Methods and systems for providing programmable computerized interactors

• US 6,556,184 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2001
• Issued: 04/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vulcan Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Interval Research Corporation
• Inventors: Weil, Emily, Thomas, Greg, Mountford, S. Joy, Dougherty, Thomas J., Cummings, Daniel E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Application Number:
  US09/991,132
• Publication Number:
  US 20020033801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/170, 345/177, 434/156, 434/159
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/26 for automatically producing a series of tones
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/055 Spint toy, i.e. specifically designed for children, e.g. adapted for smaller fingers or simplified in some way; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces with simplified control features

Abstract

A computerized interactor system uses physical, three-dimensional objects as metaphors for input of user intent to a computer system. When one or more interactors are engaged with a detection field, the detection field reads an identifier associated with the object and communicates the identifier to a computer system. The computer system determines the meaning of the interactor based upon its identifier and upon a semantic context in which the computer system is operating. One specific embodiment of the present invention is a bead interactor system that is a user playable sound and light show system. When an interactor bead is positioned within the detection space of the bead interactor system, a sound sequence begins and continues to play unaltered until the bead interactor is removed or other bead interactors are positioned within or removed from the detection space. Each bead represents a different sound and the row and column location of the bead within the detection space controls how the sound is modified, e.g., louder or softer, higher pitched or lower pitched, the period of play, etc. In some embodiments, the beads are translucent in order to conduct light from light sources located under each bead receptacle. The available sounds are determined not only by the identity of the beads and their positioning within the detection space and their associated states or orientations, but also by sound data stored in an accompanying computer readable medium. Hence a user can access a variety of sound collections by simply installing a different computer readable medium.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for allowing a user to control an application executing on a computer system through the use of a plurality of physical interactors that can be manually placed within a detection space coupled to the computer system, each physical interactor having an identity, the method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a computer readable medium storing data and operating instructions suitable for use in controlling the computer system;

b) reading application instructions into memory of the computer system, the application instructions including at least a portion of the data and operating instructions for use in controlling the computer system stored on the computer readable medium;

c) generating a play array that includes data corresponding to a position and an identity of each interactor positioned within the detection space;

d) executing the application instructions including performing an action based upon the play array and the application instructions;

e) monitoring to determine whether an event has occurred that requires updating the play array;

f) updating the play array when an event occurs that requires such an update, events requiring an update including an interactor interrupt and a software interrupt, the interactor interrupt corresponding to one of i) the insertion of a particular interactor into the detection space and ii) the removal of the particular interactor from the detection space; and

g) continuously repeating steps d)-f).

2. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

receiving within the detection space a first interactor;

determining a parameter associated with the first interactor, the parameter being selected from the set consisting of

     1) a position of the first interactor within the detection space,

     2) orientation of the first interactor within the detection space,

     3) motion of the first interactor within the detection space, and

     4) a relative position of the first interactor with respect to a second interactor;

determining an identity of the first interactor; and

generating a first interactor interrupt and data associated with the parameter value and identity of the first interactor.

3. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining that a first interactor has been removed from the detection space; and

generating a first interactor interrupt and data associated with the removed first interactor.

4. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein at least one interactor positioned with the detection space further includes a user programmable state variable, the play array further includes data corresponding to a value of the user programmable state variable, and the events requiring an update further include a state variable interrupt corresponding to an adjustment being made to the user programmable state variable.

5. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 4 further comprising the steps of:

determining that an adjustment has been made to the user programmable state variable; and

generating a state variable interrupt and data associated with a new value of the user programmable state variable.

6. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 1 wherein the application instructions relate to a user playable sound system.

7. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 6 wherein the computer system further has an amplifier and a speaker, and the action performed in step d) includes the playing of a sound sequence.

8. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 7 wherein at least one of the interactors positioned in the detection space is coupled to a light source that is coupled to the computer system and the action performed in step d) further includes lighting up the at least one interactor coupled to the light source.

9. A computer implemented method as recited in claim 7 wherein the detection space has a discrete, finite number of positions each representing a particular sound modification characteristic, and the playing of a sound sequence includes playing sound in accordance with the identities and arrangement of the plurality of interactors within the detection space.