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 storage device is provided and includes a container including an exterior surface and an opening therethrough. The storage device further includes at least one movable facial feature element. The storage device further includes an actuator operatively connected to the at least one movable facial feature element for driving movement of the at least one movable facial feature element. The storage device further includes a closure structure extending along the opening, and a traveler that is movably mounted to the closure structure for movement between a first traveler position and a second traveler position to open or close the closure structure. A coupling arrangement connects the traveler to the actuator such that movement of the traveler drives movement of the actuator, which in turn drives movement of the at least one movable facial feature element.

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: A system and method for controlling a flying toy is shown and described herein. The flying toy may transmit a signal and receive a return signal after the signal reflects off of a surface. The return signal may be compared to the transmitted signal to determine information indicative of an error between the transmitted signal and the return signal. A control signal may be sent to a motor to control the speed of the motor based on the information indicative of the error. The motor may operate a propeller to control the distance between the flying toy and the surface.

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 figurine for displaying an animated light pattern includes a main body, a plurality of light-emitting elements inside, and a controller. The light-emitting elements, when unilluminated, are invisible to a user outside the main body, and, when illuminated, are invisible to the user but emit light that is visible through a window of the main body. The controller is programmed to: a) illuminate a first light-emitting element at a first element illumination rate so as to emit first light through the window, b) illuminate a second light-emitting element at a second element illumination rate so as to emit through the light-diffusive window, second light which overlaps with the first light, and c) after step b) has begun, deilluminate the first light-emitting element at a first selected deillumination rate, so as to generate an appearance of light that travels along the window.

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 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 marker kit is provided, and includes a plurality of tip holders, a storage member, and an extension member. The tip holders each includes a tip holder body having a connecting portion, and a marker tip extending from the body. The storage member includes a base with a plurality of receptacles, each shaped to removably hold one of the tip holders with the connecting portion exposed. The extension member includes an extension member body for grasping. The extension member body has a securing portion and an actuatable member. The securing portion is releasably connectable to the connecting portion of each tip holder for removal from one of the plurality of receptacles. The actuatable member is for disconnecting the securing portion from the connecting portion of the tip holder that is secured to the extension member so as to release the tip holder back into a receptacle.

Abstract: An apparatus for applying a decal to a nail of a human includes a housing having a cartridge recess, a cartridge that includes a supply spool around which a tape is at least partially wound, the tape having at least one decal that is transferrable to a nail of a human digit, and a take-up spool that includes a tape grip that holds an end of the tape, wherein the cartridge is removably mountable in the cartridge recess, an actuator coupled to the housing and moveable between an unactuated position and an actuated position, a tape advancement arrangement and a decal actuation surface are provided. The tape advancement arrangement coupled to the actuator and arranged to rotate the take-up spool to extend the tape from the supply spool during movement of the actuator between the unactuated position and the actuated position.

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: 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.