System, Method, and Apparatus for Interactive Play

• US 20090137185A1
• Filed: 11/28/2007
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Patent Category Corporation
• Original Assignee: Patent Category Corporation
• Inventors: Zheng, Yu Brian
• Granted Patent: US 8,926,395 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/268
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/28 responding to control signals received from the game device for affecting ambient conditions, e.g. for vibrating players' seats, activating scent dispensers or affecting temperature or light controlling the output signals based on the game progress A63F13/50
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/35 Details of game servers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/71 using secure communication between game devices and game servers, e.g. by encrypting game data or authenticating players
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/73 Authorising game programs or game devices, e.g. checking authenticity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/201 Playing authorisation given at platform level
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/302 specially adapted for receiving control signals not targeted to a display device or game input means, e.g. vibrating driver's seat, scent dispenser
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/401 Secure communication, e.g. using encryption or authentication
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 11/00 Self-movable toy figures
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 2200/00 Computerized interactive toys, e.g. dolls
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/28 Arrangements of sound-producing means in dolls; Means in dolls for producing sounds
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/26 Magnetic or electric toys electric drives A63H29/22 ; indoor games played with small balls using magnetic power A63F7/0088, A63F7/068

Abstract

A system, method and apparatus for interactive play is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, an interactive toy is provided. The interactive toy is configured to store a plurality of codes and display codes on a display on the toy. The codes can authenticate the toy and unlock functionality within a virtual world. In one embodiment, the interactive toy is configured to communicate with a user computer. Another embodiment provides methods for interactive play with an interactive toy and a virtual world. A further embodiment provides a computing device configured to participate in the interactive play system. This Abstract is provided for the purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

Claims

1. An interactive toy comprising:

a toy body, the toy body comprising a display;

a memory within the toy body, the memory comprising a plurality of codes; and

a processor within the toy body, the processor connected to the memory and the display, the processor configured to cause one of the plurality of codes to be displayed on the display.

2. The interactive toy of claim 1, further comprising a set of processor executable instructions stored on the memory, the set of processor executable instructions sufficient to configure the processor to:

display an initial authentication code on the display; and

periodically display on the display a code from the plurality of codes.

3. The interactive toy of claim 2, wherein the periodic display is in response to an interaction with the toy.

4. The interactive toy of claim 2, wherein the periodic display is on a timed basis.

5. The interactive toy of claim 2, wherein the periodic display is controlled on an achieved point basis, the achieved point basis derived from play with the interactive toy.

6. The interactive toy of claim 1, wherein the interactive toy is configured to interact with an online entertainment world, the online entertainment world comprising a virtual world displayed on a user computer, the computer connected to a network, the network comprising a server that hosts the virtual world.

7. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the network comprises a network selected from a group consisting of:

a local area network, a wireless network, a metropolitan area network, and the Internet.

8. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the server comprises a set of authentication codes, and the interactive toy is validated by executing a query on the database and comparing the results of the query to the toy'"'"'s authentication code.

9. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the virtual world includes a virtual toy with an appearance of the interactive toy.

10. The interactive toy of claim 6, further comprising a set of processor executable instructions stored on the memory, the set of processor executable instructions sufficient to configure the processor to:

display an initial authentication code;

periodically display a code from the plurality of codes in response to an interaction with the toy, and wherein the a user computer comprises a connection to the network and a keyboard allowing a user to enter the code displayed on the display.

11. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a communications transceiver within the toy body, and a communications port, the user computer comprises a communications transceiver and a communications port.

12. The interactive toy of claim 11, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a light emitting diode connected to the processor.

13. The interactive toy of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to illuminate the light emitting diode in response to receiving a signal from the communications port.

14. The interactive toy of claim 11, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a speaker connected to the processor.

15. The interactive toy of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to cause the speaker to emit an audible sound in response to receiving a communications signal.

16. The interactive toy of claim 11, wherein the communications transceivers comprise transceivers selected from a group consisting of:

wireless transceivers;

Universal Serial Bus transceivers;

FireWire transceivers, RFID transceivers;

BlueTooth transceivers;

WiFi transceivers;

Ultra-Wideband transceivers, modem transceivers, wireless local area network transceivers, wireless personal area network transceivers, direct sequence spread spectrum transceivers, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing transceivers, and frequency hopping transceivers.

17. The interactive toy of claim 11, wherein the communication ports comprise ports selected from a group consisting of:

wireless communication ports comprising an antenna, wired media communication ports, Universal Serial Bus ports, FireWire ports, and twisted pair wired media ports.

18. The interactive toy of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to cause the toy'"'"'s communications transceiver to communicate a code through the communications ports and the users computer is configured to receive the code and communicate it to the server.

19. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the server comprises a storage medium for storing data related to the interactive toy and the plurality of codes.

20. The interactive toy of claim 19, wherein each of the plurality of codes allows the server to serve to the user computer functionality unique to that code.

21. The interactive toy of claim 19, wherein the functionality unique to that code is served to the user computer when the code is verified on the server.

22. The interactive toy of claim 19, wherein the functionality comprises functionality selected from a group consisting of:

additional virtual point totals in a virtual game, access to additional virtual worlds, access to additional virtual objects, access to additional virtual cash, and access to additional virtual games.

23. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the display of the virtual world on the user computer comprises displaying the virtual world on a web-browser application on the user computer.

24. The interactive toy of claim 6, wherein the virtual world provides a plurality of visual and audible activities to a user on the user computer.

25. An interactive play system comprising:

an interactive toy the toy comprising a body, the toy body comprising a display;

a memory within the toy body, the memory comprising a plurality of codes;

a processor within the toy body, the processor connected to the memory and the display, the processor configured to cause one of the plurality of codes to be displayed on the display;

a user computer, the user computer connected to a network; and

a server connected to the network, the server configured to provide a virtual world to the user computer.

26. The play system of claim 25, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a set of processor executable instructions stored on the memory, the set of processor executable instructions sufficient to configure the processor to:

display an initial authentication code on the display; and

periodically display on the display a code from the plurality of codes.

27. The interactive play system claim 26, wherein the periodic display is in response to an interaction with the toy.

28. The interactive play system of claim 26, wherein the periodic display is on a timed basis.

29. The interactive play system of claim 26, wherein the periodic display is controlled on an achieved point basis, the achieved point basis derived from play with the interactive toy.

30. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the server hosts the virtual world.

31. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the network comprises a network selected from a group consisting of:

a local area network, a wireless network, a metropolitan area network, and the Internet.

32. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the server comprises a set of registration codes, and the interactive toy is validated by executing a query on the database and comparing the results of the query to the toy'"'"'s authentication code.

33. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the virtual world includes a virtual toy with an appearance of the interactive toy.

34. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a set of processor executable instructions stored on the memory, the set of processor executable instructions sufficient to configure the processor to:

display an initial authentication code;

periodically display a code from the plurality of codes in response to an interaction with the toy, and wherein the user computer comprises a keyboard allowing a user to enter the code displayed on the display.

35. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a communications transceiver within the toy body and a communications port, and the user computer comprises a communications transceiver and a communications port.

36. The interactive play system of claim 35, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a light emitting diode connected to the processor.

37. The interactive play system of claim 36, wherein the processor is configured to illuminate the light emitting diode in response to receiving a signal from the communications port.

38. The interactive play system of claim 35, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a speaker connected to the processor.

39. The interactive play system of claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to cause the speaker to emit an audible sound in response to receiving a communications signal.

40. The interactive play system of claim 35, wherein the communications transceivers comprise transceivers selected from a group consisting of:

wireless transceivers;

Universal Serial Bus transceivers;

FireWire transceivers, RFID transceivers;

BlueTooth transceivers;

WiFi transceivers;

Ultra-Wideband transceivers, modem transceivers, wireless local area network transceivers, wireless personal area network transceivers, direct sequence spread spectrum transceivers, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing transceivers, and frequency hopping transceivers.

41. The interactive play system of claim 35, wherein the communication ports comprise ports selected from a group consisting of:

wireless communication ports comprising an antenna, wired media communication ports, Universal Serial Bus ports, FireWire ports, and twisted pair wired media ports.

42. The interactive play system of claim 35, wherein the processor is configured to cause the toy'"'"'s communications transceiver to communicate a code through the communications ports and the users computer is configured to receive the code and communicate it to the server.

43. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the server comprises a storage medium for storing data related to the interactive toy and the plurality of codes.

44. The interactive play system of claim 43, wherein each of the plurality of codes allows the server to serve to the user computer functionality unique to that code.

45. The interactive play system of claim 43, wherein the functionality unique to that code is served to the user computer when the code is verified on the server.

46. The interactive play system of claim 43, wherein the functionality comprises functionality selected from a group consisting of:

additional virtual point totals in a virtual game, access to additional virtual worlds, access to additional virtual objects, access to additional virtual cash, and access to additional virtual games.

47. The interactive play of claim 25, wherein the virtual world is displayed on the user computer by displaying the virtual world on a web-browser application on the user computer.

48. The interactive play system of claim 25, wherein the virtual world provides a plurality of visual and audible activities to a user on the user computer.

49. A method of providing an interactive play experience the method comprising:

displaying an authentication code on a display, the display attached to an interactive toy;

authenticating the interactive toy on a server on a network;

providing a virtual world to a user computer connected to the network;

selecting one of a plurality of codes for display, the plurality of codes stored on a memory within the interactive toy;

validating the displayed code on the server; and

providing additional functionality within the virtual world based on the code.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a processor configured to control the display.

51. The method of claim 49, further comprising periodically displaying one of the plurality of codes on the display.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the periodic display is in response to an interaction with the toy.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the periodic display is on a timed basis.

54. The method of claim 51, wherein the periodic display is controlled on an achieved point basis, the achieved point basis derived from play with the interactive toy.

55. The method of claim 49, wherein the server hosts the virtual world.

56. The method of claim 49, wherein the network comprises a network selected from a group consisting of:

a local area network, a wireless network, a metropolitan area network, and the Internet.

57. The method of claim 49, wherein the validation of the interactive toy comprises executing a query on a database containing a set of authentication codes, and comparing the results of the query to the toy'"'"'s authentication code.

58. The method of claim 49, wherein the virtual world includes a virtual toy with an appearance of the interactive toy.

59. The method of claim 49, wherein the user computer comprises a keyboard allowing a user to enter the code displayed on the display.

60. The method of claim 49, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a communications transceiver within the toy body, and a communications port, the user computer comprises a communications transceiver and a communications port, the method further comprising communicating a code from the interactive toy to the user computer.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a light emitting diode connected to the processor.

62. The method of claim 61, wherein the processor is configured to illuminate the light emitting diode in response to receiving a signal from the communications port.

63. The method of claim 60, wherein the interactive toy further comprises a speaker connected to the processor.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the processor is configured to cause the speaker to emit an audible sound in response to receiving a communications signal.

65. The method of claim 60, wherein the communications transceivers comprise transceivers selected from a group consisting of:

wireless transceivers;

Universal Serial Bus transceivers;

FireWire transceivers, RFID transceivers;

BlueTooth transceivers;

WiFi transceivers;

Ultra-Wideband transceivers, modem transceivers, wireless local area network transceivers, wireless personal area network transceivers, direct sequence spread spectrum transceivers, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing transceivers, and frequency hopping transceivers.

66. The method of claim 60, wherein the communication ports comprise ports selected from a group consisting of:

wireless communication ports comprising an antenna, wired media communication ports, Universal Serial Bus ports, FireWire ports, and twisted pair wired media ports.

67. The method of claim 60, wherein the processor is configured to cause the toy'"'"'s communications transceiver to communicate a code through the communications ports and the users computer is configured to receive the code and communicate it to the server.

68. The method of claim 49, wherein the server comprises a storage medium for storing data related to the interactive toy and the plurality of codes.

69. The method of claim 49, wherein each of the plurality of codes allows the server to serve to the user computer functionality unique to that code.

70. The method of claim 69, wherein the functionality unique to that code is served to the user computer when the code is verified on the server.

71. The method of claim 69, wherein the functionality comprises functionality selected from a group consisting of:

additional virtual point totals in a virtual game, access to additional virtual worlds, access to additional virtual objects, access to additional virtual cash, and access to additional virtual games.

72. The method of claim 49, wherein the providing the virtual world to the user computer comprises displaying the virtual world on a web-browser application on the user computer.

73. The method of claim 49, wherein the virtual world provides a plurality of visual and audible activities to a user on the user computer.

74. A computing apparatus comprising:

a display;

a processor connected to the display;

a first communications transceiver, the communications transceiver connected to the processor, the communications transceiver configured to communicate with a server on a network; and

a memory, the memory comprising a first set of processor executable instructions suitable to, when executed by the processor, configure the computing apparatus to provide a graphical user interface on the display, the graphical user interface comprising a web-browser comprising a software plug-in, the plug-in capable of displaying a virtual world and writing a file containing information related to activity in the virtual world;

the memory further comprising a second set of processor executable instructions suitable to, when executed by the processor, interpret the contents of the file and send a signal to an interactive toy though a second communications transceiver.

75. The computing apparatus of claim 74, wherein the first and the second communications transceivers comprises a transceivers selected from a group consisting of:

wireless transceivers;

Universal Serial Bus transceivers;

FireWire transceivers, RFID transceivers;

BlueTooth transceivers;

WiFi transceivers;

Ultra-Wideband transceivers, modem transceivers, wireless local area network transceivers, wireless personal area network transceivers, direct sequence spread spectrum transceivers, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing transceivers, and frequency hopping transceivers

76. The computing apparatus of claim 74, wherein the server is configured to authenticate the interactive toy by executing a query on a database and comparing the results of the query with an authentication code, the authentication code being associated with the interactive toy.

77. The computing apparatus of claim 74, wherein the server is configured to serve the virtual world to the computing apparatus over the network.

78. The computing apparatus of claim 74, wherein the server is configured to provide additional functionality to the computing apparatus in response to a code communicated to the server by the computing apparatus, the code is one of a plurality of codes associated with the interactive toy.

79. The computing apparatus of claim 78, wherein the code is communicated to the server on a timed basis.

80. The computing apparatus of claim 78, wherein the code is communicated to the server in response to user interaction with the interactive toy.

81. The computing apparatus of claim 78, wherein the code is communicated to the server in response to an achieved point basis, the achieved point basis derived from play with the toy.

82. The computing apparatus of claim 74, wherein the server is configured to store data related to a users interaction with the virtual world.

83. The computing apparatus of claim 82, wherein the server is further configured to send a communication to the computing apparatus indicating an achievement by a user in the virtual world.

84. The computing apparatus of claim 83, wherein the first set of processor executable instructions configures the computing apparatus to receive the communication and write the file based on the received communication.

85. The computing apparatus of claim 84, wherein the second set of processor executable instructions configures the computing apparatus to periodically check for the file, interpret the file, check the validity of the file and send the signal to the interactive toy, the signal causing an action on the interactive toy.

86. The computing apparatus of claim 85, wherein the second set of processor executable instructions configures the computing apparatus to delete the file.

87. The computing apparatus of claim 85, wherein the action comprises an action selected from a group consisting of:

displaying a video on a display on the interactive toy;

illuminating at least one light emitting diode on the interactive toy, emitting a sound from a speaker on the interactive toy, and enabling additional interactive functionality on the interactive toy.

88. The interactive toy of claim 74, wherein the network comprises a network selected from a group consisting of:

a local area network, a wireless network, a metropolitan area network, and the Internet.

89. The interactive toy of claim 74, wherein the virtual world comprises a virtual toy with an appearance of the interactive toy.