[0001] A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USE OF AN OBJECT AND RELATED APPLICATION THAT INCLUDES A VIRTUAL WORLD AND VISUAL RECOGNITION

INVENTORS

[0002] Martin Abrams, Joel Rosenzweig

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Nonprovisional Application No. 14/968,887, filed 12/14/2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/236,339, filed 10/02/2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/253, 156, filed 11/10/2015.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] In one embodiment, the invention can be a system and method for use of at least one physical object, and related application running in a smart device that includes visual recognition to unlock, gain entrance, or access to a virtual world or a portion thereof and/or to gain access to at least one virtual character and/or entity comprising of the following: purchase of said at least one physical object with or without at least one tag; and/or downloading and/or installing the said related application from a virtual application store and/or website and/or other location; or downloading and/or installing the related application from a virtual application store and/or website and/or other location; and/or purchase of at least one physical object with or without at least one tag; and/or initiate the related application, wherein access is gained to at least one entity and/or game and/or activity and/or feature in whole or in part, and at least one entity and/or game and/or activity and/or feature in whole or in part is limited to a number of entities and/or games and/or activities and/or first set of components and/or features that is less than the total number of entities and/or games and/or activities and/or features available in the related application. The user can then register and/or Sign-in to the related application comprising at least one of the following steps: Filling in at least one user profile data field and/or establishing and confirming a password, wherein at least one user profile data field if present can contain in whole or in part at least one of: e-mail, phone, name, address, user name, at least one other sign-in request or requirement with or without auto fill and/or add to at least one menu (drop down or other); and/or Sign-in by entering the said at least one user profile data field and/or said password. The user can then scan at least one physical object or open a tag and scan at least one physical object with the tag open exposing said tag interior. Using image recognition software within the related application, the related application can perform image recognition of the scan of at least one physical object or a portion thereof, and/or image and/or data contained within the tag interior. The related application can then send an acknowledgement of successful recognition, or if the recognition is unsuccessful, all the steps and/or functions can be performed or a portion thereof from the first scan operation. Repeating these steps may be necessary if the initial scan is incorrectly framed or if the picture is blurry. Acknowledgement of successful recognition can now enable the unlocking and/or can allow entry or access into all or a portion of the virtual world, and/or to unlock or allow access and make available at least one virtual character and/or can bring to life at least one virtual character, including the ability to send messages from user to user and/or user to virtual character, and/or the ability to interact with, text and/or receive messages from and text and/or send messages to at least one other user and/or virtual character and/or friend. The successful recognition can further allow unlocking, providing entrance, or access to at least one second set of components and/or features in whole or in part that are resident in the related application, including at least one of the following: at least one game, and/or game portion and/or at least one set of games and/or game portions and ability to engage in play therewith, at least one of feeding, caring for, bathing, dressing, nursing, playing with, at least one virtual character, watching at least one said character grow, sending at least one picture and/or video to at least one person and/or best friend, creating and/or using and/or sending to and/or receiving from at least one other person at least one animated product such as at least one sticker, enabling the activities of social networking amongst at least two virtual characters such as at least one of going to the movies, going shopping, attending live events, attending concerts, museums, venues of any nature. All steps and/or functions can be repeated from the first scan for as many physical objects as is desired to scan. For instance, if the user had five different physical characters, each character could be scanned, recognized, and each could be capable of unlocking a little more of the virtual world in which the Emoji Moji characters reside. The user can then enter or input a unique from at least one tag allowing for the unlocking, providing entrance, or access to at least one third set of components and/or features in whole or in part that are resident in the related application, including at least one of the following: additional portions of, components, and/or features of the virtual world, at least one game, and/or game portion and/or at least one set of games and/or game portions and ability to engage in play therewith, interacting, communication, texting, and/or messaging, with at least one other virtual character and/or friend, at least one of feeding, caring for, bathing, dressing, nursing, playing with, at least one virtual character, watching at least one virtual character grow, sending at least one picture and/or video to at least one person and/or best friend, creating and/or using and/or sending to and/or receiving from at least one other person at least one animated product such as at least one sticker, enabling the activities of social networking amongst at least two virtual characters such as at least one of going to the movies, going shopping, attending live events, attending concerts, museums, venues of any nature. Any of the steps and/or functions listed above can be executed individually or collectively and repeated in any particular order and as many times as necessary.

[0005] The invention can further comprise periodic updates and/or information exchange from and/or to a web-based program and/or website and/or other location and/or computerized device for obtaining at least one of supplemental material, a software upgrade, at least one new game, at least one more feature, at least one more social feature and/or activity, correction of at least one bug, at least one patch, improving operation and/or function, harvesting of meta data.

[0006] At least one physical object can be at least one of a toy, a plush toy, soft toy, a doll, an action figure, a vehicle, a ride on, a game, a book, a clock, a radio, a lamp, an Emoji Moji, an icon.

[0007] At least one tag that contains a unique name or customized name combination is scanned and visually recognized using image recognition software, and allows for the unlocking, providing entrance, or access to at least one of a third set of components and/or features in whole or in part that are resident in the related application on a smart device. [0008] The invention can further comprise the ability to, upon a request generated by the related application, use image recognition of scan to enable direct addressing of a website from which the download occurs to provide at least one update and/or information exchange from and/or to a web-based program and/or website and/or other location and/or computerized device for obtaining at least one of supplemental material, at least one upgrade, at least one new game, at least one more feature, correction of at least one bug, at least one patch, software to improve operation and/or function, harvesting of meta data.

[0009] The invention can further comprise a step of marrying and/or associating at least one scan of at least two physical objects that is used in whole or in part as authentication to enable entrance to the virtual world or a portion thereof.

[00010] The other visual physical object can be the image of at least one person that is recognized by pattern and/or face and/or said recognition software and hardware.

[00011] At least one tag can contain at least one first name and second name and third name and/or at least one image of a least one of a physical object, toy, plush toy, person, Emoji Moji, icon, product, place, thing.

[00012] The invention can further comprise a feature of user to user video chat.

[00013] A user can have the option to allow at least one other user to view video chat of said user in real time.

[00014] At least one user in the user to user video chat can be a minor, and the other users viewing the video chat in real time can be parents or guardians of a minor user.

[00015] The invention can be Coppa compliant.

[00016] The invention can further comprise the ability of a parent and/or guardian to access, view, and/or monitor on at least one other smart device the child's activity using this product, which can include the screens and/or images viewed, interactions, communications, components, and features. [00017] Communication can be at least one one and/or two way communication between two or more people and/or at least one virtual character.

[00018] Some of the features can comprise GPS and/or location information.

[00019] The invention can further comprise remote control capability using at least one smart device and at least one technology including but not limited to Bluetooth, nearfield, IR, visual, acoustic, electromagnetic employing at least one of AM, FM, spread spectrum, single side band, double sideband.

[00020] The invention can further comprise communication and/or interaction between at least one physical object and at least one other at least one physical object.

[00021] The invention can further comprise communication and/or interaction between at least one object and at least one virtual character.

[00022] The invention can further comprise the ability to record all or a portion of at least one play session, feature, component, communication, at least one virtual character, for replay, review, sending to at least one other smart device.

[00023] Some key features of the invention comprise at least one of the following: (A) visual and/or facial recognition; (B) communication and messaging between virtual characters and people; (C) entity, virtual character, icon, and EMOJI MOJI designed to have personalities and behaviors; (D) customized name combination; and (E) the socialization of EMOJI MOJIs.

[00024] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention should not be limited to the described preferred embodiments. Rather, various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[00025] The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects of the invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate an understanding of the invention.

[00026] Fig. 1 depicts an object, toy and/or plush toy.

[00027] Fig. 2 depicts a tag in the closed position.

[00028] Fig. 3 depicts a tag in the open position.

[00029] Fig. 4 depicts a flowchart of key steps for downloading and using the related application.

[00030] Fig. 5 depicts a smart phone selecting one of three displayed Emoji Moji.

[00031] Fig. 6 depicts a parent or guardian viewing the same material seen by a child.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[00032] Detailed descriptions of particular embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

[00033] Fig. 1 depicts toy or plush toy 1, which can be any two or three dimensional object.

[00034] Fig. 2 depicts tag 2 shown in the closed position, which could be a tag 2 that comes with the toy or plush toy 1 of Fig. 1. This tag 2 is not limited to a tag and is shown as a tag 2 in this embodiment for example only. The tag 2 and can be any information containing object, mechanical, two or three dimensional, printed, molded, embossed, engraved, adhesively applied, or electronic.

[00035] Fig. 3 depicts a tag 2 of Fig. 2 in the open position, showing the left leaf of tag in the open position 14 and the right leaf of tag in the open position 15. The left leaf of tag in the open position 14 is shown to contain the image of toy or plush toy 10, a first name 11, second name 12, and third name 13. The right leaf of tag in the open position 15 is shown to contain an Emoji Moji website and instruction 16, where the related application can be downloaded, and where periodic updates can be obtained.

[00036] Fig. 4 depicts a flowchart of the steps for downloading and using the related application. Purchase of at least one product 200 and downloading and installing of related application 210 can occur in any order, but downloading and installing of related application 210 must occur before initiation 220 of the related application. Next the registration and/or sign-in 230 function is performed. At this point initial availability of some features (a first set of features) and availability of prior unlocked features 235 is possible. Purchase of product 200 can occur either prior to or after initiation 220 or just prior to scan 240. Then the user takes a scan 240 of at least one physical object. (In future embodiments this can be specifically taking of a digital picture or photograph) In the context of this invention, for now a scan 240 is a picture the user takes or a video the user can make, this does not necessarily mean that the images are being stored. The scan 240 can be any combination of the following: the user himself or another person, place or thing (if him/herself could be considered a "selfie"), a tag in the open or closed positions, the object and/or toy and/or plush toy. The recognition software then performs the recognition 250 function. The related application then generates acknowledgement 260, which can be successful 261 or unsuccessful 262. If the recognition 250 is unsuccessful 262, the user can perform another scan 240 and/or subsequent recognition 250 function as many times as it takes to successfully recognize the image. If the acknowledgement 260 is successful 261, the unlocking of more or all remaining features 270 happens. This now allows access to all or a portion of the virtual world open to the user. Then the user can enter unique name(s) 290, which, in the present embodiment, can be three names provided on the tag proved with the toy or plush toy 1. At this point, unlocking of still more or all remaining features 300 can be enabled. The user can repeat as many times as necessary from the scan 240 function on. If the user had multiple physical objects, the scan 240 function would be performed once for each object, although it is possible to recognize multiple objects in the same scan 240. One scenario is that the user can purchase a second product, and having already run the related application at least one time for a first physical product, can therefore skip all previous steps and go directly to the scan 240 function. This would then cause the unlocking of more or all remaining features 270, thus enabling more features than had previously been activated and/or enabled, and the complexity of the virtual world could grow with each new product or character. A third character would cause the unlocking of more features than the virtual world with only two, and a fourth character would cause the unlocking of more features than a virtual world with only three characters, and so on.

[00037] Fig. 5 depicts a smart phone selecting one of three displayed emoji moji or icons. Shown is the smart device 500 and the screen on smart device 501. The screen on smart device 501 is displaying three emoji moji, the first emoji moji selected for texting 511, the second emoji moji 512, and the third emoji moji 513. The first emoji moji selected for texting 511 can then be texted to at least one other another person.

[00038] Fig. 6 depicts a parent or guardian viewing the same material seen by a child. Shown is a child 601 holding a smart device with image child views 611. Also shown is a parent or guardian 600 holding a smart device displaying same image child views 610. This enables a responsible person to monitor what the child is doing.

[00039] While the instant invention has been shown and described in accordance with preferred and practical embodiments thereof, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the true scope of the invention should not be limited since other modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a study of the claims, drawings, descriptions, explanations, and specifications herein.

[00040] All of the material of this patent document contains material to which a claim for copyright is made. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but reserves all other copyright rights whatsoever. COMPONENT LIST FOR DRAWINGS [00041] Following is a partial list of the components depicted in the drawings: Component Number Component Description

1 toy or plush toy

2 tag in the closed position

10 image of toy or plush toy

11 first name

12 second name

13 third name

14 left leaf

15 right leaf

16 emoji moji website and instruction 200 purchase of at least one product

210 downloading and installing of related application

220 initiation

230 registration and/or sign-in

235 initial availability of some features (a first set of features) and availability of prior unlocked features

240 scan 250 recognition

260 acknowledgement

261 successful

262 unsuccessful

270 unlocking of more or all remaining features

290 enter a unique name(s) (present embodiment from tag is 3 names)

300 unlocking of still more or all remaining features

500 smart device

501 screen on smart device

511 first emoji moji selected for texting

512 second emoji moji

513 third emoj i moj i

600 parent or guardian

601 child

610 smart device displaying same image child views

611 smart device with image child views

DEFINITIONS

[00042] These definitions are in addition to the words and phrases specifically defined in the body of this application.

[00043] As used herein, the term "and/or," when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items can be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items can be employed. For example, if a device is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition can contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination.

[00044] Coppa is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. A Coppa compliant product is a product that abides by these requirements and meets standards of decency and will not expose children to emotionally harmful and/or sexually explicit and/or violent material or information.

[00045] In the context of this invention emoji moji is both singular and plural.

[00046] A message is at least one of a communication, e-mail, text, instant message, part of a chat, employing at least one of a short message service (SMS), smart messaging, extended message service (EMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), and email.

[00047] In the context of this invention, a "selfie" is a picture the user takes or a scan of any combination of the following: the user himself or another person, a tag in the open or closed positions, the object and/or toy and/or plush toy. In the context of this invention, a selfie does not necessarily include the user including himself in the picture the user takes.

[00048] A smart device is a desktop or laptop computer, a mobile device, a tablet, or other computational device that can display images or changing images and receive inputs via human interaction.

[00049] An entity is an electronic and/or virtual representation of a character, a virtual character, an icon, an emoji, an emoji moji, a physical object, a person, place, or thing.

[00050] A scan and/or scanning in the context of the invention is monitoring an area within a visual field using a camera and/or smart device and/or displaying a video image. This is not a recording process, but a real time analysis of the image being seen by the camera and/or video device. The image and/or frames can be stored, however this would be an ancillary function and unnecessary for the scanning function in its most basic form. The scanning function is for the purpose of real time analysis of a video image for the purpose of recognizing at least one image and/or character and/or a specific set of stored images and/or characters.

[00051] A virtual character is an electronic and/or virtual representation of a character, an entity, an icon, an emoji, an emoji moji, a physical object, a person, place, or thing.

[00052] Visual recognition in the context of the invention can also mean visual pattern recognition or the recognition of a digital representation of an image possessing an area comprising a vertical dimension of a specific number of pixels and a horizontal dimension of a specific number of pixels, and the total number of pixels in the complete image is the vertical number of pixels times the horizontal number of pixels. The visual recognition or visual pattern recognition process can locate at least one specific feature and discriminate this from at least one other feature.