U.S. patent application number 12/575676 was filed with the patent office on 2011-04-14 for game environment to interact with telephony modem.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB. Invention is credited to Gregory A. Dunko, Scott Wenger, Rodney Owen Williams.
Application Number | 20110086711 12/575676 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42244989 |
Filed Date | 2011-04-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110086711 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Dunko; Gregory A. ; et
al. |
April 14, 2011 |
Game Environment to Interact with Telephony Modem
Abstract
A combination telephony and game device comprises a telephony
modem for communicating with remote devices over a telephony
network; and an application processor operatively connected to said
telephony modem. The application processor is configured to execute
a game application to play a game; receive a telephony event
notification from said telephony modem while the game is being
played; and represent, while the game is being played, the
telephony event in a virtual reality environment provided by the
game application.
Inventors: |
Dunko; Gregory A.; (Cary,
NC) ; Wenger; Scott; (Cary, NC) ; Williams;
Rodney Owen; (Cary, NC) |
Assignee: |
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications
AB
Lund
SE
|
Family ID: |
42244989 |
Appl. No.: |
12/575676 |
Filed: |
October 8, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
463/41 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 13/65 20140902;
A63F 13/42 20140902; A63F 2300/406 20130101; H04L 67/38 20130101;
A63F 13/12 20130101; A63F 2300/69 20130101; A63F 13/332 20140902;
H04M 1/72427 20210101; A63F 13/52 20140902; H04M 11/007
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/41 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A combination telephony and game device comprising: a telephony
modem for communicating with remote devices over a telephony
network; and an application processor operatively connected to said
telephony modem and configured to: execute a game application to
play a game; receive a telephony event notification from said
telephony modem while the game is being played, said telephony
event notification relating to a telephony event external to said
game; and represent, while the game is being played, the telephony
event in a virtual reality environment provided by the game
application.
2. The combination telephony and game device of claim 1 wherein the
application processor is further configured to: receive a game
control input from a user; control game events within said virtual
reality environment responsive to said game control input; and
translate game events into telephony commands for controlling said
telephony modem to perform a telephony function.
3. The combination telephony and game device of claim 2 wherein
said telephony event comprises an incoming call from a remote party
and wherein the application processor is configured to translate
game events into a call control signal for handling the incoming
call.
4. The combination telephony and game device of claim 2 wherein the
application processor is configured to translate game events into a
call control signal for initiating an outgoing call to a remote
party.
5. The combination telephony and game device of claim 2 wherein the
application processor is configured to control a game character in
the virtual reality environment responsive to said game control
input.
6. The combination telephony and game device of claim 5 wherein the
application processor is configured to translate actions of said
game character into telephony commands for performing a telephony
function with said telephony modem.
7. The combination telephony and game device of claim 2 wherein the
application processor is configured to represent the telephony
event as an interactive game object in the virtual reality
environment.
8. The combination telephony and game device of claim 7 wherein the
application processor is further configured to: receive a game
control input from a user; and control a game character responsive
to said user input to interact with said interactive game
object.
9. The combination telephony and game device of claim 8 wherein the
application processor is configured to translate interactions
between said game character and said interactive game object into
telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem to perform
a telephony function.
10. The combination telephony and game device of claim 2 wherein
the application processor is configured to control a game character
in said virtual reality environment responsive to user input to
perform a telephony function with said telephony modem.
11. The combination telephony and game device wherein the
application processor is configured to: determine an event type for
said telephony event; and represent said telephony event in said
virtual reality environment based on said event type.
12. The combination telephony and game device wherein the telephony
event comprises an incoming call and wherein the application
processor is configured to: determine an identity of the calling
party; and represent said telephony event in said virtual reality
environment based on said identity of said calling party.
13. A method implemented by a game application on a mobile
communication device, said method comprising: receiving a telephony
event notification from a telephony modem while a game is being
played, said telephony event notification relating to a telephony
event external to said game; and representing, while the game is
being played, the telephony event in a virtual reality environment
provided by the gaming application.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising: receiving a game
control input from a user; controlling game events within said
virtual reality environment responsive to said game control input;
and translating game events into telephony commands for controlling
said telephony modem to perform a telephony function.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein said telephony event comprises
an incoming call from a remote party and wherein translating game
events into telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem
to perform a telephony function comprises translating the game
event into a call control signal for handling the incoming
call.
16. The combination telephony and game device of claim 14 wherein
translating game events into telephony commands for controlling
said telephony modem to perform a telephony function comprises
translating the game event into a call control signal for
initiating an outgoing call to a remote party.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein controlling a game event within
said virtual reality environment responsive to said game control
input comprises controlling a game character responsive in the
virtual reality environment.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein translating said game control
input into telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem
comprises translating game control commands controlling actions of
said game character into telephony commands for performing a
telephony function with said telephony modem.
19. The method of claim 13 wherein representing the telephony event
in a virtual reality environment comprises visually representing
the telephony event as an interactive game object in the virtual
reality environment.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising: receiving a game
control input from a user; and controlling a game character
responsive to said user input to interact with said interactive
game object.
21. The method of claim 20 further comprising translating
interactions between said game character and said interactive game
object in said virtual reality environment into telephony commands
for controlling said telephony modem.
22. The method of claim 13 further comprising controlling a game
character in said virtual reality environment responsive to user
input to perform a telephony function with said telephony
modem.
23. The method of claim 13 further comprising: determining an event
type for said telephony event; and representing said telephony
event in said virtual reality environment based on said event
type.
24. The method of claim 13 wherein the telephony event comprises an
incoming message and further comprising: determining an identity of
the calling party; and representing said telephony event in said
virtual reality environment based on said identity of said calling
party.
25. A game device comprising: a communication interface for
communicating with remote devices over a communication network; and
an application processor operatively connected to said
communication interface and configured to: execute a game
application to play a game; receive an incoming message while the
game is being played from a party not involved in said game; and
represent, while the game is being played, the incoming message in
a virtual reality environment provided by the game application.
26. A method implemented by a game application on a host device,
said method comprising: receiving a message notification while a
game is being played, said message notification relating to a
message from a party other than a game player; and representing,
while the game is being played, incoming message in a virtual
reality environment provided by the gaming application.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention relates to game applications for
mobile communications devices and, more particularly, to game
applications that enable users to perform telephony functions
without exiting the game.
[0002] Mobile communication devices have evolved from simple phones
used primarily for voice communications to devices that integrate
both voice and data communications with computing technology.
Mobile communication devices now include powerful processors that
can run many common software applications. Users can now perform a
multitude of computing tasks with their mobile communications
devices such as sending and receiving emails, managing calendars
and contacts, browsing the web, and chatting with friends. Many
users also use their mobile communication devices for gaming and
entertainment applications.
[0003] Although it is common to use a mobile communication device
as a gaming device, the game applications developed in the past do
not take full advantage of the communication capabilities of the
mobile communication device. For on-line gaming, a game application
may use the communication capability of the mobile communication
device to transmit and receive game data. Thus, the communications
functions are typically used simply as a pipeline for game data
transfer.
SUMMARY
[0004] The present invention relates to a mobile communication
device that is used also as a game device and that provides greater
integration between gaming and telephony functions of the mobile
communication device. The mobile communication device is operable
in a phone mode to make and receive voice calls, and in a game mode
for playing games installed on the mobile communication device. A
virtual reality game is stored in memory of the mobile
communication device. The virtual reality game creates an
artificial world having virtual objects or characters that can be
controlled by the user to play a virtual reality game. The game
application includes a telephony application interface (telephony
API) that enables the virtual reality game to incorporate
real-world telephony events into the virtual reality game and
allows a game player to perform real-world telephony functions from
within the context of the virtual reality game.
[0005] Exemplary embodiment of the invention comprises a
combination telephony and game device. One exemplary device
comprises a telephony modem for communicating with remote parties
over a telephony network; and an application processor operatively
connected to said telephony modem. The application processor is
configured to execute a game application to play a game, receive a
telephony event notification from said telephony modem while the
game is being played, and represent, while the game is being
played, the telephony event in a virtual reality environment
provided by the game application.
[0006] In some embodiments, the application processor is further
configured to receive a game control input from a user; control
game events within said virtual reality environment responsive to
said game control input; and translate game events into telephony
commands for controlling said telephony modem to perform a
telephony function.
[0007] In some embodiments, the telephony event comprises an
incoming call from a remote party and the application processor is
configured to translate the game control input into a call control
signal for handling the incoming call.
[0008] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to translate game control inputs into a call control signal for
initiating an outgoing call to a remote party.
[0009] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to control a game character in the virtual reality environment
responsive to said game control input.
[0010] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to translate actions of said game character into telephony commands
for performing a telephony function with said telephony modem.
[0011] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to represent the telephony event as an interactive game object in
the virtual reality environment.
[0012] In some embodiments, the application processor is further
configured to receive a game control input from a user; and control
a game character responsive to said user input to interact with
said interactive game object.
[0013] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to translate interactions between said game character and said
interactive game object into telephony commands for controlling
said telephony modem to perform a telephony function.
[0014] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to control a game character in said virtual reality environment
responsive to user input to perform a telephony function with said
telephony modem.
[0015] In some embodiments, the application processor is configured
to determine an event type for said telephony event and to
represent said telephony event in said virtual reality environment
based on said event type.
[0016] In some embodiments the telephony event comprises an
incoming call and the application processor is configured to
determine an identity of the calling party, and to represent said
telephony event in said virtual reality environment based on said
identity of said calling party.
[0017] Other embodiments of the invention comprise a method of
enabling telephone functions while playing a game. One exemplary
method comprises receiving a telephony event notification from a
telephony modem while a game is being played; and representing,
while the game is being played, the telephony event in a virtual
reality environment provided by the gaming application.
[0018] In some embodiments of the method, the method further
comprises receiving a game control input from a user; controlling
game events within said virtual reality environment responsive to
said game control input; and translating game events into telephony
commands for controlling said telephony modem to perform a
telephony function.
[0019] In some embodiments of the method, the telephony event
comprises an incoming call from a remote party and translating game
events into telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem
to perform a telephony function comprises translating the game
events into a call control signal for handling the incoming
call.
[0020] In some embodiments of the method, translating game events
into telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem to
perform a telephony function translating the game events into a
call control signal for initiating an outgoing call to a remote
party.
[0021] In some embodiments of the method, controlling a game event
within said virtual reality environment responsive to said game
control input comprises controlling a game character responsive in
the virtual reality environment.
[0022] In some embodiments of the method, translating game events
input into telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem
comprises translating actions of said a game character into
telephony commands for performing a telephony function with said
telephony modem.
[0023] In some embodiments of the method, representing the
telephony event in a virtual reality environment comprises visually
representing the telephony event as an interactive game object in
the virtual reality environment.
[0024] Some embodiments of the method further comprise receiving a
game control input from a user; and controlling a game character
responsive to said user input to interact with said interactive
game object.
[0025] Some embodiments of the method further comprising
translating interactions between said game character and said
interactive game object in said virtual reality environment into
telephony commands for controlling said telephony modem.
[0026] Some embodiments of the method further comprising
controlling a game character in said virtual reality environment
responsive to user input to perform a telephony function with said
telephony modem.
[0027] In some embodiments, the method further comprises
determining an event type for said telephony event; and
representing said telephony event in said virtual reality
environment based on said event type.
[0028] In some embodiments, the telephony event comprises an
incoming message and the method further comprises determining an
identity of the calling party; and representing said telephony
event in said virtual reality environment based on said identity of
said calling party.
[0029] Other embodiments of the invention comprise a game device
comprising a communication interface for communicating with remote
devices over a communication network; and an application processor
operatively connected to said communication interface. The
application processor is configured to execute a game application
to play a game; and receive an incoming message while the game is
being played from a party not involved in said game; and represent,
while the game is being played, the incoming message in a virtual
reality environment provided by the game application.
[0030] Other embodiments to the invention comprise a method
implemented by a game application on a host device for providing
message notifications to game players. One such method comprises
receiving a message notification while a game is being played, said
message notification relating to a message from a party other than
a game player; and representing, while the game is being played,
incoming message in a virtual reality environment provided by the
gaming application.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary mobile communication
device.
[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary software architecture of the
mobile communicating device.
[0033] FIG. 3 illustrates a method implemented by the mobile
communication device for incorporating telephony events and
functions into a virtual reality game.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0034] The present invention relates to a mobile communication
device that is usable as a game device The mobile communication
device is operable in a phone mode for making and receiving phone
calls, and in a game mode for playing games installed in the mobile
communication device. A virtual reality game is stored in memory of
the mobile communication device. The virtual reality game creates a
computer-simulated or artificial world having objects or characters
that can be controlled by the user to play a virtual reality game.
The simulated world (excluding game menus and other game interface
objects not part of the simulated world) is referred to herein as a
virtual reality environment. The game application includes a
telephony application interface (telephony API) that enables the
virtual reality game to respond to real-world telephony events and
allows a game player to perform real-world telephony functions from
within the context of the virtual reality game.
[0035] The game application receives telephony event notifications
via the telephony API in response to real-world telephony events.
As used herein, the term telephony event includes call events
(e.g., incoming and outgoing calls), mobility events (e.g.,
handovers), registration and access events, power on/off events,
and other events that occur in telephony networks. The game
application represents the real-world telephony event (e.g.,
incoming telephone call) described in the notification in the
virtual reality environment created by the game application. The
user may also control the telephony modem to perform a telephony
function in the real world from within the context of the virtual
reality environment. As one example, a virtual object, such as a
phone booth, may appear in the virtual reality environment in
response to the incoming call in the real world. The user may
direct a game character controlled by the user into a virtual phone
booth to answer the incoming call or to initiate an outgoing call.
Thus, the virtual reality environment serves, in effect, as a
graphical user interface for interaction with the telephony modem
while the game is being played. There is no need to exit the game
while the user performs a telephony function.
[0036] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary mobile communication device
10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The mobile
communication device 10 may comprise, for example, a mobile
telephone, smart phone, personal digital assistant, laptop
computer, or other mobile communication device with phone
capabilities. The mobile communication device 10 comprises a
telephony modem 20, processing circuit 30, memory 40, and user
interface 50. The telephony modem 20 may comprise, for example, a
cellular modem, for communicating over a cellular network. The
cellular modem 20 may operate according to known communication
standards, such as Wideband Co-division Multiple Access (WCDMA),
Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, or other standards now known or
later developed.
[0037] The processing circuit 30 comprises one or more programmable
processors, which may comprise microprocessors, microcontrollers,
hardware, or a combination thereof. The processing circuit 30
executes application programs stored in memory 40. The processing
circuit 30 receives user input from the user input devices 54 and
outputs information to display 52 for viewing by the user. The
processing circuit 30 connects to the telephony modem 20 for
transmitting and receiving data over communication networks.
[0038] Memory 40 stores application programs and data needed by the
processing circuit 30 for operation. Memory 40 may comprise one or
more memory devices. Memory 40 includes internal memory in the
processors and well as external memory devices such as random
access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Typically, the
application programs stored in memory include an operating system
program 60 (FIG. 2) and one or more user applications, such as a
game application 62 and telephony application 64.
[0039] The user interface 50 enables the user to interact with the
mobile communication device 10. The user interface 50 comprises a
display 52 to output information to the user for viewing, and one
or more input devices 54 to receive user input from a user. The
display 52 may comprise touchscreen display that also functions as
a user input device 54. Typically user input devices include a
keypad, touch pad, accelerometer, and voice activation.
[0040] In the exemplary embodiment, memory 40 stores one or more
game applications for playing games with the mobile communication
device 10 and one or more a telephony applications for performing
telephony functions. The memory 40 could store other applications,
such as business applications (e.g., email programs, calendars,
word processing programs, spreadsheets, etc.), consumer
applications (e.g., chat or instant messaging applications, photo
applications, music applications, etc.), and other application
programs.
[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary software architecture for a
mobile communication device 10. The operating system program 60
stored in memory manages the sharing of system resources and
manages details of hardware operation. The operating system program
60 offers services through an application programming interface
(API) or system calls to user applications. This architecture frees
the application program developers from having to manage system
hardware. Two user applications are shown in the exemplary
embodiment: a game application 62 and a telephony application 64
(e.g., phone dialer). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that
a mobile communication device 10 would typically include many
applications.
[0042] The operating system program 60 handles interactions with
the telephony modem 20, processing circuits 30, memory 40, and user
interface 50 for the game application 62 and telephony application
64. The telephony modem 20 provides telephony event notifications
to the operating system program 60 which may pass the notifications
to either the telephony application 64 or game application 62, or
both. Similarly, user input events are passed by the operating
system program 60 to the game application 62 and telephony
application 64. When the game application 62 and telephony
application 64 are installed on the mobile communication device 10,
the applications 62, 64 register with the operating system program
60 so that the operating system program 60 will know how to route
the telephony event notifications and user interface events.
[0043] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary method 100 implemented by a
game application 62 according to one embodiment. The method 100
begins when the game application 62 receives a telephony event
notification from the telephony modem 20 (block 102). The telephony
event notification relates to a telephony event external to outside
the context of the game. For example, the telephony event may
comprise an incoming call or incoming message from someone other
than another gamer. As previously noted, the telephony event
notification may be initially received by the operating system
program 60 and passed to the game application 62. In response to
the telephony event notification, the game application 62
represents the telephony event in the virtual reality environment.
The representation of the telephony event may take many different
forms. For example, the telephony event may be represented by a
game object (e.g., virtual phone booth) that appears in the virtual
reality environment in response to the telephony event. The game
object may comprise an interactive game object that is used to
perform telephony functions from within the context of the virtual
reality environment. A game character controlled by the game player
can interact with the interactive game object to perform a
telephony function. As an example, a weather event (e.g., tornado,
rain, etc.) may begin in the virtual reality environment in
response to the telephony event. This weather event may be a
function of both telephony event (incoming call) and more specific
information related to the telephony event (for example caller ID).
The weather could, for example worsen, if this is a second or third
incoming call from the same person. Also, different types of
weather events could indicate incoming calls from different
persons. Virtually any condition of the virtual reality environment
may be used to represent the telephony event. Also, a user may have
the capability to set user preferences associating particular
telephony events with particular game events.
[0044] In response to the telephony event, the user may choose to
ignore the event, or to take some action in response to the event.
The game application 62 monitors for user input (block 106). The
user input events may be responsive to a telephony event, or may be
at the user's own initiative. The game application 62 processes the
user input and controls events within the virtual reality
environment responsive to the user input (block 108). In some
cases, a user input controlling an event within the virtual reality
environment may have a corresponding telephony function. In cases
where the game event has a corresponding telephony function, the
game application 62 generates corresponding telephony commands for
controlling the telephony modem, and outputs the telephony commands
via the telephony API to the telephony modem to perform the
telephony function (block 110). Thus, the user is able to perform
telephony functions from within the virtual game environment
without having to exit the game. In effect, the virtual game
environment provided by the game application becomes a user
interface for performing telephony operations.
[0045] To facilitate understanding of the present invention, a few
examples of how a virtual reality environment can be used to
perform telephony operations will be described.
Example 1
[0046] A user of the mobile communication device 10 launches a game
application to begin playing a game. During the course of the game,
the mobile communication device 10 receives an incoming call from a
friend. The game application receives a telephony event
notification from the telephony modem indicating the type of the
event and providing information about the event. The information
may include, for example, a caller ID number or other information
about the caller. The game application generates a telephone booth
in the virtual reality environment in response to the incoming call
to indicate that a call has been received. The user directs a
character under the user's control into the virtual phone booth to
answer the call. The virtual phone booth may include a virtual
phone or other call control features for answering the call. To end
the call, the user directs his character to exit the phone booth.
If the user is involved in an on-line, multi-player game, the game
application may send a status update to the other players
indicating that the player responding to the telephony event is
currently inactive. Alternatively, the status update may indicate
that the user has left the game although the game is not exited on
the user's device. When the call ends, the game application may
send a status update indicating that the user has returned or is
now active in the game.
Example 2
[0047] The user launches a game application on the mobile
communication device 10. While playing the game, the user decides
to place a call to the user's friend. In order to place the call,
the user directs his or her game character into a phone booth in
the virtual reality environment. The user directs his or her
character to interact with a virtual telephone in the virtual
telephone booth to initiate an out-going telephone call. When the
call is complete, the user directs his or her character to hang up
the virtual telephone or to exit the virtual phone booth. The game
application translates the interactions between the game character
and the virtual telephone into telephony commands for controlling
the telephony modem.
[0048] In the above examples, a virtual object appears in the
virtual reality environment in response to telephony events.
However, the telephony event may be represented by any change in
the virtual reality environment. As noted above, virtual objects
may appear responsive to the telephony event, new characters may
appear responsive to the telephony event, existing objects in the
virtual reality world may change in appearance, sounds emanating
from distant objects in the virtual reality environment may be
heard, and tactile feedback representing virtual events (e.g.,
earthquakes) may be felt.
[0049] Any kind or type of event in the telephony network may be
used to trigger corresponding game events or changes in the virtual
reality environment being provided by the game. The most common
events may be call events, such as an incoming call, receipt of a
busy signal, the forwarding of a call. However, other types of
telephony events may also be used to trigger game events. For
example, mobility events such as a handover or change in roaming
status can trigger a game event to provide notice to the user.
Other telephony events may include registration events, power
on/off events, etc.
[0050] Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been
described specifically for game devices that also function as
telephony devices, the concepts of the present invention can be
easily extended to other messaging applications, such as email,
SMS, instant messaging, and presence updates. In general, the game
application can be configured to represent any type of incoming
message within the virtual reality environment to enable the game
player to read or respond to the incoming message without exiting
the game. As one example, an incoming email or text message might
be represented in the context of the game as a message displayed on
a billboard.
[0051] The present invention may, of course, be carried out in
other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing
from the scope and essential characteristics of the invention. The
present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all
respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes
coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended
claims are intended to be embraced therein.
* * * * *