Interactive Device with Sound-Based Action Synchronization

• US 20110034102A1
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peter Sui Lun Fong
• Original Assignee: Peter Sui Lun Fong
• Inventors: Zhu, Xi-Song, Fong, Peter Sui Lun, Fong, Kelvin Yat-Kit
• Granted Patent: US 8,821,209 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 446/175
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/54 involving acoustic signals, e.g. for simulating revolutions per minute [RPM] dependent engine sounds in a driving game or reverberation against a virtual wall
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1062 being specially adapted to a type of game, e.g. steering wheel
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6072 of an input signal, e.g. pitch and rhythm extraction, voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6607 for animating game characters, e.g. skeleton kinematics
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8094 Unusual game types, e.g. virtual cooking
• 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 amusement device and a method therefor are disclosed. The device plays a musical soundtrack in a first game iteration. A sequence of user input actions received during this learning mode is detected, and an output signal is generated in response. Timestamps for each of the user input actions is stored into memory. Additionally, the output signal is generated on at least one interval of the user input actions based on the stored timestamps, and is coordinated with the play back of a second musical soundtrack during a second game iteration.

Claims

1. A method for interactive amusement comprising:

playing a first musical soundtrack in a first game iteration;

detecting a sequence of user input actions received during the first game iteration;

generating an output audio signal in response to the detection of one of the sequence of user input actions.

storing into memory timestamps of each of the detected sequence of user input actions, the timestamps being synchronized to the first musical soundtrack;

generating the output audio signal on at least one interval of the received sequence of user input actions based upon the recorded timestamps, the output audio signal being coordinated with the playing of a second musical soundtrack during a second game iteration.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

activating on at least one interval of the received sequence of user input actions a mechanical actuator coupled to a movable element.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

activating the mechanical actuator in response to the detection of one of the sequence of user input actions.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

tallying the number of user input actions detected as a count value;

wherein the activation of the mechanical actuator is based at least in part on the count value.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating on a display device an animation coordinated with the received sequence of user input actions.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

generating the animation on the display device in response to the detection of one of the sequence of user input actions.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

tallying the number of user input actions detected as a count value;

wherein the animation is based at least in part on the count value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein playing the respective one of the first and second musical soundtrack includes:

retrieving digital representations of the respective one of the first and second musical soundtracks from a memory; and

generating an audio signal of the respective one of the first and second musical soundtracks from the digital representation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first soundtrack and the second soundtrack are different.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first soundtrack and the second soundtrack are the same.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tallying the number of user input actions detected as a count value;

wherein the output audio signal is based at least in part on the count value.

12. An animated figure amusement device with at least one movable feature, the amusement device comprising:

a first acoustic transducer receptive to a sequence of sound signals in a first game iteration of playing a first soundtrack, the sequence corresponding to a pattern of user input actions associated with the soundtrack;

a mechanical actuator having an actuation element coupled to the movable feature of the animated figure; and

a programmable data processor having a first input connected to the acoustic transducer and a first output connected to the mechanical actuator, the mechanical actuator being activated by the programmable data processor in synchronization with the received sequence of sound signals.

13. The amusement device of claim 12, further comprising:

a light emitting diode (LED) array display device including a plurality of individually addressable LED elements, an animation sequence being generated by the programmable data processor to the display device in synchronization with the received sequence of sound signals.

14. The amusement device of claim 13, wherein the animation sequence is generated in the first game iteration of playing the first soundtrack.

15. The amusement device of claim 13, wherein the animation sequence is generated in a second game iteration of playing back a second soundtrack.

16. The amusement device of claim 15, wherein the first soundtrack is the same as the second soundtrack.

17. The amusement device of claim 15, wherein the first soundtrack is different from the second soundtrack.

18. The amusement device of claim 12, wherein the mechanical actuator is activated in the first game iteration of playing the first soundtrack.

19. The amusement device of claim 12 wherein the mechanical actuator is activated in a second game iteration of playing back a second soundtrack.

20. The amusement device of claim 19, wherein the first soundtrack is the same as the second soundtrack.

21. The amusement device of claim 19, wherein the first soundtrack is different from the second soundtrack.

22. A method for interactive amusement comprising:

playing a first musical soundtrack;

detecting a sequence of user input actions during the playing of the first musical soundtrack;

storing into memory timestamps of each of the detected sequence of user input actions, the timestamps being synchronized to the first musical soundtrack; and

generating an output on at least one interval of the received sequence of user input actions;

wherein the output is selected from a group consisting of;

an audio signal, an visual animation sequence, and a mechanical actuator activation.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the output is generated in response to a detection of one of the sequence of user input actions.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the output is generated based upon the recorded timestamps and while playing back a second musical soundtrack at a time different from playing the first musical soundtrack.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the first musical soundtrack is the same as the second musical soundtrack.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the first musical soundtrack is different from the second musical soundtrack.

27. An amusement device comprising:

a first acoustic transducer receptive to a sequence of sound signals in a first game iteration of playing a first soundtrack, the sequence corresponding to a pattern of user input actions associated with the soundtrack;

a light emitting diode (LED) array display device including a plurality of individual addressable LED elements; and

a programmable data processor having a first input connected to the acoustic transducer and a first output connected to the display device, an animation sequence being generated by the programmable data processor to the display device in synchronization with the received sequence of sound signals.

28. The amusement device of claim 27 wherein the animation sequence is generated in the first game iteration of playing the first soundtrack.

29. The amusement device of claim 27 wherein the animation sequence is generated in a second game iteration of playing back a second soundtrack.

30. The amusement device of claim 27 wherein the first soundtrack is the same as the second soundtrack.

31. The amusement device of claim 27 wherein the first soundtrack is different from the second soundtrack.

32. The amusement device of claim 27 wherein the animation sequence generated in response to the sequence of sound signals received during the first game iteration of playing the first soundtrack is the same as the animation sequence generated in a second game iteration of playing back a second soundtrack.

33. The amusement device of claim 27 wherein the animation sequence generated in response to the sequence of sound signals received during the first game iteration of playing the first soundtrack is different from the animation sequence generated in a second game iteration of playing back a second soundtrack.

34. A method for interactive amusement comprising:

playing a soundtrack;

detecting a sequence of audio input signals externally generated by a user during the playing of the soundtrack; and

generating an output on at least one interval of the received sequence of audio input signals;

wherein the output is selected from a group consisting of;

an audio signal, an visual animation sequence, and a mechanical actuator activation.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the output is generated in response to a detection of one of the sequence of audio input signals.