Oh, patents! Lego® SMART Play™

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann 

Lego® SMART Play™, winner of the Best in Show and Best Future Tech awards at CES 2026*, has added electronics to Lego® play sets. Most importantly, in response to desiderata, the new Lego® SMART Play™ sets come WITHOUT supplementary screens, batteries, wires, cameras or coding. A feat that took two and a half years to develop, involving a team of more than 300. Engineers, scientists, product designers, video-gaming experts, user-experience specialists, physicists, mathematicians, plus more, who worked together in a very large, top-secret, soundproof room, without windows, called “The Void”.

SMART Play™ Legos® comprise four components, available only in the all-in-one sets, but thereafter compatible with all SMART Play™ Lego® sets: 

1. a smart, 2x4 brick with a miniaturized ASIC chip, essentially comprising a speaker, LEDS, a speech synthesizer, and a proximity sensor**, 
2. two tags, which together with the smart brick form a new positioning system, and 
3. a wireless charger for bricks and tags, 
4. together with the themed and character Lego® SMART Play™ set (Pokémon™ and Star Wars™ for starters to launch the new SMART Play™ system). 

The beauty of the Lego® SMART Play™ system is that it is generative. One smart brick can generate an infinite number of sounds, depending on the tracker or movement of the smart brick. This differs from a database of pre-recorded word sounds. Indeed, the Lego® engineers even devised a new Figlish (Figurine English) language for the sounds that the brick can generate when it is inserted inside a figurine, and which children can interpret as they imagine. The brick comprises a miniaturized sound synthesizer that generates different sounds for every different situation or construction that is built, now and in the future.

More than 25 patents were awarded for the multiple Lego® SMART Play™ inventions. The following US, European (EP) and World Intellectual Property Organization  (WO) patents  are just a few of the Lego® SMART Play™ patents:

• EP3200886B1 – Game system.
• US20250010218A1 - Modular toy system with electronic toy modules.
• US20180071626A1 - Tag reader and system comprising a tag reader.
• US20240335761A1 - Toy construction system with function construction elements.
• US12021394B2 - Toy system having a contactless energy transfer system.
• WO2022101233A1 - Toy system for multiplayer social play.
• WO2026077559A1 - System of interactive toy and/or interactive educational construction elements.
• WO2025157950A1 - Interactive toy system with groups of associated wireless interactive toys.
• WO2020192955A1 - Rechargeable interactive toy.

For Lego® SMART Play™, one wonders who is having the most fun. The engineers who took up the challenge to create a magical modular smart brick, bringing LEGO® to life for generations to come,  or the children whose imaginations are being fired to new heights with an already fun game that has stood the test of time?

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Notes
* CES 2026 – Largest and most influential Computer Electronics Show in the United States. The show is held every year in January in Las Vegas, CA, since 1967.
** The Lego® smart brick is shown being inserted into the Pokémon™ Pikachu character.

Reference
How we made the Lego® SMART Play™ system. Lego.com
https://www.lego.com/en-us/smart-play/article/innovation 

Interlude - The Whale (2027).

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The Whale is a spectacular whale-watching center and immersive-experience museum. Scheduled to open on June 4th, 2027, The Whale is located in Andenes, at the edge of the North Atlantic, in Norway. 

The most striking feature of The Whale—as its name indicates—is the stunning biomimetics of the architecture. An architecture that not only blends into the Arctic landscape, as a gentle curve rising from the earth, but also remarkably captures a whale's low-fluking dive. The sort of shallow dive where you only see the top dorsal surface of the whale’s tale with its two wing-like flukes, sliding back into the water. The two images below, respectively, depict The Whale and a whale’s shallow fluking dive.

Dorte Mandrup, the Danish architect who won the competition to build the museum, composed in a naturally breathtaking environment, also known as one of the best places to see whales. Instead of an erected building, competing with the nearby lighthouse, The Whale looks as though it has been pushed out of the Earth’s surface. 

The Whale rooftop, shown below, curves gently into the landscape as a single piece of concrete, cladded with natural stones collected from the surrounding Arctic area. This enables anyone hiking on top to whale watch, perhaps catching a whale breaching against the Northern Lights, a whale spouting, or the graceful broad-finned tail of a whale as it is diving back into the ocean.

If The Whale delivers on Mandrup's promise “to create relevance” in June 2027—as it already has. Then, The Whale will make an already awe-inspiring destination even more magnificent, for both tourists on whale safaris and locals. 

References

Architect Dorte Mandrup’s vision for The Whale Andenes Norway (April 28, 2026) [7:26] YouTube.

https://youtu.be/WW_OHFID0ik?si=70rkshDhhuiSvkyf

Dorte Mandrup

https://dortemandrup.dk/

The Whale

https://thewhale.com/ 

Oh, Letters Patent!* D. T. Abercrombie space saving cabinets

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Abercrombie & Fitch not only catered to wilderness specialists, but they also outfitted famous outdoor enthusiasts such as Theodore Roosevelt for his 1909-1910 African Safari, Ernest Hemingway for his long stays in Cuba, and Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh for their flight gear and survival rations. Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower, famous anglers, are also known to have purchased fishing rods, waders and other gear, directly from the A&F Co., Madison Avenue flagship store in New York City: "Where the blazed trail crosses the boulevard", as shown in the advertisement depicted below. 

The US utility patent, US775766A, titled Camping outfit, illustrates a luxury camping cabinet invention for clothes storage, the lower part of which might alternatively be used as a table. The cabinet and shelves were foldable, easily stored and re-assembled for use.

The patent Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of the assembled cabinet, comprising slatted shelves 1 to 4, a canvas back 9 and canvas sides 8. Pocket shelf-holders were attached to each canvas side 8, into which the shelves 1 to 4 were separately inserted. The cabinet stood on four forked uprights 12, with two crossbars 10 from front to rear, resting on the upright forks. 

The lower part had a larger tabletop 13, resting on its own crossbars 14, lashed to the uprights 12. The lower table portion was detachable from the upper shelves for standalone use. Means might be included to suspend the upright shelves. 

Note

* US patents were initially called Letters Patent in the European tradition, dating as far back as the 15th century, and at the inception of the United States, at the end of the 18th century, according to the first US Patent Act (1790). The term Letters Patent was then used well into the 19th century, although usage began to shift, following the provisions of the third US Patent Act (1836), which established the United States Patent Office. 

    The term “Letters Patent” is derived from Latin, “litterae patens”, a form of the verb “patere”, which means “to stand open”. In other words, a term that refers to “open letters” in the sense of public or “by decree” and in contrast to private “sealed letters” (in Latin litterae clausae) 

Reference

Abercrombie & Fitch (website)

https://www.abercrombie.com/

Oh, Letters Patent!* D.T. Abercrombie’s pack carrier

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The popular Abercrombie pack carrier, comprising a rigid frame, optional tumpline(1) and chest strap, is another patented invention that was awarded to David T. Abercrombie, the founder of Abercrombie Co., in 1892. Indeed, the US patent, US1217262, titled Pack carrier, was awarded on February 27, 1917 to David T. Abercrombie, hailing from New Jersey, and assigned to the New York corporation, David T. Abercrombie Company.

The invention had a twofold purpose. First, the rigid frame was designed to prevent contact between the rucksack(2) and the user’s back so that air could circulate freely in between. Secondly, the frame was designed to prevent the rucksack from rolling during movement and in case of an uneven load, ensuring that the load's weight was consistently centrally distributed between hips and shoulders, and optionally transferred in part to the forehead and/or chest.

The included patent Figure 1 depicts a side elevation view of the invention, and a user’s body(3). The patent Figure 1 further depicts a side view of the frame a, preferably rectangular in shape, and comprising light steel rods, with rounded ends a1 to conveniently attach a tumpline g, comprising a head strap g1 and an adjustment buckle g2. Likewise, the top bar of the frame might be bent upwards at the center a2 to enable attachment of shoulder straps c, adjusted with various buckles c1. Preferably, the frame a has a flexible light canvas filler b, secured to the frame a with lacing b1. The filler material b was designed to provide additional support in case the load was shorter or smaller than the frame. Finally, two hinged thrust rods d at the lower end of the frame were joined via a transversal rod d1. Together, the three rods functioned as a bail to transfer a portion of the load's weight to the hips, where it is less inconvenient to carry.

Below, pages 34 and 35 are extracted from the 1921 Blazed Trail Abercrombie & Fitch product catalog. The pages show various rucksacks, some of which would have accommodated the present invention frame, which also had the advantage of being removable and adaptable to various rucksack models.

Notes

* US patents were initially called Letters Patent in the European tradition, dating as far back as the 15th century, and at the inception of the United States, at the end of the 18th century, according to the first US Patent Act (1790). The term Letters Patent was then used well into the 19th century, although usage began to shift, following the provisions of the third US Patent Act (1836), which established the United States Patent Office. 

    The term “Letters Patent” is derived from Latin, “litterae patens”, a form of the verb “patere”, which means “to stand open”. In other words, a term that refers to “open letters” in the sense of public or “by decree” and in contrast to private “sealed letters” (in Latin litterae clausae)  

(1) A tumpline, also called a tump strap, is a canvas forehead band designed to transfer some of the rucksack weight to the head. 

(2) A rucksack is a top-loading pack designed for heavy outdoor loading.
(3) The user’s body is drawn with broken lines to indicate context vs. object of the invention.

Reference

Abercrombie & Fitch (website)

https://www.abercrombie.com/

Oh, Letters Patent! D. T. Abercrombie's camping utensil

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

David T. Abercrombie, the founder of Abercrombie Co. in 1892 was also a multiple-time patented inventor. A surveyor by trade, his experience of the great outdoors undoubtedly informed both his entrepreneurship in high-end gear for wilderness adventurers, and his inventions in the domain of camping.

For example, the Letters Patent* No. 730731, titled Camping utensil, is one such US utility patent, awarded June 9th, 1903, to David T. Abercrombie, hailing from Newark, NJ, and assigned to the New York firm Abercrombie & Fitch. The patent recites an improvement to camping utensils, specifically to frying pans. Still in use to date, this improvement comprised a removable handle, so that the improved frying pan might be easily packed, stored, and readily assembled for use.

The patent Figure 1, included above, depicts a side elevation view of the invention. The invention comprises a frying pan 1, preferably made of aluminum. The side 2 of the frying pan comprises a socket, made of two pieces of metal 3, riveted into the side 2. The socket is tapered at the top and flared at the bottom inlet, with slightly raised edges 4 to enable cooperation with the foot 6 of the handle. 

The handle comprises a grip 12 and a shank 5 with a foot 6 turned upwards, intended to cooperate with the frying pan socket, slipping in from the bottom up. To prevent the handle foot 6 from disengaging from the frying pan socket, a retaining member, comprising a rim-engaging member 9 and a shank portion 8, is clamped together with the handle shank 5, using a slide 11, moved laterally towards the socket. The slide 11 also moves back laterally, towards the grip 12, to allow the handle foot 6 to be disengaged from the frying pan socket.  

A vintage Abercrombie & Fitch camping advertisement is also included above. On the left, the advertisement depicts a Nesting cook set comprising, in particular, a frying pan with a detached handle.  

________

Note
*  Patents were called Letters Patent as early as the 15th century in Europe, and at the inception of the United States, at the end of the 18th century, according to the provisions of the first US Patent Act (1790). The term Letters Patent was used well into the 19th century, although usage began to shift following the provisions of the third US Patent Act (1836), which established the United States Patent Office. 

    The term Letters Patent is derived from Latin, litterae "patens”, a form of the verb “patere”, which means “to stand open”. In other words, a term that refers to “open letters” in the sense of public or “by decree”, and in contrast to private “sealed letters” (in Latin litterae clausae).

Reference

Abercrombie & Fitch (website)

https://www.abercrombie.com/

Oh, patents! Bottle cap for A&F Perfume No. 1

 Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

The square bottle cap for the signature Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) Perfume No. 1 for women is an industrial design that was registered in Canada. The Canadian industrial design CA146002, titled Cap for bottle, was registered on March 27, 2013. The applicant and registered proprietor are both Abercrombie & Fitch.

Please note that a Canadian industrial design registration protects the unique appearance of a product: its shape, configuration, pattern or ornament (or any combination of these features)

Figure 1, extracted from the Canadian industrial design registration, is shown below, together with the image of a marketed bottle of A&F Perfume No. 1 for women. The bottle has a navy colored fabric bow around its neck. The Canadian industrial design Figure 1 depicts solid lines for the cap, and broken lines—for illustration purposes only—outlining the bottle. 

The A&F Perfume No. 1, was released in 2011. This fresh floral perfume has a tangerine top note, peony middle note, and pine and sandalwood base notes.

Reference 
Abercrombie & Fitch  (website)
https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us

Canadian Intellectual Property Office – Industrial Designs

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canadian-intellectual-property-office/en/industrial-designs

Oh, patents! A&F Fierce cologne bottle

Copyright © Françoise Herrmann

Created in 2002, the  Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) Fierce fragrance for men is arguably the most famous A&F fragrance because it was pumped through A&F store ventilation systems to give customers an olfactory shopping experience. Since 2002 many variations of the Fierce fragrance have been released, including a Fierce for her edition in 2016. The bottles containing the Fierce fragrances are patented designs. 

The USD design patent, USD573035S1, titled Bottle for fragrance, perfume, eau de toilette, cosmetics or other products, was awarded on July 15, 2008 to Brett A. Dean, and assigned to the Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Co. Below, the patent Figure 4 depicts an exploded view of the smaller 2 oz travel-size bottle, together with the image of a marketed 2 oz, travel-size  Fierce cologne bottle. 

Reference

Abercrombie & Fitch (website)
https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us