JP2002109416A - Electronic pet rental system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system whereby a pet owner can change his/her pet freely and still take over the growth state, habits, acquired tricks, or the like of the former pet on the new pet. SOLUTION: The present invention is an electronic pet rental system which consists of a rental service company 3 having a Web server unit to supply an electronic pet connected to a network 2 and a terminal 1 (1-1 to 1-n) to keep an electronic pet. The terminal 1 selects a desired pet among a plurality of electronic pets presented by the server unit, and the server unit distributes the selected electronic pet to the terminal 1, and the terminal 1 keeps and brings up the distributed pet on it and returns the grown pet to the server unit. The server unit extracts growth data by each stage of its growth from the returned electronic pet and stores it accociating it with identification information of the terminal that has raised the electronic pet. The terminal 1 is allowed to use the growth data of the returned electronic pet when selecting a next electronic pet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic pet (virtual creature constituted by software) via a network.
The present invention relates to an electronic pet rental system and an electronic pet rental method for delivering an electronic pet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a variety of pet robots imitating dogs, cats, insects, and the like have been sold in a wide range of price ranges from toy makers and electric machine makers. Behind this kind of pet robot boom, even if you live in an apartment where pets are banned or want to keep real creatures because of the burden of pet care when living alone It tells that many people gave up.

[0003] These people often have various anxiety factors such as wanting to raise a pet but lacking confidence in raising it, and what to do if they die, and those that clear all such anxiety factors are as described above. It can be said that it is a pet robot.

[0004] However, the function of a pet robot varies greatly depending on its price, but it is possible for a pet robot to behave more like a real animal and to teach a trick, etc., especially when the pet robot is expensive. The owner can raise like a real pet, and since it is a robot, there is no need to worry about processing food and excrement, it will not die, and it is easy to reset it and raise it again Becomes possible.

[0005]

However, in order to enjoy a pet robot, a pet robot must first be purchased, especially those having functions closer to the real thing are very expensive. However, it is not something that can be purchased easily.

[0006] It is also conceivable that the child may become tired of raising a certain amount, or may want a new pet robot. Here, considering that the pet robot could be replaced from an old one to a new one, the new one must be brought up from the beginning again, for example, the tricks taught to the previous pet robot are the same. One of the factors that must be taught is that a complicated factor arises.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has as its object the purpose of making it possible to easily change the pets to be bred and to determine the growth and habits of the pets that have been bred so far. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic pet rental system and an electronic pet rental method capable of inheriting a taught art or the like to a new pet.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A rental system connected via a network, comprising a server device and a terminal, wherein the terminal selects an arbitrary one from a plurality of electronic pets presented by the server device, and the server device The selected electronic pet is distributed to the terminal, and the terminal borrows the distributed electronic pet for a certain period of time to breed the distributed electronic pet, and the terminal returns the grown electronic pet after the lapse of the predetermined period to the server device. The server device extracts growth data according to the breeding process from the returned electronic pet, stores the growth data in association with the identification information of the terminal that has bred the electronic pet, and the terminal device selects the next electronic pet. In this case, it is possible to use the growth data of the returned electronic pet.

With such a system configuration, the pets to be bred can be easily changed, and if desired, the growth degree and habit of the pets that have been raised up to that time, and the tricks taught, etc. can be used as new pet data as growth data. Can be inherited.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to exchange growth data of an electronic pet bred by its own device stored in the server device among a plurality of terminals. It is characterized by the following.

With such a system configuration, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, growth data of pets raised by other users can be utilized, and the range of enjoyment with pets can be expanded. Can be.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the electronic pet borrowed by the terminal for a certain period is bred and grown, or the electronic pet is installed in a robot connected to the terminal. It is characterized by growing.

With such a system configuration, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, the electronic pet can be bred and grown by the terminal or a robot connected to the terminal, and the process can be enjoyed easily. Can be.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal is a robot for installing and growing an electronic pet.

With such a system configuration, in addition to the operation of the first aspect of the present invention, since the robot can be used as a terminal and the electronic pet can be directly installed, it is troublesome to start breeding. Can be simplified, and the electronic pet rental service can be provided in a more easily spread form.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rental method executed between a server and a terminal connected via a network, wherein the terminal comprises a plurality of electronic devices presented by the server. Choose any of the pets,
The server device distributes the selected electronic pet to the terminal, the terminal borrows the electronic pet that has received the distribution for a certain period, and the terminal sends the electronic pet that has grown after the predetermined period to the server. Returned to the device, the server device
Extract the growth data according to the breeding process from the returned electronic pet, store it in association with the identification information of the terminal that bred the electronic pet, and the terminal has already returned it when selecting the next electronic pet It is characterized in that it is possible to use the growth data of the electronic pet.

With this method, the pet to be bred can be easily changed, and if desired, the growth degree, habit, taught art, etc. of the pet that has been raised up to that time can be changed to new pets as growth data. Can be inherited.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electronic pet rental service system will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the entire system, wherein 1-1 to 1-n are personal computers, mobile telephones, and the like owned by customers 1 to N who use this service, respectively. It is a terminal.

Each of these terminals 1-1 to 1-n is connected to a network server device of an electronic pet rental service company 3 via a network 2 including a public telephone line network and the Internet.

The rental service company 3 has a database (DB) 4 in which various data for managing customers are stored, and the terminals 1-1 to 1 that have signed a membership contract for an electronic pet rental service. 1-n is registered in the database 4, a desired electronic pet is distributed in a desired state, and the growth data is stored in the database 4 in response to the return of the electronic pet after the rental period.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 shows a process when any of the terminals 1-1 to 1-n newly accesses a Web site provided by the rental service company 3 and receives a rental service by designating a use application for an electronic pet. This shows the flow of the process.

At the beginning, when a use application is designated from any of the terminals 1-1 to 1-n, the service is first used in the past, and it is determined whether or not a specific ID number is assigned. It is determined whether this is the first use (step S01).

Here, in the case of the first use, the member registration is performed again (step S02).

FIG. 4 is stored in the database 4.
This is an example of data of a customer who has registered as a member. In this example, the customer name, address, telephone number, mail address, and ID number are set as a set of data and the number n of terminals 1-1 to 1-n
Only registered data. The fee for this member registration may be paid or free.

After the member registration is performed in this way, one is selected from various types of electronic pets imitating various animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, etc. (step S03).

FIG. 5 shows the types of pets prepared by the rental service company 3 in advance and their accompanying data.
The growth degree is set as an option in accordance with the type of pet, and a plurality of types of the growth degree are set especially for those whose growth degree is set as an option.

Next, it is determined whether or not the electronic pet whose type has been selected is to be bred from a state of normal growth of zero (newly born) (step S04).

Here, usually, breeding is performed from a state of zero growth, but if it is troublesome to breed from zero and there is a desire to start breeding from a state where it has been raised to some extent, answer the request only. Then, a desired growth degree is designated (step S05). In this case, an additional fee shall be required.

After the rental period is selected and set (step S06), the type and growth degree of the pet and the rental period are set, and the fee is charged, whereby the desired electronic pet is in the desired state. And terminal 1-
The breeding on the terminal side is started by being distributed to any one of 1 to 1-n (step S07), and the processing in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows the contents of the processing relating to the electronic pet being rented. Basically, the terminal sets the rental pet while growing the electronic pet according to the breeding method (step S11). Although the period has not been reached, it is determined whether or not an operation for terminating the breeding and paying out has been performed (step S12), or whether or not the set rental period has elapsed (step S13).
And waits for these decisions to be made.

If it is determined in step S12 that the payment is to be made before the rental period has elapsed, the terminal accesses the corresponding page of the rental service company 3's Web site, and the rental fee during the rental period is reduced. The settlement is performed (step S14), and the rented electronic pet is returned to the rental service company 3 side.

At this time, the rental service company 3 extracts growth data representing the growth degree of the returned electronic pet and stores it in the database 4 (step S1).
5).

FIG. 6 exemplifies the contents of the growth data for each customer transmitted and stored in the database 4.
Here, customer name and pet name, pet type, and growth data as original individual data for each pet
As a set of data, data is stored for the number of electronic pets whose rental has been completed.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a new pet is selected to resume the rental service (step S16). If the rental service is not to be resumed, the process of FIG. 3 is terminated.

Conversely, if it is determined in step S16 that a new pet is to be selected and the rental service is to be resumed, the process of FIG. 3 is terminated, and the process returns to the process of FIG.

If it is determined in step S13 that the rental period set while the electronic pet is being bred has elapsed, a message indicating that the rental period has ended is displayed on the terminal, and a message is displayed. After accessing the corresponding page of the rental service company 3 Web site with the terminal device, the regular rental fee set in advance is settled (step S17), and whether or not the rental period is to be extended is determined. A determination is made as to whether or not the electronic pet that has been bred until this time will be bred continuously (step S18).

Here, if the user selects to extend the rental period, the re-rental period to be extended is selected and set (step S19), and the process returns to step S11.

If it is determined that the rental period is not to be extended, the process proceeds to step S15, where the electronic pet that has been rented is returned to the rental service company 3 and returned to the rental service company 3. The growth data of the electronic pet is stored in the database 4.

In this case as well, it is determined in step S16 whether a new pet is selected and the rental service is restarted. If the rental service is not restarted, the process of FIG. 3 is completed.

When it is determined in step S16 that an electronic pet is newly selected and the rental service is restarted, or after a certain period of time, a customer who has used the electronic pet rental service uses the electronic pet again. The processing in the case of applying will be described below.

In this case, if it is determined that the terminal is not the first service use in the processing of FIG. 2 (step S01), then one of the electronic pets is selected (step S08), and the terminal is already stored. It is determined whether or not the selected electronic pet is to be bred using the growing data (step S09).

If it is determined that the growth data is not used, the process proceeds to step S04 as in the case where the electronic pet rental service is provided for the first time, and the normal growth rate of zero is obtained. Select whether or not to breed from the state.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the selection to use the growth data has been made, the corresponding growth data is read out for the selected pet and installed, and the electronic pet is installed in the same manner as another previous electronic pet. (Step S10), omitting the processing of steps S04 and S05, proceeding to step S06, and selecting and setting the rental period.
With the above, the terminal 1-
The breeding on the terminal side is started by being distributed to any one of 1 to 1-n (step S07), and the processing in FIG.

As described above, each of the terminals 1-1 to 1-n can easily change the electronic pet kept on its own terminal, and if desired, the degree of growth of the pet raised so far can be determined. Habits and taught tricks can be passed on to new pets as growth data.

In this case, by using the growth data of different types of pets, for example, the “monkey” can perform “sit” or “wait”, which are the “inu” tricks, or the “rabbit” can perform the “rabbit”. You can let them perform greetings such as `` Good morning '' which is the art of `` Mysterious bird '' and you can do tricks that you can never do if you breed the electronic pet normally, you can not do it originally It is possible to further change the breeding of electronic pets and improve the merchantability as a rental service.

As for the above growth data, it is assumed that the growth data of the electronic pet bred before in the own terminal is not only inherited to the electronic pet newly selected in the own terminal, but also the data is shared. , A plurality of terminals 1-1
The growth data of the electronic pet bred on its own terminal stored in the database 4 may be exchanged between 1 to n.

In this case, the growth data of the electronic pet raised by another rental service user can be utilized, and the growth data of the electronic pet raised by the user can be distributed to other users and used. It is possible to expand the environment to enjoy with electronic pets.

In the above embodiment, various animals such as a dog, a cat, a rabbit, and the like, which are electronic pets, are assumed.
Although this has been described as being simply bred one by one, the present invention does not limit the type of electronic pet or the environment in which it is bred. For example, a plurality of characters bred on specific application software such as e-mail software It is possible to breed (pets) according to the contents of the e-mail to be sent and received, etc., and it is also possible to develop various variations.

In addition, electronic pets that have been bred for a long period of time may not be returned to the rental service company 3 from the terminal, but may be continually bred on the terminal after purchase.

In the above embodiment, the electronic pets are bred on their own terminals 1-1 to 1-n. However, the rental service company 3 also rents a robot and rents the electronic pets. The service of keeping as a pet robot is also possible by installing from the own terminal of the terminals 1-1 to 1-n.

The pet robot may be of various types such as a dog-type robot or a cat-type robot, or may be of the same shape. By doing so, it is possible to make a combination that is not related to the electronic pet, for example, a robot that goes without a pet, and by various combinations of the electronic pet and the robot, it is possible to make a pet robot that is impossible in practice Realizing and increasing the fun of moving, you can experience raising live animals.

Further, when the robot is connected to the terminals 1-1 to 1-n
Has a function to connect to network 2 in the same way as
The electronic pet may be directly installed via the network 2 without going through the terminals 1-1 to 1-n.

Even if you do not have your own terminal such as the terminals 1-1 to 1-n, if you rent a robot, you can easily install an electronic pet and enjoy breeding a pet robot. Of course, not only the rented robot but also the user can install the electronic pet on the purchased robot and enjoy breeding.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof.

Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent features. For example, even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments, at least one of the problems described in the column of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved and the effects described in the column of the effect of the invention can be solved. In a case where at least one of the effects described above is obtained, a configuration in which this component is deleted can be extracted as an invention.

[0058]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pet to be bred can be easily changed, and if desired, the growth degree and habit of the pet that has been bred up to that time, the taught art, and the like can be changed. As a new pet can be inherited.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to utilize growth data of pets raised by other users, thereby expanding the range of pet enjoyment. be able to.

According to the third aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect, the terminal or the robot connected to the terminal breeds and grows the electronic pet, and easily enjoys the process. be able to.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, since the robot can be used as a terminal device and the electronic pet can be directly installed, the breeding is started until the breeding is started. This makes it possible to simplify the work and to provide an electronic pet rental service in a more easily disseminated form.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the pets to be bred can be easily changed, and if desired, the growth degree and habit of the pets that have been bred up to now and the taught arts can be newly set as the growth data. It can be inherited by pets.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an entire system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flowchart showing processing contents when applying for use of the electronic pet according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary flowchart showing processing contents during rental of the electronic pet according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view exemplifying data of a registered customer according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing types of pets and accompanying data prepared in advance by the rental service company according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing contents of growth data for each customer stored in the database according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1 to 1-n terminal 2 network 3 rental service company 4 database

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A rental system comprising a server device and a terminal connected via a network, wherein the terminal selects an arbitrary one from a plurality of electronic pets presented by the server device. The server device distributes the selected electronic pet to the terminal, the terminal borrows the electronic pet for a certain period of time to breed the distributed electronic pet, and the terminal deletes the electronic pet that has grown after the predetermined period. Returned to the server device, the server device extracts growth data corresponding to the breeding process from the returned electronic pet and stores the data in association with the identification information of the terminal that bred the electronic pet. An electronic pet rental system characterized in that the user can use the growth data of an already returned electronic pet when selecting an electronic pet. 2. The electronic pet rental system according to claim 1, wherein the growth data of the electronic pet bred by the own device stored in the server device can be exchanged between the plurality of terminals. 3. The electronic pet according to claim 1, wherein the terminal breeds and grows the electronic pet borrowed for a certain period of time or installs and grows the electronic pet on a robot connected to the terminal. Rental system. 4. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the terminal is a robot for installing and growing an electronic pet.
Electronic pet rental system. 5. A rental method executed between a server device and a terminal device connected via a network, wherein the terminal device selects an arbitrary one of a plurality of electronic pets presented by the server device. The server device distributes the selected electronic pet to the terminal, the terminal borrows the electronic pet for a certain period of time to keep the distributed electronic pet, and the terminal grows after the above-mentioned predetermined period has elapsed. The electronic pet returned to the server device, the server device extracts growth data corresponding to the breeding process from the returned electronic pet, and stores the data in association with the identification information of the terminal that has bred the electronic pet. An electronic pet rental method, characterized in that the user can use the growth data of the already returned electronic pet when selecting the next electronic pet.