Assembly with object in housing
In an aspect, a toy assembly is provided, and includes a housing, an inner object, a sensor, an LED, and a control system. The housing is light transmissive, and has a light transfer member inside having a light inlet and a light outlet, positioned to direct light into the housing so as to render the light visible. The LED directs light at the light inlet of the light transfer member so as to transmit the light through it into and through the housing so as to be visible from the exterior of the housing. The control system is programmed to execute instructions, to operate the at least one light emitting element if a condition is met.
1 . A toy assembly, comprising:
a housing, wherein the housing includes a first housing member and a second housing member, wherein the first housing member is light transmissive to an exterior of the housing, and a light transfer member having a light inlet and a light outlet, wherein the light outlet is positioned to direct light into the first housing member so as to render the light visible from the exterior of the housing;
an inner object inside the housing, wherein the inner object is removable from the housing;
at least one sensor that detects interaction by a user with the housing;
at least one light emitting element positioned on the inner object and which is not visible from the exterior of the housing, wherein the at least one light emitting element is positioned to direct light at the light inlet of the light transfer member so as to transmit the light through the light transfer member into the first housing member and through the first housing member so as to be visible from the exterior of the housing; and
a control system that includes a processor and a memory connected to the processor, wherein the processor is programmed to execute instructions stored in the memory, to determine whether a selected condition has been met based on signals from the at least one sensor, and to operate the at least one light emitting element if the condition is met.
2 . The toy assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light transfer member is arcuate between the light inlet and the light outlet, such that the light inlet is oriented to direct the light in a first direction into the light transfer member and the light outlet is oriented to direct the light in a second direction that is different than the first direction.
3 . The toy assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one light emitting element is a plurality of light emitting elements.
4 . The toy assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light transfer member is made from a light transfer material with a selected index of refraction and which is shaped to transmit light therethrough from the light inlet to the light outlet using total internal reflection.
5 . The toy assembly as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the light inlet of the light transfer member has a first surface area and the light outlet of the light transfer member has a second surface area that is larger than the first surface area, and the light transfer member is shaped to permit the light to diverge between the light inlet and the light outlet.
6 . The toy assembly as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the housing is in a form of an egg.
7 . The toy assembly as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the second housing member is a base of the egg which is opaque, and the first housing member is an upper portion of the egg that extends above the second housing member.