Interactive toy, reaction behavior pattern generating device, and reaction behavior pattern generating method

• US 6,682,390 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2001
• Issued: 01/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: TOMY Company Limited
• Original Assignee: TOMY Company Limited
• Inventors: Saito, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Banks, Derris H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cegielnik, Urszula M
• Application Number:
  US09/885,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20020016128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 446/175, 446/297, 446/298, 446/299, 446/300, 446/301, 446/302, 446/303, 446/397, 446/268
• US Class Current: 446/268
• 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

Abstract

An interactive toy (1) comprises stimulus sensors (5) for detecting an inputted stimulus, actuators or the like (3, 4) for actuating the interactive toy (1), and a control unit (10) for controlling the actuators or the like (3, 4) so that the interactive toy (1) may take reaction behavior to the stimulus detected by the stimulus sensors (5). Here, the control unit (10) changes the reaction behavior of the interactive toy (1), according to a total value of generated action points caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy (1). Thus, the reaction behavior (output) of the interactive toy is made into points, and the reaction behavior of the interactive toy (1) is changed according to the total value of the points. Thereby, both enriching the variation related to the reaction behavior and prediction difficulty of the reaction behavior can be attempted.

Claims

1. An interactive toy comprising:

a stimulus detecting member for detecting an inputted stimulus;

an actuating member for actuating the interactive toy; and

a control member for controlling the actuating member in order to make the interactive toy take a reaction behavior to the stimulus detected by the stimulus detecting member;

wherein the control member sets a plurality of reaction behavior patterns to the stimulus, selects one of the plurality of the reaction behavior patterns according to an appearance probability prescribed beforehand, adds or subtracts a generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy based on the selected reaction behavior pattern and stores the added or subtracted action point, and changes the reaction behavior of the interactive toy according to a total value of the stored action points.

2. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy is a number of points according to contents of the reaction behavior.

3. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 2, wherein the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy is a number of points corresponding to a time of the reaction behavior.

4. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control member counts the total value within a time limit set at random.

5. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 1,

wherein the control member distributes the generated action point caused by the reaction behavior of the interactive toy at least to one of a first total value and a second total value, according to a predetermined rule, and thereafter, the control member counts the first total value and the second total value; and

the control member determines the reaction behavior of the interactive toy based on the first total value and the second total value.

6. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 5, wherein the action point is distributed to one of the first total value and the second total value according to contents of an inputted stimulus.

7. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control member distributes a generated action point caused by reaction behavior to a contact stimulus to the first total value, and the control member distributes a generated action point caused by reaction behavior to a non-contact stimulus to the second total value.

8. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

a character state map in which a plurality of character parameters that affect the reaction behavior of the interactive toy are set, the character parameters being written in the character state map by matching with the first total value and the second total value; and

wherein the control member selects a character parameter based on the first total value and the second total value, with reference to the character state map, and the control member determines the reaction behavior of the interactive toy based on the selected character parameter.

9. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control member sets a plurality of growth stages for making the interactive toy grow in stages according to contents of the reaction behavior of the interactive toy, and shifting to a next growth stage occurs when the total value of the action points exceed a predetermined value.

10. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 9, wherein the reaction behavior of the interactive toy develops with the shifting of the growth stages.

11. The interactive toy as claimed in claim 9, wherein a plurality of the reaction behavior patterns are set for each of the growth stages.