Real-time interactive conversational toy

• US 5,213,510 A
• Filed: 07/09/1991
• Issued: 05/25/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Michael J. Freeman
• Original Assignee: Michael J. Freeman
• Inventors: Freeman, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): HARRISON, JESSICA
• Application Number:
  US07/727,836
• Time in Patent Office: 686 Days
• Field of Search: 434/307, 434/308, 434/309, 434/318, 434/319, 434/321, 434/322, 434/323, 434/335, 273/436, 446/297, 446/299, 446/302
• US Class Current: 434/321
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/04 with audible presentation of the material to be studied sound recording or reproducing G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/06 of the multiple-choice answer-type, i.e. where a given question is provided with a series of answers and a choice has to be made from the answers

Abstract

The present invention is a real-time interactive conversational toy which operates by playing to a child a prerecorded conversation stored on a multi-track media such as magnetic tape. The system conversations are programmed according to a decision-tree logic which allows complex conversations to be developed, branching between the various tracks of the media being accomplished without the aid of a microprocessor or any coding in the conversation source signal. The information is stored on each track in a plurality of reproducible information segments, which contain interrogatory messages and associated multiple choice responses, responsive messages, informational messages, and combinations thereof. The responsive messages contained on the tracks are related in real-time and content to particular interrogatory messages, and correspond with multiple choice selectable responses. The system can exhibit pseudo-memory and multiple simultaneous pseudo-memories; exhibit profiling and substitutability; and categorize and subcategorize users of the toy. The media used by the toy are removable so as to allow user selection of cartridges containing differing conversational content.

Claims

1. A real-time interactive conversational toy comprising:

a storage media; and

means for selectively playing said storage media at a given time, said selectively playable storage media containing an interactive conversational content and comprising a plurality of temporally related data storage tracks containing information, said means for selectively playing said storage media at said given time comprising means for substantially simultaneously retrieving the information from each of said data storage tracks; and

multiple choice selection means for randomly accessing one of said tracks of said storage media for retrieving the information stored thereon for enabling said selective playing of said retrieved information, the information being stored on each track in a plurality of information segments, each of said segments comprising a complete message reproducible by said retrieval means directly in response to the selection of the track upon which said segments are stored, each of said information segments comprising interrogatories having multiple choice selectable responses, responsive messages, informational messages, or combinations thereof related in real-time and content to information contained in at least one information segment of at least one track at a prior time, said information stored on said tracks in a predetermined timed sequence according to a decision-tree for providing a plurality of different interactive pathways through said tracks comprising a continuous flow of interactive conversations across said tracks dependent on said multiple choice selectable responses, each of at least one information segment on each of at least two of said plurality of tracks comprising an interrogatory having multiple choice selectable responses corresponding with associated information segments, said associated information segments comprising responsive messages related in real-time and content to said interrogatory, said correspondence determinable according to said decision tree, said selective playing means selectively playing an information segment from said accessed one of said tracks;

at least one of said interactive pathways provided by said decision tree comprising a special pathway accessible by said multiple choice selection means at a predetermined memory sampling point in said decision tree, said special pathway containing an information segment at said predetermined memory sampling point recalling a consecutive accumulation of the prior selections made along said special pathway at said memory sampling point for exhibiting a pseudo-memory of at least a portion of said multiple choice selectable responses along said at least one of said interactive pathways.

2. A real-time interactive conversational toy according to claim 1 wherein

the information on at least one of said data storage tracks comprises combinations of interrogatories and responsive messages.

3. A real-time interactive conversational toy according to claim 1 wherein

said plurality of different interactive pathways provided by said decision tree comprises at least a second independent special pathway accessible by said multiple choice selection means at said predetermined sampling point in said decision tree, said second independent special pathway existing simultaneously on said decision tree with said special pathway, said second independent special pathway containing an information segment at said predetermined memory sampling point recalling a consecutive accumulation of the prior selections made along said second independent special pathway at said memory sampling point for simultaneously exhibiting a pseudo-memory of at least a portion of said multiple choice selectable responses along said second independent special pathway.

4. A real-time interactive conversational toy according to claim 3, wherein

each special pathway exhibits recall of at least a portion of said multiple choice selectable responses after at least three consecutive interrogatories.

5. A real-time interactive conversational toy according to claim 1, wherein

said temporally related data storage tracks comprise a magnetic storage media having a plurality of coextensive tracks wherein said means for retrieving the information comprises magnetic storage media reading means corresponding with each of said plurality of coextensive tracks.

6. A real-time interactive conversational toy according to claim 1 further comprising means for removably receiving at least one of a plurality of storage media at a given time each of said plurality of removably receivable storage media containing a different interactive conversational content and comprising a plurality of said temporally related data storage tracks, said selective playing means selectively playing a removably received one of said plurality of storage media at said given time, said removably received one of said storage media comprising said plurality of different interactive pathways.

7. A method for providing a real-time interactive conversation which comprises

providing a magnetic storage media having plurality of coextensive audio tracks capable of having audio information stored thereon for audio playback therefrom;

providing a multi-track audio playback means for simultaneously obtaining said stored audio information from each of said coextensive tracks, said playback means capable of removably receiving a plurality of said storage media, each of said storage media containing a different interactive conversational content;

providing multiple choice selection means operatively connected to said playback means and controllable by a child for directly selecting one of said tracks for reproducing said selected information stored thereon;

providing audio output means operatively connected to said playback means and said direct selection means for reproducing said selected information on a selected track as an audio output therefrom;

storing said information on said tracks in a predetermined time sequence following a decision-tree relationship to allow a track invariant continuous flow of interactive conversation responsive to multiple choice selectable responses to interrogatories contained in said information, said multiple choice selectable responses corresponding with associated tracks, said decision-tree comprising at least one special pathway accessible by said multiple choice selection at a predetermined memory sampling point in said decision tree, along said special pathway said special pathway containing an information segment at said predetermined memory sampling point recalling a consecutive accumulation of the prior selections made along said special pathway at said memory sampling point for exhibiting a pseudo-memory of at least a portion of said particular multiple choice responses;

storing on said tracks in a timed relationship at least a plurality of interrogatories with respective multiple choice responses, said interrogatories and respective multiple choice responses related according to said decision tree to form said special pathway, the content of at least a portion of said related interrogatories each having a different content corresponding with the content of at least a portion of said memory of multiple choice responses;

playing back said magnetic storage media, said audio output means reproducing the information on tracks associated with the multiple choice responses to said interrogatories, said playback means providing interactive conversation and exhibiting said pseudo-memory in response to multiple choice selections corresponding to said series of particular responses associated with said at least one special pathway.

8. A method for providing a real-time interactive conversation which comprises:

providing a digital storage media having audio information stored thereon for audio playback therefrom, said stored information being stored in a plurality of audio files, each of said files representing an audio track;

providing audio playback means for obtaining said stored audio information from each of said tracks, said playback means capable of receiving a plurality of said storage media, each of said storage media containing a different interactive conversational content;

providing multiple choice selection means operatively connected to said playback means and controllable by a child for directly selecting one of said tracks for reproducing said selected information stored thereon;

providing audio output means operatively connected to said playback means and said direct selection means for reproducing said selected information on a selected track as an audio output therefrom;

storing said information on said tracks in a predetermined time sequence following a decision-tree relationship to allow a track invariant continuous flow of interactive conversation responsive to multiple choice selectable responses to interrogatories contained in said information, said multiple choice selectable responses corresponding with associated tracks, said decision-tree comprising at least one special pathway accessible by said multiple choice selections at a predetermined memory sampling point in said decision tree, along said special pathway said special pathway containing an information segment at said predetermined memory sampling point recalling a consecutive accumulation of the prior selections made along said special pathway at said memory sampling point for exhibiting a pseudo-memory of at least a portion of said particular multiple choice responses;

storing on said tracks in a timed relationship at least a plurality of interrogatories with respective multiple choice responses, said interrogatories and respective multiple choice responses related according to said decision tree to form said special pathway, the content of at least a portion of said related interrogatories each having a different content corresponding with the content of at least a portion of said memory of multiple choice responses;

playing back said digital storage media, said audio output means reproducing the information on tracks associated with the multiple choice responses to said interrogatories, said playback means providing interactive conversation and exhibiting said pseudo-memory in response to multiple choice selections corresponding to said series of particular responses associated with said at least one special pathway.