TITLE OF THE INVENTION [0001] Video Game System with Safety Assembly and Method of Play

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/097,036, filed September 15, 2008 and claims the earlier filing date of the provisional application which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to interactive remotely controlled video game systems and methods of play. [0004] Remotely controlled interactive video games have progressed from systems in which the player and the remote control device are generally stationary to systems, such as the Nintendo Wii™, in which the player engages in physical activity required to move a handheld controller in the real world to produce a corresponding motion of an object in the virtual world of the video game. Usually the real world in which the remote control device is being moved is an indoor environment and typical a living or family room in which uncontrolled movement might cause injury or damage to individuals and objects in the room.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a video game system comprising a safety assembly operatively coupled to an electronic video game processor configured to initiate an execution of an interactive video game stored on a game processor readable medium and to cause an interruption of the execution of the video game when the safety assembly does not detect a game player in a zone-of-play.

[0006] A method of playing a video game on an electronic video game system comprising the steps of: executing on a game processor an interactive video game stored on a game processor readable medium; and causing an interruption of the execution of the video game when a safety assembly does not detect a game player in a zone-of-play.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] The following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently

preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

[0008] In the drawings:

[0009] Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a first preferred embodiment of a video game system in accordance with the present invention;

[0010] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the zone-of-play of the game system of Fig. 1;

[0011] Fig. 3 is schematic diagram for the detector module of the safety assembly for the video game system of Fig. 1 when a user is not in the zone-of-play;

[0012] Fig. 4 is schematic diagram for the detector module of the safety assembly for the video game system of Fig. 1 when a user is in the zone-of-play;

[0013] Fig. 5 is a front perspective view of the hand held controller and appliances of Fig. 1 in a storage dock;

[0014] Fig. 6 is a front perspective view of the base unit and delineator in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the video game system of Fig. 1; [0015] Fig. 7 is an exploded top perspective view of the hand held controller and appliances of Fig. 1;

[0016] Fig. 8 is an artist's rendering of a representative use of the video game system implementing the block diagram of Fig. 1 ;

[0017] Fig. 9 is a functional block diagram of a method of playing a game on a video gaming system in accordance with the present invention;

[0018] Fig. 10 is an artist's rendering of a representative screen capture for a T-ball video game executed on the video gaming system of Fig. 1;

[0019] Fig. 11 is a representative screen capture for a tennis video game executed on the video gaming system of Fig. 1 ; [0020] Fig. 12 is a representative screen capture for a miniature golf video game executed on the video gaming system of Fig. 1;

[0021] Fig. 13 is a top view of an embodiment of an object having a preferred embodiment of a swing detector in accordance with the present invention;

[0022] Fig. 14 is a side view of the object in Fig. 13 in two different positions; and [0023] Fig. 15 is a partial internal view of a portion of the object in Fig. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Referring to the drawings in detail, where like numerals indicate like elements throughout, there is shown in Figs. 1-9 a first preferred embodiment of the video game system, generally designated 10, and hereinafter referred to as the "game system" 10 in accordance with the present invention. The game system 10 provides to a game player an interactive video game experience in which the player may engage in physical activity related to the game. By way of example, the video game experience is disclosed below with respect to sport activities such as swinging a baseball bat, tennis racket, or golf club. However, the video game experience is not limited to those three sport activities and may involve any musculo-skeletal movement by a game player related to a wide variety of possible video game interactions including, bowling, racing, steering a vehicle, animating an avatar or, in general, moving any object appearing in the virtual world.

[0025] Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the game system 10 comprises a game apparatus 12 and a safety assembly 14. The game apparatus 12 may be any of a wide variety of well-known commercially-available video game systems suitably adapted to receive a signal from the safety assembly 14 as further described below such as the Nintendo Wii™, the Sony Playstation™, and the Microsoft Xbox 360™, or a lesser known systems such as Radica's Play TV ^® Baseball or Real Swing Golf or any other game having the features of the game apparatus 12. [0026] As is typical of the above cited video games, the game apparatus 12 includes a remote control 16 and a display device 18 that are operatively coupled to a game processor 20 located in a game console or base unit (or simply "base") 36. The coupling between the remote control 12 and the game processor 20 may be a wired connection but is preferably a wireless connection controlled by a wireless communication module 22 which may be configured to transmit and receive from the remote control 16 infra-red signals, radio frequency signals or both.

[0027] The remote control 16 may have a wide variety of ergonomically designed housing configurations, such as a basic rectangular candy-bar-like shape typical of some current cell phones, a trapezoidal-like shape such as the shape of the Xbox 360™ wireless controller or special purpose configurations such as the pistol shape of the Nintendo Zapper . [0028] Referring to Figs. 5 and 7, in some embodiments, the remote control 16 may have a generally wand-like, cylindrically-shaped grip 24 that serves as a universal handle to which a

variety of sport specific appliances may be attached such as the tip of a baseball bat 26 or the head of a golf club 28 or tennis racket 30. The appliances are preferably attached to the grip 24 by a secure snap fit connection the makes a distinct audible click to confirm its engagement with the grip 24. A switch (not shown) in the grip 24 is in communication with the game processor 20 in the base 36 and confirms whether or not the attachment is fully engaged. If the switch is not engaged, games with video content requiring a swinging motion of the remote control 16 will not be executed by the game processor. A wrist strap 25 may be attached to the grip 24 to prevent the grip 24 from sliding out of a game player's grip when swung. Again the wrist strap may also be a sensor such as a capacitive device responsive to touch or be coupled with a sensor such as a switch in the grip coupled with an elasticized strap to sense tension of the strap.

[0029] When the appliance is properly attached to the grip, a series of switches in the grip are engaged by appliance and communicate to a controller in the grip the identity of the attached appliance. Attaching an appliance to the grip 24 may act like a mode selection, the identity of the appliance being recognized by electronics in the grip 24 and communicated to the game processor 20, which in turn, automatically executes preprogrammed software creating on the display 18 animated sports scenes associated with the appliance. [0030] Communication between the grip controller and the game controller occurs wirelessly. In some embodiments, a plurality (e.g. four) of infra-red transmitters are arranged around the circumference of the remote control so that the signal can be sent to and received by the base unit game controller. In other embodiments the wireless communication link may occur by a radio frequency link.

[0031] The remote control 16 may include user input devices such as a directional pad 32, button switches 34 and/or a touch screen (not shown). In some embodiments, the directional pad 32 when used in conjunction with one or more button switches serves as a user input device for navigating and making selections from menus on the display device 18. The button switches 34 may be color coded for association with various appliances that may be attached to the remote control and for selecting one of the sport scenes associated with the appliance. [0032] The remote control 16 has a motion (or swing detector) detector able to sense a movement of the remote control 16. The motion detector may be a simple one degree-of- freedom accelerometer (or switch) that only communicates to the game processor 20 that the

remote control 16 has been moved, such as by the closure of a switch closure caused by the extension of spring and mass assembly in response to movement of the remote control 16. [0033 J An example of a simple swing detector switch is shown in Figs. 13-15 and is described in detail in U.S. Patent Application Number 12/468,875 entitled "Motion Switch" the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. A representative embodiment of the motion switch described in the cited application follows.

[0034] Figs. 13-15 illustrate the use of the motion switch 100 with an object that can be swung by a user. While object 400 is illustrated as a bat, in other embodiments, the object 400 can be a tennis racquet, a golf club, or other article that can be swung or moved by a user. [0035] In this embodiment, the object 400 includes a body 410 with a proximal end 412 and a distal end 414. Referring to Fig. 13, a top view of one type of motion of object 400 is illustrated. A user can swing the object 400 from a start position 402 along the direction of arrow "V" to a swinging or swung position 404, which is indicative of a swinging motion when a user is trying to hit a ball with a bat. During that motion, the distal end 414 moves a greater distance than the proximal end 412 of the object.

[0036] A switch 100 can be coupled to the body 410, either internally or externally, and oriented so that the switch 100 detects the desired motion of the object 400. As shown in Fig. 13, the switch 100 is oriented to detect the swinging motion of the object 400 along the direction of arrow "V." In one example, the object 400 can be a bat and the switch 100 is used to teach a proper swinging technique by generating an output or reward, such as an audible and/or visual output, in response to a particular type of swinging motion. If the object 400 is swung in an undesired or incorrect manner, then the switch 100 is not closed and no response is generated. However, if the object 400 is swung in a proper manner, the switch 100 is closed and an output such as sound effects or music is generated. [0037] The switch 100 is oriented so that the primary or detecting axis 125 of the switch 100 is aligned with an axis 415 of the object 400. While object 400 is in position 402, the switch 100 is oriented such that the conductive member 280 can move along the direction "W" and engage the contact of cap 130 to close the switch 100, if the proper force is applied to the conductive member 280. As the object 400 moves along the direction of arrow "V," a centrifugal force acts on the conductive member 280, thereby forcing the conductive member 280 toward the distal end 414 of the body 410 and into engagement with the contact on the cap

130 (see the orientation of the switch 100 and movement along the direction of arrow "X" for object position 404). A proper swinging motion along arrow "V," such as a horizontal motion, can result in conductive member 280 moving and the switch 100 being closed. [0038] Referring to Fig. 14, an exemplary motion of object 400 that is not detected is illustrated. In this example, the object 400 is moved from position 406 to position 408 along the direction of arrow "Y." The switch 100 is oriented such that the primary or detecting axis 125 is aligned with the length of the body 410. Thus, movement of the body 410 along the direction of arrow "Y" does not cause the conductive member 280 of the switch 100 to engage the contact coupled to cap 130. As a result, the switch 100 does not close and no output is generated by the electronic system. The object 400 can be moved in many different planes and directions and the detection of movement in a particular direction or directions can be achieved by orienting the switch 100 in the desired direction.

[0039] Referring to Fig. 15, the object 400 is illustrated with a portion removed. The body 410 includes an internal cavity 420 in which the switch 100 is disposed. A cover (not shown) can be provided to allow access to the cavity 410. The switch 100 is oriented so that biasing member 260 is located toward the proximal end 412 and the conductive member 280 is located toward the distal end 414. In different embodiments, the location and manner in which the switch 100 is coupled to the body 410 of the object 400 can vary. [0040] Motion detectors more complex than the switch 100, may be used in some embodiments of the remote control 20. For example, a complex multiple degree-of-freedom sensor may be used, such as a multiple axis accelerometer or gyroscopic assembly. [0041] The display device 18 may be a standard television set or any other electronic display. Preferably, the coupling between the display device 18 and the game processor 20 is a plug and play wired connection 23 that connects the game processor 20 to the video and audio ports of the display device 18. Alternatively, the connection may be wireless and involve the wireless communication module 22.

[0042] The gaming processor 20 is housed in a base 36 that may have any of a wide variety of configurations, such as a generally rectangular shape, a trapezoidal shape, a polygonal shape, or alternatively, the cylindrical shape shown in Fig. 6. The gaming processor 20 is configured to execute a game program, such as T-ball 70 (Figs. 8 and 10), tennis 80 (Fig. 11) or miniature golf 90 (Fig. 12) to cause the display device 18 to display a virtual game world 72, 82, 92

including a virtual object 74, 84, 94 as shown in Figs. 10-12, respectively. Any of a variety of scenes typical of most arcade video games may be displayed, such as the animated T-ball scene 38 in Fig. 8.

[0043] In some embodiments, the base 36 has one or more indicators 21 in communication with the game processor 20. Each indicator 21 may be associated with an appliance 26, 28, 30 and may have the same color as a corresponding button switch 34 associated with the same appliance. The indicators 21 may be illuminated by an underlying light emitting diode controlled by the game processor 20 to inform the game player that the illuminated button should be used as an input device for interaction with a particular sport scene or on screen menu associated with the appliance presently attached to the remote control 16..

[0044] The gaming processor 20 is configured to move the virtual object (e.g., a baseball) in response to a movement of the remote control 16 (e.g., the grip 24 with the baseball bat appliance 26 attached thereto) by a game player. Depending on the sensor suite in the remote control 16, the motion of the object may be loosely or tightly coupled to the motion of the remote control 16 by the program being executed by the game processor 20.

[0045] Referring to Figs. 1-4, 6 and 8, the safety assembly 14 includes a delineator 40 and a game player detector 42. The delineator 40 forms at least a portion of a boundary of a zone-of- play 44 in a real world. The delineator 40 may be any structure that may be recognized by the user as a demarcation in the proximity of which the user must stay in order to avoid contact with objects in the real world environment.

[0046] Typically the environment is a game room having a television to which the game system 10 is connected. The delineator 40 is placed on the floor a sufficient distance from the television (or display) and other furnishings in the room such that the game player, with the remote control 16 in hand, may safely engage in the requisite bodily movements to accomplish an objective of the game. In the case of the T-ball example shown in Figs. 8 and 10, the game player must be able to swing the baseball bat as required to hit the appropriate ball off the tee in the virtual world 72 without hitting anything in the room.

[0047] Desirably, the delineator 40 comprises at least one elongated member that may be placed on the floor separate from the base 36. Preferably, the delineator 40 comprises two elongated members 46a, 46b extending from the base 36. The elongated members 46a, 46b may have end sections 48a, 48b that are angled with respect the elongated members 46a, 46b to

suggest to the game player that the zone-of-play 44 is defined to be an area with a limited extent and that the game player should position himself between the angled sections 48a, 48b and to the side of the delineator 40 from which the angled sections 48a, 48b extend. Preferably, the zone-of-play 44 is an area about two feet by two feet. However, the extent of the zone-of-play 44 may be larger or smaller than a two-foot square depending on the requirements of the game being executed. Further, the shape of the area need not be square and could be rectangular or circular or elliptical or have an arbitrary shape. Alternative embodiments of the delineator may have an arcuate shape or a generally concave shape or any other shape suggesting that the game player be contained within an area to one side of the delineator. Further, the delineator may comprise one continuous member or a plurality of members and may be positioned spaced from and independent of the location of the base 36.

[0048] In some embodiments, the elongated members 48a, 48b may support a visible indicator 50 activated by the game processor 20 when the safety assembly 14 does not detect a game player in the zone-of-play 44. Preferably, the visible indicator 50 is a light pipe 50a. Alternatively, the visible indicator may be an arrangement of conventional light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, or light emitting diodes.

[0049] The game player detector 42 comprises a sensor suite able to detect the presence of a game player in the zone-of-play 44. The sensor suite may include only a passive sensor such as a thermal IR sensor, or may include one or more active sensors such as emitter/detector pairs using sonics (e.g. ultrasonic), or electro-optics (e.g. laser) to irradiate and sense the reflectance from a game player in the zone-of-play 44. In some embodiments, the game player detector 42 may require contact by the game player, such as a mat (indicated by 44' in Fig. 2) with an array 45' of mechanical pressure sensors formed by overlaid trace electrodes separated by compressible spacers like those used in inexpensive touch screens or an array 45' of radio frequency of transmitter and receiver trace electrodes to detect capacitive or near field radio frequency signal disturbances caused by player presence on the array, like that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 7,203,455 incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, with its guard electrode or ground plane removed. In some embodiments, the user may be equipped with a wearable device 68 (in phantom in Fig. 6) such as an RFID or resonant circuit tag responsive to a radio interrogator and detector pair. In some embodiments, the game player detector 42 is positioned proximal to the zone-of-play 44 and oriented such that the field-of-view of the game player

detector 42 spans the zone-of-play 44. Although the game player detector 42 may be housed separately from the game processor 20 and controlled by an independent processor, preferably the game player detector 42 is housed with the game processor 20 in the base 36. [0050] The game player detector 42 is operatively coupled to the game processor 20, which is further configured to execute a predetermined safety program when the game player detector 42 does not detect a game player in the zone-of-play. The coupling may be a wireless or wired link. The game player detector 42 may by controlled by an independent processor or may be controlled by the game processor 20. The predetermined safety program may cause the game processor 20 perform any of variety of safety related acts either singly or in combination, such as to freeze the display on the display device 18, to warn the game player visually or audibly to return to the zone-of-play, to render the remote control 16 inoperative or to terminate the game. [0051] Referring to Figs. 2-4, a preferred embodiment of the game player detector 42 comprises at least one infra-red (IR) emitter 52 and preferably two emitters and an IR detector 54. The emitters 52 are mounted in the base 36 such that each of the fields-of-view overlap and collectively span the zone-of-play 44. As shown in the diagrams in Figs. 3 and 4, the emitters 52 operatively coupled to the game processor 20. The IR detector 54 is also mounted in the base 36 and is oriented to detect reflectance from objects in the zone-of-play 44. [0052] Referring to Fig. 9, another aspect of the present invention is a method 56 of playing a game on a game system comprising the game apparatus 12 and the safety assembly 14. For illustrative purposes, the method 56 is disclosed with reference to the preferred embodiment of the game system 10 disclosed above. However, the method 56 in accordance with the present invention may be practiced with any game system able to detect the absence of a game player in a zone-of-play 44. The method 56 comprises the steps described below. [0053] One step is a delineating the boundary step 58 that comprises visibly delineating at least a portion of a boundary of the zone-of-play 44. hi some embodiments, a portion of the boundary may be delineated by a delineator 40. As described above, the delineator 40 may be a passive physical structure placed on a floor, such as the elongated members 46a, 46a. In other embodiments a portion of the boundary may be actively delineated by a visible indicator 50, such as a light pipe, activated by the game processor 20. [0054] Another step is an executing a video game step 60 that comprises executing on a game processor 20 of the gaming system 10 an interactive video game, such as T-ball 70, tennis

80, or golf 90, stored on a game processor readable medium 21a to cause a display device 18 to display a virtual game world 72, 82, 92 including a virtual object 74, 84, 94 and to cause the virtual object to move in response to a movement of a remote control 16 by a game player. [0055] The game processor readable medium 21a may be volatile memory such as random access memory, or non- volatile memory such as read only memory or flash memory. The game processor readable medium may be transitory or non-transitory. In some embodiments, the game processor readable medium 21a may be permanently fixed in the base 36. Alternatively, the game processor readable medium 21a may be a removable medium such as a flash drive or a compact disk. [0056] Another step is a detecting step 62 that comprises monitoring with a game player detector 42 a zone-of-play 44 having at least a portion of a boundary of the zone-of-play 44 formed by a delineator 40 and if the game player is detected in the zone-of-play 44 continuing to execute the game in accordance with the executing a game step 60. If the game player is not detected in the zone-of-play 44, the detecting step 62 communicates to the game processor 20 the absence of a game player in the zone-of-play 44.

[0057] Another step is an executing a safety program step 64 which comprises executing a safety program wherein an execution of an interactive video game is interrupted when a safety assembly 14 does not detect a game player in a zone-of-play 44. In some embodiments, the executing a safety program step further comprises an instructing step 64a wherein the game player is instructed to return to the zone-of-play 44. The instruction may warn the player visually or audibly to return to the zone-of-play 44. In other embodiments, the interruption may cause the display to freeze, or render the remote control 16 inoperative or terminate the game. [0058] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. Preferred features of any one aspect of the invention also apply to other aspects. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention.