembly and its method of operation. The toy ball assembly speaks or otherwise communicates with the person playing with the toy. [0014]Within the toy ball assembly, an electronic module is provided. The electronics module holds a battery, an activation switch, a processor, an impact sensor, an audio signal memory and a speaker. The electronics module is encased deep within the center of a high-bounce ball. Channels are formed into the material of the high-bounce ball to provide unobstructed access to both the activation switch and the speaker. [0015]The impact sensor provides an impact signal to the processor each time the ball impacts a surface. Utilizing the impact signal, the processor selects an audio signal from the audio signal memory. The speaker receives and broadcasts the selected audio signal. Depending upon the operation mode of the toy, the broadcast audio signal may announce the velocity, bounce height and/or number of bounces experienced by the toy ball. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0016]For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [0017]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; [0018]FIG. 2 is a partially cross-sectioned view of the embodiment of FIG. 1; [0019]FIG. 3 is a schematic of the electronics embodies by the present invention; [0020]FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the logic of a first computational subroutine; [0021]FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the logic of a second computational subroutine; and Continue reading about Talking toy ball having impact data sensor... 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