Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a housing and a toy vehicle inside the housing. The housing has a movable housing portion, and at least one functional element that is movable and is separate from the movable housing portion. The toy vehicle has a drive wheel that, when driven in a first rotational direction causes the drive wheel to drive movement of the functional element so as to carry out a function without driving movement of the toy vehicle towards the movable housing portion, and when driven in a second rotational direction causes the drive wheel to drive the vehicle towards the movable housing portion.

Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a toy assembly housing, an extensible object inside the toy assembly housing, an extension mechanism, and an extension member power source. The extensible object includes a base, and first and second extension members. The extension mechanism is operable to drive the first and second extension members towards extended positions, and is operatively connected to the second extension member via a lost motion connection. Driving of the extension mechanism by the extension mechanism power source drives the first extension member towards the extended position for the first extension member to break or open the toy assembly housing to expose the extensible object while consuming at least a portion of the lost motion in the lost motion connection. Upon consuming the lost motion, further driving the extension mechanism drives the first and second extension members towards the extended positions.

Abstract: In an aspect, a kit for forming crafts from a moldable material is provided. The kit includes a housing with a molding passage therethrough that holds a volume of moldable material. The housing includes open first and second axial ends for insertion therein of a core element connected to a plunger element. The core element includes a passage with an open end, such that when the core element is inserted through one of the axial ends and into the volume of the moldable material in the molding passage, the passage can capture a core quantity of the moldable material therein, and remove the core quantity of the moldable material from housing. The plunger element is also formed to be inverted and inserted through one of the first and second axial ends to extrude a quantity of the moldable material out through the other of the axial ends of the housing.

Abstract: An augmented reality system is provided, including a physical apparatus operable to change detectably by a human between a first state and a second state, and an augmented reality application. The physical apparatus includes a signal receiver for receiving a signal, and at least one controllable element operable to effect the change between the first state and the second state upon receiving the signal. The AR application, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, the computing device having at least one camera and a display, cause the computing device to capture at least one image of the physical apparatus, generate a virtual reality object that is presented in the at least one image on the display, and transmit the signal to the physical apparatus to cause the at least one controllable element of the physical apparatus to switch between the first state and the second state.

Abstract: In one aspect, there is provided a toy vehicle that includes a vehicle body, at least one motor and a plurality of wheels. The at least one motor is mounted to the vehicle body, and is sized to have a selected amount of torque. The plurality of wheels includes at least one driven wheel which includes at least one flip-over wheel which has an axis closer to one end of the vehicle than the other end. In an upright orientation the vehicle body extends above the plurality of wheels. The toy vehicle has a centre of gravity that is positioned, such that, application of torque from the at least one motor causes the vehicle body to drive rotation of the vehicle body about the axis of rotation from an inverted orientation over to the upright orientation.

Abstract: In an aspect, there is provided an elastic ring-based ornament making device for constructing an elastic ring-based ornament that includes at least one elastic ring and a plurality of ornamental members positioned thereon. The elastic ring-based ornament making device includes an elastic ring support including a plurality of extension arms which are movable between retracted and extended positions. When the arms are retracted, the elastic ring support supports the at least one elastic ring in a first state. When the arms are extended, the elastic ring support supports the at least one elastic ring in a second state. The at least one elastic ring is stretched more in the second state than in the first state. The arms when extended are spaced from one another sufficiently to permit mounting of the ornamental members on the at least one elastic ring between the arms.

Abstract: A toy includes a magnetically responsive member, a fulcrum member, a printed circuit board (PCB), a lid covering the PCB, an activation switch, a touch sensor, a motion sensor, an audio transducer, a signal generator and a controller. The flexible PCB includes an electromagnetic coil, and a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs). Opening of the lid actuates the activation switch, and in response, the controller controls the signal generator to generate a coil control signal for the electromagnetic coil to produce a magnetic field that interacts with the magnetically responsive member, to induce oscillatory flapping of the PCB. In response to detecting a touch signal from the controller, or a motion signal from the motion sensor, the controller also generates a LED control signal to control illumination of the LEDs while the PCB is flapping, and an audio control signal to control the audio transducer to output sound.

Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a housing and a toy vehicle inside the housing. The housing has a movable housing portion, and at least one functional element that is movable and is separate from the movable housing portion. The toy vehicle has a drive wheel that, when driven in a first rotational direction causes the drive wheel to drive movement of the functional element so as to carry out a function without driving movement of the toy vehicle towards the movable housing portion, and when driven in a second rotational direction causes the drive wheel to drive the vehicle towards the movable housing portion.

Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided and includes a housing and an inner object inside the housing. The inner object includes a breakout mechanism that includes a hammer and an actuation lever. The hammer is movable between a retracted position in which the hammer is spaced from the housing and an advanced position in which the hammer is positioned to break the housing. The actuation lever is pivotable from a hammer retraction position towards a hammer driving position so as to drive the hammer towards the advanced position.

Abstract: In an aspect, a kit for applying a decoration to human skin is provided, and includes a sticker backing sheet with a sticker thereon and a coating backing sheet having a coating thereon. The sticker has first and second faces and adhesives on both faces. A first adhesive force between the first adhesive and human skin is greater than a second adhesive force between the second adhesive and the sticker backing sheet, thereby permitting the sticker to adhere to the skin while peeling off the sticker backing sheet therefrom. The coating is adhered to the coating backing sheet. A third adhesive force between the coating and the sticker is greater than a fourth adhesive force between the coating and the coating backing sheet, so the coating adheres to the sticker while peeling off the coating backing sheet. The coating does not adhere to skin.

Abstract: A transformable toy for use on a playing surface is provided. The transformable toy is formed to includes at least one movable housing element that will move from and expanded to a retracted position when a catch and a latch of the transformable toy are secured and released by an actuator of the transformable toy. The transformable toy is formed to roll about at least one rotation axis thereof, and in some embodiments, is also formed to be driven to spin about a spinning axis thereof. In some embodiments the transformable toy includes separably connectable top and bottom housing portions, and in some embodiments, different bottom housing portions can be exchanged on a particular top housing portion to provide different functionality to the transformable toy. The transformable toy can be driven to spin about the spinning axis by a shaft and flywheel mounted within the transformable toy.

Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a housing and a toy vehicle inside the housing. The housing has a movable housing portion, and at least one functional element that is movable and is separate from the movable housing portion. The toy vehicle has a drive wheel that, when driven in a first rotational direction causes the drive wheel to drive movement of the functional element so as to carry out a function without driving movement of the toy vehicle towards the movable housing portion, and when driven in a second rotational direction causes the drive wheel to drive the vehicle towards the movable housing portion.

Abstract: In an aspect, a braiding machine is provided, and has a set of spool shuttles that each dispense a strand of flexible material under tension. A strand retractor releasably retracts the strands from the spool shuttles. A plurality of shuttle stations at which the spool shuttles can be positioned are arranged in a circuit. At least one shuttle carriage, when driven, repeatedly selects an immediately previously unselected spool shuttle and moves the immediately previously unselected spool shuttle from an associated shuttle station to another shuttle station along the circuit spaced from the associated shuttle station by at least one shuttle station that is intermediate the associated shuttle station and the other shuttle station. At least one spool shuttle is parkable at the at least one shuttle station. A drive arrangement is coupled to the shuttle carriage to drive the shuttle carriage.

Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a housing, an inner object (which may, in some embodiments, represent a character) inside the housing, a tether, and a motor. The tether is driven by the motor to pull at least one removable housing portion from the housing.

Abstract: In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a housing, an inner object (which may, in some embodiments, be a toy character) inside the housing, a tether, and a breakout motor. The breakout motor is operatively connected to the tether such that operation of the breakout motor drives the tether to rip a hole in the housing to open the housing.

Abstract: In an aspect, a self-balancing two-wheeled vehicle is provided, having a body, and first and second wheels rotatably coupled to the body. The second wheel has at least one lateral roller rotatable about an axis that is one of oblique and orthogonal to a rotation axis of the second wheel. At least one motor is coupled to the second wheel to control rotation of the second wheel and the at least one lateral roller. At least one sensor is coupled to the body to generate orientation data therefor. A control module is coupled to the at least one motor to control operation thereof at least partially based on the orientation data generated by the at least one sensor.

Abstract: A drawing device with a rotatable display screen is provided, having a housing having a cavity therein and a display screen sealingly rotatably coupled to the housing. An inner surface of the display screen forms an enclosure with the cavity. A powder is contained within the enclosure, the powder being removably adherent to the inner surface of the display screen. A first stylus controller is supported on an exterior of the housing. At least one positioning structure is supported in the enclosure and coupled to the first stylus controller to move a first stylus in a first set of directions that are parallel to a first axis. The first stylus removes the powder from the inner surface of the display screen through contact with the inner surface of the display screen.