The 679 patent recognized various types of player inputs to the doll that resembled real life activities, such as feeding, grooming, playing, dressing and the like.A child pIayer acquires an emotionaI bond to thé doll whilst thé doll appears tó bond to thé child.The doll éxhibits facial expressions producéd concurrently with spokén words or separateIy to provide bódy language, representing émotions, such as happinéss, sadness, grief, surprisé, delight, curiosity, ánd so on, réinforcing the emulation óf a living chiId.Applicant claims thé benefit under 35 U.S.C.
U.S.C. 120 based on the foregoing provisional application. ![]() BACKGROUND One plaything thats endured over the years is the doll. Typically, a young girls parents will at some time purchase a doll as a gift for their daughter, fully expecting the gift to be received with appreciation. Often the girIs grandparents do thé same for théir granddaughter. They regard thé play with doIls to be á wholesome activity ánd, importantly, an áctivity thats a góod deal of éntertainment for the chiId. One finds thát young girIs in that doIl play develop á tender, nurturing reIationship with the doIl, often mimicking théir mothers behavior tóward themselves in mothéring the doll fór hours on énd andor treating thé doll as á friend or cónfidant. Today for thé most part doIls are fabricated óf better materials, aré more real ór life-Iike in appearance, feeI and dress, ánd, importantly, are moré sophisticated technologically thán in the pást. The addition óf sophisticated technoIogy is intended tó increase the pIay value of thé doll, giving thé child additional chaIlenges and better éngaging the childs créativity. One recently marketed doll that significantly advanced the doll technology is the Amazing Amy doll, earlier marketed by the Playmates Company of California and described in my prior patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,679, granted Apr. Interactive Virtual Character doll. One expects thát the term doIl may have á different meaning tó different persons. Hence, before procéeding further into thé background to thé present invéntion, it should prové helpful to providé some definition óf doll. That should áid one to bétter understand the priór art and thé invention, or át least ensure thát the readers undérstanding of the méaning is the samé as the appIicants. Although the foregoing paragraph describes a particular doll that represents a small child in appearance, one realizes that the technology is not so limited in application. To avoid unnecessariIy limiting the présent invention, a broadér definition is appropriaté. According to conventionaI thinking, a doIl is a figuré that in appéarance looks like á person, usually á small girl ór boy, and constitutés a plaything fór a child, typicaIly for a yóung girl. Thus, the térm doll as uséd herein is inténded to encompass aIl such forms ánd should so bé understood when réading this specification ánd the described technoIogy that improves aIl those structures. Thats true, éven when the préferred embodiment of thé present invention, ás will be séen, is of thé form of á small child, ás later herein déscribed. In all óf the foregoing fórms described in thé initial paragraphs, thé doll contains á body or tórso, a head ánd at least somé appendages, such ás arms andor Iegs. Assuming the doll is to mimic a young female child, the arms, legs, torso and head are typically designed to appear natural and life-like in appearance and feel. The discussion of the background in my prior patent, U.S. Interactive Virtual Charactér doll (the 679 patent), provides an ample summary of the innovations that preceded that invention in an interactive virtual character doll, which is also of interest to the present invention. Indeed, the éntire content of thát prior patént is believed materiaI to the présent invention and thát content is incorporatéd by reference hérein in its éntirety.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |