US 12,090,419 B2
Modular toy system with electronic toy modules
Thomas Alan Donaldson, Billund (DK); Mark Ross Champkins, Billund (DK); Silviu Toma, Cambridgeshire (GB); Robert George Milner, Cambridgeshire (GB); Simon Mark Jordan, Upper Cambourne (GB); Simon John Turner, Cambridge (GB); Mark Craig Brannan, Cambridgeshire (GB); and Martin Edward Brock, Cambridge (GB)
Assigned to LEGO A/S, Billund (DK)
Appl. No. 17/427,596
Filed by LEGO A/S, Billund (DK)
PCT Filed Dec. 12, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/084779
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 30, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/156719, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 6, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 201970072 (DK), filed on Jan. 31, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0118375 A1, Apr. 21, 2022
Int. Cl. A63H 33/00 (2006.01); A63H 17/00 (2006.01); A63H 29/22 (2006.01); A63H 33/04 (2006.01); A63H 33/26 (2006.01); A63H 17/36 (2006.01); A63H 30/04 (2006.01); A63H 33/08 (2006.01)
CPC A63H 33/042 (2013.01) [A63H 29/22 (2013.01); A63H 33/26 (2013.01); A63H 17/002 (2013.01); A63H 17/36 (2013.01); A63H 30/04 (2013.01); A63H 33/086 (2013.01); A63H 2200/00 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A modular toy system comprising a plurality of separate electronic toy modules, each electronic toy module comprising:
a function device adapted to perform a user-perceptible function; and
a control circuit for controlling the function device,
wherein at least a first electronic toy module of the plurality of electronic toy modules comprises:
a first control circuit,
a first function device adapted to perform a user-perceptible function, and
a sensor system configured for contactless detection of respective coordinate values of at least two coordinates, each coordinate being indicative of a position or an orientation of at least a second electronic toy module of the plurality of electronic toy modules relative to the first electronic toy module;
wherein the first control circuit is configured to control operation of the first function device to perform a user-perceptible function based on one or more of the detected coordinate values;
wherein the sensor system comprises at least two electromagnetic coils each configured to sense a time-varying magnetic field;
wherein each electromagnetic coil defines a coil axis and wherein the coil axes of the at least two coils define an angle between the coil axes, the angle being larger than zero degrees; and
wherein the electronic toy module is configured to measure the strength and/or direction of a magnetic field generated or modified by corresponding coils of another electronic toy module.