Animated Bubble Toy Customizable and Activated by the Attachment of an Accessory

This application is a continuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 18/186,431 (which is pending) filed on Mar. 20, 2023, which application claimed benefit and priority from provisional application No. 63/269,667, filed on Mar. 21, 2022, provisional application No. 63/269,674, filed Mar. 21, 2022, and provisional application No. 63/269,654, filed Mar. 21, 2022, and was also a continuation-in-part application that claimed the benefit of application Ser. No. 18/054,693 filed Nov. 11, 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,330,084 issued Jun. 17, 2025, which claimed the benefit and priority of provisional application No. 63/263,994, filed Nov. 12, 2021 and provisional application No. 63/269,724, filed Mar. 22, 2022, and was also filed as a continuation-in-part claiming benefit from patent application Ser. No. 17/335,447 filed Jun. 1, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,097,447 issued Sep. 24, 2024. The entire contents of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

The invention relates to a device that illuminates through a film to produce an animation. More specifically, the device is secured within a bubble toy and is activated via the connection of an accessory to the toy, such as a hat.

Toys exist that use light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) located within various chambers to produce an animation or animated image. However, these toys fail as they do not produce a clear animation image that is easily viewable at varying distances. Moreover, when the image is projected onto another surface, it is distorted and barely legible.

Moreover, toys that illuminate in synchronization with a song or sound exist. However, these toys are limited in use as the synchronization is preprogrammed, so the animated feature of the toy is programmed with only one sound. Further, these known toys are not activated via ambient sound and are not interactive.

Furthermore, while bubble producing toys exist, these toys do not have the capability of transforming into a customizable animated character with affixable accessories. Further, these existing toys do not produce an animated image resulting from the attachment of an accessory. For example, these known devices do not have a method of securing an accessory thereto, which activates various features of the toy, while still allowing bubbles to be emitted out of the toy.

Further, previous bubble toys that are activated via the attachment of an accessory, such as a hat exist, such as Applicant's U.S. Ser. No. 18/186,431. However, these existing toys include the sound module rather than the hats, which means the toy is limited in the number of hats that it can recognize. For example, the toy was programmed while being manufactured to recognize a set number of pogo pins that the hat contained. Since a hat can only contain a limited number of pogo pins, the toy could only recognize a small number of hats, meaning only a limited number of sounds were played. Furthermore, the hats contained too many pogo pins, which made them appear cluttered and led to issues with poor contact between the hats and the toys.

Moreover, previous versions of the illuminating animation device included a film that included a smiley face with eyes and a mouth. However, what is needed is a more efficient way to create a clear appearance of an animated face without the need for unnecessary components.

An illuminating animation device secured within the housing of a bubble producing toy. Animation is created by the illumination of LEDs, which are secured within chambers of the device and project through a film and onto an inside surface of the housing. A printed circuit board is secured within the device and is electrically connected to a microcontroller unit secured within the housing. One mode of activating the illuminating animation device is via the connection of a hat to the housing. The hat includes resisters that close a circuit between the toy and the hat. The microcontroller unit detects and recognizes the value of the resistors and transmits a correlating signal to various electronic components of the toy, which activates features associated with the resistance value.

An animated toy including a housing with an outer wall defining an interior volume. The outer wall includes a depression containing a USB-C port and the volume contains a printed circuit board assembly that is electrically connected to a speaker and an illuminating animation device. The illuminating animation device includes an enclosure with a base and a mouthpiece secured together via a wall, which forms a compartment. A divider is secured within the mouthpiece and divides the compartment into a first and second chamber. A printed circuit board is secured to the base and includes a first and second LED. The first LED is secured within the first chamber, and the second LED is secured within the second chamber. The toy further includes at least one hat with at least one sound chip with a USB-C plug, which plugs into the USB-C port thereby triggering playback of a first sound through the speaker. The illumination of the second LED is activated concurrently with the first sound when the hat is connected to the toy.

show an illuminating animation devicethat is securable within a bubble producing toy, as shown in.shows a schematic diagram of a circuit that is closed when a hatis connected to a housingof the toy, thereby activating the illuminating animation device. The illuminating animation device is like that made by Applicant and disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/054,693 and the bubble toy is like the bubble wand, which is made by Applicant and is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/335,447, which applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

As shown in, the illumination animation deviceincludes a cylindrically shaped enclosure, which includes a cylindrically shaped coversecured to a front facethereof and a cylindrically shaped basesecured to a back facethereof. In between the cover and the base is a cylindrically shaped wallthat extends from the base to the cover. The extension of the wall between the two faces forms an enclosure compartmentwhere various internal components of the device are secured. The cylindrically shaped cover includes a slotinto which a filmsecures.

As shown in, a way in which the devicesecures into the housingof the toy, is via a bracketing system that includes either or both an upperand lower bracket. These brackets are secured or soldered to an outside surface of a wallof the device. The brackets are securable by any suitable methods, for example, via screws or glue.

As shown in, particularly, the deviceincludes the cover, which secures around the front faceof the device to the wall. As shown in, the cover includes notches, which correspond with claspsthat form a part of the wall, so the cover easily snaps onto the wall. The cover includes a slotinto which the filmsnuggly fits. For example, as shown in, the cover is generally open so when the film is positioned into the slot, the film encompasses the central opening of the cover. Advantageously, the film is tightly secured within the cover so when the device is flipped upside down, the film does not slide out. Further, the film is easily removeable and interchangeable with different films with different images. The film is, for example, an opaque black with a matte finish acetate sheet with an image die cut onto the film. In this embodiment, the film includes a first imagecarved therein, which is a smiley face with two eyes and a mouth. Any image can be carved or cut into this film depending on user specification. Further, if desired, the film forms the outermost portion of the front face and includes a securing mechanism to connect to the wall.

As shown in, particularly, the wallextends from the baseto the coverand forms an enclosure compartmentwhere various internal components are secured. The enclosure compartment is divided into a first chamberand a second chambervia a chamber divider. The divider is secured or soldered onto two opposing inside surfaces of the wall. As the first imageis a smiley face, the divider is curved to correspond with the u-shape of the mouth. The divider is advantageously located so that any image containing a mouth will benefit from the desired talking animation effect. The number of chambers varies depending on the image that is etched into the film, the size of the deviceand/or the desired animation effect. As shown in, the film is secured adjacent to the first chamber and second chamber so that the eyes and an upper portion of the mouth are aligned within the first chamber and a lower portion of the mouth is aligned within the second chamber. This specific positioning of the image adjacent to the first and second chambers aids in producing the desired talking animation effect of the image.

As shown in, the first chamberhas a first LEDsecured therein and the second chamberhas a second LEDsecured therein. The LEDs are one color and/or vary in color and/or luminosity. The number of LEDs varies depending on factors such as the number of chambers present in the enclosure, the image carved into the filmand the desired animation effect. Both LEDS are secured and electrically connected to a printed circuit board (“PCB”), which PCB is secured within the back faceof the enclosure, for example via screws. As shown in, the baseof the device is manufactured to include a compartmentinto which the PCB and LEDs secure. The LEDS are secured to the PCB using surface mounting technology. Advantageously, the inventors discovered the precise distance to situate the first and second LEDs from the film so that a clear animation image is produced regardless of whether it is being projected onto another surface. Specifically, the distance of the LEDs from the film is important in controlling the size and location of the image that is projected through the film to produce a clear, readable image. The distance of the LEDS from the film is from about 5 mm to about 15 mm and creates a crisp, precise animated image that is easily recognizable to the eye.

However, this distance varies depending on the toy into which the device is secured, the size of the device, the number of LEDs, and the image that is etched into the film. For example, when the deviceis secured within the housingof the bubble toysuch as shown inand, the image cut in the filmmagnifies when illuminated onto an inside surface of the housing. Advantageously, the imageprojected through the device is refracted onto the inside surface of the housing and therefore appears larger than the size of the film. Accordingly, the device is located at the precise distance from the inside surface of the housing, so the face projected thereon appears much larger through the front face of the housing, while also being legible. The housing is the precise opacity that the light refracts through the housing and is clearly visible. For example, as shown in, a front face of the housing includes the silhouette, or a face or eyes etched therein to depict a character. Accordingly, the first LEDsecured within the first chamberis constantly illuminated when activated to continuously illuminate the eyes and upper portion of the mouth of the character. The second LEDwithin the second chamberilluminates in synchronization with a song or sound that is played, so the lower portion of the mouth appears to be speaking. Accordingly, when the face is projected through the film onto the silhouette, the animated image is magnified and aligns perfectly with the silhouette.

As shown in, the illuminating animation deviceis secured within the housingof a bubble producing toy. As shown in, the bubble producing toy includes a bubble producing solution reservoirthat is connected to the housing via a shaft. A shown in, connectable atop the housing is a hator anther accessory. Further, to make the character more versatile and lifelike, hairor other accessories, are snapped onto the back of the housing. When the illuminating animation device is activated and projects an image onto the inside surface of the front face of the housing, the bubble toy comes alive as a unique bubble toy character.

As shown in, the printed circuit boardof the deviceis electrically connected to a microcontroller unit, such as an integrated circuit, which is secured within the housingof the toy. As shown in, the microcontroller unit is secured in a top portion of the housing around an air ductof a bubble engine. The microcontroller unit includes circuitry, which is necessary for the control and activation of the illuminating animation device and other unique features of the toy, such as bubble production, activation of a microphone, emission of sound through a speaker, and illumination of LEDs.

As shown in, secured within the shaftis a speaker, which is electrically connected to a DF player, see. The DF player is preprogrammed with various songs, stories and sounds, for instance on an SD card, prior to securement in the shaft. The DF player is electrically connected to the microcontroller unit, which microcontroller unit transmits signals to the DF player depending on the mode that the toy is in. Modes of the toy are activated by a slide switchor push buttonsecured within the shaft. Differing sounds are transmitted from the DF player to the speaker depending on the mode. Further secured within the shaft is a microphone, which is electrically connected to the slide switch and the microcontroller unit. When the microphone is activated via the slide switch, the toy is in an interactive mode. In interactive mode, the firstand second LEDof the illuminating animation device are sound activated via ambient sound detected by the microphone.

As shown in, further secured within the shaftare batteries, which power the toy. These batteries are electrically connected to the slide switchand the push button, which buttons define modes of the toy. For example, when a user presses the push button a preprogrammed song, sound and/or story stored in the DF playerbegins playing through the speaker. The illumination of the first and second LEDs (,) within the illuminating animation device are programmed to illuminate in synchronization with this sound, so the mouth appears to be signing or talking.

Another mode of the toyis activated when the user slides the slide switchdown. In this mode, the other LEDsthat are located within the housingare activated and the illuminating animation deviceis activated. Moreover, this mode is interactive, meaning that the first and second LEDs (,) located within the animation device illuminate in synchronization with sound detected by the microphone. As shown in, the microphone is electrically connected to a receiver, which detects sound via the microphone. The receiver detects the sound and transmits this signal to the PCBvia a relay. The first and second LED illuminate in synchronization with the sound detected through the microphone. For example, when the user talks, the illuminating animation device illuminates in synchronization with the user's voice so that the character appears to be talking the words that the user is speaking. Furthermore, the LEDs illuminate in a unique way to create an aesthetically pleasing light show. For example, the LEDs vary in intensity, color temperature, color, illumination duration and timing. So, the light patterns of the LEDs are random or regular, or they are controlled in continuous sequence or pattern, a custom sequence or pattern, and/or sequence or pattern that incorporates constant timing, variable timing, and/or dimming based on the various mode of the toy.

Another mode of the toyis activated when a user slides the slide switchup. In this mode, the bubble engine is activated, and the toy produces bubbles through the bubble discharge orificelocated in a top portion of the housing. The bubble engine and correlating elements of the toy necessary to create bubbles are like those used in the bubble producing toy, or bubble wand, which is made by Applicant and is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/335,447, which application is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In addition, in this mode, the LEDSilluminate in a unique pattern. Furthermore, in this mode, the illuminating animation deviceis activated via the connection of a hatto the housing. The connection of the hat closes a circuit between the hat and the housing, which activates various features of the toy, see diagram of closed circuit in.

As shown in, the hatis connected to the housingvia a snap ringthat is secured to an inside surface of the hat, for example via glue or screws. This snap ring snaps onto a mated flange, which is secured around a bubble discharge nozzleof the housing. The hat snap fits onto this flange via the snap ring and is easily removeable with slight upward force.

As shown in, a specifically designed key in shaped mountis molded into an inside surface of the hat. Secured to the mount are two resistors (,), such as pogo pins. As shown inkey in shaped mount aligns with a corresponding notchin a top portion of the housing, which notch includes two slots (,) into which the pogo pins insert. The alignment of the key in shape with the notch ensures that the hat is only connectable to the housing in one position, therefore always closing the circuit via the connection. As shown in, the circuit is closed when the hat connects to the housing because the pogo pins connect to the microcontroller unit. This microcontroller is preprogrammed and imbedded before it is secured within the housing of the toy to recognize differing values of the resistors. When the resistors in the hat connect to the microcontroller unit, the unit detects and recognizes the specific resistance value. The unit then transmits a corresponding signal to the DF playerto play a sound that is associated with that specific resistance value. Further, the firstand second LEDsof the illuminating animation deviceare programmed via the PCBand microcontroller to illuminate in synchronization with the sound emanated from the speaker. For example, the DF player is programmed with ten sounds, songs, and/or stories. Each hat includes resistors or pogo pins with different resistance values, for example, a firefighter hat has a resistance value of 4 k ohms, a policeman hat is 1 k ohms and a construction worker hat is 2 k ohms. When a firefighter hat is connected to the housing, the microcontroller reads the resistance value and recognizes that the fireman hat has been connected. The microcontroller triggers the DF player to play a sound, song or story related to a fireman and the illuminating animation device illuminates in synchronization therewith. Accordingly, a fireman character comes to life within the toyvia the connection of a fireman hat. The features and elements of each modes described herein are not to be construed as limiting and can be programmed and activated in any combination.

The toyis also capable of activation via a remote signal, such as through embedded instructions and or receipt of activation signals received by a receiver. This signal received is read and transmitted to various elements of the toy to activate illumination of LEDS (,,), emit a sound through the speaker, activate the microphoneand/or produce bubbles. For example, the microcontroller unitincludes a proximity detection device, such as, for example RFID or other types of electronics, which sense location, proximity, or other wireless instructions to indicate and/or instruct illumination, sound and/or bubble production. Such proximity device, for example, include instructions and circuitry operable to detect location in respect to a transmitted beacon. For example, the toy automatically activates upon nearing a display, feature, fixture attraction or other location within an amusement park which is transmitting a unique beacon. When received by the toy, it illuminates and/or plays sound and/or activates in a predetermined manner. Upon receipt of a unique beacon signal, the toy is programmed by instructions stored in a memory to activate in a particular manner and/or play specific prerecorded or streamed audio signals, which are programmed with illumination of the first and second LEDs so that the mouth appears talking in synchronization with the song or sound playing. Alternatively, the device incorporates RFID detectors so, upon recognition of a specific RFID signal, the toy begins emitting a predetermined sequence of signals. Other implementations may be implemented such as GPS location detection and determination. Other automated instructions are further implemented such as emitting colors, playing predefined audio stored in memory of the toy or received by the receiver of the toy, playing signals which are streamed and received by the integrated receiver, and similar functionality.

Furthermore, a fixture may include an ultrasonic distance sensor that detects when a person is standing idle in front of it. When a user is detected, an electronic module is activated and broadcasts a signal or code within a specific proximity of the toy. This code unlocks an effect or feature of the toy, such as activating the illuminating animation device, producing bubbles, playing a sound, etc. Advantageously, the code that is sent is an unlocking code, which code unlocks an effect or feature that is already preprogrammed within the toy. The toys' microcontroller unitis advantageously already programmed with this same first effect or feature. Accordingly, the fixture need only send a code to unlock this feature in the toy and does not need to send the entire programming for the feature. As such, a first feature is unlocked in the toy and is activated within the toy. As such, the toy sings the same song, tells the same story, illuminates in the same way, etc., as the first effect of the feature, such as a fireman. This first effect is then unlocked within the toy indefinitely and can be replayed by the user at any time and stored within a memory in the toy. This same interaction occurs when the user walks by a second, third, fourth, etc., fixture and these additional codes are sent to the toy to unlock these additional features, which can all be replayed by the user at any time.

Further, the toyincludes a transmitter, which transmits a signal from the toy to a fixture. For example, if the hatconnected to the housingis a policeman hat, the microcontroller unitdetects and recognizes this via the resistance values of the resistor. A corresponding signal is sent via the transmitter to the fixture, which unlocks a policeman file stored within an integrated circuit in the fixture. The fixture plays a sound or song specific to a policeman, such as a police siren. Furthermore, the fixture may be animatronic and move according to the sound that is played to tell a story using animatronic arms.

In another embodiment as shown in, rather than the sound chip and microcontroller unit being stored within the housing, the sound chip is stored within each unique hat or accessory. This is advantageous because the toy is no longer limited to a set number of prerecorded songs or sounds. In this embodiment, each hat is programmed with its own songs/sounds, so an unlimited number of hats are detectable by the toy. Users desired the ability to attach countless hats to the toy, which was not possible with the older embodiments. Older embodiments of the toy quickly hit a limit on the number of hats that could be detected as the hat could only contain a certain limited number of pogo pins. Furthermore, the more pogo pins that were included, the more connectivity issues that occurred, so they broke more easily, and the hats were too congested.

show another embodiment of a bubble producing toywhich is activated via the connection of a second embodiment of hats-. Some of the internal components of this embodiment of the toy are the same as those disclosed for the first embodiment. For example, while not specifically discussed for this embodiment, the way the toy produces bubbles is the same as well as the various modes of activation, manually, wirelessly, remotely, etc., and powered by batteries. For example, bubbles are created via a bubble engine, which pumps liquid from a solution reservoirto a nozzleand out the bubble discharge orifice. There are also many advantageous differences between the first and second embodiments of the toy. The first embodiment included the sound chip or DF player within the bubble producing toy, but it was quickly discovered that this was significantly limiting as the toy could only be preprogrammed to recognize a limited number of pogo pins. Advantageously, in the second embodiment shown in, each hat contains a bottom portion-, which is connected to a top portion-. Each hat includes a sound module secured between the top and bottom portions, which sound modules contain a sound chip-, which stores at least one audio file. Each sound chip includes a control integrated circuit, which is electrically connected to a USB-C plug-. This solves issues related to prior embodiments because the toy now recognizes an unlimited number of sounds on an unlimited number of hats since the sounds chips are stored in each hat, rather than within the toy. Advantageously, the toy also includes its own control integrated circuit, that detects the presence of an unlimited number of hats. As shown in, the housingincludes a printed circuit board assembly (“PCBA”), to which a USB-C portis secured and electrically connected. This PCBA includes the control IC, which detects the attachment of each hat via the connection of the USB-C plug on each hat into the USB-C port. The USB-C port is visible through the outside surface of the housing and is part of a depression, into which the sound chips snuggly secure when the hat is connected to the toy. The hats are sized to fit the universal bubble toy and are further secured to each toy via a notch, which releases a snap ringon the hat for easy removal. Advantageously, if new hats are added in the future, only new electronics and audios for the hats need to be made and the bubble toy remains unchanged, which is much more cost effective. Furthermore, the PCBA includes several LEDs, secured thereto, which illuminated in different colors, patterns, sequences, intensity, etc. depending on the programming of the toy when the hat is secured.

More specifically, as shown in, there are six unique hats-, which number should not be construed as limiting. Each hat signifies a different character and are all universally fit to the bubble producing toy. Further, while only one hat is discussed herein, the features should be construed as relating to all the hats. The universal bubble producing toy detects the presence of each of the hats and executes a unique function(s) depending on the hat, such as a light show, producing bubbles and/or playing a sound. When a user chooses any of these hats, such as the crown, they plug the USB-C pluginto the USB-C port, which port is located through a wall the housingof the toy. When the hat is connected, the sound chipsnuggly fits into the depressionthat also forms a part of the wall of the housing surrounding the USB-C port. The hat further snaps onto the toy thereby further securing it via a snap ringlocated within the hat. Advantageously, when the hat is connected to the toy, the control IC on the PCBAdetects and recognizes the presence of the hat and sends a data signal to the hat sound chip, which also includes a control IC. Upon receiving the data, the hat control IC triggers the music playback and triggers a unique light effect from within the toy, preferably within the housing. Advantageously, the unique light and sound effect occurs instantaneously when the hat is connected to the bubble toy. For example, the sound plays a royal tune while illuminating various LEDS (,,) within the housing. The sound is played through the speaker, which is secured within the handleof the toy. Further, the modes of activation and bubble production for this embodiment are the same as with the embodiment of the toyshown in, i.e., the toy includes both a slide switchand a push button. The slide switch determines the mode of the toy, and respective light and bubble features. For example, if the slide switch is switched up, a bubble and light feature occurs and if it is turned down only a light show occurs. In both the up and the down position, the hat is detectable by the toy. If the user desires to repeat the light and sound feature that was displayed when the hat was first attached, the user simply pushes the push button, which will not only play the initial feature of the hat attachment, but can cycle through additional sound features stored on the sound chip. In doing so, the push button sends a data signal from the toy via the control IC on the PCBA to the hat sound chip. This sound chip includes a control IC, which upon receiving the data sent by pushing the push button, the hats control IC triggers the music playback through the speaker and activates a light show. Advantageously, each hat has its own light and sound effect and can be programmed with various sound and light effects within one hat. So, the user can view numerous different lights and sound effects from one hat.

Moreover, the second embodiment of the toy, includes another embodiment of the illuminating animation device, which requires less components to produce a more visible and clear animation effect. As shown in, this embodiment of the device is secured within the housing via an upper bracketand a lower bracket. The device includes an enclosurewith a baseto which a mouth shaped unitis secured via a wall. The unit is in the shape of a smiling mouth and includes a dividerthat divides the enclosure into a first chamberand a second chamber. The first chamber includes a first LEDand the second chamber includes a second LED. The first and second LEDS are secured and electrically connected to a PCB, which is secured within the back surface of the enclosure. The divider is secured or soldered onto two opposing inside surfaces of the wall and is curved to correspond with the u-shape of the mouth. However, the enclosure does not include eyes. In this embodiment, the first and second LED illuminate a corresponding top and bottom portion of the mouth, so when the first and second LEDs are illuminated, the mouth naturally appears to be talking or smiling. For example, the first LED is continuously illuminated so the character on the housing is always smiling as the first chamber is continuously illuminated. When the second LED is activated, it illuminates the second chamber of the enclosure, so the mouth image appears larger like the character is talking, i.e., the mouth is opening and closing. The illumination of the second LED is sound activated and synced with the sound played via the attachment of the hat-. So, when a sound is played, the second LED is illuminated and when the sound is silent or at a lower register, the second LED is not illuminated. The mouth advantageously appears as if it is talking or singing in conjunction with the sound that is played with the attachment of the hats. As shown in, the eyes in this embodiment are black circles that form a part of the housing. These are no longer specifically illuminated via the first or second LED and solved issues with prior iterations concerning the LEDs failing and not clearly illuminating the eyes. Furthermore, by including the eyes in the illumination, the illuminating animation device needed to be much bigger to cover more surface area, which caused issues with visibility of the image. Further, the LEDs are capable of being activated via ambient sound that is detected by a microphone. For example, when the microphone detects ambient sound, the second LED automatically illuminates in sequence with the ambient sound.

It is well recognized by persons skilled in the art that alternative embodiments to those disclosed herein, which are foreseeable alternatives, are also covered by this disclosure. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the embodiments or otherwise to exclude such other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements.