Pedometer with game mode

• US 6,213,872 B1
• Filed: 09/29/1998
• Issued: 04/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Harada, Takahiro, Shimizu, Kazunobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kasick, Julie
• Application Number:
  US09/161,990
• Time in Patent Office: 924 Days
• Field of Search: 463/1, 463/7, 463/29, 463/30, 434/255, 235/105, 377/24.2, 702/160, 482/1, 482/2, 482/3, 482/4, 482/5, 482/6, 482/7, 482/8, 482/9, 482/54
• US Class Current: 463/7
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2208/12 specially adapted for children
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2220/17 Counting, e.g. counting periodical movements, revolutions or cycles, or including further data processing to determine distances or speed
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 24/00 Electric or electronic controls for exercising apparatus of preceding groups; Controlling or monitoring of exercises, sportive games, training or athletic performances
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 71/0622 Visual, audio or audio-visual systems for entertaining, instructing or motivating the user
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8058 Virtual breeding, e.g. tamagotchi
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 Pedometers

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a new pedometer with game mode which can be used as a game by a child to get some exercise such as walking and/or running without reluctance. When a vibration is detected by a vibration detector, the count values of a step-number counter and an integrating counter are incremented, and thereby a display state of a character displayed on an LCD is varied based on the count values of step-number counter and/or the integrating counter.

Claims

1. A game pedometer for determining a number of steps taken by a user, comprising:

a housing;

a vibration detector for detecting a vibration created by the user'"'"'s steps;

a counter for counting an output of said vibration detector to determine the number of steps taken by the user;

a display provided on a surface of the housing; and

a character-display controller in the housing;

wherein the display includes;

a step-number display for displaying the number of steps; and

a character display for displaying a game character, wherein the character display and the step-number display are provided at different locations on the display;

wherein the character-display controller controls a display state of the game character displayed on said character display so that the display state varies based on at least the number of steps taken by said user.

2. A game pedometer as in claim 1, wherein said character-display controller includes:

a data generator for generating data to vary the display state of the game character, and

data supplier for supplying data which changes the display state of the character based on the count value of said counter.

3. A game pedometer in claim 2, further comprising a time data generator for generating time of day data,

wherein said data supplier varies the display state of the character based on said time of day data and the count value of said counter.

4. A game pedometer as in claim 1, wherein said character-display controller includes:

a data generator for generating data to vary the display state of the character for the game, and

a data supplier for supplying data which changes the display state of the character by using the count value of said counter as random data.

5. A game pedometer with game mode as in claim 1, wherein said data generator includes:

game-program storage for storing programs operable to display a character for a plurality of games,

a processor for executing one selected program from among the programs for character display for the plurality of games stored in said game-program storage, and

a program selector for selecting one of the programs from among the plurality of game programs stored in said game-program storage, based on the count value of said counter.

6. A game pedometer as in claim 1, further comprising a reset switch for enabling the user to reset the number of steps, wherein

said counter includes a first counter and a second counter,

said first counter resets the count value thereof in response to operation of said reset switch, and counts the output of said vibration detector which is received thereafter to determine the number of steps after operation of said reset switch,

said step-number display displays the count value of said first counter,

said second counter accumulatively counts the output of said vibration detector to obtain an accumulated value of the number of steps, and

said character-display controller controls the display state of the character displayed on said character display so as to vary the state based on the count value of said second counter, wherein said counter displays the accumulated value of the number of steps only on receipt of an instruction from the character-display controller.

7. A game pedometer as in claim 1, further comprising a reset switch for enabling the user to reset the number of steps,

wherein said counter includes a first counter and an increment counter for counting the output of said vibration detector to obtain the number of steps;

said first counter resets the count value thereof in response to the operation of said reset switch, then counts the output of said vibration detector which is received thereafter to obtain the number of steps after said reset operation, and wherein said step-number display displays the count value of said first counter;

said increment counter increments a count value thereof each time the count value of said first counter increases by a predetermined value; and

said character display displays a virtual pet and is capable of varying representation of the virtual pet according to a plurality of patterns;

said game pedometer further comprising a control switch controller, for selecting and inputting a desired count-value data to be given as a present to said virtual pet within the value counted by said increment counter, wherein

said character-display controller controls an expression of the virtual pet displayed by said character display so as to vary the expression based on the count value data selected, inputted and given by the operation of said control switch.

8. A game pedometer used by being attached to a part of a user'"'"'s body for determining the number of steps taken by the user, comprising:

a housing;

a vibration detector for detecting a vibration created by the user'"'"'s walk;

a counter for counting at least an output of said vibration detector to obtain the number of steps;

a display provided on the housing; and

a character display controller in the housing,

wherein the display includes;

a step-number display for displaying a count value of said counter as step number information; and

a character display for displaying a virtual pet for a game, wherein the character display and the step-number display are provided in different areas of the display;

wherein the character-display controller controls a behavior state of the virtual pet displayed on said character display so as to vary the state based on at least the count value of said counter.

9. A game pedometer as in claim 8, further comprising a time data generator for generating time data, wherein

said character-display controller controls a first display state to make said virtual pet behave in connection with time based on said time data and a second display state to make the virtual pet behave based on the count value of said counter, wherein said virtual pet behaves differently based on said counter than based on said time data.

10. A game pedometer as in claim 8, further comprising a reset switch for enabling the user to reset the number of steps, wherein

said counter includes a first counter and a second counter,

said first counter resets the count value thereof in response to the operation of said reset switch, and counts the output of said vibration detector which is received thereafter to obtain the number of steps after said reset operation,

said step-number display displays the count value of said first counter,

said second counter accumlatively counts the output of said vibration detector to obtain an accumulated value of the number of steps, and

said character-display controller controls the display state of the character displayed on said character display so as to vary the state based on the count value of said second counter, wherein said second counter displays the accumulated value of the number of steps only on receipt of an instruction from the character-display controller.

11. A game pedometer for determining the number of steps taken by a user, comprising:

a housing;

a vibration detector for detecting a vibration created by the user'"'"'s walk;

a step counter for counting an output of said vibration detector to obtain the number of steps;

a display provided on the housing, wherein the display includes,

a step-number display for displaying a count value of said counter as step-number information; and

a character display for displaying a character for a game;

a control switch for game operation; and

character-display controller in the housing for controlling a display state of the character displayed on said character display so as to vary the state thereof,

said character-display controller including;

a data generator for, when receiving instructions to start the game by the operation of said control switch, generating data to vary the display state of the character for the game and varying the display state according to the operation of said control switch, and

a game counter for counting the number of times the game can be played whenever detecting that the count value of said counter is more than or equal to a given value to permit game play, then decreasing the number for game play for each of said instructions to start the game, and thereby activating the game play only within the number of times the game can be played.

12. A game pedometer comprising:

a housing;

a detector in the housing for detecting steps taken by a user of said game pedometer;

a counter for counting the number of steps detected by said detector;

a character display on the housing for displaying a character for a game; and

a character-display controller in the housing for controlling a display state of the character displayed on said character display based on at least a count value of said counter.

13. A game pedometer as in claim 12, further including a step-number display which displays said count value of said counter.

14. A game pedometer as in claim 13, wherein said detector is a vibration detector.

15. A game pedometer as in claim 12, wherein said detector is a vibration detector.

16. A game pedometer as in claim 12, further comprising a time data generator for generating time of day data,

wherein said character display controller varies the display state of the character based on said time of day data and the count value of said counter.

17. A pedometer with game mode as claimed in claim 12, further comprising:

game-program storage for storing programs capable of displaying a character for a plurality of games,

a processor for executing one selected program from among the programs for character display for the plurality of games stored in said game-program storage, and

a program selector for selecting any one of the programs from among the plurality of game programs stored in said game-program storage, based on the count value of said counter.

18. A game pedometer as defined in claim 12, wherein said character is a virtual pet.

19. A game pedometer as defined in claim 18, further including a user selectable process for using at least a portion of said the number of steps as a gift for said virtual pet, thereby changing the behavior of said virtual pet.

20. A game pedometer used by being attached to a part of a user'"'"'s body for determining the number of steps taken by the user, comprising:

a housing;

a vibration detector for detecting a vibration created by the user'"'"'s walk;

a counter for counting at least an output of said vibration detector to obtain the number of steps;

a display provided on the housing; and

a character display controller in the housing,

wherein the display includes;

a step-number display for displaying a count value of said counter as step number information; and

a character display for displaying a virtual pet for a game, wherein the character display and the step-number display are provided in different areas of the display;

wherein the character-display controller controls a behavior state of the virtual pet displayed on said character display so as to vary the state based on at least the count value of said counter;

and further including a time data generator for generating time data, wherein said character-display controller controls a first display state to make said virtual pet behave in connection with time based on said time data and a second display state to make the virtual pet behave based on the count value of said counter, wherein said virtual pet behaves differently based on said counter than based on said time data;

said game pedometer further including a reset switch for enabling the user to reset the number of steps, wherein

said counter includes a first counter and a second counter,

said first counter resets the count value thereof in response to the operation of said reset switch, and counts the output of said vibration detector which is received thereafter to obtain the number of steps after said reset operation,

said step-number display displays the count value of said first counter,

said second counter accumlatively counts the output of said vibration detector to obtain an accumulated value of the number of steps, and

said character-display controller controls the display state of the character displayed on said character display so as to vary the state based on the count value of said second counter, wherein said second counter displays the accumulated value of the number of steps only on receipt of an instruction from the character-display controller.