Patent Publication Number: US-2011059797-A1

Title: Method and apparatus for providing game service in a portable terminal

Description:
PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to a Korean patent application filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Sep. 10, 2009 and assigned Serial No. 10-2009-0085247, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for providing a game service in a portable terminal, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for providing games using motion detection. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Various functions have been incorporated in portable terminals to satisfy various demands of users. For example, these functions not only include the general utilization of the portable terminals such as e-mails, Internet surfing, simple games, etc., but also include the reproduction of moving images such as movies or music videos, reproduction of Codec files such as MPEG audio layer III (MP3) or Windows Media Audio (WMA), and portable terminals equipped with cameras can also be taken into account. Therefore, recently portable terminals have evolved from a communication device for simple voice telephony to a digital convergence device that provides convenience and entertainment to users by integrating various useful functions. 
     In particular, in recently launched devices that appeal to users, the portable terminals can be used as portable game devices (e.g., Sony&#39;s PSP or Nintendo&#39;s NDS). Conventional portable game devices using portable terminals provide games which require the use of a keypad. For example, the portable terminal can provide a music game using the keypad in such a manner that a user presses a key button of the keypad while watching a bit indication displayed on a screen in accordance with the music. However, such a game has many disadvantages in that a user&#39;s behavior is limited during the game since the user has to press buttons one by one while watching the screen of the portable terminal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been made to address at least the above problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for providing games using motion detection in a portable terminal. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for providing games in a portable terminal, in which an audio signal is output to allow a user to perform a motion corresponding to the audio signal and to determine whether the motion is correctly performed. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for providing games in a portable terminal, in which sensor data is mapped to an audio signal and the mapped sensor data is compared with data obtained by detecting a user&#39;s motion. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a method of providing a game in a portable terminal is provided. The method includes outputting an audio signal for indicating a specific indication through a speaker, obtaining a user&#39;s motion data, and determining whether the user&#39;s motion data corresponds to the specific indication. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for providing a game in a portable terminal is provided. The apparatus includes an output unit for outputting an audio signal for indicating a specific indication through a speaker, a motion detection sensor for obtaining user&#39;s motion data, and a controller for determining whether the user&#39;s motion data corresponds to the specific indication. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a process of performing a game by using motion detection in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Various embodiments of the present invention are described in detail herein below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar components may be designated by the same or similar reference numerals, although they are illustrated in different drawings. Further, detailed descriptions of constructions or processes known in the art may be omitted for clarity and conciseness in the description of the present invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the portable terminal includes a motion detection sensor  100 , an audio output unit  110 , a controller  120 , a memory  130 , a display unit  140 , and an input unit  150 . 
     The motion detection sensor  100  measures a movement direction, an acceleration, a rotation direction, etc., resulted from a motion of a user of the portable terminal under the control of the controller  120  and provides the measurement result to the controller  120 . The motion detection sensor  100  may include at least one of a gyro sensor, a terrestrial magnetism sensor, and an acceleration sensor. 
     The audio output unit  110  outputs an audio signal corresponding to music or sound to a speaker (not shown) during a specific time period or at specific time intervals under the control of the controller  120 . 
     The controller  120  controls and processes an overall operation of the portable terminal. According to the present invention, the controller  120  includes a motion game controller  122  to output the audio signal. In this case, the controller  120  controls and processes a function for determining a score by detecting the motion of the user to determine whether the motion corresponding to the audio signal is correctly performed. That is, the motion game controller  122  loads music or sound pre-stored in the memory  130  and provides it to the audio output unit  110 . Further, the motion game controller  122  obtains data in association with detection of the user&#39;s motion from the motion detection sensor  100  and compares the data with sensor data pre-mapped to the music or sound. The sensor data mapped to the music or sound may be predetermined. After detecting the music or sound, the motion game controller  122  may generate sensor data corresponding to the detection result according to a predetermined method or may determine the sensor data by selecting the sensor data corresponding to the detection result among the pre-stored sensor data. For example, sound corresponding to ‘to the right’ may be detected to generate sensor data to be generated when the portable terminal moves to the right, or sensor data corresponding to movement to the right may be searched for from a pre-stored sensor data table so that the found data is mapped to a signal corresponding to ‘to the right’. 
     The motion game controller  122  may determine a score according to whether the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion matches the sensor data, or may determine the score according to similarity between the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion and the sensor data. That is, a specific score may be given only when the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion matches the sensor data and otherwise may not be given, or the score may be given depending on a level according to the similarity between the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion and the sensor data. Of course, if a difference between the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion and the sensor data is less than a threshold, it can be determined that the two pieces of data are identical. 
     In addition, the motion game controller  122  controls and processes a function for outputting sound, which indicates whether the user&#39;s motion is correctly performed, to the speaker (not shown) by loading the sound from the memory  130  according to the determined score. 
     The memory  130  stores various programs and data for an overall operation of the portable terminal. According to the present invention, the memory  130  stores music or sound. In this case, the music or sound stored in the memory  130  is stored by mapping to the sensor data for each specific duration. Further, the memory  130  stores sound which indicates accuracy of the user&#39;s motion. 
     The display unit  140  displays status information, alphanumeric characters, still images, and moving images generated during the operation of the portable terminal. In particular, the display unit  140  displays a music or sound list stored in the memory  130 . 
     The input unit  150  includes a plurality of function keys to provide the controller  120  with data corresponding to keys to be selected by the user. In particular, an item is selected from the music or sound list displayed in the display unit  140  and is provided to the controller  120 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a process of performing a game by using motion detection in a portable terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the portable terminal enters a game mode in step  201 . Then, in step  203 , the portable terminal displays an available music or sound list for the game on a screen so as to determine whether music or sound for the game is set by a user. 
     If the music or sound is set, proceeding to step  205 , the portable terminal loads sensor data corresponding to the set music or sound. Herein, the sensor data corresponding to the music or sound may be predetermined, or may be generated in such a manner that the music or sound is detected by the motion game controller  122  and then is generated on the basis of the detection result according to a predetermined method, or may be selected from pre-stored sensor data. For example, sound corresponding to ‘to the right’ may be detected to generate sensor data to be generated when the portable terminal moves to the right, or sensor data corresponding to movement to the right may be searched for from a pre-stored sensor data table so that the found data is mapped to a signal corresponding to ‘to the right’. 
     In step  207 , the portable terminal reproduces the set music or sound according to a predetermined rule and then outputs it through a speaker. In step  209 , the portable terminal detects a user&#39;s motion by using the motion detection sensor  100 . That is, the portable terminal measures a movement direction, an acceleration, a rotation direction, etc., resulted from a motion of the user of the portable terminal and generates data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion. Herein, the predetermined rule implies a method of continuously reproducing corresponding music or sound seamlessly or a method of reproducing a specific part of the music or sound in every specific interval. 
     In step  211 , the portable terminal determines a score by comparing the loaded sensor data and the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion. The portable terminal may determine a score according to whether the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion matches the sensor data, or may determine the score according to similarity between the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion and the sensor data. That is, a specific score may be given only when the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion matches the sensor data and otherwise may not be given, or the score may be given depending on a level according to the similarity between the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion and the sensor data. Of course, if a difference between the data obtained by detecting the user&#39;s motion and the sensor data is less than a threshold, it can be determined that the two pieces of data are identical. 
     In step  213 , the portable terminal outputs sound which indicates accuracy of the motion according to the determined score. In step  215 , the portable terminal evaluates whether reproduction of the set music or sound ends. If the reproduction of the set music or sound does not end, the process returns to step  207 , and the subsequent steps are repeated. Otherwise, if the reproduction of the set music or sound ends, the process proceeds to step  217 , where the portable terminal reports a final score to the user by using the determined score. In this case, the final score may be a score obtained by accumulating determined scores or may be an average score of the determined scores. 
     Thereafter, the procedure of  FIG. 2  ends. 
     According to embodiments of the present invention, a portable terminal provides a game in such a manner that an audio signal is output to allow a user to perform a motion corresponding to the audio signal, a user&#39;s motion is detected by using a motion detection sensor, and the detection result is compared with sensor data mapped to the audio signal. Therefore, the user can enjoy the game without having to watch a screen. 
     While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed description of the invention but by the appended claims and their equivalents, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.