Play System Representing a Character
Methods and apparatus for a play system representing a character, including multiple distinct physical play units for representing the same character simultaneously, while establishing and preserving the impression that, independent of the physical play units, the character itself has a genuine and unique existence of its own. The invention provides for this property of the play system by permitting only a single play unit to fully represent the dynamic components of the character at any given time. Enabled status can be reversibly transferred from one play unit to another by user command.
This application claims the benefits of U.S. provisional patent application 61/658,346 filed on 11 Jun. 2012, which is incorporated by reference as if set forth herein.
FIELDThe present invention relates to play systems and, more particularly, to computerized active devices embodying a character.
BACKGROUNDIn entertainment, recreation, and amusement, a character is sometimes represented in an active device in order to simulate an autonomous being, either real or fictitious. A specific appearance and/or personality is typically attributed to the character in order to convey the impression that the character possesses traits such as personality, individuality, self-awareness, freedom of choice, opinions, tendencies and preferences, habits, and other qualities commonly associated with intelligent life. An active device which represents a character is designed and/or configured to actualize, in some fashion, one or more dynamic components of the appearance, traits, and/or personality of the character.
Characters are often represented by toys or as computerized beings, and as the capability and versatility of smart devices continue to expand, it is common to find a commercially popular character represented in a variety of different formats in different devices.
A single user may own several active devices that are capable of representing the same character. For example, a young user may have an action figure toy that represents a particular character, and also have a virtual simulation of the same character on a home computer and in a mobile telephone or similar device. When multiple devices simultaneously actively represent the same character, however, the identity of the character as a distinct individual may become blurred, and this could negatively impact the user's experience.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have systems and methods which coordinate multiple active devices in such a way to preserve and enhance the individual aspect of a character, irrespective of the multiplicity of the devices which embody the character. This goal is met by the present invention.
SUMMARYThe present invention provides methods and apparatus for a play system having multiple physical play units for representing the same character, while establishing and preserving the impression that, independent of the physical play units, the character itself has a genuine and unique existence of its own, including intangible aspects, like a consciousness or “soul”.
Embodiments of the invention accomplish this by ensuring that the character is dynamically represented in at most one of the user's play units at any given time. According to certain embodiments of the invention, disabled play unit may continue to represent a static component of the character, but does not fully represent the character dynamically, so that the user can tangibly identify the current “live” unit with the active dynamic components as being “the character”.
DEFINITIONSIn embodiments of the invention, a “play unit” is a distinct physical device embodying a character. In an embodiment of the invention, a play unit is a dedicated computerized toy representing the character. In another embodiment, a play unit is a general purpose computing device, such as a mobile telephone, that includes programming for representing the character.
In certain embodiments of the invention, an “action” includes any physical expression of a play unit that signals or depicts a tangible act by a character represented by the play unit, including, but not limited to mechanical, visual, and audible expressions.
In certain embodiments of the invention, a “reaction” includes an action by a play unit in response to external stimulus, as well as a modification of behaviors of the play unit triggered by external stimulus.
In certain embodiments of the invention, “behaviors” include manners, mannerisms, habits, or styles of action and/or responsiveness of a character.
In certain embodiments of the invention, a “computing device” includes any programmable physical device with data processing capabilities, tangible non-transient data storage and a data communication device or comparable data communication component. In connection with an embedded computing device, a play unit includes suitable input and/or output devices by which the play unit can interface with the user. According to certain embodiments of the invention, a play unit also has one or more physical actualizers for detecting and producing physical motion, visible images, and sounds. Non-limiting examples of input/output and actualizer devices include: microphones; speakers; cameras; lights, screens, and other visual displays; buttons, switches, and/or keys in a keypad or keyboard; physical sensors and transducers, such as pressure sensors, strain gauges, magnetic sensors, capacitive sensors, thermometers, accelerometers, navigation chips, compasses, and gyroscopes; and electric motors and electric actuators for producing and/or controlling mechanical motion.
In certain embodiments of the invention, a play unit is a computerized doll that serves as a physical effigy of a character represented by the play unit. The physical effigy typically exhibits static components of the character. In an embodiment of the invention, the doll contains one or more physical actuators for performing mechanical motion constituting one or more actions of the character.
The Components of a CharacterAs illustrated in
According to certain embodiments of the invention, dynamic components 120 include a set of actions 122, a set of reactions 124, and a set of behaviors 126. As illustrated in
According to various embodiments of the invention, actions are initiated by a character without direct external stimuli, whereas reactions are made by a character in response to dynamic external stimuli given to the character. Both action and reaction as exhibited by these embodiments are separate traits of characters. In a non-limiting example, a kung fu character might kick an opponent character as an action, but would block a punch as a reaction to the opponent character's attack.
According to embodiments of the invention, actions include, but are not limited to: motion, both real (such as a tangible mechanical motion) and virtual (such as visual effects via video or graphical renditions), of the character and/or parts of the character's body; audio effects, including audible sounds emanating from the character, such as speech or other vocalizations. In some embodiments of the invention, actions relate to objects and features, both real and virtual, that are distinct from the character, such as objects and features of the character's environment.
According to embodiments of the invention, examples of reactions include, but are not limited to: actions in response to external stimulus from the character's environment, both real and virtual; actions in response to (simulated) internal stimulus of the character itself; modifications of the character's behaviors as triggered by external stimulus from the character's environment; and modifications of the character's behaviors as triggered by (simulated) internal stimulus of the character itself. In non-limiting examples: a character may respond to a question or command from the user with an action representing an answer to the question or a carrying out of the command; a character may express a desire to eat in response to a (simulated) hunger condition; or may become talkative or quiet, playful or sullen, etc., in reaction to external or (simulated) internal conditions.
According to embodiments of the invention, examples of behaviors include, but are not limited to: manners or styles of speech or motion; sensitivity to stimulus; habits, tendencies, attitudes, and so forth, which are associated with the personality of the character. Behaviors govern and modify the manner or style of actions and reactions, as well as other behaviors themselves. In non-limiting examples, one character may exhibit a behavior that encourages speech—such a behavior might be considered “talkative”; whereas another character may exhibit a behavior that discourages speech—such a behavior might be considered “reserved”. Still other characters may exhibit behaviors of humorousness, aggressiveness, bravado, sensitivity, and so forth.
In certain embodiments of the invention, not all character components are explicitly present. In some embodiments, only actions 122 and reactions 124 are present. In these embodiments, behaviors 126 are implicit in actions 122 and reactions 124 and are static. In a non-limiting example, the character may be a pet kitten, whose dynamic actions 122 are inherently playful, frisky, and otherwise typical of a juvenile feline—and non-changing. In this case, the actions and reactions of such a character are limited and constant, so that behaviors 126 may be implicit without having to be executed per se. In other embodiments, only actions 122 and behaviors 126 are present. In these embodiments, actions 122 vary in time according to behaviors 126 without responding to any particular stimuli.
In some embodiments of the invention, at least one action 122 is present in a play unit, even if reactions 124 and behaviors 126 are not present. In certain embodiments, at least one action 122 is a tangible action including autonomous physical motion of at least a part of the play unit. In other embodiments, character actions are virtual, such as by a virtual character in a virtual environment on a display screen.
Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a play unit that forms part of a play system of a user, the play system representing a character, the play unit including: (a) a character dynamic component that performs at least one action of the character, the action selected from a group consisting of: (i) an audio effect, (ii) a visual effect, and (iii) a mechanical motion; (b) a communication device for communicating with other play units of the play system; and (c) a computing device operative to: (i) control the character dynamic component, (ii) enable the character dynamic component upon receiving an enabling signal via the communication device, and (iii) send an enabling signal via the communication device upon disabling the character dynamic component.
Also, according to another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a play system representing a character, the play system including a first play unit and a second play unit, the first play unit including: (a) a character dynamic component that performs at least one action of the character, the action selected from a group consisting of: (i) an audio effect, (ii) a visual effect, and (iii) a mechanical motion; and (b) a computing device operative to: (i) control the character dynamic component; (ii) enable the character dynamic component upon receiving an enabling signal from the second play unit, and (iii) send an enabling signal to the second play unit upon disabling the character dynamic component.
In addition, according to still another embodiment of the present invention there is provided a computing device product for coordinating a first play unit representing a character with a second play unit representing the character, the play units each operative to execute at least one character dynamic component, the computing device product including tangible non-transient device-readable data storage that includes a set of executable commands for the computing device, which commands, when executed by the computing device, cause the computing device to perform: (a) receiving a user command; and (b) in response to the user command: (i) disabling the at least one character dynamic component in the first play unit; and (ii) enabling the at least one character dynamic component in the second play unit.
The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the embodiments thereof, taken together with the drawings in which:
For clarity of illustration, some elements in the drawings are shown as sub-elements of higher-level elements. It is understood, however, that such grouping of elements into higher-level elements is non-limiting, and that there exist alternate embodiments of the invention in which elements are grouped differently, and embodiments of the invention in which the elements are not grouped at all.
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONThe principles and operation of a play system according to embodiments of the present invention may be understood with reference to the drawings and the accompanying description.
In certain embodiments of the invention, physical actualizers 290 are controlled by computing device 220 and input environmental stimulus into computing device 220. Non-limiting examples of physical actualizers include electric motors for physically animating a play unit; cameras for simulating visual recognition; microphones and speakers for speech interaction; and display screens for virtual characters and environments.
In certain embodiments of the invention, play unit 210 receives a user command via user interface 226. In other embodiments, play unit 210 receives a user command via communication device 224, wherein the command was sent from another play unit. In still other embodiments, play unit 210 has both user interface 226 and communication device 224, to receive user commands from either user interface 226 or communication device 224, as well as send a user command entered via user interface 226 to another play unit via communication device 224.
In addition to accepting user commands to enable and disable character dynamic components via user interface 226, embodiments of the invention provide user interface 226 for accepting user interactions with play unit 210 when a character dynamic component 120 is enabled.
Character Dynamic ComponentsAccording to certain embodiments of the invention, as shown in
Play unit character dynamic components 120 are varied and depend on the nature of the character represented by the play unit. As a non-limiting example, a user who is a young child may choose a character representing a pet. A popular character dynamic component 120 for a pet character is to express hunger or a desire to eat a treat, to which the user responds by offering the character an appropriate food. In an embodiment of the invention, a doll play unit in the enabled state could express a desire to eat, such as by making certain sounds or assuming certain postures indicative of a desire to eat. The user could then transfer the character to another play unit, such as a tablet computer, by a signal entered at one of the play units. When the transfer is complete, the doll will have disabled status and the tablet computer's play unit implementation will have enabled status. The user can then feed the pet character in the virtual environment of the tablet computer, where the graphical representation of the pet character can be portrayed as eating the virtual food given to it by the user. Later, when the user transfers the pet character back to the doll play unit, the doll play unit can express appreciation to the user for the food, such as by making certain sounds or assuming certain postures indicative of appreciation.
Similar transfers can be made in other embodiments of the invention, such as for fighting characters, sports characters, and so forth.
In certain embodiments of the invention, character dynamic components 120 pertain only to the character and are distinct from general functionalities 232 of play unit 210 (
With reference to
According to certain embodiments of the invention, for an enabled play unit, all of character dynamic components 120 are enabled. In other embodiments of the invention, for a disabled play unit at least one character dynamic component 120 is disabled. In an embodiment of the invention, a disabled play unit has all dynamic character components 120 disabled. In another embodiment of the invention, status 280 is set to enabled when play unit 210 receives an enabling signal, and is set to disabled when a character dynamic component 120 is disabled.
According to embodiments of the invention, no more than one play unit of a play system can have enabled status at any given time. For example, in order to set disabled play unit to have enabled status, it is necessary to change the status of the currently-enabled play unit to disabled, either before setting the disabled play unit to enabled status, or simultaneously therewith. According to certain embodiments of the invention, in the context of changing the enabled play unit of a play system, the term “simultaneously” denotes that the setting changes of the currently-enabled play unit to disabled status and the setting of a currently disabled play unit to enabled status both take place within a time span that is small compared to a time interval that is discernable to the user.
Thus, preferably, at most only a single one of play units 210 of play system 200 have all of character dynamic components 120 enabled at any given time. In this manner, at most only a single one of play units 210 of play system 200 dynamically represents the complete character.
Play Unit KindsIn certain embodiments of the invention, not all character dynamic components 120 are necessarily available in the different play units of a play system. For example, doll play unit 210D may have real physical motion capabilities which computing device play unit 210C lacks. Conversely, however, the virtual environment of computing device play unit 210C may offer character dynamic components 120 which are not offered by doll play unit 210D, such as the ability to transform or morph into a completely different visual form, or offer telephony functionalities as part of character dynamic components 120.
Enabling and Disabling of Play UnitsAccording to certain embodiments of the invention, a user of play system 200 can issue a command to a play unit 210 of play system 200 to change the currently-enabled play unit to a different play unit of play system 200, and thereby change the unit which dynamically represents the complete character, in such a manner as to insure that, at most, only one single play unit represents the complete character at any given time, i.e., a character having dynamic components as well as static components.
In an embodiment of the invention, status 280 is implemented by a hardware register which is settable and readable by processor 228 of computing device 220; in another embodiment, status 280 is implemented as a value in a specified location in data storage 240 which is settable and readable by program control, e.g. as a digital flag.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a currently-disabled play unit can be used to transfer enabled status to itself from the currently-enabled play unit. In this embodiment, the currently-disabled play unit is enabled at the same time as a currently-enabled play unit is disabled. According to another embodiment, a currently-enabled play unit can be used to transfer enabled status from itself to a currently-disabled play unit. In this embodiment, the currently-enabled play unit is disabled at the same time as it sends an enabling signal to the currently-disabled play unit.
In embodiments of the invention, status 280 is an implementation feature that is transparent to the user. That is, the user does not relate to the play units in terms of their “status”, but rather conceives the various play units as different incarnations or venues for the same single character to inhabit at different times and under different circumstances.
OperationIn a step 505, a status 507 of play unit 504 is set to disabled, and in a step 509 at least one character dynamic component 511 of play unit 504 is disabled. In an embodiment of the invention, all of character dynamic components 511 are disabled.
In a step 513, a status 515 of play unit 512 is set to enabled, and in a step 517 at least one character dynamic component 519 of play unit 512 is enabled. In certain embodiments of the invention, all of character dynamic components 519 are enabled.
Computing Device ProductA further embodiment of the invention provides a product for use with a computing device for performing the foregoing method or variants thereof.
A product for a computing device according to this embodiment includes a set of executable commands for performing the method on a computing device, wherein the executable commands are contained within a tangible device-readable non-transient data storage medium including, but not limited to: data media such as magnetic media and optical media; computer memory; semiconductor memory storage; flash memory storage; data storage devices and hardware components; and the tangible non-transient storage devices of a remote computing device or communication network; such that when the executable commands of the product are executed, the product causes the computing device to perform the method.
While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention may be made.
Claims
1. A play unit that forms part of a play system of a user, the play system representing a character, the play unit comprising:
- a character dynamic component that performs at least one action of the character, the action selected from a group consisting of: an audio effect, a visual effect, and a mechanical motion;
- a communication device for communicating with other play units of the play system; and
- a computing device operative to: control the character dynamic component; enable the character dynamic component upon receiving an enabling signal via the communication device, and send an enabling signal via the communication device upon disabling the character dynamic component.
2. The play unit of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a user interface for receiving user commands for at least one of:
- interacting with the play unit when the character dynamic component is enabled;
- disabling the character dynamic component; or
- sending a request for the enabling signal, via the communication device, to an alternate play unit of the play system.
3. The play unit of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a device-writable and device-readable non-transient storage device that stores a status of the play unit, and wherein the status is set to enabled when receiving the enabling signal and is set to disabled when disabling the character dynamic component.
4. The play unit of claim 3 wherein the computing device is operative to control a plurality of character dynamic components, and wherein all character dynamic components are disabled when the play unit has disabled status.
5. The play unit of claim 1, wherein the play unit is a general-purpose computing device.
6. The play unit of claim 5, wherein the play unit is a handheld computing device that includes a graphical user interface.
7. The play unit of claim 1, embodied as a doll that serves as a physical effigy of the character.
8. The play unit of claim 7, wherein the doll comprises a physical actuator for performing a mechanical motion as an action of the character.
9. A play system representing a character, the play system comprising a first play unit and a second play unit, the first play unit including:
- a character dynamic component that performs at least one action of the character, the action selected from a group consisting of: an audio effect, a visual effect, and a mechanical motion; and
- a computing device operative to: control the character dynamic component; enable the character dynamic component upon receiving an enabling signal from the second play unit, and send an enabling signal to the second play unit upon disabling the character dynamic component.
10. The play system of claim 9, wherein the computing device of the first play unit comprises a user interface for receiving user commands for at least one of:
- interacting with the first play unit when the character dynamic component is enabled;
- disabling the character dynamic component; or
- sending to the second play unit a request for the enabling signal.
11. The play system of claim 9, wherein the computing device of the first play unit comprises a device-writable and device-readable non-transient storage device that stores a status of the first play unit, and wherein the status is set to enabled when receiving the enabling signal from the second play unit and is set to disabled when disabling the character dynamic component.
12. The play system of claim 11, wherein the computing device of the first play unit is operative to control a plurality of character dynamic components, and wherein all character dynamic components are disabled when the respective play unit has disabled status.
13. The play system of claim 9, wherein the first play unit is a general-purpose computing device.
14. The play system of claim 13, wherein the general-purpose computing device is a handheld computing device that includes a graphical user interface.
15. The play system of claim 9, wherein the first play unit is embodied as a doll that serves as a physical effigy of the character.
16. The play system of claim 15, wherein the doll comprises a physical actuator for performing a mechanical motion as an action of the character.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 28, 2012
Publication Date: Dec 12, 2013
Inventors: Eitan Lev (Even Yehuda), Mordechai Teicher (Hod Hasharon)
Application Number: 13/535,450
International Classification: A63H 30/02 (20060101); A63H 13/00 (20060101); A63H 3/28 (20060101);