Method of displaying 3-D avatar and system thereof

• US 7,639,251 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tencent Technology Shenzhen Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Tencent Technology Shenzhen Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Liang, Zhu, Gu, Sibin, Jia, Yan, Fan, Xiao, Wang, Huixing, Li, Li, Xia, Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Kimbinh T
• Application Number:
  US12/147,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20080284779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419, 345/473, 345/629, 463/40, 463/42, 715/706, 715/850, 709/206, 709/204
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/40 of characters, e.g. humans, animals or virtual beings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A method of displaying a 3-D avatar provided includes acquiring a 3-D avatar configuration file for a current user; acquiring at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file; displaying the at least one 3-D item suite according to the 3-D avatar configuration file. An instant messaging client, a server and a system of displaying a 3-D avatar are also provided. With the above technical solutions, a 3-D avatar is displayed in an IM client, with which a user can exhibit different personal images by freely choosing different 3-D item suite.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a 3-D avatar implemented by an instant messaging client, comprising:

acquiring a 3-D avatar configuration file for a current user;

acquiring at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file, wherein the at least one 3-D item suite comprises at least a finery module;

dividing a fundamental personal model into at least one component, wherein the at least one component comprises at least an arm model and a calf model;

attaching location information to each component, wherein the location information indicates the location of the component in the fundamental personal model;

binding the at least one 3-D item suite to the at least one component respectively based on the context of each 3-D item suite, wherein each 3-D item suite is set an identifier indicating the posture of the component after being bound to the 3-D item suite;

determining whether module interpenetration occurs when binding a finery module to the arm model and/or a finery module to the calf model;

setting the finery module corresponding to the arm model and/or the finery module corresponding to the calf model invisible if the module interpenetration occurs; and

displaying the at least one 3-D item suite and the at least one component.

2. The method of claim 1, before acquiring the 3-D avatar configuration file and the at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file, further comprising:

judging that a 3-D avatar flag is set for the current user.

3. The method of claim 2, before acquiring the 3-D avatar configuration file and the at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file, further comprising:

updating the 3-D avatar configuration file and the at least one 3-D item suite based on a 3-D avatar update updating flag.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the 3-D avatar updating flag is set based on a comparison result of the timestamp of the newest 3-D avatar configuration file in a 3-D avatar backstage sever with the timestamp of the 3-D avatar configuration file locally.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein updating the 3-D avatar configuration file comprises:

requesting the 3-D avatar backstage server for downloading the newest 3-D avatar configuration file and storing the downloaded newest 3-D avatar configuration file locally.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein updating the at least one 3-D item suite comprises:

requesting the 3-D avatar backstage server for downloading a 3-D item suite and storing the downloaded 3-D item suite locally, if the timestamp of the one 3-D item suite in a 3-D item suite list in the newest 3-D avatar configuration file is newer than the timestamp of the one 3-D item suite locally.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the current user comprises a user logging in currently or a contract of the user logging in currently.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the 3-D avatar flag is added in logging information of the user logging in currently, online friend information and user information of the user logging in currently, or in all of friend information acquired by the user logging in currently when re-running the register guide.

9. The method of claim 1, after displaying the at least one 3-D item suites, further comprising:

determining whether an action/expression request message is to trigger a local 3-D avatar to represent an action; and

acquiring the at least one action item suite corresponding to the action/expression.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the action/expression request message comprises text information;

acquiring the at least one action item suite corresponding to the action/expression comprises;

acquiring the at least one action item suite corresponding to a common default expression / action configuration file via the 3-D avatar backstage server and storing the at least one action item suite locally.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the action/expression request message comprises action button information;

acquiring the at least one action item suite corresponding to the action/expression comprises;

judging whether the at least one action item suite are to be updated or whether the at least one action item suite exist locally; and

acquiring the newest action item suites from the 3-D avatar backstage server and updating the at least one action item suite and its timestamp stored locally if the at least one action item suite are to be updated or the at least one action item suite do not exist locally.

12. The method of claim 1,

the at least one 3-D item suite further comprises any one or any combination of a hairstyle module, a shoe module and a ornament module.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one component further comprises a head model, an upper body model, a lower body model, a hand model and a foot model.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the arm model locates between the locations of the cuff when the finery module of the upper body model is short-sleeved and the forearm in the hand model;

the calf model locates between the upper knee and the location of the foot model.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one component further comprises a head model and a hair model.

16. An instant messaging client, comprising:

a first unit, adapted to store a 3-D avatar configuration file for a current user;

a second unit, adapted to store at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file, the at least one 3-D item suite comprises at least a finery module;

a third unit, connected to the first unit and the second unit, and adapted to acquire the at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file and display the at least one 3-D item suite;

wherein the third unit comprises,

a first subunit, adapted to divide fundamental personal model of the 3-D avatar into at least one component, wherein the at least one component comprises at least an arm model and a calf model,

a second subunit, connected to the first subunit, and adapted to (1) attach location information to each component, wherein the location information indicates the location of the component in the fundamental personal model, (2) bind the at least one 3-D item suite to the at least one component respectively based on the context of each 3-D item suite, wherein each 3-D item suite is set an identifier indicating the posture of the component after being bound to the 3-D item suite, (3) determine whether module interpenetration occurs when binding a finery module to the arm model and/or a finery module to the calf model, and (4) set the finery module corresponding to the arm model and/or the finery module corresponding to the calf model invisible if the module interpenetration occurs, and

a third subunit, connected to the second subunit, adapted to display the at least one 3-D item suite and the at least one component.

17. The client of claim 16, further comprising:

a fourth unit, connected to the 3-D display engine, adapted to judge whether a 3-D avatar flag is set for the current user.

18. The client of claim 17, further comprising:

a fifth unit, adapted to compare the timestamp of the newest 3-D avatar configuration file in a server with the timestamp of the 3-D avatar configuration file in the first unit; and

a sixth unit, connected to the fifth unit and the first unit, adapted to request the server for downloading the newest 3-D avatar configuration file based on the comparison result of the fifth unit and store the downloaded 3-D avatar configuration file in the first unit.

19. The client of claim 18, further comprising:

a seventh unit, connected to the fifth unit, adapted to set the 3-D avatar updating flag for the current user based on the comparison result of the fifth unit.

20. The client of claim 19, further comprising:

an eighth unit, connected to the first unit, adapted to compare the timestamp of a 3-D item suite in a 3-D item suite list in the newest 3-D avatar configuration file with the timestamp of the 3-D item suite in the second unit;

a ninth unit, connected to the eighth unit and the seventh unit, and adapted to request the server for downloading the 3-D item suite based on the 3-D avatar updating flag and the comparison result of the eighth unit; and

a tenth unit, adapted to receive the 3-D item suite from the server and store the 3-D item suite in the second unit.

21. The client of claim 20, further comprising:

an eleventh unit, connected to the third unit, adapted to judge whether an action/expression request message is to trigger a local 3-D avatar to represent a corresponding action and notify the third unit to display the corresponding action if the action/expression request message is to trigger a local 3-D avatar to represent the action; and

an twelfth unit, connected to the eleventh unit and the second unit, adapted to analyze the action/expression request message, receive at least one action item suite corresponding to the action/expression request message from the server, and store the at least one action item suit in the second unit.

22. A system of displaying a 3-D avatar, comprising:

a server, adapted to provide a 3-D avatar configuration file and at least one 3-D item suite for an instant messaging client;

the instant messaging client, adapted to (1) store a 3-D avatar configuration file for a current user, (2) store at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file, where the at least one 3-D item suite comprises at least a finery module, (3) divide fundamental personal model of the 3-D avatar into at least one component, wherein the at least one component comprises at least an arm model and a calf model;

(4) attach location information to each component, wherein the location information indicates the location of the component in the fundamental personal model;

(5) bind the at least one 3-D item suite to the at least one component respectively based on the context of each 3-D item suite, wherein each 3-D item suite is set an identifier indicating the posture of the component after being bound to the 3-D item suite;

(6) determine whether module interpenetration occurs when binding a finery module to the arm model and/or a finery module to the calf model;

set the finery module corresponding to the arm model and/or the finery module corresponding to the calf model invisible if the module interpenetration occurs; and

(7) display the at least one 3-D item suite and the at least one component.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the server comprises:

a first unit, adapted to store a 3-D avatar configuration file and at least one 3-D item suite and

a second unit, connected to the first unit, adapted to send the 3-D avatar configuration file and the at least one 3-D item suite to the instant messaging client.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the instant messaging client comprises;

a third unit, adapted to store a 3-D avatar configuration file for a current user;

a fourth unit, adapted to store at least one 3-D item suite; and

a fifth unit, connected to the third unit and the fourth unit, and adapted to acquire at least one 3-D item suite indicated by the 3-D avatar configuration file and display the at least one 3-D item suite.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the server further comprises

a sixth unit, adapted to set a 3-D avatar flag for a current user;

and

wherein the instant messaging client further comprises

a seventh unit, connected to the 3-D display engine, adapted to judge whether a 3-D avatar flag is set for the current user.