Methods and systems for providing programmable computerized interactors

• US 6,952,196 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2003
• Issued: 10/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vulcan Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Vulcan Patents LLC
• Inventors: Dougherty, Thomas J., Cummings, Daniel E., Weil, Emily, Thomas, Greg, Mountford, S. Joy
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Application Number:
  US10/402,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20040008182A1
• Time in Patent Office: 922 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/170, 345/177, 434/224, 434/156, 434/159, 446/91, 446/118, 446/484, 446/485, 273/238, 273/237
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/26 for automatically producing a series of tones
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/055 Spint toy, i.e. specifically designed for children, e.g. adapted for smaller fingers or simplified in some way; Musical instrument-shaped game input interfaces with simplified control features

Abstract

A computerized interactor system uses physical, three-dimensional objects as metaphors for input of user intent to a computer system. When one or more interactors are engaged with a detection field, the detection field reads an identifier associated with the object and communicates the identifier to a computer system. The computer system determines the meaning of the interactor based upon its identifier and upon a semantic context in which the computer system is operating. One specific embodiment of the present invention is a bead interactor system that is a user playable sound and light show system. When an interactor bead is positioned within the detection space of the bead interactor system, a sound sequence begins and continues to play unaltered until the bead interactor is removed or other bead interactors are positioned within or removed from the detection space. Each bead represents a different sound and the row and column location of the bead within the detection space controls how the sound is modified, e.g., louder or softer, higher pitched or lower pitched, the period of play, etc. In some embodiments, the beads are translucent in order to conduct light from light sources located under each bead receptacle. The available sounds are determined not only by the identity of the beads and their positioning within the detection space and their associated states or orientations, but also by sound data stored in an accompanying computer readable medium. Hence a user can access a variety of sound collections by simply installing a different computer readable medium.

Claims

1. An interactor system for programming a computer system, the interactor system enabling a user to program the computer system through the manipulation of physical objects, the interactor system comprising:

a plurality of interactors each having an identity specified by identification circuitry;

a detection array comprising an internal circuitry, including a plurality of positions at which an interactor may be selectively, manually, removably placed in order to at least temporarily connect the identification circuitry of the interactor with the internal circuitry of the detection array;

an interface responsive to the disposition of interactors within the detection array, the interface operable to provide an interactor signal indicative of the identity and position of each interactor disposed within the detection array; and

a computer readable medium storing application data defining an identity mapping between each interactor identity and a corresponding interactor identity instruction, the application data further defining a position mapping between each of the plurality of positions and a corresponding position instruction,

wherein the operation of a the computer system coupled to the interface and the computer readable medium is programmed according to the interactor signal and the application data to provide an output, and wherein the output is associated with the interactor identity instruction, and the position instruction determines a characteristic of the output.

2. An interactor system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of positions within the detection array are discrete positions of a finite number.

3. An interactor system as recited in claim 1 wherein the interface is further responsible to the orientation of interactors within the detection array and the interactor signal is further indicative of such orientation.

4. An interactor system as recited in claim 1 wherein the detection array is a first detection array available to a first user, the interactor system further comprising a second detection array available to a second user, and the operation of the computer system is programmed according to the placement of interactors within both the first and second detection arrays thereby enabling multi-user programming of the computer system.

5. An interactor system as recited in claim 1 wherein the output is a sound and the characteristic is an effect of the sound.

6. An interactor system as recited in claim 1 wherein the output is a sound and the characteristic is the volume of the sound.

7. An interactor system as recited in claim 1 wherein the output is a sound and the characteristic is the pitch of the sound.

8. An interactor suitable for manually placing within a detection space of a computerized interactor system, the interactor comprising:

an identity circuitry configured to provide the computerized interactor system with an identity of the interactor and a position of the interactor within the detection space; and

a user programmable state circuitry responsive to the computerized interactor system, configured to receive user control input and provide a state of the interactor;

wherein upon receiving the user control input, the user programmable state circuitry causes an interrupt to be generated for the computerized interactor system and

wherein the identity circuitry includes a first resistor connected in series with a first diode, the user programmable state circuitry includes a variable resistor connected in series with a second diode, the identity circuitry and the user programmable state circuitry are connected in parallel at a first node and a second node, and the first and second diodes are arranged such that a nonzero voltage potential applied across the first and second nodes results in current flowing through only one of the identity circuitry and the user programmable state circuitry.