EP-4735136-A1 - INTERACTIVE PLAY APPARATUS

EP4735136A1EP 4735136 A1EP4735136 A1EP 4735136A1EP-4735136-A1

Abstract

An interactive play apparatus comprising a spatial audio system and an interactive toy element, in particular an interactive toy construction element, wherein the inter- active toy element comprises at least one sensor configured to detect one or more user interactions, and wherein the spatial audio system is configured to output a plu- rality of sounds perceivable by a user interacting with the interactive toy element as a spatial soundscape.

Inventors

WILBERT, JOAO HENRIQUE SANTOS
WANG, Yufan Wei
COATES, Samuel
CAREY, Elizabeth

Assignees

LEGO A/S

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240627

Claims (9)

1 . An interactive play apparatus comprising a spatial audio system and an interactive toy element, in particular an interactive toy construction element, wherein the interactive toy element comprises at least one sensor configured to detect one or more user interactions, and wherein the spatial audio system is configured to output a plurality of sounds perceivable by a user interacting with the interactive toy element as a spatial soundscape.
2. An interactive play apparatus according to claim 1 ; wherein the spatial audio system comprises one or more loudspeakers, in particular one or more loudspeakers different and separate from the interactive toy element.
3. An interactive play apparatus according to claim 2; wherein the interactive toy element is movable relative to the one or more speakers by the user.
4. An interactive play apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the interactive toy element is communicatively coupled to the spatial audio system, in particular by means of a direct or indirect wireless communication link.
5. An interactive play apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims; wherein the interactive toy element is a toy construction element of a modular toy construction system, the modular toy construction system including modular toy construction elements, in particular the interactive toy construction element and further toy construction elements.
6. An interactive play apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the interactive play apparatus is configured to detect one or more attributes of a toy construction model constructed from the interactive toy element and from one or more additional toy construction elements, and wherein the spatial audio system is configured to create a perceivable spatial soundscape responsive at least to the detected one or more attributes.
7. An interactive play apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the interactive toy element includes a loudspeaker and is configured to output sounds associated with the interactive toy element and/or associated with a toy construction model, which includes the interactive toy element, in particular sounds representing sounds emitted an object represented by the toy construction model.
8. An interactive play apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the spatial audio system is configured to create a soundscape representing an environment in which the toy construction model is immersed.
9. An interactive play apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, configured to create a perceived movement of a virtual sound source along a trajectory relative to a detected position and/or orientation and/or movement path of the interactive toy element.

Description

Interactive play apparatus The present invention relates to an interactive play apparatus. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A variety of interactive play apparatus exist that allow a user to engage in various play scenarios. For example, programmable toys are known e.g. from the product ROBOTICS INVENTION SYSTEM from LEGO MINDSTORMS, which is a toy that can be programmed by a computer to perform unconditioned as well as conditioned actions. While the above prior art system provides interesting game play, it remains desirable to provide improved interactive play apparatus that foster children's imagination in a playful and entertaining manner. SUMMARY In accordance with a first aspect disclosed herein, an interactive play apparatus comprises a spatial audio system and an interactive toy element, in particular an interactive toy construction element. The interactive toy element comprises at least one sensor configured to detect one or more user interactions. The spatial audio system is configured to output a plurality of sounds perceivable by a user interacting with the interactive toy element as a spatial soundscape. The spatial audio system comprises one or more loudspeakers, in particular one or more loudspeakers different and separate from the interactive toy element and different from any loudspeaker of the interactive toy element. The interactive toy element is preferably movable relative to the one or more speakers; in particular, the user can move the interactive toy element relative to the one or more speakers of the spatial audio system. The one or more speakers may be stationary speakers located at respective positions, e.g. at respective positions throughout a room. Alternatively or additionally one or more speakers of the spatial audio system may be provided as a headset or similar audio device to be worn by a user. The interactive toy element may be a toy construction element of a modular toy construction system. The modular toy construction system may include a plurality of modular toy construction elements, in particular the interactive toy construction element and further one or more toy construction elements. In particular, the modular toy construction system may further may comprise conventional toy construction elements, in particular passive toy construction elements that do not include any electronic components. Each modular toy construction element may comprise coupling members for detachably connecting the toy construction elements to each other so as to construct a toy construction model. When the coupling members are detachably interconnectable, the user may deconstruct previously built toy construction models and re-use the toy construction elements so as to build new toy construction models. For example, the toy construction elements may be interconnected with each other by traction/friction or by an interlocking connection. Preferably, the interactive toy element does not comprise electrical contacts directly accessible on the outside of its housing. Advantageously, a re-chargeable power supply may be included in the interactive toy element. The re-chargeable power supply may be adapted for wireless charging. Advantageously, a housing of the interactive toy element is made of, or fully encapsulated with, an electrically insulating material. The interactive toy element may be communicatively coupled to the spatial audio system, preferably by means of a direct or indirect wireless communication link, e.g. via Bluetooth and/or another suitable radio-frequency communication. In some embodiments, the interactive play apparatus is configured to detect one or more attributes of a toy construction model constructed from the interactive toy element and from one or more additional toy construction elements. The detected one or more attributes may include a physical property of the toy construction model and/or of one or more of the toy construction elements included in the toy construction model, such as a shape, size, color and/or weight of the constructed toy construction model and/or of a toy construction element of the model. Alternatively or additionally, the detected one or more attributes may include an identity of, or an identifier or code associated with, the toy construction model or of/with a toy construction element of the toy construction model. The identifier or code may be machine-readable, e.g. a barcode, a QR code, and RFID identifier etc. Alternatively or additionally, the detected one or more attributes may include a detected or recognized type of object represented by the toy construction model, e.g. an identification of the toy construction model as representing a car, a creature, a building and/or the like. To this end, the apparatus may include one or more sensors for detecting the one or more attributes, e.g. an RFID reader, a barcode reader a QR code reader, a color sensor, a camera, etc. In some embodiments, the one or more sensors are included in the interactive to