NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR A PLAYSET

Number: 20220094424
Published: 2022-03-24
Filed: 2021-12-08
Assignee: Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Inventors: NOCON; Nathan D., ROSENTHAL; Janice K., BAUMBACH; Elliott H., GOSLIN; Michael P., GIBSON; Hunter J., YEUNG; Jason A.
CPC: A63H3/52; A63H30/04; H04B5/70; H04B5/75; H04B5/77; H04B7/0608; H04B7/15507
Verdict: Medium Hardware
Source: Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline

The keeper's note

NFC antenna hardware for interactive toy playset (pre-grant).

Abstract

A playset comprises a near field communication extending system. The near field communication extending comprises a main antenna and a plurality of extending antennas. The main antenna is positioned at a first location of the playset and configured to wirelessly communicate to a near field communication device of a mobile device. The plurality of extending antennas is positioned at a plurality of different locations in an interior of the playset. Each of the plurality of extending antennas is connectable to the main antenna via a plurality of connection elements. The playset further comprises an antenna switching mechanism coupled to the plurality of extending antennas via a plurality of connection elements. The antenna switching mechanism is configured to switchably couple the main antenna with each of the plurality of extending antennas.

Background

BACKGROUND

Playsets having interactive features provide a user with an enhanced user experience. For example, playsets may include video and/or and sound playback features that may be triggered based on a user's actions. A user may insert an object (e.g., a play piece or game piece) within a playset and the playset may initiate video playback and/or sound playback in response. In current implementations, the antenna systems of playsets have limited communication distances. Accordingly, to interact with objects in different rooms of a playset, a user is required to move a mobile device from room to room, positioning the mobile device proximate to each object. Thus, the user experience of such playsets is reduced.

Thus, there is a need for improved near field communication antenna system for communicating with a playset. SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a near field communication extending system for a playset comprises a main antenna and a plurality of extending antennas. The main antenna is positioned at a first location of the playset and configured to wirelessly communicate to a near field communication device of a mobile device. The plurality of extending antennas is positioned at a plurality of different locations within the playset. The near field communication extending system further comprising an antenna switching mechanism coupled to the plurality of extending antennas via a plurality of connection elements. The antenna switching mechanism is configure

Claims

1. A near field communication (NFC) device comprises: a first NFC tag comprising a first antenna coupled to a first memory; second NFC tag comprising a second antenna coupled to a second memory; and a shield disposed between the first and second NFC tags, wherein the shield comprises a ferrite material and bounds each side of the first antenna and each side of the second antenna. || 9. A near field communication (NFC) device comprising a housing comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; a first NFC tag disposed within housing and comprising a first antenna associated with the first surface; a second NFC tag comprising a second antenna associated with the second surface; and a shield disposed between the first and second NFC tags and within the housing. || 16. A method comprising: wirelessly powering a first near field communication (NFC) tag of an NFC device with a power signal, the first NFC tag comprising a first antenna coupled to a first memory, wherein the NFC device comprises a second NFC tag comprising a second antenna coupled to a second memory, and a shield disposed between the first and second NFC tags, and wherein the shield comprises a ferrite material and extends beyond a boundary of the first antenna and a boundary of the second antenna; receiving first data from the first NFC tag, the first data is associated with a first state of the NFC device; and executing first instructions based on the first state.