FOOT GAME CONTROLLER WITH MOTION DETECTION AND/OR POSITION DETECTION

• US 20080318679A1
• Filed: 06/21/2007
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: MUSE Green Investments LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: MUSE Green Investments LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Tran, Bao, Tran, Alexander Bach
• Application Number:
  US11/766,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20080318679A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/39
• CPC Class Codes: A43B 3/34 with electrical or electronic arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/212 using sensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat or leg activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/218 using pressure sensors, e.g. generating a signal proportional to the pressure applied by the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/235 using a wireless connection, e.g. infrared or piconet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/33 using wide area network [WAN] connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/335 using Internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/573 using trajectories of game objects, e.g. of a golf ball according to the point of impact
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1012 involving biosensors worn by the player, e.g. for measuring heart beat, limb activity
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1025 details of the interface with the game device, e.g. USB version detection
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1031 using a wireless connection, e.g. Bluetooth, infrared connections
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1056 involving pressure sensitive buttons
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1081 Input via voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/205 for detecting the geographical location of the game platform
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/407 : Data transfer via internet
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/5573 : player location
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/646 : for calculating the trajectory of an object
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 : Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 22/006 : Pedometers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0334 : Foot operated pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2535 : adapted for voice communication over an Internet Protocol [IP] network Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network equipment and services H04M7/006; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 : using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 : for supporting games or graphical animations

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed having a mesh network such as a ZigBee mesh network, a game controller coupled to the mesh network; and a display device coupled to the mesh network.

Claims

1. A foot controller, comprising:

a foot platform;

a wireless network device coupled to the foot platform;

a motion sensor coupled to the wireless network to detect foot motion; and

a motion signal processor coupled to the motion sensor and to the wireless network device, the motion signal processor determining foot movement and applying the foot movement to a physics model of a ball and one or more players.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless network device comprises one of:

an 802.11 device, a Bluetooth device, an 805.15 device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mesh network game controller comprises a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the ball is played in a multiplayer online role-playing game.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the foot controller comprises a TV remote.

6. The system of claim 1, comprising a server coupled to the wireless network device and to a wide area network.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the server receives a search query from the controller;

the server searching one or more databases based on the search query and returning a search result on the display.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein a third party associated with one of the search results is selected to call back the game controller.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the server connect players to one or more game worlds.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the server instructs players to travel to one or more predetermined physical locations.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined physical locations pay advertising revenue for instructions from the server.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor comprises one of:

an accelerometer, a piezoelectric transducer, a contact switch, a pressure transducer.

13. The system of claim 1, comprising an electricity generator coupled to the foot platform.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the electricity generator comprises one of:

an electrostrictive polymer, an electroactive polymer, a piezoelectric element, a solar cell.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor detects ball approach, plant-foot force, swing-limb loading, hip flexion, knee extension, foot contact, and follow-through.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion sensor detects muscular action during approach and kick.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the motion sensor detects trunk motion for stabilization, right hip motion for internal rotation/hip flexion, left hip motion for extension, right knee motion for extension, left knee motion for extension, right ankle motion for plantar flexion, left shoulder for horizontal adduction.

18. The system of claim 1, comprising a hand controller to detect hand motion and wherein the motion sensors detect swinging or cocking of the kicking limb of a kicking leg and motion in an opposite arm to the kicking leg.

19. The system of claim 1, comprising a physics motion processor to process the current position, the motion of the foot and the force to model ball path and display the ball path.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the motion signal processor applies a linear relationship between foot velocity measured by the sensor and the resultant ball velocity modeled by the physics motion processor.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the motion sensor detects player trunk motion for stabilization, right hip motion for internal rotation/hip flexion, left hip motion for extension, right knee motion for extension, left knee motion for extension, right ankle motion for plantar flexion, left shoulder for horizontal adduction.

21. A system, comprising

a mesh network;

a network game controller coupled to the mesh network including

one or more wearable foot and hand motion detectors, wherein the motion detectors determine hand and foot motions and apply one or more kinematics or physics models to the hand and foot motions; and

an in-door position detector that triangulates positions based on a plurality of wireless transmitter outputs; and

a display device coupled to the mesh network to render game images.