INTERACTIVE TOY VEHICLE SYSTEM

Abstract

An interactive toy vehicle system is provided, comprising a plurality of toy vehicles, each including a unique human readable identifier on a decal on a license plate or license plate recess, and an application program, which receives a user input of the unique human readable identifier, generates and retrieves a registration record for the toy vehicle, and, in response to the user input, displays information of the toy vehicle that the user has registered. The application also provides a GUI in which the user interacts with the toy design and modifies components within the constraints of structural parameters, structural rules, and templates that are associated with the toy vehicle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/884,829, filed Sep. 30, 2013, and entitled “Toy Car Apparatus”, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/901,946, filed Nov. 8, 2013, and entitled “Toy Car Apparatus”, the complete contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

In today's marketplace, young consumers have come to expect a level of online interactivity with their entertainment goods. Video games routinely allow players to customize their characters online according to their preferences, social media sites allow users to customize features of their personal pages, and online communities often feature avatars whose features can be customized in countless different ways and made unique to each user. Thus, young consumers have come to desire the same degree of interactivity with their physical toys as well, including toy vehicles. For example, young consumers would enjoy sharing their toy vehicles over social media, and many would relish the opportunity to be creatively involved in the actual creation of the toy vehicle and take ownership of the design of the toy vehicle, as well as share their creations with the online community.

SUMMARY

An interactive toy vehicle system is provided, comprising a plurality of toy vehicles and an application program. The toy vehicles are provided in a plurality of configurations, each having a body, and each body including a unique human readable identifier on a license plate that is positioned on a front end or rear end of the body. The human readable identifier may be printed on a decal that forms a portion of the license plate. The application program is executed by a processor of a computing device, which receives a user input of the unique human readable identifier, generates and retrieves a registration record for the toy vehicle, and, in response to the user input, displays information of the toy vehicle that the user has registered.

The graphical user interface (GUI) of the application program includes a “virtual garage” page, which provides a user with one or a plurality of virtual garages to house one or a plurality of virtual representations of the toy vehicles that were purchased and registered by the user. The GUI also includes a “features” page that displays a graphical representation of the toy vehicle of the same vehicle model and paint style as the toy vehicle of the user, along with a description. Furthermore, a “design” page is provided to select and assemble spare components or accessories to build a toy vehicle of the user of a specific vehicle model and paint style, including a wish list selector that gives users the option to purchase their selections in an online marketplace.

The GUI also includes a “design-customize” page, which includes simplified, age-appropriate CAD tools in a CAD tool bar to interact with the toy design and modify component parts, which includes the spare components and accessories of the toy vehicle. User design choices in the “design-customize” page are constrained by a three-dimensional template, which defines the geometry within which each component may be modified and altered according to the user's preferences.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which the like reference numerals indicate like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of unique human readable identifier, provided on a license plate of a toy vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an input interface of an interactive toy vehicle application program configured to receive user input of a unique human readable identifier of a toy vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the “virtual garage” page of the application program.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the “features” page of the application program.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the “design” page of the application program with a predetermined menu including multiple options for selecting and assembling parts and/or accessories to build a toy vehicle of a specific vehicle model and paint style.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of another embodiment of the “design” page of the application program with a predetermined toy vehicle model menu, component selectors, and a final selection menu.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the “design-customize” page of the application program where users may use CAD tools to customize a component part.

FIG. 8 is an schematic view representing a three-dimensional template with user modifiable regions and fixed design regions.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary computing environment configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 depicts an interactive toy vehicle system providing a plurality of toy vehicles and an application program.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method executed by an application program of an interactive toy vehicle system to customize spare components or accessories of a toy vehicle or add selected spare components or accessories of a toy vehicle to a wish list.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method executed by an application program of an interactive toy vehicle system for users who do not have user accounts on the toy vehicle database server and desire to purchase new toy vehicles online.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A selected embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that the following description of an embodiment of the invention is provided for illustration only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

An interactive toy vehicle system 10 is provided, as illustrated in FIG. 9, which includes a plurality of toy vehicles 12A and 12B in a plurality of configurations as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3-6, and 9, and an application program 166, as illustrated in FIG. 9, which receives a user input of the unique human readable identifier 11 on the toy vehicles and generates a customized experience for the toy vehicle owner.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, depicted is a schematic view of a unique human readable identifier 11, which is provided on the body of each of a plurality of toy vehicles 12A and 12B in a plurality of configurations. In one embodiment, the unique identifier 11 is displayed on a decal 24 that forms a portion of the license plate. The decal includes a substrate and a printed surface on one side, with an adhesive surface on the other side. The decal may be positioned in a license plate recess 22 to thereby appear as a license plate positioned on a front end or rear end on the toy vehicle. The decal 24 is preferably created with a label printer, and a cutting machine is used to score the decal 24. The unique identifier 12 may consist of a string of alphanumeric characters that correspond to various properties of the toy vehicle, so that the application program that receives input of the unique identifier 12 receives enough information about the toy vehicle to visually represent it on a display device, just by parsing the information from the string of alphanumeric characters in the unique identifier 12. In this example, the unique identifier 12 consists of a two letter vehicle code 14, a three digit vehicle number 16, a vehicle model identification letter 18, and a paint style identification letter 20, which corresponds to how the car body of the toy vehicle was painted at the factory. The two letter and three digit vehicle code and vehicle number together provide a unique identification of the vehicle purchased by a consumer. The vehicle model identification letter 18 and the paint style identification letter 20 contain data which enables a server system to display a graphical image of the same vehicle model and paint style of the toy vehicle owned by the consumer. The unique identifier 12 may be generated and assigned to the toy vehicle by the application program 166, or custom generated and assigned to the toy vehicle by the user, provided that the unique identifier has not been previously generated and assigned to another toy vehicle. While a decal positioned in a license plate recess on the front and/or rear of the vehicle body is described above, it will be appreciated that the decal may be positioned elsewhere on the vehicle in other embodiments. Further, in other embodiments, the human readable identifier may be printed directly on the vehicle body.

Referring to FIG. 2, a possible embodiment of a graphical user interface (GUI) 28 of an interactive toy vehicle application program is shown. Ideally the application program can be accessed on a web browser 134 on a computer or a mobile device. Alternatively, the application program may be stored on the non-volatile memory of a user device and executed by an application program client. If a user already possesses a toy vehicle and an existing user account, the user inputs a unique human readable identifier 11, such as that described above, of a toy vehicle into an input box 30 of the GUI 28, which can receive the user input of the unique human readable identifier 11, user identifier, and password 32. In response to the user input, a registration record for the toy vehicle is retrieved and displayed. Alternatively, the user may input a user identifier and password 32 to generate and retrieve a previously generated registration record for the toy vehicle and display information of the toy vehicle. The user selects the “GO” button 34 to proceed to the next screen, which is the “virtual garage” page that displays virtual representations of the toy vehicles that were purchased and registered by the user. If the toy vehicle is registered for the first time, the user selects the “register” button 36 to register the toy vehicle and assign it to a user's existing user account. User account information and toy vehicle information are stored on a toy vehicle database server.

Referring to FIG. 3, the “virtual garage” page of the application program is shown. GUI 28 of the “virtual garage” page may provide the user with one or a plurality of virtual garages 38 to house one or a plurality of virtual representations of the toy vehicles that were purchased and registered by the user. Two or more spaces are provided in the virtual garage 38 to allow a user to manage two or more toy vehicles in the same user account. In this example, the user has selected the toy vehicle with the plate number AA001XA. The interface includes a “features” selector 40 to access the “features” page of the application program, or a “design” selector 42 to access the “design” pages of the application program, which allow the user to select and assemble spare components or accessories for the specific vehicle model and paint style of toy vehicle that correspond to the toy vehicle that is registered by the user, or customize components using a CAD tool, wherein the components include spare components and accessories of the toy vehicle. A “wish list” selector 44 on the interface is operated to access an item list that a user operates to add items to the list based upon the user's desire for the items. It will be appreciated that the “wish list” selector may be operated to select and purchase spare components and/or accessories for the specific toy vehicle of the user in an online marketplace.

Referring to FIG. 4, a GUI 28 of the “features” page of the application program is shown. After the user operates the “features” selector on the “virtual garage” page, the user sees a “features” page. The interface has viewing windows 48, which display a graphical representation of a toy vehicle of the same vehicle model and paint style as the toy vehicle of the user. A description of the toy vehicle is also shown. A “wish list” selector 44 may be provided to access a wish list, which is an item list that a user operates to add items to the list based upon the user's desire for the items. A “spare components” selector 50 may be provided to access the “design” page to select and assemble spare components, and an “accessories” selector 52 may be provided to access the “design” page to select and assemble accessories. A “virtual garage” selector 45 may be provided to allow the user to return to the “virtual garage” page on FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 5, a GUI 28 of a “design” page of the application program is shown. The GUI 28 offers a series of design choices relating to a design of a toy. The user is provided with a predetermined components menu 56 including multiple options for selecting and assembling spare components and/or accessories to build a toy vehicle of the user of a specific vehicle model and paint style, which may include and are not limited to the decals, frame component, hood component, fender component, seat, chassis, suspension components, and the wheels. An interactive viewing window 60 provides perspective views of the car from different angles when a user operates a rotational selector 61 to rotate the graphical representation of the toy vehicle. In this example, the user has chosen the wheels of the toy vehicle to customize. A menu bar 58 is provided with arrow buttons to browse through different options for the spare components or accessories, and a selector to select and choose a selection item. The different options for the spare components or accessories are provided by a library of predefined components and accessories, which may be 3D-printable. Each spare component and accessory can later be custom modified by the user within a user-friendly graphical interface system, and users may supplement the library with user-designed spare components and accessories. A “features” page selector 40 is provided to allow the user to return to the “features” page. A “wish list” selector 44 is also provided to add a user's desired spare components or accessories to the user's wish list. There is also a “customize” selector 62 that a user may operate to move to the “design-customize” page to customize a spare component or accessory that the user has selected.

Referring to FIG. 6, a GUI 28 of another embodiment of the “design” page of the application program is shown. Like the “design” page of FIG. 5, the GUI 28 offers a series of design choices relating to a design of a toy. The user is provided with a predetermined toy vehicle model menu 64 including one or a plurality of predetermined toy vehicle models, which the user selects. For each toy vehicle model, a respective set of component selectors 65 is provided for each of a plurality of selectable components associated with the respective toy vehicle model on the toy vehicle model menu 64. The categories of selectable components may include and are not limited to the frame component, hood component, fender component, seat, chassis, suspension components, and the wheels. A subset of the categories of selectable components may include optional components whose omission is allowed for assembly of the toy vehicle, and a remainder of the categories of selectable components may further include non-optional components whose omission is not allowed for assembly of the toy vehicle.

With the component selectors 65, the user may select one component for each category of selectable components, and the user may also interchange customizable components between different toy vehicle models (street car, track car, and dirt car, for example) to create custom toy vehicles having unique appearance and functionality, as desired. If a user chooses to interchange a customizable component, the user merely selects a customizable component of the same category associated with another toy vehicle model, and the previously selected customizable component is simultaneously deselected. Specifically, when a user selects a component using a component selector 65, the selected component is displayed on a final selection menu 66, showing each customizable component that the user has accepted or selected. When a user selects a component on the final selection menu 66, the user may select component-specific options for each component. For example, a user may select the material and color for the frame component, and choose between stiff, soft, and medium settings for the suspension components. In alternative embodiments, options for accessories may be selected in like manner. For example, a user may also select the color, shape, and cut shapes (kiss-cut shapes, for example) of the decal. Thus, the plurality of selected components are attachable to each other to assemble the user-customized toy vehicle using components from a plurality of toy vehicle models. For example, if the user has initially chosen a street car on the toy vehicle model menu 64, it is possible for the user to interchange, for example, the frame component of a track car with a frame component of a street car, resulting in the assembly of a hybrid toy vehicle containing components from both a street car and a track car.

Like the “design page” of FIG. 5, the “design” page of FIG. 6 also provides a “features” page selector 40 to allow the user to return to the “features” page. A “wish list” selector 44 is also provided to add a user's desired spare components or accessories to the user's wish list. There is also a “customize” selector 62 that a user may operate to move to the “design-customize” page to customize a spare component or accessory that the user has selected. A preview window 68 allows the user to view a hypothetical appearance of a toy vehicle which is assembled with each component that has been accepted or selected and displayed on the final selection menu 66. To finalize the user's selections, the user may select the “SUBMIT” button 70 and the user may proceed to ordering the customized toy vehicle for assembly and shipment.

Referring to FIG. 7, a GUI 28 of a “design-customize” page of the application program is shown. The “design-customize” page is reached when the user operates the “customize” selector 62 in the “design” page of FIG. 5. The GUI 28 includes simplified, age-appropriate CAD tools in a CAD tool bar 78 to interact with the toy design and modify a component that has been selected in the “design” page. In this example, the user is customizing the wheels of the toy vehicle. In a preferred embodiment, the user is able to modify not only the geometric properties of the component, but also non-geometric properties such as materials, textures, and colors, which can be customized in the non-geometric properties menu bar 74. The users could also insert background images or photos to render their creations. Interactive viewing windows 76 provide perspective views of the car from different angles when a user operates a rotational selector 72 to rotate the graphical representation of the toy vehicle. Once the user's selections are finalized, the user may operate the “return” selector 80 to save changes to the component and return to the “design” page of FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 8, the user's design choices in the “design-customize” page are constrained by a three-dimensional template 100, which defines the geometry within which each component may be modified and altered according to the user's preferences. A template for the fender component is given as an example. The geometry includes a fixed design region 120 and a user modifiable region 110, which has one or more grab points 115, which determine the borders of a user selected region 105, selectable and modifiable along a two dimensional surface or within the three dimensional volume in the template, so as to set a user selected region 105. The template prevents the grab points from entering the fixed design region 120 or leaving the user modifiable region 110. Following modification by the user, the user selected region 105 maintains integrity with the fixed region 120. The template is intended to provide basic rules for component modification which ensure that the customized components fit together properly when assembled into a toy, and that the final product is structurally sound. The dimensional parameters are meant to be wide enough to give users enough freedom to experiment with various designs of components and claim ownership over their unique toy designs.

The template also helps preserve the interconnectability of the components within the toy system. Interconnectable, differently shaped components have internally threaded regions positioned at standardized locations, the differently shaped components being connectable by externally threaded headed fasteners secured in the internally threaded regions. The externally threaded headed fasteners typically have the same thread pitch, shaft diameter and head configuration. These standardized locations ensure that the wheels of any of the toy vehicles are attachable to the suspension of the other toy vehicles, and the suspensions of any of the toy vehicles are attachable to the chassis of any of the other toy vehicles, and the body components of any of the toy vehicles are attachable to the chassis of any of the other toy vehicles, via the externally threaded headed fasteners. By interchanging these components, a myriad of possible configurations may be assembled by the user.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computing environment configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The computing environment 130 may include a plurality of user devices 132 and 136, a wide area network 144, a toy vehicle web application server 146, a toy vehicle mobile application server 148, a toy vehicle database server 152, a social media server 154, an online marketplace server 156, and a crowd sourcing server 158. The toy vehicle web application server 146 and toy vehicle mobile application server 148 are collectively referred to as toy vehicle application servers 150. The computing environment 130 implements an executable application program (a so-called “app”) that is hosted on the toy vehicle application servers 150 and is accessed via a wide area network 144 by a browser 134 or an application program client 138 on a user device. The application program may or may not include run-time executable functionality when executed on a browser 134 or application program client 138. The toy vehicle information and user account information that are processed by the application program are sent and stored in the toy vehicle database server 152. The plurality of user devices may be realized as various types of electronic devices, such as smart phones, tablets, personal computers (PCs), video game consoles, smart TVs, or the like. Through the wide area network 144, the toy vehicle web application server 146 exchanges web page data 140 with a browser of a user device 132, and the toy vehicle mobile application server 148 exchanges in-app data 142 with an application program client 138 of a user device 136. The user device may provide a secure area in which one or a plurality of users may freely share toy vehicle information and user information, such as item lists, registered toy vehicles, spare components, accessories, and customized items, and which may be accessed only by a particular user. This data may be shared with a social media server 154, an online marketplace server 156, a crowd sourcing server 158, and the like through a wide area network 144. A social media server 154 may host a variety of applications. For example, users may participate in “virtual car shows”, where user-designed toy vehicles are virtually shared with the public for crowd generated judging and recognition. Users may race their virtual toy vehicles online against other users. Users may receive special recognition for certain accomplishments. For example, users may earn a badge for outstanding toy vehicle design.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of the interactive toy vehicle system 10 configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a plurality of toy vehicles 12 in a plurality of configurations, each having a body, and each body including a unique human readable identifier 11, which for example, may be printed on a decal positioned in a license plate recess 22 that is positioned on a front end or rear end of the body; and an application program 166, executed by a processor of a computing device, that receives a user input of the unique human readable identifier 11, generates and retrieves a registration record for the toy vehicle 12, and, in response to the user input, displays information of the toy vehicle 12 that the user has registered. The unique identifier 12 may consist of a string of alphanumeric characters that correspond to various properties of the toy vehicle, so that the application program that receives input of the unique identifier 12 receives enough information about the toy vehicle to visually represent it on a display device, just by parsing the information from the string of alphanumeric characters in the unique identifier 12. For example, as discussed above, the unique identifier may have a vehicle model and paint style encoded therein, which may enable the toy vehicle application servers 150 to display an image that resembles the actual toy vehicle owned by the consumer, to the delight of the consumer. The toy vehicle application servers 150 store an application program in the non-volatile memory, which may be executed in the server when run by a browser 134 on a user device, or sent to an application program client 138 to be executed on a user device 136. Toy vehicle information 160 and user account information 162 are stored and retrieved in non-volatile memory 164 of a toy vehicle database server 152, which communicate with the toy vehicle application servers 150. In particular, when an application program registers one or a plurality of toy vehicles based on the user account, the toy vehicle application servers 150 may generate a user account list based on the user account and send the user account list to the toy vehicle database server, where it is stored as toy vehicle information 160 and user account information 162. The user account list may include registered toy vehicles, spare components, components, items in a user's item list, user customized designs of spare components, and the like.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments of the present invention consist of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Software may be stored in volatile or non-volatile storage. The non-volatile memory 46 may include one or more memory modules and comprise read only memory (ROM), programmable read only memory (PROM), and/or solid state memory. The volatile memory 50 may include one or more memory modules and comprise random access memory (RAM), programmable read-write memory, and/or solid state memory.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method executed by an application program of the interactive toy vehicle system 10 configured in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. At step S1, an application program is configured to receive a user input of the unique human readable identifier of the toy vehicle; the user also inputs a password and selects the “GO” button. At step S2, the application program is configured to generate and retrieve the registration record for the toy vehicle and, in response to the user input, display information of the toy vehicle that the user has registered. At step S3, the “virtual garage” is displayed, and user selects a toy vehicle that the user has registered. From the virtual garage, the user may proceed to the “features” page, where features of the selected toy vehicle are displayed. From the “virtual garage” or the “features” page, user may go to the “design” page and select an accessory for the specific toy vehicle of the user (step S5), or the user may go to the “design” page and select a spare component for the specific toy vehicle of the user (step S6), using selectors that are provided in the online marketplace. Once the user selects a spare component in the “design” page (step S6), the user may custom modify the selected spare component (step S9) within a user-friendly graphical interface system, or the user may add the selected spare component to the “wish list”, or an item list that a user operates to add items to the list based upon the user's desire for the items (step S10). Once the user selects an accessory in the “design” page (step S6), the user may custom modify the selected accessory (step S9) within a user-friendly graphical interface system, or the user may add the selected accessory to the “wish list”, or an item list that a user operates to add items to the list based upon the user's desire for the items (step S10).

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method executed by an application program of the interactive toy vehicle system 10 configured in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, for users who do not have user accounts on the toy vehicle database server and desire to purchase new toy vehicles online. At step S11, the user accesses the “design” page of the application program, which is hosted by a toy vehicle application server. At step S12, the application program receives a user selection of a toy vehicle model using a predetermined toy vehicle model menu in the “design” page of the application program. At step S13, the application program receives user selections of selectable components in each category of selectable components, which may include and are not limited to the frame component, hood component, fender component, seat, chassis, suspension components, and the wheels. At step S14, the application program receives user selections of component-specific options for each component. At step S15, the application program receives a user selection of the “SUBMIT” button, and the user's selections are finalized. At step S16, when the user decides to save the selections, share them with others, add them to a “wish” list, or purchase a toy vehicle incorporating the user's selections, the user registers a new user account on the toy vehicle database server and sets a password. Thus, it will be appreciated that the server hosts a registration interface to the user at this step, and receives data for registration from the user via the registration interface, the data including a user account name (a screen name, for example) and password. In response, the application program generates a registration record for the vehicle (step S17), and then the application program may receive a user command to order the customized toy vehicle containing user-selected components for assembly and shipment (step S18). Then the application program forwards an order for the toy vehicle based upon the user selections and user command to a manufacturing facility. It will be appreciated that the unique identifier for the toy vehicle, which is on a decal on a license plate or license plate recess of the toy vehicle, will be generated after the toy vehicle has been assembled (step S19). In alternative embodiments, step S16 may be omitted for a user who already possesses an existing user account.

Finally, it will be appreciated that according to the aspect of the invention illustrated in FIG. 10, a computerized system for building a toy vehicle is provided that includes a toy vehicle application server configured to host an executable application program that is accessed via a wide area network by a user device, wherein a GUI, displayed on the user device, of the executable application program is configured to: (1) display, for each of a plurality of toy vehicle models, a respective set of component selectors for each of a plurality of selectable components associated with the respective toy vehicle model, wherein each selectable component in each toy vehicle model is physically interchangeable with another selectable component of a same category associated with another toy vehicle model so that a plurality of selected components are attachable to each other to assemble the user-customized toy vehicle using components from the plurality of toy vehicle models, (2) receive a user selection of a selectable component in each category of selectable components, (3) receive a user command to order the toy vehicle containing user-selected components for assembly and shipment, and (3) forward an order for the toy vehicle based upon the user selections and user command to a manufacturing facility. In this aspect, a subset of the categories of selectable components may include optional components whose omission is allowed for assembly of the toy vehicle, and a remainder of the categories of selectable components further includes non-optional components whose omission is not allowed for assembly of the toy vehicle. Toy vehicle models featuring such interchangeable components are described in the provisional applications to which this application claims priority, and also in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/503,237, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

The term “comprising” and its derivatives, as used herein, are intended to be open ended terms that specify the presence of the stated features, elements, components, groups, integers, and/or steps. This concept also applies to words of similar meaning, for example, the terms “have”, “include” and their derivatives.

The terms of degree such as “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviation of the modified term such that the end result is not significantly changed (e.g., manufacturing tolerances).

While specific embodiments of the toy, website, and mobile application have been described in detail, the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting. The features of the various embodiments described above, as well as modifications thereof, may be variously combined without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. An interactive toy vehicle system, comprising:

a plurality of toy vehicles in a plurality of configurations, each having a body, and each body including a unique human readable identifier on a license plate that is positioned on a front end or rear end of the body;

an application program, executed by a processor of a computing device, that receives a user input of the unique human readable identifier for one of the toy vehicles, generates and retrieves a registration record for the toy vehicle, and, in response to the user input, displays information of the toy vehicle that the user has registered.

2. The interactive toy system of claim 1, wherein the unique human readable identifier is displayed on a decal that forms a portion of the license plate.

3. The unique identifier of claim 2, wherein a paint style and/or a vehicle model of the toy vehicle are encoded in the unique human readable identifier.

4. The application program of claim 1, wherein the user is provided one or a plurality of virtual garages to house one or a plurality of virtual representations of the toy vehicles that the user has registered.

5. The application program of claim 4, comprising a selector in an online marketplace to select and purchase spare components and/or accessories for the specific toy vehicle of the user.

6. The application program of claim 1, comprising an item list that a user operates to add items to the list based upon the user's desire for the items.

7. The application program of claim 1, providing a selector consisting of a predetermined menu to select and assemble spare components and/or accessories to build the specific toy vehicle of the user.

8. The application program of claim 1, having associated structural parameters, structural rules, and templates, the templates defining, for each of a plurality of components of a toy, a geometry of the component, wherein the geometry includes user modifiable regions and fixed design regions, each of the user modifiable regions having one or more points selectable by the user and modifiable along a two dimensional surface or within a three dimensional volume that is defined in the template, the modifiable regions of the component maintaining integrity with the fixed regions following modification by the user;

a combination of the user modifiable regions and the fixed design regions defining a space which a material of the component occupies;

the structural parameters defining structural properties of the assembled toy vehicle and further limiting and specifying the geometry of each component, the parameters including but not limited to: wall thickness, component size, and weight distribution;

the structural rules defining the structural properties of the assembled toy vehicle and further limiting and specifying the geometry of each component, the rules including but not limited to: adding reinforcement structures to components that lack structural integrity, minimizing sharp angles and edges that could pose a safety hazard, and restricting unusual component designs that are beyond the technical capabilities of a 3D printer;

the fixed regions including fixed, standardized points and regions of connection between interconnectable components of the toy vehicle;

wherein the fixed points and regions are not modifiable by the user;

a user-friendly graphical interface system within the application program, including simplified, age-appropriate CAD tools for adults and children, to interact with the component and define the user modifiable regions of each component;

a library of predefined components and accessories, accessible in the program, that can be custom modified by the user within the user-friendly graphical interface system; and

a server to store a user-modified design of the toy vehicle so that it can be retrieved in other digital applications such as online marketplaces, social media, and crowd sourcing applications.

9. The toy vehicle of claim 1, wherein the unique human readable identifier is displayed on a decal that was printed by a label printer and scored by a cutting machine.

10. A method comprising:

configuring a plurality of toy vehicles in a plurality of configurations, each having a body, and each body including a unique human readable identifier on a license plate that is positioned on a front end or rear end of the body; and

configuring an application program, executed by a processor of a computing device, to receive a user input of the unique human readable identifier for one of the toy vehicles, generate and retrieve a registration record for the toy vehicle, and, in response to the user input, display information of the toy vehicle that the user has registered.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the unique human readable identifier is displayed on a decal that forms a portion of the license plate.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein a paint style and/or a vehicle model of the toy vehicle are encoded in the unique human readable identifier.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the application program provides the user with one or a plurality of virtual garages to house one or a plurality of virtual representations of the toy vehicles that the user has registered.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the application program provides a selector in an online marketplace to select and purchase spare components and/or accessories for the specific toy vehicle of the user.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the application program provides an item list that a user operates to add items to the list based upon the user's desire for the items.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the application program provides a selector consisting of a predetermined menu to select and assemble spare components and/or accessories to build the specific toy vehicle of the user.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the application program has associated structural parameters, structural rules, and templates, the templates defining, for each of a plurality of components of a toy, the geometry of the component, wherein a geometry includes user modifiable regions and fixed design regions, each of the user modifiable regions having one or more points selectable by the user and modifiable along a two dimensional surface or within a three dimensional volume that is defined in the template, the modifiable regions of the component maintaining integrity with the fixed regions following modification by the user;

defining, with a combination of the user modifiable regions and the fixed design regions, a space which a material of the component occupies;

defining structural properties of the assembled toy vehicle through structural parameters and further limiting and specifying the geometry of each component, the parameters including but not limited to: wall thickness, component size, and weight distribution;

defining with structural rules the structural properties of the assembled toy and further limiting and specifying the geometry of each component, the rules including but not limited to: adding reinforcement structures to components that lack structural integrity, minimizing sharp angles and edges that could pose a safety hazard, and restricting unusual component designs that are beyond the technical capabilities of a 3D printer;

the fixed regions including fixed, standardized points and regions of connection between interconnectable components of the toy vehicle;

wherein the fixed points and regions are not modifiable by the user;

providing simplified, age-appropriate CAD tools for adults and children in a user-friendly graphical interface system within the application program to interact with the component and define the user modifiable regions of each component;

providing a library of predefined components and accessories, accessible in the program, that can be custom modified by the user within the user-friendly graphical interface system; and

providing a server to store a user-modified design of the toy vehicle so that it can be retrieved in other digital applications such as online marketplaces, social media, and crowd sourcing applications.

18. A method of claim 10, comprising:

printing a decal with a label printer, and scoring the decal with a cutting machine.

19. A computerized system for building a toy vehicle, comprising:

a toy vehicle application server configured to host an executable application program that is accessed via a wide area network by a user device, wherein a GUI, displayed on the user device, of the executable application program is configured to:

display, for each of a plurality of toy vehicle models, a respective set of component selectors for each of a plurality of selectable components associated with the respective toy vehicle model, wherein each selectable component in each toy vehicle model is physically interchangeable with another selectable component of a same category associated with another toy vehicle model so that a plurality of selected components are attachable to each other to assemble the user-customized toy vehicle using components from the plurality of toy vehicle models;

receive a user selection of a selectable component in each category of selectable components;

receive a user command to order the toy vehicle containing user-selected components for assembly and shipment;

forward an order for the toy vehicle based upon the user selections and user command to a manufacturing facility; and

generate a unique human readable identifier for each toy vehicle after assembly.

20. The computerized system of claim 19, wherein a subset of the categories of selectable components includes optional components whose omission is allowed for assembly of the toy vehicle, and a remainder of the categories of selectable components further includes non-optional components whose omission is not allowed for assembly of the toy vehicle.