KR20010008661A - A gateway for generating an operational signal of interactive toy - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A gateway is provided to enable an interactive toy to operate corresponding to information stored therein and to speak corresponding to audio data transferred from the exterior. CONSTITUTION: A gateway comprises a VBI(Vertical Blanking Interval) decoder(112) which demodulates control and audio signals inserted in a VBI region among a signal sent from a broadcast station and a signal stored in a video tape in case of receiving data from TV and VTR. A microcomputer(114) receives the control and audio signals from the decoder(112) or control and audio signals from a computer, and parses the received signals so as to convert packet data appropriate to a protocol. An up-converter(118) amplifies a baseband signal from the microcomputer through a photo coupler(116) so as to have a radio frequency(RF) band signal. An amplifier(120) amplifies the RF band signal to send the amplified signal to an interactive toy through an antenna(122). A filter(124) removes a noise component of a response signal from the toy, and a down-converter(126) converts the RF band signal into a baseband or intermediate frequency band signal. An amplifier(128) amplifies a signal from the converter(126) to send the amplified signal to the microcomputer through a photo coupler(130).

Description

A GATEWAY FOR GENERATING AN OPERATIONAL SIGNAL OF INTERACTIVE TOY}

The present invention relates to a gateway for generating a signal for operating an interactive doll, and more particularly to a gateway for generating control signals and audio data for operating the interactive doll.

Recently, interactive dolls or animated dolls that operate in response to signals transmitted from the outside have been developed and distributed to many children. These interactive dolls are generally popular with many children because they have the same design as the characters appearing on TV or in movies, and they speak the same movements and words as those characters in response to signals transmitted from the outside.

Most of these interactive dolls have a memory that stores information corresponding to the movements and words that the dolls will perform. When the dolls receive a control signal for operating themselves from the outside, the dolls read information corresponding to the received control signal from the memory and perform an operation based on the read information.

However, since the conventional interactive dolls can only perform words or movements corresponding to information previously stored in the memory, there is a certain limitation in the contents of the dolls, and thus, many children easily get tired.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve such a problem, the control signal so that the interactive doll can speak in response to the audio data transmitted from the outside as well as the operation corresponding to the information previously stored therein. And a gateway for generating audio data.

1 is a view showing an interactive doll system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the gateway of FIG. 1 in detail.

3 is a diagram illustrating a general structure of a packet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a reset packet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram showing the structure of a command packet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram showing the structure of a data packet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram showing the structure of a response packet according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Gateway according to the characteristics of the present invention for achieving the above object is

Receives a control signal and an audio signal for operating the interactive doll from a data source, generates a packet including a command packet corresponding to the control signal and a data packet corresponding to the audio signal, and transmits the packet to the interactive doll. . Then, the interactive doll moves according to the command packet or speaks a pre-stored word and speaks according to the interactive packet.

Here, the gateway is

A microcomputer receiving the control signal and the audio signal transmitted from the data source and generating the packet; An uplink frequency converter for converting a packet transmitted from the microcomputer into a signal of an RF band; An amplifier for amplifying the RF band signal converted by the frequency converter; And an antenna for transmitting the signal amplified by the amplifier to the interactive doll.

In this case, the data source may be a computer, in which case the computer reads the control signal and the audio signal through a storage medium such as a CD or connects to a web server providing the control signal and the audio signal through a network. After downloading the signal, the signal is transmitted to the gateway.

In addition, the data source may be a TV. In this case, the control signal and the audio signal are inserted into a vertical blanking interval (VBI) area, a horizontal blanking interval (HBI) area, or a part of image data, and are transmitted from a broadcasting station. Via the gateway. In addition, the data source may be a VTR, and the control signal and the audio signal are inserted into the VBI area, the HBI area, or a part of the image data, stored in a video tape, reproduced through the VTR, and transmitted to the gateway.

On the other hand, when the micom receives the control signal and the audio signal from the data source, first generates a reset packet for initializing the operation of the interactive doll, and then according to the contents of the control signal and the audio signal Generate the command packet or the data packet. The reset packet, the command packet, and the data packet may include a header into which data including a packet start, a packet length, a type of a data source, and a packet type is inserted; A body into which data corresponding to the control signal and the audio signal are inserted; And a trailer for checking whether there is an error in the transmission signal.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention;

1 is a view showing an interactive doll system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the interactive doll system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an interactive doll 200, a data source 300 for generating a control signal and an audio signal for operating the interactive doll, and the data source. The gateway 100 receives a control signal and an audio signal from the 300 to generate packet data conforming to a protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention, and then wirelessly transmits the data to the interactive doll 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, a data source 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a TV 320, a VTR 340, and a personal computer (PC) 360.

The TV 320 receives a control signal and an audio signal inserted into a VBI region or an HBI region or a portion of image data (for example, a black portion of the image data) among signals transmitted from a broadcasting station, and transmits the signal to the gateway 100 through a wire. send. In addition, the VTR 340 plays back a control signal and an audio signal for operating the interactive doll stored in the VBI area or HBI area of the videotape or part of the image data, and then transmits the reproduced signal to the gateway 100 through a wire. To send).

On the other hand, the PC reads the control signals and audio signals for operating the interactive doll through a storage medium such as a CD, or downloads the data by connecting to a web server that provides the control signals and audio signals through a network. The control signal and the audio signal read or downloaded are transmitted to the gateway 100.

The gateway 100 receives a control signal and an audio signal transmitted from the data source 300, and resets a packet for initializing the doll's operation as described below, and controls the doll to perform a preset movement and speech. After generating a data packet representing a command packet and a voice signal, the generated packet is wirelessly transmitted to the interactive doll 200.

The interactive doll 200 analyzes the protocol of the packet received from the gateway 100 to initialize the doll's operation according to the type of each packet, to speak or control the movement according to the command packet, and to control the voice signal of the data packet. Speak according to.

2 is a diagram showing in detail the gateway 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gateway 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a VBI decoder 112, a microcomputer 114, photo couplers 116 and 130, and up and down frequency converters 118 and 126. , Amplifiers 120 and 128, a filter 124, and an antenna 122.

When the VBI decoder 112 receives data signals from the TV 320 or the VTR 340, the VBI decoder 112 may demodulate control signals and audio signals inserted into the VBI area among signals transmitted from broadcasting stations and signals stored on video tapes. will be. The control signal and audio signal demodulated by the VBI decoder 112 are transmitted to the microcomputer 114. In FIG. 2, the VBI decoder has been described as an example. However, when the control signal and the audio signal are inserted and transmitted in the HBI area or a part of the image data, an HBI decoder or another decoder is used instead of the VBI decoder. Hereinafter, a case where the control signal and the video signal are inserted into the VBI area and transmitted are described as an example.

The microcomputer 114 receives the control signal and the audio signal demodulated by the VBI decoder 112 or the control signal and the audio signal transmitted through the computer, and then analyzes the received control signal and the audio signal. The data is converted into packet data conforming to the protocol of the invention.

The photo couplers 116 and 130 separate the microcomputer from the digital circuit and the frequency converter 118 and the amplifier 128 from the analog circuit.

The uplink frequency converter 118 converts the baseband signal transmitted from the microcomputer 114 through the photo coupler 116 into a signal of a radio frequency (RF) band, and the amplifier 120 converts the uplink frequency converter ( The amplified signal of the RF band converted by 118 is transmitted to the interactive doll 200 through the antenna 122.

The interactive doll 200 receives the RF signal transmitted through the antenna 122, converts the received RF band signal into a baseband signal, analyzes the protocol, and performs an operation corresponding to the protocol, The audio signal is output to the outside through the speaker. Meanwhile, the interactive doll 200 transmits a response signal having a predetermined protocol to the gateway 100 in response to a signal from the gateway 100 or actions of the users.

The filter 124 removes noise components of the response signal from the interactive doll 200 transmitted through the antenna 122. The downlink frequency converter 126 converts a signal of the RF band transmitted from the filter 124 into a signal of a base band or an intermediate frequency band.

The amplifier 128 amplifies a baseband signal (or a signal of an intermediate frequency band) transmitted from the downlink frequency converter 126, and transmits the amplified signal to the microcomputer 114 through the photo coupler 130. do. The microcomputer 114 analyzes the protocol of the response signal transmitted from the interactive doll 200 and transmits a signal corresponding to the response signal through a PC or back to the interactive doll 200.

The following describes the protocol according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

The protocol of the embodiment of the present invention includes four packets as follows: a reset packet, a command packet, a data packet, and a response packet.

The reset packet is a packet for initializing (resetting) the doll's operation when starting data transmission from the gateway 100 to the interactive doll 200, and the command packet is a packet for controlling the doll's movement and speech. The data packet is a packet for transmitting audio data to the interactive doll, and the response packet is a packet used for a response from the interactive doll.

Next, a packet according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. 3 to 7, the numbers in parentheses indicate the size of the byte.

3 is a diagram illustrating a general packet structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the general packet structure according to the embodiment of the present invention consists of a header, a body and a trailer.

The header consists of a packet start code (PSC), a packet length (PL), a packet ID (PId), and a doll ID (TId). The packet start code (PSC) is for indicating the start of a packet and has a size of 1 byte. The packet length PL is for specifying the length of the current packet data and has a size of 1 byte. The packet ID (PId) indicates the packet source (ie, TV, VTR, PC, dummies) and the packet type (ie, reset packet, command packet, data packet, or response packet). For the purpose of size 1 byte. More specifically, the upper four bits of the packet ID PId indicate a packet source, and the lower four bits indicate a packet type. The doll ID TId is used to distinguish the type of the doll and has a size of 1 byte.

The body carries packet data. The size of the packet data may vary depending on the type of packet source. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the packet type is a reset packet, a command packet, or a response packet, the packet data has a size of 21 bytes or 15 bytes depending on the type of the packet source, and more specifically, when the packet source is VTR. Has a size of 15 bytes and all other sources have a size of 21 bytes. In addition, when the packet type is a data packet, the size of the packet is determined according to the size of the audio data. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the maximum size of the data packet is 256 bytes.

The trailer carries a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to check for errors in data transmission and has a size of 1 byte.

Next, a reset packet, a command packet, a data packet, and a response packet according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in Fig. 4, the reset packet is composed of a 4-byte header, a 21- or 15-byte body, and a trailer, and details thereof are the same as the general packet structure of Fig. 3, and thus the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the command packet is composed of a header, a body, and a trailer, and the header and trailer are the same as the contents described above, and thus redundant description thereof will be omitted. In FIG. 5, the body of the command packet includes an Object Number (ON), an Action Number (AN), a Delay Clock (DCLK), an Operation Clock (OCLK), and a Packet Number (PN). Number of Packet) and the reserved part.

The object number ON indicates the moving part of the doll or the type of voice and has a size of 2 bytes. The action number AN indicates the type of movement of the doll and has a size of 2 bytes. The delay clock DCLK is used to specify how long after the interactive doll receives data and has a size of 1 byte. The operation clock DCLK is used to specify how long to keep an action (action), and has a size of 1 byte. The number of packets NP is used to designate how many packet data are received when audio data is received after the command packet, and has a size of 2 bytes. The reserved portion is 13 or 7 bytes in size, reserved for future use.

The data packet transmits as many data packets as specified in the packet number NP of the command packet. As shown in Fig. 6, the body of a data packet consists of a voice packet number (VPN) and binarization data. The voice packet number indicates a serial number of a packet when a plurality of data packets are transmitted, and has a size of 1 byte. The binarization data is for representing actual audio data and has a size of up to 251 bytes.

The response packet is a packet for transmitting and receiving a response signal according to the response of the interactive doll. The body of the response packet is a sensor number (SN), a response type (RT) and a response type as shown in FIG. It is made of a reserved part. The sensor number SN is used to indicate which of the sensors of the interactive doll is a response, and has a size of 2 bytes. The response type (RT) is for indicating the response type from the interactive doll, for example, the strength or response time of the signal sensed by the sensor, and has a size of 1 byte.

Hereinafter, the operation of the gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, the gateway 100 receives a control signal and an audio signal for operating the interactive doll 200 from the data source 300 through a wire. If the data source 300 is the TV 320 or the VTR 340, the VBI decoder 112 of the gateway 100 is a control signal and audio inserted into the VBI region of the signal transmitted from the broadcast station and the signal stored in the video tape. The signal is demodulated and transmitted to the microcomputer 114. When the signal is transmitted from the PC 360, control signals and audio signals are transmitted through the RS-232C port (not shown) or the MIDI port (not shown). Is sent to. Here, the control signal is used to control the movement of the interactive doll and to output the voice stored in the memory in the doll, and the audio signal is used to cause the interactive doll to output the voice according to this audio data.

The microcomputer 114 generates a reset packet, a command packet, and a data packet according to the input control signal and the audio signal. In other words, when receiving the control signal and the audio signal for the first time, the microcomputer 114 first generates the reset packet shown in FIG. 4 and subsequently generates the command packet or the data packet. At this time, the microcomputer analyzes the received control signal and generates a command packet. More specifically, the microcomputer determines whether the received control signal operates which part of the interactive doll or how to output the voice. The command packet shown in Fig. 5 is generated. In addition, the microcomputer 114 generates a data packet as shown in FIG. 6 with reference to the received audio signal. In this case, the received audio signal corresponds to the binarization data of FIG. 6.

The packet generated by the microcomputer 114 is transmitted to the uplink frequency converter 118 through the photo coupler 116 and converted into a signal of the RF band, and the converted signal is amplified by the amplifier 120 to antenna It is sent to the interactive doll 200 through the 122.

Then, the interactive doll 200 converts the signal transmitted from the antenna into a baseband signal, analyzes each packet, and operates according to the analyzed content. That is, when the interactive doll receives the command packet, it moves according to the data of the command packet or outputs a prestored voice. When the interactive doll receives the data packet, audio data stored in the data packet is output through the speaker.

Meanwhile, the interactive doll 200 may generate a response packet in response to a signal transmitted from the gateway 100 or user actions, and the response packet may be transmitted to the gateway 100 and transmitted to the PC 360 or the like. Can be.

As such, the gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention generates a data packet for transmitting a real-time audio signal in addition to the command packet for controlling the movement and the output of the pre-stored voice signal, and sends it to the interactive doll, the interactive doll from the gateway It operates according to the sent command packet or data packet or outputs voice so that various actions and voice contents can be output.

As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, this invention is not limited only to the above-mentioned Example, A various other deformation | transformation and a change are possible. For example, the present invention has been described as an example in which the control signal and the audio signal are inserted into the VBI area and transmitted, but in addition, the control signal and the audio signal may be inserted into the HBI area or part of image data and transmitted.

As described above, according to the present invention, the gateway generates control signals and audio data so that the interactive doll can speak not only an operation corresponding to information previously stored therein, but also an audio signal transmitted from the outside. In addition, since the interactive doll operates in response to a signal from such a gateway, various interactive gestures and words can be output.

Claims (12)

A gateway for generating signals for operating an interactive doll, The gateway is Receives a control signal and an audio signal for operating the interactive doll from a data source, generates a packet including a command packet corresponding to the control signal and a data packet corresponding to the audio signal, and transmits the packet to the interactive doll. Thereby allowing the interactive doll to move according to the command packet or to speak in advance and to speak according to the interactive packet. The method of claim 1, The gateway is A microcomputer receiving the control signal and the audio signal transmitted from the data source and generating the packet; An uplink frequency converter for converting a packet transmitted from the microcomputer into a signal of an RF band; An amplifier for amplifying the RF band signal converted by the frequency converter; And And an antenna for transmitting the signal amplified by the amplifier to the interactive doll. The method of claim 2, The data source is a computer, The computer reads the control signal and the audio signal through a storage medium such as a CD or accesses a web server providing the control signal and the audio signal through a network to download the signal, and then transmits the signal to the gateway. Gateway characterized in that. The method of claim 2, The data source is a TV, The control signal and the audio signal is inserted into the VBI area or the HBI area or a part of the image data and is transmitted from a broadcasting station, characterized in that the gateway is transmitted to the gateway through the TV. The method of claim 2, The data source is VTR, The control signal and the audio signal are inserted into the VBI area, the HBI area, or a part of the image data and stored in the video tape, and are reproduced through the VTR and transmitted to the gateway. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, And a decoder configured to demodulate the control signal and the audio signal inserted into the VBI area, the HBI area, or a part of the image data, and transmit the demodulated signal to the microcomputer. The method of claim 6, A filter for removing a noise component by receiving a response signal in an RF band from the interactive doll; A downlink frequency converter for converting the output signal of the filter into a baseband signal; And And a second amplifier configured to amplify the baseband signal output by the downlink frequency converter and transmit the amplified signal to the microcomputer. The method of claim 7, wherein And a first and second photo coupler respectively formed between the microcomputer and the uplink frequency converter and between the second amplifier and the microcomputer. The method of claim 6, The microcomputer When receiving the control signal and the audio signal from the data source, first generates a reset packet for initializing the operation of the interactive doll, and according to the contents of the control signal and the audio signal or the command packet or the Generating a data packet. The method of claim 9, The reset packet, the command packet and the data packet A header into which data including a packet start, packet length, type of data source, and packet type is inserted; A body into which data corresponding to the control signal and the audio signal are inserted; And a trailer for checking whether there is an error in the transmission signal. The method of claim 10, The body of the command packet is characterized in that the data including the moving part of the interactive doll, the type of motion, the action time is inserted. The method of claim 10, And the binarization data corresponding to the audio signal is inserted into the body of the data packet.