Hand held electronic game with sensors for realistic simulation

• US 6,273,819 B1
• Filed: 01/31/2000
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Radica China, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Radica China, Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Isaac, Ng, Brian, Chiang, Eric, Bristow, Steve, Strauss, Kathryn, Wirt, David, Bao, Zhou Hui
• Primary Examiner(s): Chiu, Raleigh W.
• Application Number:
  US09/494,249
• Time in Patent Office: 561 Days
• Field of Search: 463/36, 463/37, 463/46, 463/47, 463/30, 463/31, 273/148.3, 345/156, 345/157, 345/158, 473/54
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2069/0006 for pitching
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 2069/0008 for batting
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0046 for bowling
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/0071 for basketball
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 69/3632 Clubs or attachments on clubs, e.g. for measuring, aligning A63B69/3614 takes precedence; clubs for swinging exercises in general A63B15/00

Abstract

A hand held electronic game having sensors requiring the user to perform functions similar to those required during the activity simulated by the game. In a hand held electronic bowling game, both finger-movement sensors and game-moving sensors require the user to grip and swing the game housing much like swinging a bowling ball while finger-receiving sensors measure movement in the fingers and game housing-movement sensors measure the forcefulness and speed of the user'"'"'s swing with the ball. The sensors include printed circuit boards and the game-moving sensor can utilize a LED and a photodiode along with a periodically transparent extension, which moves between the LED and the photodiode to determine the force of the swing by centrifugal force.

Claims

1. A hand held electronic game, comprising:

a housing;

a finger element coupled to said housing at a fixed end, and having a first finger receiving area and an actuating element coupled to a free end, said finger element being capable of moving between a first position and a second position and said finger receiving area having an open end adjacent said fixed end and a closed end adjacent said free end; and

a finger-movement sensing device rigidly coupled to said housing and coupled to said finger element at both said first position and said second position.

2. A game according to claim 1, wherein

said housing is generally in the shape of a sphere.

3. A game according to claim 2, wherein

said housing is a truncated sphere.

4. A game according to claim 1, wherein

said housing has a second finger receiving area having an open end and a closed end.

5. A game according to claim 4, wherein

said housing has a third finger receiving area directly coupled to said first finger receiving area.

6. A game according to claim 1, wherein

said first finger receiving area is biased in said first position by a spring coupled between said housing and said finger receiving area.

7. A game according to claim 1, wherein

said finger-movement sensing device includes a printed circuit board.

8. A hand held electronic game, comprising:

a housing; and

a housing-movement sensing device rigidly coupled to said housing, said device including a resilient element coupled to a weight-extension assembly, said resilient element coupled between said housing and said weight-extension assembly and said weight-extension assembly capable of moving upon movement of said housing, said sensing device further having a light source, and a light sensor for receiving light from said light source, and said weight-extension assembly having an extension positioned between said light source and said light sensor.

9. A game according to claim 8, wherein

said housing is generally in the shape of a sphere.

10. A game according to claim 9, wherein

said housing is a truncated sphere.

11. A game according to claim 8, wherein

said housing has a three finger receiving areas, each of said areas having an open end and a closed end.

12. A game according to claim 8, further comprising:

a printed circuit board coupled to said housing-movement sensing device, said light source, and said light sensor.

13. A game according to claim 12, wherein

said housing-movement sensing device has a cover attached to said printed circuit board and overlying said resilient element and said weight-extension assembly.

14. A game according to claim 13, wherein

said resilient element is a spring coupled to said housing through said cover.

15. A game according to claim 8, wherein

said weight-extension assembly including a metallic weight attached to a plastic extension.

16. A game according to claim 8, wherein

said light source is a light emitting diode.

17. A game according to claim 8, wherein

each of said light source and said light sensor are coupled to a printed circuit board.

18. A game according to claim 8, wherein

said extension has a plurality of holes extending completely there through.

19. A game according to claim 8, wherein

said extension has indicia.

21. A game according to claim 14, wherein

said spring is a variable-rate spring.

22. A game according to claim 21, wherein

said variable-rate spring varying turns-per-inch.

23. A game according to claim 21, wherein

said variable-rate has a varying spring wire diameter.

20. A hand held electronic game, comprising:

a housing;

a finger element coupled to said housing at a fixed end, and having a first finger receiving area and an actuating element coupled to a free end, said finger element being capable of moving between a first position and a second position and said finger receiving area having an open end adjacent said fixed end and a closed end adjacent said free end;

a finger-movement sensing device rigidly coupled to said housing and coupled to said finger element at both said first position and said second position; and

a housing-movement sensing device rigidly coupled to said housing, said device including a resilient element coupled to a weight-extension assembly, said resilient element coupled between said housing and said weight-extension assembly and said weight-extension assembly capable of moving upon movement of said housing, said sensing device further having a light source, and a light sensor for receiving light from said light source, and said weight-extension assembly having an extension positioned between said light source and said light sensor.