Radio controlled flying toy object device with an infra-red gun

Abstract

A radio controlled flying toy device having a duck-shaped flying object, a RC controller and an IR beam gun is provided wherein the controller and gun are respectively operated by a first and second user. Both the beam gun and RC controller can charge the flying object. The flying object has a pair of flapping wings whose speed and directional characteristics are controlled by the RC controller. The IR beam gun sequentially loads and fires IR beam radiations towards the duck object. The gun is specifically adapted to hit the duck with the IR beam, whereas the RC controller is specifically adapted to prevent the duck from being hit by the IR beam. The duck object includes a controller unit/micro controller that is configured to allow the duck to fly after being shot for two successive occasions by the gun and fall after being shot for the third successive occasion.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to radio controlled flying toys and, more particularly, to a flying duck toy adapted to be shot down with an infra-red (IR) beam gun.

2. Description of Related Art

The prior art suggests flying toy devices that are adapted to be radio controlled (RC) by the remote controllers. These devices typically control the flapping rate of the wings of the flying toy devices/ornithopters to facilitate climbing, descending, takeoff and landing motions and control the position of the tail for turning. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,716 describes the use of RC means for ornithopter motion control. However, it has been observed that the prior art flying toy devices/ornithopters have substantially failed to suggest or disclose the use of infra-red systems and/or devices in conjunction with these RC control systems.

The use toy guns in conjunction with prior art flying objects is well known in the art. However, the use of such guns is principally directed in launching these objects. One such launching gun can be seen in prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,356. However, the use of IR toy guns is not seen in the art for performing the acts such as shooting the flying toy objects. In addition, the use of such guns for charging the flying objects is also not seen in the art as the prior art flying toy devices typically use external charging systems for the flying toy devices.

A radio controlled ornithopter toy device is needed that uses an IR gun means adapted to be operated in conjunction with a RC controller means. The IR gun means is further needed that includes a first charging means adapted to facilitate charging to the flying toy. The RC controller means is further needed that includes a second charging means adapted to facilitate an additional charging to the flying toy. The RC controller means is further needed that can alter left/right directions of the flying toy in addition to altering the speed of the flying toy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A radio controlled ornithopter flying toy device is described that includes a flying toy duck, an RC controller and an IR beam gun. The ornithopter flying object has a shape and configuration of a duck. The RC controller facilitates radio controllable control of the ornithopter object. The IR beam gun is adapted to shoot the flying ornithopter duck and the RC controller is adapted to prevent the flying object from being hit by the gun.

The RC controller includes a speed control unit adapted to control speed characteristics of the ornithopter. The controller includes an ON/OFF switch which turns the controller on or off. The controller includes an extendable antenna that is adapted to preferably send the radio signals to the toy duck. However, the RC controller also can be configured to receive the radio signals to the toy duck in other alternative embodiments. The RC controller allows the flying object to act as a continuously moving target of a varying trajectory that encourages the user to accurately practice or master his/hers shooting skills.

The RC controller can include a direction control unit adapted to preferably control the left/right turns or directions of the flying toy object. The flying toy object includes a control means that changes left/right flight turns of the flying toy object in response to the control signals from the RC controller.

The flying object is mounted on the gun on a foldable shaft that is received in a socket that is defined in a bottom portion of the flying object. The flying object is charged by inserting the shaft in the socket for recharging. The flying object is also chargeable through a charging adapter positioned on a cover body of the RC controller.

During the firing cycle when the flying object is hit for the first or second time, the trajectory of the flying object may be changed. Predefined audio sounds are produced by the speaker when the gun is loaded by moving a loader to a second position and when an emitter produces a beam of infra-red radiation when the trigger is pressed for firing.

The firing cycle includes a first successful hit where the flying object pauses a little, and then moves again. When there is a second successful hit, the flying object pauses a little, and then moves again. Finally, when there is a third successful hit, the flying object stops permanently, and falls down. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least three successful hits are required to complete a firing cycle and to stop the flying toy object from flying.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to following description, appended claims and accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views where:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ornithopter duck toy device that includes a RC controller and an IR beam gun that are constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the flying object of FIG. 1 mounted on the gun for charging in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the infra-red beam gun of FIG. 1 that shows the internal details of the gun;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the flying toy object of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the flying toy object of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the flying toy object of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view of a portion of a transmission assembly of the flying object of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged front view of a portion of a rear tether connector of the flying object of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the flying object showing an alternative embodiment of the rear tether connector of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the RC controller of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the RC controller of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the toy device of FIG. 1 showing an operational use of the toy device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Although specific terms are used in the following description for sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to particular structure of the invention selected for illustration in the drawings, and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a radio controlled ornithopter duck toy device 10 is shown that includes an IR beam gun 12, an ornithopter flying object 14, and a RC controller 15. The toy device 10, in one embodiment, is preferably adapted to be used by two users wherein one of the users controls RC controller 15 and the other user operates the IR gun 12. The flying object 14, in this one preferred embodiment, is configured to receive infra-red signals from IR gun 12. However, it is understood that in other alternative embodiments, the flying object 14 also can be configured to send infra-red signals back to IR gun 12 in addition to receiving the signals.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, flying toy object 14 is adapted to be positioned on the gun 12 with a predefined arrangement. The flying object 14 has at least two positions. In a first position, the flying object 14 is mounted on the gun 12. In a second position, the flying object 14 is separated from the gun 12. The flying object 14 is electrically charged in the first position.

The gun 12, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, includes a housing that is preferably configured by joining a pair of shell sections along a predefined common boundary. The gun 12 can be configured in any shape, for example, a pistol, rifle, or a machine gun. The gun 12 is preferably made of materials such as plastic, fiber, or wood. The gun has a trigger 16, a trigger switch (Not shown) a handle 18, a barrel 20, a foldable shaft 22, a loader unit 24A, and a battery lid 27.

Again, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the flying object 14 is mounted on the gun 12 with an adapter or a shaft 22 that is received in a socket 24B (See FIG. 5), which is defined in a bottom portion of the flying toy object 14. A first end 25 of the shaft 22 is pivoted inside a pocket 28 that is defined in a front end portion 30 of the barrel 20. The second end 32 is preferably a plug that is adapted for insertion in the socket 24B with a snap. The shaft 22 has two positions. In a first position, the shaft 22 is folded in the pocket 28 approximately along the axis of the barrel 20. In a second position, the shaft 22 is unfolded along an axis that is approximately perpendicular to the axis of the barrel 20.

The gun 12 also includes an indicator light 34, a microcontroller 36, an emitter 38, an audio chip 40, a speaker 42, and a plurality of batteries 44 that are positioned in a predefined pocket in a rear end portion 46 of the barrel 20. It is understood that the microcontroller 36 can be configured to include inbuilt audio chip 40, hence, chip 40 might be substantially absent in other alternative embodiments of gun 12. The emitter 38 is positioned at a front end portion 30 of the barrel 20 to emit the IR beam. The loader unit 24A is preferably movable along a predefined path along the axis of the barrel 20 to load the trigger. Battery lid 27 in the rear end portion 46 of the barrel 20 is removably assembled for replacing the batteries 44.

The audio chip 40 and the speaker 42, to emit sounds, are positioned in the bottom end portion of the handle 18. The microcontroller 36 is positioned in the barrel 20. The trigger 16, emitter 38, indicator light 34, batteries 44, audio chip 40 and speaker 42 form an electronic circuit that is controlled by the microcontroller 36. The circuit operates the IR beam, the light, and the sound.

In one embodiment, the loader unit 24A is displaced in a predefined path along the axis of the barrel 20 from a default first position to a second position to load the gun. The loader 24A is preferably positioned to the first default position with a spring 48. The loader unit 24A is manually movable to the second position to load the gun 12 for firing by applying an external force towards trigger 16 as indicated by arrow P. The loader 24A activates a switch 50 when the second position is reached. The loader 24A will be displaced back immediately by the spring reversal force in a direction indicated by arrow Q to the first position as soon as it is released.

Now referring to the components of the flying toy object 14 as shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the flying toy object 14, which is preferably an ornithopter, includes a body/housing 60 that is mounted on a frame 62 having a predefined configuration of 6 struts. Frame 62 is an arrangement of a straight and curved strips or struts that are coupled together to define a structure that is adapted to support the body 60 of the flying object 14. In addition, frame 62 securely holds various internal components of the flying object 14 at predefined positions. Frame 62 is approximately centrally positioned in the flying object 14 and is preferably made of light weight materials such as plastic or fiber.

The body 60 is preferably configured with a pair of half shell sections that are mounted on frame 62. The flying object 14 further includes a wing assembly 64, a tail 66, a chargable power storage 68, a transmission assembly 70, a speed control motor 72, and a microcontroller 74. The bottom end portion 26 of the flying object 14 defines a socket 24B that receives shaft 22, a receptor/sensor/receiver unit 78 that receives signals from the emitter 38 (See FIG. 2) and controller 15, and a switch 76.

The wing assembly 64 includes a pair of wings 80 that are mounted on the body 60 with a first wing connector link 82, a second wing connector link 84 (See FIGS. 4 and 7), and rear tether connector 86. The first connector link 82 and second connector link 84 are positioned at predefined positions on the front end of the flying object 14, and the rear tether connector 86 is coupled with frame 62 at a predefined position approximately in the rear end portion of the flying object 14. The flapping wings 80 are adapted to facilitate lift, thrust and flight to the flying object 14 along with giving it directional control.

Now referring to the transmission assembly 70 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the transmission assembly 70 mounted on frame 62 at a predefined position in close proximity with the front end of flying object 14 includes a pinion 90 mounted on the shaft of the speed control motor 72, a first gear 92 including a second pinion, a second gear 94 having a crank 96 and a connecting rod 98. The rotary motion of the pinion 90 is transmitted to the first gear 92, via the second pinion to the second gear 94 and finally through crank 96 to the connecting rod 98. The rotary motion is thereby, via crank 96 and connecting rod 98, transformed into a translatory motion.

An end point of the connector rod 98 defines a rotary joint 100 that translates motion along an axis-Z between two predefined points when the crank 96 rotates about a center of the gear 94. The first wing connector 82 is pivoted on the frame at a first point 102, and the second wing connector 84 is pivoted at a second point 104. The ends of the first connector 82 and second connector 84 are connected with the end of connecting rod 98 to form rotary joint 100. The rotary joint 100 is movable along the Z-axis.

Now referring to FIGS. 4, 6, 7 and 8, the rotary joint 100 transmits power to the wings 80 through respective connector links 82 and 84. One side edge of the wing 80A is removably coupled to the first connector link 82 and a rear end of the first wing 80A is removably coupled with a first hinge 110 of the rear tether connector 86 to facilitate replacement of the wing. One side edge of second wing 80B is removably coupled to the second connector link 84 and a rear end of the second wing 80B is removably coupled with a second hinge 112 of the rear tether connector 86 to facilitate replacement of the wing. The tether connector 86 is mounted on the frame 62 at a predefined position so that the tether connector 86 is positioned on the rear end of the body 60.

The tether connector 86 can tilt left/right about a pivot point 111 defined along an axis-F that is approximately centrally positioned between the first and second hinges 110 and 112. The pivot point 111 is preferably supported on the frame 62. The connector 86 defines a direction control lever 113 that preferably extends vertically along an axis-F. A lower arcuate portion of connector 86 defines internal teeth 114 (see FIG. 8). The left/right position of the tether connector 86 may be changed by manually pushing the direction control lever 113 from side to side as indicated by the arrows G and H. The desired position of the rear tether connector 86 is maintained by a stationary downwardly facing edge 115 (see FIG. 6) defined on the frame 62. The edge 115 is adapted to interact or engage with teeth 114. The connector 86 is made of a flexible material such as plastic, to allow teeth 114 to jump over the edge 115 when the tether connector 86 is manually moved sideways by the direction control lever 113.

The pair of wings 80 may be made out of, but not limited to, a flexible material. The flexible material may be cut out to give the wings a tapered shaped with a straight leading edge and a curved trailing edge. Because the wings 80 are flexible, the incidence angles will vary over the wingspan and during the wing-strokes. During flight the flapping of the wings 80 produces thrust that in turn pushes the ornithopter/flying object 14 forward. Even if the incidence angles vary during the wing-strokes they produce sufficient lift to sustain flight.

The left/right direction of the flying object 14 is controlled based on drag differences on the wings 80. The difference in drag is in turn a result of a difference in the average incidence angle on wing 80A with respect to the opposite wing 80B. When the rear tether connector 86 is kept in a tilted position the first and second hinges 110/112 will have different vertical positions and because the rear part of the wings 80A and 80B are connected to first and second hinges 110/112, respectively, they will also have different average incidence angels. The wing with the greater average incidence angle also has the largest drag. The flying object 14 will turn in the direction of the wing having the higher average incidence angle and drag.

Referring to FIG. 9, an alternative embodiment of the tether connector 86 of the present invention is shown wherein the edge 115 (see FIGS. 6 and 8) can be replaced with a pinion 116 mounted on the shaft 117 of a direction control motor 118. The pinion 116 interacts with the upwardly facing teeth 114. The direction control motor 72A, in this alternative embodiment, is configured to receive direction control radio signals from a RC controller having an additional control unit adapted to control the left/right turning of the flying toy object. Thus, an alternative embodiment of the movement of the tether connector 86 is thereby enabled that uses the direction control motor 72A to rotate the pinion 116 to facilitate left/right turn to object 14. However, it is understood that the above mentioned principle of left/right direction control based on drag differences of wing 80 facilitated by tilting of tether connector 86 is also applicable in this one alternative embodiment.

Now referring again to the preferred embodiment of the present invention and to FIG. 10, the RC Controller 15 includes a speed control unit 120 adapted to control speed characteristics of ornithopter flying object 14. In this preferred embodiment, the speed control unit 120 is adapted to launch and/or land the flying object 14 by varying the speed of speed control motor 72 (See FIG. 6). The controller 15 includes a light indicator 122 adapted to indicate the on or off position of controller 15 from a long distance. The light indicator 122 preferably works in coordination with the speed unit 120 in order to prevent accidental launch of object 14. For example, the light indicator 122 turns ON only after arming the speed unit 120. The arming of speed unit 120 includes the steps of cycling the speed unit 120 from a full OFF position to a full ON position and again back to a full OFF position. The ON position of the light indicator 122 is adapted to indicate that the speed unit 120 is armed and operable with the flying object 14.

The controller 15 includes an ON/OFF switch 124 that switches controller 15 on or off. The controller 15 includes an extendable antenna 126 adapted to send radio signals to the flying object 14. The controller 15, in this one embodiment, includes ‘AA’ sized rechargeable batteries as a power source, however, it is understood that the quantity and specification of the batteries may vary in other alternative embodiments.

Referring to FIG. 11, an alternative embodiment of controller 15 is shown. In this alternative embodiment, controller 15 includes a charging adapter 200 preferably adapted to charge object 14. The controller 15 in this alternative embodiment, includes a speed control unit 202 and a direction control unit 204 that are respectively adapted to control speed and left/right directions of object 14.

The adapter 200 defines a resting position and an operating position. Adapter 200, in this one preferred embodiment, is movable from the resting position to the operating position. In the resting position, adapter 200 preferably remains concealed within a controller body 206. In the operating position, adapter 200 preferably stands upright with respect to controller body 206. In the operating position, adapter 200 has a configuration adapted to be comfortably positioned within charging socket 24 (Refer FIG. 5) to facilitate additional charging to object 14.

Speed control unit 202, in this alternative embodiment is adapted to control speed characteristics of flying object 14. In this preferred embodiment, the speed control unit 120 is adapted to launch and/or land the flying object 14 by varying the speed of speed control motor 72 (See FIG. 6). The controller 15 includes a light indicator 208 adapted to indicate the on or off position of controller 15 from a long distance. The light indicator 208 preferably works in coordination with the speed unit 202 in order to prevent accidental launch of object 14. For example, the light indicator 208 turns ON only after arming the speed unit 202. The arming of speed unit 202 includes the steps of cycling the speed unit 202 from a full OFF position to a full ON position and again back to a full OFF position. The ON position of the light indicator 208 is adapted to indicate that the speed unit 202 is armed and controller 15 is operable with the flying object 14.

The direction control unit 204 in this alternative embodiment of controller 15 is adapted to work in coordination direction control motor 72-A such that the direction control motor 72-A moves object 14 preferably in the left and right directions, however, it is understood that the direction control unit 72A can facilitate the flight in any other direction in other alternative embodiments.

The controller 15, in this alternative embodiment, includes an extendable antenna 210 adapted to send the radio signals to object 14. The controller 15, in this one embodiment, includes Six ‘AA’ sized rechargeable batteries as a power source, however, it is understood that the quantity and specification of the batteries may vary in other alternative embodiments. The controller 15 includes an ON/OFF switch 212 that switches controller 15 on or off. The controller 15 may include a second light indicator 214 adapted to work in coordination with ON/OFF switch 212 to indicate on or off position of controller 15.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 12, IR beam gun 12, flying object 14, and RC controller 15 together advantageously allow device 10 to facilitate a shooting game environment preferably playable by two users, wherein a first user 300 operates a RC controller 15 and a second user 302 operates the IR beam gun 12.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 5, 6 and 7, the shaft 32 is inserted in charging socket 24B to charge flying object 14. After charging flying object 14, the ON/OFF switch 76 on flying object 14 is turned ON. This activates the controller unit 74 of flying object 14. The controller unit 74 uses electrical energy from the source 68 and runs speed control motor 72. The speed control motor 72 transmits motion to the wings 80 through transmission assembly 70 so that flying object 14 flies in the air by flapping the wings 80.

Again referring to FIG. 12, the first user 300, in operation, arms the speed control unit 202 (See FIG. 11) on controller 15 and then uses speed control unit 202 to increase or decrease the flapping speed of the wings 80. The speed control unit 202 sends radio signals to an receiving antenna (Not shown) in the flying object 14 that further transmits signals to controller 74 to increase or decrease the flapping speed of wings 80 by respectively increasing or decreasing the speed of speed control motor 72 (see FIG. 6). The first user 300, in operation, also operates direction control unit 204 (see FIG. 11) on the controller 15 to change/tilt the position of tether connector 86 (see FIG. 8). The direction control unit 204 sends radio signals to the receiving antenna in the flying object 14 that further transmits signals to controller 74 to change/control left/right directions of wings 80 by controlling the speed of direction control motor 72A. The radio signals from speed control unit 202 and direction control unit 204 are indicated by an arrow ‘A’.

The second user 302, in operation, initially loads loader unit 24A (See FIG. 3) of gun 12 to enable an IR beam to be fired towards IR receptor 78 of flying object 14. After loading gun 12, the second user 302 aims the gun 12 and fires an IR beam towards the duck in the direction indicated by an arrow B′. The first user 300, in operation, uses RC controller 15 to prevent the IR receptor 78 of flying object 14 from being hit by the IR beam fired from gun 12. In contrast, the second user 302 tries to hit the receptor 78. The second user 302 repetitively reloads and shoots his/her gun 12 until flying object 14 is shot successfully on the first occasion.

IR receptor 78 transmits a signal to controller unit 74 of flying object 14 as the IR beam is received on the first occasion by IR receptor 78. The controller unit 74 records it as a first hit and accordingly transmits signals to speed control motor 72 to pause for a first predefined time interval. Wings 80 stop their function in the first time interval and flying object 14 descends, for example, in a direction indicated by arrow ‘C’ to indicate to the first and second users 300, 302 that the flying object 14 has been shot for the first occasion. Controller unit 74 signals to speed control motor 72 and wings 80 to resume functioning after completion of the first predefined time interval.

The first user 300, in operation, continues the use of RC controller 15 for preventing IR receptor 78 from being hit by the IR beam of gun 12 on a second occasion. In contrast, the second user 302 continues attempting to hit the IR receptor 78 for the second occasion. The second user 302 repetitively reloads aims and fires gun 16 until the IR beam hits IR receptor 78 on the second occasion.

The receptor 78 again transmits a signal to controller unit 74 as the IR beam is received by IR receptor 78 on the second occasion. The controller unit 74 records it as a second hit and accordingly transmits signals to speed control motor 72 to stop for a second time. The wings 80 stop their function for a second time interval that descends object 14, for example, in the direction indicated by arrow ‘D’ to indicate to the first and second users 300, 302 that object 14 has been hit for the second occasion. Controller unit 74 signals to speed control motor 72 and wings 80 to resume function after completion of the second predefined time interval.

The first user 300, in operation, continues the use of RC controller 15 for preventing IR receptor 78 from being hit by the IR beam of gun 12 on a third occasion. In contrast, the second user 302 continues attempts of hitting the IR receptor 78 for the third occasion. The second user 302 repetitively reloads, aims and fires gun 12 until the IR beam hits IR receptor 78 of object 14 on the third occasion.

On the third occasion, the IR receptor 78 transmits a signal to controller unit 74 as the IR beam is received. The controller unit 74 records it as a third hit and accordingly stops function of speed control motor 72 and wings 80 to achieve an OFF state that makes the flying object 14 fall down on the ground in the direction, for example, indicated by arrow ‘E’ to indicate to the first and second users 300, 302 that the flying object 14 has been hit for the third and final occasion.

The controller 74 is configured to switch OFF object 14 after recording three consecutive hits. Object 14 can be restarted using ON/OFF switch 76 wherein the control unit 74 is again reconfigured to receive the next three consecutive hits through gun 12. The RC controller 15, in operation, advantageously provides a continuously moving target in the form of the flying object 14, which encourages the second user 302 to accurately practice or master his/her shooting skills.

The microcontroller 74 in the flying object 14 includes a program having at least three predefined states. According to a first state, the speed of speed control motor 72 varies according to radio signal input from the RC controller 15. According to a second state, the microcontroller 74 is programmed to stop the speed control motor 72 for a while and then restart the speed control motor 72. According to a third state, the speed control motor 72 stops permanently. In this one preferred embodiment, the microcontroller 74 is programmed for a firing cycle with three successful hits. A firing cycle includes at least three firing rounds from the gun 12 to complete the cycle. Before the flying object 14 is hit, the first state is active and the speed of speed control motor 72 varies according to radio signal input from the RC controller 15. The first time the flying object 14 is hit, the second state of the program in controller 74 activates and flying object 14 pauses for a little, and then moves again when the program goes back to the first state. The second time the flying object 14 is shot, the second state is again activated and the flying object 14 pauses a little, then moves again but does not fall down as the program goes back to the first state. When the object 14 is shot for the third time, the third state of the program of controller 74 activates such that the object 14 is switch OFF, stops flying and falls down. At least three successful hits are required to complete the firing cycle and stop the flying toy object 14 from flying.

Also in operation, flying toy object 14 is mounted on the shaft 22 for charging. The toy object 14 can also be charged through a charging adapter 200 provided on the cover body 206 of the RC controller 15. The flying object 14 is switched on and thrown into flight. The gun 12 is loaded by shifting the loader 24A to the second position as indicated by arrow P (See FIG. 3). In response to the loader 24A movement, the switch 50 activates the microcontroller 36 that in turn sends a signal to the audio chip 40 that further sends a signal to the speaker 42 to produce the predefined audio sound for loading the gun 12. It is understood here that the microcontroller 36 directly sends a signal to speaker 42 in the alternative embodiment where the chip 40 is inbuilt in the microcontroller 36. The audio sound indicates that the gun 12 is ready for firing.

The user directs the gun 12 towards the flying object 14 and hits the target flying object 14 by pressing the trigger 16. On pressing the trigger 16, a trigger switch (Not shown) is switched on that sends a signal to the microcontroller 36. The microcontroller 36 in turn activates the audio chip 40 to produce the predefined sound for firing and directs the emitter 38 to emit infrared radiation (IR beam). The emitter 38 emits an IR beam in a direction along the axis of the barrel 20. If the object 14 is hit correctly, the signals are received by IR receptor 78 and are further received by the controller 74.

If the trigger 16 is pressed without prior loading of the gun 12 with the loader unit 24A, then the gun is not fired even after pressing the trigger 16.

In summary, the toy duck 14, the RC controller 15 and the IR beam gun 12 together facilitate a shooting game environment that is playable by two users, wherein a first user 300 can operate the RC controller 15 and the second user 302 can operate the IR beam gun 12. The duck object 14 is initially charged through the IR beam gun 12 and/or RC controller 15 before being used. The duck object 14 is adapted to fly in the air by flapping its wings 80 wherein the speed characteristics of the duck 14 are controlled by the speed control unit 202 of the RC controller 15. The duck object 14 is also adapted to change the left/right directions wherein the directional characteristics of duck 14 are controlled by direction control unit 204 of RC controller 15. The IR beam gun 12 includes the sequential steps of loading and firing respectively through a loader unit 24A and a trigger unit 16. The gun 12 is adapted to shoot an IR beam towards the duck object 14. The RC controller 15 is adapted to prevent the duck object 14 from being hit by the IR beam emitted from the gun 12. The duck object 14 is configured and programmed to fly after pausing and descending when shot for two successive occasions by the beam gun 12. The duck object 14 is configured and programmed to switch OFF and fall down when shot for the third successive occasion by the IR beam gun 12.

The embodiments of the invention shown and discussed herein are merely illustrative of modes of application of the present invention. Reference to details in this discussion is not intended to limit the scope of the claims to these details, or to the figures used to illustrate the invention.

Claims

1. A radio controlled flying object device adapted to facilitate a shooting game environment playable by two users comprising:

a flying object comprising a receiver unit/receptor adapted to receive a speed control radio signal and a direction control radio signal, the receptor adapted to receive an IR beam;

a RC controller, the RC controller adapted to control speed and directional characteristics of the flying object by a first user; and

a gun device including an IR beam source, operable by a second user and being adapted to shoot the flying object to interrupt the flight of the flying object, the gun adapted to facilitate charging to the flying object.

2. The flying object of claim 1, wherein the flying object includes a pair of flapping wings adapted to facilitate lift, thrust and flight of the flying object.

3. The flying object device of claim 1, wherein the receiver unit adapted to receive a left/right direction control radio signal through a direction control unit of the RC controller to vary left/right flight characteristics of the flying object.

4. The flying object device of claim 1, wherein the receiver unit is adapted to receive speed control radio signal through a speed control unit of the RC controller to vary the flapping speed characteristics of the wings of the flying object.

5. The flying object device of claim 1, wherein the flying object includes a microcontroller/controller unit.

6. The flying object of claim 5, wherein the microcontroller varies the speed of a speed control motor positioned within the flying object per the input from the RC controller.

7. The flying object of claim 5, wherein the micro controller varies the speed of a direction control motor positioned within the flying object per the input from the RC controller.

8. The flying object of claim 5, wherein a second state of the microcontroller is activated for a predefined time after receiving a first or a second hit by the gun and where said second state stops the speed control motor during said predefined time.

9. The flying object of claim 5, wherein a third state of the microcontroller stops the speed control motor permanently after receiving a third consecutive hit by the gun and allows the object to fall down.

10. The flying object of claim 1, wherein the gun provides a firing cycle that includes a first successful hit wherein the flying object pauses a little, and then moves again.

11. The flying object of claim 10, wherein the firing cycle includes a second successful hit wherein the flying object pauses a little, and then moves again.

12. The flying object of claim 10, wherein the firing cycle includes a third successful hit wherein the flying object stops permanently, and falls down.

13. The flying object of claim 10, wherein at least three successful hits are required to complete the firing cycle to stop the flying object from flying.

14. The flying object of claim 1, wherein the flying object is duck shaped.

15. The flying object of claim 1, wherein the gun includes an adapter or a shaft that facilitates charging means to the flying object.

16. The flying object of claim 1, wherein the RC controller also includes a charging adapter adapted to facilitate additional charging means for the toy object.