System and method for providing avatar with variable appearance

• US 9,313,045 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2006
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NHN Corporation
• Original Assignee: NHN Corporation
• Inventors: Min, Young Joo, Jung, Young Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Kassim, Khaled
• Application Number:
  US11/910,961
• Publication Number:
  US 20080195699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,658 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 715/758, 715/706, 345/419
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality

Abstract

The present invention relates a system and method for providing an avatar with variable appearance. When a user is connected through a network, information on the avatar provided to the user is collected. The avatar has at least two exposed units. The user'"'"'s location on the network is determined, at least one exposed unit is selected from among the plurality of exposed units according to the determined location, and an avatar for displaying the selected exposed unit is generated to the user. The exposed units configuring the avatar are respectively modified according to the user'"'"'s selection. Therefore, the avatar can be easily displayed on any place on the Internet by controlling the exposed units of the avatar depending on the user'"'"'s location on the network. Further, the user can combine and modify the avatar in various ways by respectively controlling the exposed units.

Claims

1. A method for providing an avatar, the method comprising:

providing, using an avatar providing server, the avatar to a user connected to a network through a user terminal in response to a request by the user;

storing information associated with the avatar provided to the user;

receiving, at a service providing server, the information associated with the avatar provided by the avatar providing server to the user, the information associated with the avatar comprising information on a plurality of exposed units configuring the avatar;

determining, using the service providing server, a location of the user in the network;

selecting, using the service providing server, information on exposed units of the avatar of the user depending on the user'"'"'s location in the network;

transmitting files for a first exposed unit and a second exposed unit if the determining determines a first location and transmitting a file for the first exposed unit, without transmitting a file for the second exposed unit, if the determining determines a second location;

generating, using the service providing server, a service page on which the avatar having an exposed unit is displayed based on the transmitted file or files; and

transmitting the service page to the user terminal,

wherein the location of the user is a page displaying the avatar with an identity (ID) code of the user, wherein the user'"'"'s access to the first location requires authentication via a first authenticator and the user'"'"'s access to the second location requires authentication via a second authenticator,

wherein the first exposed unit corresponds to a head of the avatar and the second exposed unit corresponds to parts of the avatar other than the head, and

wherein transmitting the service page comprises;

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit and the second exposed unit of the avatar are displayed if a web address associated with the user corresponds to a first page; and

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit of the avatar is displayed, without displaying the second exposed unit, if the web address associated with the user corresponds to a second page.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, using the avatar providing server, an avatar modifying means in response to a request by the user; and

modifying and controlling the plurality of exposed units configuring the avatar according to the user'"'"'s operation of the avatar modifying means.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the avatar is displayed with the ID code assigned to the user.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium for storing a program for executing the method of claim 1.

4. A method for providing an avatar, the method comprising:

providing, using an avatar providing server, the avatar to a user connected to a network through a user terminal in response to a request by the user;

storing information associated with the avatar provided to the user;

requesting, using a service providing server, the information from the avatar providing server;

determining, using the avatar providing server, a location of the user in the network;

selecting, using the avatar providing server, information on different exposed units of the avatar of the user depending on the user'"'"'s location in the network;

transmitting information corresponding to the at least one exposed unit to the service providing server, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting files for a first exposed unit and a second exposed unit if the determining determines a first location and transmitting a file for the first exposed unit, without transmitting a file for the second exposed unit, if the determining determines a second location;

generating, using the service providing server, a service page on which the avatar having a controlled exposed unit is displayed based on the transmitted file or files; and

transmitting the service page to the user terminal,

wherein the location of the user is a page displaying the avatar with an identity (ID) code of the user, wherein the user'"'"'s access to the first location requires authentication via a first authenticator and the user'"'"'s access to the second location requires authentication via a second authenticator,

wherein the first exposed unit corresponds to a head of the avatar and the second exposed unit corresponds to parts of the avatar other than the head, and

wherein transmitting the service page comprises;

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit and the second exposed unit of the avatar are displayed if a web address associated with the user corresponds to a first page; and

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit of the avatar is displayed, without displaying the second exposed unit, if the web address associated with the user corresponds to a second page.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing, using the avatar providing server, an avatar modifying means in response to a request by the user; and

modifying and controlling the exposed units configuring the avatar according to the user'"'"'s operation of the avatar modifying means.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the avatar is displayed with the ID code assigned to the user.

7. A method for providing an avatar, the method comprising:

displaying an avatar provided to a user connected to a network through a user terminal depending on the user'"'"'s location in the network, the avatar comprising a first exposed unit corresponding to a head of the avatar and a second exposed unit corresponding to parts of the avatar other than the head;

providing an avatar modifying means to the user terminal in response to a request of the user;

determining a location of the user terminal in the network;

determining an operation state of the avatar modifying means, the operation state being controlled by the user;

modifying and controlling the first exposed unit based on a first modifying variable set according to the determined operation state of the avatar modifying means;

modifying and controlling the second exposed unit based on a second modifying variable set according to the determined operation state of the avatar modifying means;

transmitting files for a first exposed unit and a second exposed unit if the determining determines a first location and transmitting a file for the first exposed unit, without transmitting a file for the second exposed unit, if the determining determines a second location;

generating and displaying the avatar by combining the modified and controlled first exposed unit and the modified and controlled second exposed unit if the determining has determined the first location and generating and displaying the avatar by combining the modified and controlled first exposed unit, without the modified and controlled second exposed unit, if the determining has determined the second location; and

transmitting the service page to the user terminal,

wherein the location of the user is a page displaying the avatar with an identity (ID) code of the user, wherein the user'"'"'s access to the first location requires authentication via a first authenticator and the user'"'"'s access to the second location requires authentication via a second authenticator,

wherein transmitting the service page comprises;

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit and the second exposed unit of the avatar are displayed if a web address associated with the user corresponds to a first page; and

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit of the avatar is displayed, without displaying the second exposed unit, if the web address associated with the user corresponds to a second page.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first modifying variable comprises at least one of viewing direction, facial expression, and color, and the second modifying variable comprises at least one of pose and direction.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein displaying the avatar comprises displaying the avatar with the ID code assigned to the user.

11. A system for providing an avatar, the system comprising:

a provision history database to store information associated with the avatar assigned to a user;

an avatar display to collect the information on the avatar assigned to the user from the provision history database and to display the information in response to connection of the user to a network;

a user position determiner to determine a location of the user in the network, wherein the avatar comprises a plurality of exposed units;

a service providing server for transmitting a service page to the user terminal; and

an avatar providing server to transmit files for a first exposed unit and a second exposed unit if the user position determiner determines a first location and to transmit a file for the first exposed unit, without transmitting a file for the second exposed unit, if the user position determiner determines a second location, and wherein the avatar display differently selects at least one of the plurality of exposed units according to the determined location and displays the at least one exposed unit of the selected avatar,

wherein the location of the user is a page displaying the avatar with an identity (ID) code of the user, wherein the user'"'"'s access to the first location requires authentication via a first authenticator and the user'"'"'s access to the second location requires authentication via a second authenticator,

wherein the first exposed unit corresponds to a head of the avatar and the second exposed unit corresponds to parts of the avatar other than the head, and

wherein transmitting the service page comprises;

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit and the second exposed unit of the avatar are displayed if a web address associated with the user corresponds to a first page; and

transmitting, to the user terminal, the service page on which the first exposed unit of the avatar is displayed, without displaying the second exposed unit, if the web address associated with the user corresponds to a second page.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a user selecting and determining unit to provide an avatar modifying means and to determine an operation state of the avatar modifying means, the operation state being controlled by the user; and

an avatar controller to modify and control the at least one exposed unit according to the determined operation state.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

an avatar database to store files corresponding to the exposed units of the avatar associated with the ID code, the files comprising at least one sub file for displaying exposed units of the avatar,

wherein the avatar controller selects a modifying variable for the at least one exposed unit of the avatar according to the determined operation state, and modifies and controls the at least one exposed unit of the avatar based on the file corresponding to the modifying variable.