US20080274812A1

US20080274812A1 - System of electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of user and method therefor and recording medium

Info

Publication number: US20080274812A1
Application number: US11/797,304
Authority: US
Inventors: Chaucer Chiu; Xin Chen
Original assignee: Inventec Corp
Current assignee: Inventec Corp
Priority date: 2007-05-02
Filing date: 2007-05-02
Publication date: 2008-11-06

Abstract

An electronic pet system capable of reflecting habits of users is provided, which allows the electronic pets raised by different users to have different personalities and reflect the habits of the users. The electronic pet system includes a parameter collection module, a parameter database, and a parameter setting module. The parameter collection module is used to gather growing parameters of an electronic pet, in which the parameters include a work and rest time schedule and a behavior content. The parameter database is used to record the growing, parameters of the electronic pet, in which the growing parameters are related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content. The parameter setting module is used to set the growing parameters of the electronic pet according to the growth gathered by the parameter collection module, such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic pet, and more particularly to an electronic pet capable of growing up according to the operation habit of a user.
2. Related Art
With the progress of science and technology, the alienation among human beings increases; so “personalized interaction” becomes a developing trend of electronic pets. “Electronic chicken” is a representative of the first generation of interactive electronic pets, but it cannot meet the requirements of the market any longer due to its dull and stereotyped actions.
In the places in where raising pets is forbidden, “electronic pets” can replace physical pets since the “electronic pets” will not pollute the environment or bother others. Therefore, raising the “electronic pets” is not forbidden and can also allow the persons who adopt “electronic pets” to experience raising pets.
Currently, the electronic pets can talk, calculate, act cute, burp, and respond to fondling, and even have the capability of taking care of the elders. The categories of the conventional pets include chicken, cat, dog, rabbit, frog, bat, lizard, dinosaur, fairy, electronic flower, robot, and everything that can be found.
Each year, more than one hundred kinds of electronic toys are pushed to market, with tens kinds of interactive electronic pets therein. However, the built-in pet parameters of conventional electronic pets cannot reflect the characteristics of the users; therefore, the pets raised by different users have the same habit, and the personalities of the users cannot be reflected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, a system of electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users and method therefore are provided, such that the pets raised by different users have diverse personalities, and can reflect the habits of the users.
The system of electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a parameter collection module, a parameter database, and a parameter setting module. The parameter collection module is used to gather growing parameters of an electronic pet, and the parameters include a work and rest time thereof and its behavior content (such as sleeping, playing, reading, etc). The parameter database is used for recording the growing parameters thereof, which being relative to the work and rest time, and the behavior content thereof. The parameter setting module is used for setting the growing parameters of the electronic pet according to the growth gathered by the parameter collection module, such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.
The method of the electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: gathering growing parameters of an electronic pet, which includes a work and rest time and a behavior content; recording the growing parameters of the electronic pet, which being relative to the work and rest time and the behavior content; and setting the growing parameters of the electronic pet according to the growth gathered, such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.
The method disclosed in the embodiment can be implemented by using hardware, software, or firmware. If using software, a recording medium having a program code can be used to execute the present invention; therefore, the above processing steps can be performed.
During the process of raising the electronic pet, the habits of the user are gathered automatically according to the operations by himself, so as to reflect the habits through the behavior of the pet. Therefore, the pets raised by different users have diverse personalities, thus the habits of the users can be reflected.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus is not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the system of the electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the method of the electronic pet capable of capable reflecting habits of users according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The detailed features and advantages of the present invention are illustrated in detail as below, and those skilled in the art can understand and carry out the present invention with reference to the description, and anyone skilled in the art can easily understand the related objectives and advantages of the present invention according to the content disclosed by the specification, claims, and drawings.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of the system of the electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users according to the present invention is disclosed, which includes a parameter collection module 100 for gathering growing parameters of an electronic pet and organizing the parameters gathered, wherein the parameters gathered include a work and rest time of the pet and a behavior content thereof, wherein the work and rest time gathered during a period of time forms a work and rest schedule.
The work and rest time of the pet includes meal time, sleep time, rest time, exercise time, etc. The behavior content records the daily behavior of the pet, which is mainly classified into dynamic behavior and static behavior. The dynamic behavior includes taking exercises, walking, playing, etc., and the static behavior includes having a rest, accompanying, sleeping, etc. The dynamic content indicates that the pet is required to move or exercise, and the static content indicates that the pet is not required to do much exercise.
The habits of the user can be deduced from the parameter of the work and rest time and that of the behavior content of the pet. In an embodiment, it is assumed that the pet and the user have their meals at the same time every day, if the pet has its meal at fixed time every day, it suggests that the meal time of the user is fixed. If the meal time of the pet is not fixed every day, it suggests that the meal time of the user is irregular, or the user is very busy.
The behavior content of the pet records the daily behavior thereof, and reflects the daily behavior of the user, further reflects the favor of the user by using weight values. The more the behavior frequency is, the higher the weight value is. The closer the time gets to the current time, the higher the value is. For example, among ten times behavior, the pet reads book four times, plays football four times, and plays games twice. However, if playing football happens in the recent few days, it suggests that the football is the current hobby of the user.
Therefore, according to the work and rest time of the pet recorded, work and rest of the user can be reflected, and according to the behavior content of the pet recorded, the personality and habits of the user can be reflected.
A parameter database 110 is used to record the growing parameters of the electronic pet, and the parameters include intelligence, intercommunication capability, physical strength, biological clock, healthy index, food type, emotion index, charm index, presentation index, favor, etc. The growing parameters are related to the work and rest time of the pet and the behavior content thereof, and the pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters recorded in the pet parameter database.
A parameter setting module 120 is used to set the growing parameters of the electronic pet recorded in the parameter database 110 according to the growing parameters gathered by the parameter collection module 100, such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.
Moreover, a reminding message database 210 is further disclosed. The reminding message database 210 stores a plurality sets of remind messages, and each batch of remind message is related to the parameters of the work and rest time and the behavior content thereof.
According to the parameter of work and rest time of the pet, the user can be reminded about the work and rest problem of his own. According to the parameter of the behavior content of the pet, the user can be reminded about the behavior that can be performed. In an embodiment, a pet leading a regular life can keep health stably, and has little chance to get sick. However, if the user disobeys the work and rest schedule set by the parameter for a period of time to his/her electronic pet, the pet may have higher risk to get sick. It is assumed that the work and rest schedule of the pet reflects the habits of the user, when the work and rest time of the pet is irregular, the remind message includes reminding the user that the work and rest schedule is disturbed and the events should be re-ordered. When the pet gets sick due to the irregular life, a suggestion for establishing regular life can be provided, or diseases or health problems caused by irregular meal can be provided as well.
In an embodiment, as for a pet enjoying peaceful life, a noisy environment may cause the pet uncomfortable or in bad mood. In another embodiment, the pet that does not like doing exercises has a poor health. Therefore, the pet's behavior content reflects the user's personality and habits. If it is reflected that the user prefers a static behavior according to the pet's behavior content, the reminding message can remind the user about the exercises that can be done by a single person. If it is reflected that the user does not like doing exercises according to the behavior content, the reminding message can include reminding the user about suitable exercises.
A reminding module 220 is used to remind the user about the content in the reminding message database. A judging module 230 is used to judge whether the current work and rest time and behavior content corresponding to the parameters set in the parameter database. If not, the remind module 220 reminds the user about the content in the reminding message database 210 according to the determination result.
Referring to FIG. 2, a flow chart of the method of the electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users according to the present invention is shown.
First, the growing parameters of an electronic pet are gathered (step 301), in which the parameters include a work and rest time schedule and a behavior content. Then, the growing parameters of the electronic pet are recorded (step 302), in which the growing parameters are related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content. Next, the growing parameters of the electronic pet are set according to the growth gathered (step 303), such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.
It is determined whether the current growing parameters conform to the growing parameters in the growing parameter database or not (step 304). When the current growing parameters do not conform to the growing parameters in the growing parameter database, a remind message is displayed (step 305).
According to the system and method of the present invention, in the course of raising the electronic pet, the habits of the user are gathered automatically according to the operations of the users, so as to present the user's habits through the pet, such that the pets raised by different users have diverse personalities, and are capable of reflecting the habits of the users.
In conclusion, the parameter system is composed of two parts. One part is used to gather the operation habit of the user and then convert the operation habit to be the habit of the electronic pet, and the other part is used to feedback the behavior and motion of the electronic pet during the pet is playing, and provide suggestions to the user according to the parameters of habit.
In viewing the block diagram of the system, the parameter collection module certainly connects to the parameter setting module. However, the parameter database (Parameter conversion) can be realized that some of parameter can be stored to the database without converting, such as daily reading time. In other words, the gathered parameters have two ways for process. One kind of the parameters can be gathered in an ordinary way, for example: daily wake up time and lunchtime, and the other kind of the parameters has to be converted before it can be stored into the database, for example: the habits of the reading and exercising are corresponding to the intellectual development parameter and the constitution health parameter, respectively.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A system of electronic pet capable of reflecting habits of users, comprising:

a parameter collection module, for gathering growing parameters of an electronic pet, the growing parameters comprising a work and rest time schedule and a behavior content;

a parameter database, for recording the growing parameters of the electronic pet, the growing parameters being related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content; and

a parameter setting module, for setting the growing parameters of the electronic pet according to growth gathered by the parameter collection module, such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a judging module for determining whether current growing parameters conform to the growing parameters in the parameter database or not.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a reminding message database for storing a plural sets of remind messages, wherein the remind message is related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content.

4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the current growing parameters do not conform to the growing parameters in the parameter database, a remind module displays a message in the reminding message database.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the behavior content comprises a dynamic behavior and a static behavior.

6. An electronic pet method capable of reflecting habits of users, comprising:

gathering growing parameters of an electronic pet, the parameters comprising a work and rest time schedule and a behavior content;

recording the growing parameters of the electronic pet, the growing parameters being related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content; and

setting the growing parameters of the electronic pet according to growth gathered, such that the electronic pet reacts in accordance with the growing parameters.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a determining step for determining whether current growing parameters conform to the growing parameters in a parameter database or not.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein when the current growing parameters do not conform to the growing parameters in the parameter database, a remind message is displayed, and the remind message is related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the behavior content comprises a dynamic behavior and a static behavior.

10. A recording medium, wherein when being executed, the recording medium performs steps of:

gathering growing parameters of an electronic pet, the parameter comprising a work and rest time schedule and a behavior content;

11. The recording medium as claimed in claim 10, wherein the recording medium further performs a determining step for determining whether current growing parameters conform to the growing parameters in the parameter database or not.

12. The recording medium as claimed in claim 11, wherein when the current growing parameters do not conform to the growing parameters in the parameter database, a remind message is displayed, and the remind message is related to the work and rest time schedule and the behavior content.

13. The recording medium as claimed in claim 10, wherein the behavior content comprises a dynamic behavior and a static behavior.