Patent Publication Number: US-2018050263-A1

Title: Game Communication Assembly and Method of Operating Same

Description:
BACKGROUND ART 
     Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to an electronic game assembly. More particularly, the invention relates to wearable electronic game assembly capable of communicating with other wearable electronic game assemblies. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Very few games or gaming devices for children are designed to make the participants move about. Those that may encourage activity are not social because they are typically too big to move easily. In a day and age where the lure of electronics makes it difficult for a child to be active and social, there is a need to accomplish both. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A game communication assembly includes a sensor to sense a parameter and create a sensor signal based on that sensed parameter. An electronic control unit is electrically connected to the sensor to receive the sensor signal and to output a command signal. A transceiving unit is electrically connected to the electronic control unit to receive the command signal and to transmit the command signal remote from the game communication assembly. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a bottom view of the invention with a bottom plate removed; 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of an alternative embodiment of the invention attached to an article of clothing; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of the alternative embodiment of the invention showing various electronic components; 
         FIG. 6  is a logic chart of an operation of the invention; 
         FIGS. 7 through 10  shows various screen shots of games as viewed on a smart device paired with one embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIGS. 11 a  and 11 b    are side-by-side illustrations showing the invention operating in a virtual reality-styled game environment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of the inventive assembly is generally indicated at  20 . The assembly  20  is a game communication assembly or device  20 . Generally, the game communication assembly  20  is of unitary construction and includes a housing  22  that covers all of the game communication assembly  20 . The housing  22  is transparent allowing one to view all of the components inside the housing  22 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the housing  22  may be translucent or opaque, depending on the desired aesthetic for a particular unit. 
     Inside the housing  22 , the game communication assembly  20  includes a printed circuit board (PCB)  24 . The PCB  24  is the structure to which all of the electronic components of the game communication assembly  20  will be connected. The PCB  24  extends out to the edges of the housing  22  and partially held in place by the side walls  26  that form a portion of the housing  22 . Other structures formed with the housing  22  to hold the PCB  24  in place are not shown. While the invention is shown with a single PCB  24 , one skilled in the art should appreciate that some configurations may include more than one PCB  24 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the game communication assembly  20  includes a power source  28  to power the components within the housing  22 . In the embodiment shown, two AAA batteries  28  are housed within the housing  22  and have electrical connections to provide electrical power to the components mounted to the PCB  24 . The batteries  28  may be a different size and they may be rechargeable. A charging port (not shown) may allow the batteries  28  (or cells) to be charged in situ. 
     The housing  22  includes a removable panel  30  to access the batteries  28  and the PCB  24 . A chord  34  may extend out of the housing  22 . The chord  34  may include a string of LEDs  35  that emit light in a programmed manner based on the mode in which the game communication assembly  20  is operating. The chord  34  may serve as a shoe lace for a shoe (not shown). It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the game communication assembly  20  could also be embedded in other articles of clothing such as shoes, gloves, hats, shirts, pants and the like. 
     The housing  22  also includes a fastener  32  to fasten the game communication assembly  20  to an article of clothing  38 , best seen in  FIGS. 11 a  and 11 b   . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the fastener may be a clip as shown, or any other device suitable for securing the game communication assembly  20  to the article of clothing  38 , which may also be a shoe, a sock, a hat, a visor, a shirt, a belt and the like. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 1 , the PCB  24  is shown to have a voltage regulator  36 . The voltage regulator  36  receives power from the power source  28  and provides power to the rest of the components on the PCB  24 . LEDs  40  are illuminated based on the programming of the game communication assembly  20  and the game played by the user, both of which will be discussed in greater detail subsequently. In one embodiment, the voltage regulator  36  is produced by myRata, Inc. having part number LXDC2HN33A. The LEDs  40  may emit a single wavelength of light or multiple ranges of wavelengths and will be programmed appropriately for proper illumination. 
     A sensor  42  is electrically connected to the voltage regulator  36 . The sensor  42  is a motion sensing device that may include any of the following: an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer. The sensor  42  is able to determine how the game communication assembly  20  is moving, where it is in space and how fast it is going. In one embodiment, the motion sensing device  42  is an LSM9DS0TR 3D accelerometer, 3D gyroscope, 3D magnetometer produced by ST Microelectronics™. 
     Also receiving power from the voltage regulator  36  is an electronic control unit  44 . The electronic control unit (ECU)  44  is electrically connected to the voltage regulator  36  and the motion sensing device  42 . The ECU  44  communicates with the motion sensing device  42  using an I 2 C system  46 . The ECU  44  may be a Nordic nrf52 System On Chip (SOC) that includes a 32-bit ARM processor and is capable of both ANT and BLE communications due to it having a transceiving unit built-in. ANT communications is a low power wireless technology that reduces the requirements for devices to communicate with each other. BLE (or Bluetooth® 4) is a low power version of Bluetooth®. ANT communications enable multiple game communication assemblies  20  to communicate with each other automatically when the game communication assemblies  20  are moved within the radio frequency range of each other. Connections or channels of data can be established using ANT communications without user input. BLE (or Bluetooth® 4) or standard Bluetooth® generally requires a user to pair devices together. In the present embodiment, BLE (or Bluetooth® 4) or standard Bluetooth® is used in the invention  20  to additionally communicate with a smart device because nearly all smart devices on the market such as iPhones, iPADS, and Android devices have BLE (or Bluetooth® 4) or standard Bluetooth® communications capability. And pairing a game communication assembly  20  with a smart device presumably need only be done once. 
     An RF antenna  50  is electrically connected to the ECU  44  and is used to receive and transmit signals to and from the ECU  44 . The RF antenna  50  is shown as a single trace printed on the PCB  24 . The RF antenna  50  may be located anywhere within the housing  22  to support convenient manufacture and/or maximize the gain of the RF antenna  50 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , an alternative embodiment of the game communication assembly  20 ′ is generally shown with like primed numerals representing similar elements as in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . This embodiment  20 ′ differs from the prior embodiment  20  principally in its shape. Instead of four sidewalls  26 , the housing  22  has a single cylindrical shaped sidewall  26 ′. The circular cylindrical shape of the sidewall  26 ′ gives the housing  22 ′ the shape of a puck. The puck-shaped housing  22 ′ is conducive to it being secured to various articles of clothing easier than others. It can also be held in a user&#39;s hand if that is desired, whereby the chord  34  extending out of the housing  22  can be used to fasten or tie the game communication assembly  20  to the hands, ankles, feet, or any other body part. 
     In this alternative embodiment, persistent memory  52  is used to store programs, track game results and store preference of the user. A speaker  54  is capable of producing any type of noise, sound, or voice that is required to assist the user in playing the chosen game. An RF antenna  56  provides RF communications using ANT protocol allows the game communication assembly  20 ′ to communicate between peer game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ nearby. A heptic feedback device  58  may produce a vibration or other type of motion to allow the user to feel when the game communication assembly  20 ′ is signaling the user. Likewise, the game communication assembly  20 ′ may generate a sound from the speaker  54  to alert the user. A second RF antenna  60  for BLE provides communications for the host game communication assemblies  20 ′. A WiFi antenna  62  provides additional communication capabilities between multiple host game communication assemblies  20 ′. All of these devices that are used to communicate with smart devices and other game communications assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ are collectively referred to as a transceiving unit. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a method of operation is generally indicated at  70 . The method  70  coordinates a game for a plurality of players  72  (shown in subsequent Figures) that are wearing at least one game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′. In the Figures, each user is shown to be wearing a game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ on each shoe. 
     The method  70  begins at  74 . A first game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ is turned on at  76 . A unique identifier is received from a second game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ when one of the plurality of players  72  is in range of the first game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ at  78 . The first game communication assembly  20 , 20 ′ then transmits it first unique identifier to the second game communication assembly at  80  to initiate bidirectional communication at  82 . A game environment is established for the first and second game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ for which any number of a plurality of players may join to play at  84 . The game is commenced and played with each of the users or players  72  using body movements to create inputs and/or game commands at  86 . It is then determined at  90  whether the game is over. If not, the game loops back at  92  and continues to receive inputs and commands from players  72  that were created out of the physical motion or movement of the players  72  to progress the game. If not, the game method  70  ends at  94 . 
     As stated above, all the while a game is being played, new players  72  that come into a location where the game is being played may join the game, provided there is room for the player  72  within the game and it makes sense to add a player  72  at that juncture of the game. 
     For the games to work, the input values and the commands form one of the plurality of game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ must be synced across all of the game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ in real time such that any one of the plurality of players  72  may leave the game without affecting any remaining players  72  of the plurality of players  72  from completing the game. Not only is it important for completing the game, it is important for all of the plurality of players  72  to be on the same page and playing the same game at the same time. As stated above, it is important to sync all of the game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ in a game so that the departure of one of the game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ will minimally affect the game currently being played. 
     One aspect of the invention that is important is the ability to pair the game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ with a smart device. Referring to  FIGS. 7 through 10 , an example of a game is illustrated as seen on a screen  100  of a smart device  102 . The smart device  102  is shown to have a home button  104 , which is presented for illustrative purposes only. 
     In  FIG. 7 , a group of players are found to be in such close proximity that they can start a game together. The proximity closeness will depend on the various technologies, but the ANT technology has a general limit of 50 meters. Once the game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ are identified, those that wish to play can be selected using the selection button  106 . 
     Once the set of players  72  have been identified, a game can be selected. Using the smart device  102 , a number of game options can be listed. Referring to  FIG. 8 , a selection from a listing of games  110  can be made. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the list of games may include any number of games. If needed, an instruction set for the games may be provided (not shown in the Figures). 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , the game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ may require the players  72  to configure themselves in a particular order. If this is required, it will be shown on the smart device screen as shown, for example, in  FIG. 9 . Once the players  72  are in the correct order, one of the players  72  can press the “READY” button  112 . 
     The circle jump rope game is illustrated in  FIG. 10  with each of the players  72  being instructed when to jump. The game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ may vibrate using the heptic feedback device, it may illuminate the LEDs  40 ,  40 ′ or it may generate a noise through the speaker  59 . The game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ that signals its user to jump will use the motion sensor device  42  to confirm that the player  72  moved within a predefined time period. If so, the player  72  continues. If not, the player  72  that did not move will be penalized or will be out of the game. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 11 a  and 11 b   , side-by-side views of a pseudo-virtual reality game as seen on a smart device and as seen in real life are shown, respectively. For purposes of this discussion, pseudo-virtual reality is a game involving one or more players were the movement and actions of the players and their respective appendages are incorporated into the game. The pseudo-virtual reality game may or may not impose itself onto the surroundings of the player(s). 
     Referring specifically to  FIG. 11 a   , a player  72  is represented in the smart device scene depiction  115  as a character  114 . The game being played requires the player  113  (seen in  FIG. 11 b   ), through the character  114 , to interact with a game-generated opponent  118 . The player  113  controls the movement of the character  114  and watches the scene unfold on his or her smart device  116 , shown to be held in the left hand of the player  113 . The player  113  is shown to be wearing to game communication devices  20 ,  20 ′; one  20 ,  20 ′ on his right hand and another  20 ,  20 ′ on his right shoe  122 . The game communication devices  20 ,  20 ′ worn by the player  113  work in concert to create the movements of the character  114  as it interacts with the game-generated opponent  118 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 b   , the player  113  is shown with the game-generated opponent shown in phantom  119  for reference. It should be understood that other placements and configuration of the smart device and game communications assembly can exist. For example, the user  113  could, with the aid of a virtual reality headset device, wear the smart device on the head and hold a game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ in each hand. In current versions of some games, the character  114  is controlled with swipe and tapping motions on the screen of the smart device  116 . The invention can enhance this game play, increasing the exercise of the user  113  playing the game by replacing the swipe and tapping motions with real hand, feet or other body part motions or gestures. When game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ attached to an article of clothing, a body part of held in the hand, it can communicate motion information to control the user&#39;s character  114 . Additionally, the game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ has the ability to communicate this motion information with other game communication assemblies  20 ,  20 ′ attached to another player  120  of the game within RF proximity so that more than one user can share real time motion information in one game. Using the ANT protocol, the game communication assembly  20 ,  20 ′ can share motion information with other game communication assemblies and multiple smart devices involved in gameplay with latencies less than the existing method of using the internet connectivity of the smart device to enable multiple players to interact in one fight scene. The game communications assembly  20 ,  20 ′ also provides the additional benefit of removing the need for cellular or WiFi communications to enable multiplayer gameplay. 
     The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. 
     Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.