Interactive video game

• US 4,895,376 A
• Filed: 06/17/1988
• Issued: 01/23/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tiger Electronics, Ltd. (Hasbro Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tiger Electronics, Ltd. (Hasbro Inc.)
• Inventors: Chiang Shiung-Fei, Joseph J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Oechsle, Anton O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARRISON, JESSICA
• Application Number:
  US07/208,239
• Time in Patent Office: 585 Days
• Field of Search: 273/1 E, 273/85 G, 273/313, 273/316, 273/DIG. 28, 273/148 B, 272/17, 272/18, 272/1 C, 434/45, 434/55, 434/69, 340/727
• US Class Current: 463/2
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/21 characterised by their sensors, purposes or types
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/219 for aiming at specific areas on the display, e.g. light-guns
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/245 specially adapted to a particular type of game, e.g. steering wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/803 Driving vehicles or craft, e.g. cars, airplanes, ships, robots or tanks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/246 Computer generated or synthesized image
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8017 Driving on land or water; Flying
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8076 Shooting
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/0291 with a simulated projectile, e.g. an image on a screen

Abstract

An interactive game includes a housing with a first part and a second part. The first part is moveable with respect to the second part and carries a liquid crystal display. Switches provide electrical signals indicating the position of the first part with respect to the second part. A microcomputer connected to both the display and the switches is programmed to generate electrical signals to produce a moving image on the display. Movement of the first part of the housing with respect to the second part moves the display and the images thereon in a consistent fashion. A manually operable switch is provided to generate hit indicating events under operator control. When the images enter a target region they may be obliterated from the display by a manually generated hit indicating event.

Claims

1. An interactive apparatus, usable by an operator located outside of same, comprising:

a housing movable by the outside operator in at least a first direction;

means for sensing said movement;

means, carried by said housing, for displaying a relatively movable indicium;

means, coupled to said sensing means and said display means, for controlling relative location and movement of said indicium on said display at least in part in response to said sensed movement.

2. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 with said housing formed of a first part and a second part, said second part being relatively movable with respect to said first part.

3. An interactive apparatus as in claim 2 with said sensing means including means for detecting movement of said second part with respect to said first part.

4. An interactive apparatus as in claim 2 with said sensing means including means for detecting the position of said second part with respect to said first part.

5. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 with said display means including a two dimensional visual display region.

6. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 with said control means including means for generating time varying, position dependent electrical signals, also coupled to said display means, for displaying said moving indicium with a changing size as a function of time.

7. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 with said control means including means for generating time varying, position dependent electrical signals, also coupled to said display means, for displaying said moving indicium with a continually increasing size representing a relatively approaching object.

8. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 including manually operable means, coupled to said control means, for initiating selected events.

9. An interactive apparatus as in claim 8 with said control means including means for sensing said selected events and for altering said display in response thereto.

10. An interactive apparatus as in claim 9 with said altering means including means for changing a dimensional parameter of said indicium.

11. An interactive apparatus as in claim 10 with said changing means including means of increasing the overall size of said indicium.

12. An interactive apparatus as in claim 11 with said increasing means including time dependent means for increasing the overall size of said indicium.

13. An interactive apparatus as in claim 12 with said time dependent means including means for moving said indicium from a first to a second part of said display means simultaneously with increasing said overall size of said indicium and including means for creating an image of said indicium which, as a function of time, appears to be approaching said second part.

14. An interactive apparatus as in claim 12 with said time dependent means including means for moving said indicium from a first to a second part on said display means simultaneously with decreasing said overall size of said indicium and including means for creating an image of said indicium which, as a function of time, appears to be departing said second part.

15. An interactive apparatus as in claim 11 with said increasing means including time dependent means for decreasing the overall size of said indicium.

16. An interactive apparatus as in claim 10 with said changing means including means of decreasing the overall size of said indicium.

17. An interactive apparatus as in claim 10 with said changing means including means for increasing and decreasing the overall size of said indicium in response to said sensed movement and at least one time varying electrical signal generated by said control means.

18. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 with said control means including a microcomputer.

19. An interactive apparatus as in claim 1 with said display means including a liquid crystal display.

20. An interactive electrically powered unit for displaying an operator alterable event sequence, the operator being located externally of the unit, comprising:

support means having a first part relatively movable, by the externally located operator, with respect to a second part with said second part not moving relative to the operator;

electrically actuated display means carried by said first part;

means, carried by said first part, for sensing position of said first part with respect to said second part;

manually operable means carried by said first part for generating an intermittent event altering indicium in response to manual actuation thereof by the externally located operator thereof;

control means, coupled to said display means, said sensing means and said manually operable means, for generating display activating, electrical signals in response to which a display indicium, relatively movable with respect to said display means, is formed thereon with said movement being altered by at least said sensed relative position of said first and second parts and by said event altering indicium.

21. An interactive unit as in claim 20 with said control means including means for altering both size and position of said display indicium as said indicium moves from a first portion of said display means toward a second portion thereof.

22. An interactive unit as in claim 20 with said display means including a predefined region for terminating display of said display indicium.

23. An interactive unit as in claim 22 with said control means including means for detecting a simultaneous occurrence of said display indicium in said display terminating region and an occurrence of said event altering indicium from said manually operable means.

24. An interactive unit as in claim 22, including further, means for generating an audio indicium indicative of said simultaneous occurrence.

25. A method of controlling a visual image on a display which is being viewed by an operator comprising:

displaying the image on a first part of the display;

moving the image toward a second part of the display,

manually moving the display from a first position to a second position;

detecting relative position of the display and

altering the location of the image thereon in response thereto.

26. A method as in claim 25 including changing the size of the image while it is being moved so as to present the appearance of an object moving closer.

27. A method as in claim 25 including moving the image at a predetermined rate.

28. A method as in claim 25 including displaying at least one additional fixed image.

29. A method as in claim 25 wherein the image increases or decreases in size as the image moves from the first part to the second part.

30. An interactive apparatus usable by an outside operator comprising:

means for supporting a selected member;

electrically actuated display means carried by said supporting means and movable relative thereto by the outside operator;

manually operable input means, usable by the outside operator, for effecting movement of said display means from a first position to a second position;

control means, coupled to said display means and said input means, for generating image forming electrical signals for said display means including means for displaying an image based at least in part on said relative location of said display means with respect to said supporting means.

31. An interactive apparatus as in claim 30 including means for sensing relative location of said display means with respect to said supporting means.

32. An interactive apparatus as in claim 31 with said sensing means including means for detecting the position of said display means with respect to said supporting means.

33. An interactive apparatus as in claim 31 with said image forming signals forming a moving image on said display means with said control means including means for varying said signals so as to move said image in a first direction from an initial location toward a final location on said display means.

34. An interactive apparatus as in claim 33 with said signal varying means including means responsive to said relative location for varying said signals in response thereto thereby presenting a visual image appearing to move toward a selected region of said display means.

35. An interactive apparatus as in claim 34 with said visual image movable in a second direction, different from said first direction, in response to changing relative location.

36. An interactive apparatus as in claim 35 with said second direction being oriented generally transversely with respect to said first direction.

37. An interactive apparatus as in claim 30 with said control means including means for generating electrical signals corresponding to a fixed indicium on said display means.

38. An interactive apparatus as in claim 30 with said control means including a microcomputer.

39. An interactive apparatus as in claim 38 with said display means including a liquid crystal display.

40. An interactive activity apparatus usable by an external operator comprising:

a closed housing;

means supporting said housing for relative motion therewith;

sensing means for providing electrical signals indicative of a position of said housing relative to said supporting means;

electrically actuated means, carried by said housing for displaying selected indicia in response to applied control signals;

a manually operable control member, carried by said housing outside thereof, for relatively moving at least said display with respect to said supporting means, including manually operable, event actuating means for generating at least a selected control signal; and

control means coupled to said sensing means, to said display means and to said event activating means, for detecting said relative location, for generating time varying indicia displaying control signals in response at least to said relative position and for altering relative position of at least one of said indicia as said relative position changes.

41. An apparatus as in claim 40 with said control means including means for moving at least one indicium over a period of time in a first direction and for moving said indicium in a second direction in response to relative motion between said housing and said supporting means.

42. An apparatus as in claim 41 with said movement in said first direction being simultaneous with said movement in said second direction.

43. An apparatus as in claim 41 with said control means including means for generating indicium displaying time varying electrical actuation signals for moving said displayed indicium from a first region of said display means, in a first direction, at a selected rate and for moving said displayed indicium in said second direction toward a predetermined region of said display means.

44. An apparatus as in claim 43 with said control means including means for detecting a simultaneous occurrence of said indicium being present in said predetermined region and said generated selected control signal.

45. An apparatus as in claim 44 with said control means altering said displayed indicium in response to said detected simultaneous occurrence.

46. An apparatus as in claim 40 with said control means including means for generating control signals for displaying simultaneously a plurality of movable indicium.

47. An apparatus as in claim 46 with said members of said plurality each relatively movable in a first direction.

48. An apparatus as in claim 47 with at least some members of said plurality changing size while moving in said first direction.

49. An apparatus as in claim 48 with said control means including means for enlarging the size of at least one member of said plurality while said member moves in said first direction.

50. An interactive video game usable by an external player comprising:

a closed housing;

means for supporting said housing and moveable relative thereto;

display means carried by said housing on an external surface thereof, for selectively displaying a plurality of spaced-apart visible images with at least some of said images aligned along a linear direction on said display with said some images having a size that increases in a predetermined fashion along said linear direction;

means for sensing position of said housing with respect to said supporting means;

control means, coupled to said display means and said sensing means, for making selected images visible on said display means including means for visibly displaying in succession said some images so as to present an appearance of a selected object, corresponding in shape to one of said some images, moving on said display while simultaneously changing size; and

a manually operable control member attached to and, at least in part, outside of said housing usable to move said display means and said housing thereby altering the relative location of visible image on said display with respect to said supporting means.

51. An interactive video game as in claim 50 with said control means including programmed data processing means.

52. An interactive video game as in claim 50 with said display means including a liquid crystal display.

53. An interactive video game as in claim 52 wherein said liquid crystal display carries at least one plurality of linearly spaced-apart visually observable images similar to one another except in size with said plurality extending across at least one region of said display.

54. An interactive video game as in claim 53 with said liquid crystal display carrying at least a second plurality of linearly spaced-apart visually observable images.

55. An interactive video apparatus manipulated by an external operator comprising:

a base member;

a support member movably carried on said base member and manually movable by the external operator with respect to said base member;

display means mounted on an external operator viewable surface of said support member;

means for generating images, on at least part of said display means, movable in response to the relative location of said display means with respect to said base member.