US20030039947A1 - Computerized puppet theatre - Google Patents
Computerized puppet theatre Download PDFInfo
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- US20030039947A1 US20030039947A1 US10/182,557 US18255702A US2003039947A1 US 20030039947 A1 US20030039947 A1 US 20030039947A1 US 18255702 A US18255702 A US 18255702A US 2003039947 A1 US2003039947 A1 US 2003039947A1
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- 238000013515 script Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 41
- 238000006073 displacement reaction Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000005057 finger movement Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 210000000245 forearm Anatomy 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000005452 bending Methods 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000004590 computer program Methods 0.000 claims 10
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 10
- 210000003811 finger Anatomy 0.000 description 7
- 241001522296 Erithacus rubecula Species 0.000 description 4
- 210000003813 thumb Anatomy 0.000 description 3
- 238000013500 data storage Methods 0.000 description 2
- 210000004247 hand Anatomy 0.000 description 2
- 230000002452 interceptive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000012530 fluid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 210000005224 forefinger Anatomy 0.000 description 1
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009877 rendering Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001131 transforming effect Effects 0.000 description 1
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63J—DEVICES FOR THEATRES, CIRCUSES, OR THE LIKE; CONJURING APPLIANCES OR THE LIKE
- A63J19/00—Puppet, marionette, or shadow shows or theatres
Definitions
- the invention is in the field of game apparatus.
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,611 to Bierwiler illustrates and describes an motorized children's marionette theatre including one or more puppets hanging from self-propelled puppet transport vehicles which may include additional mechanisms for imparting movements to a puppet's arms legs, etc.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,176 to Flicker et al. illustrates and describes a toy camera having a rotatable lens for actuating a posable doll mounted on a platform, and a viewfinder for viewing the doll so as to simulate a photography session.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,994 to Tong illustrates and describes an interactive computer controlled motorized doll in which a program source can operate one or more dolls provided with actuators for moving doll parts, a speaker, etc.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,602 to Kikinis illustrates and describes a PC peripheral interactive doll similar to U.S. Pat. No. '994.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,077 to Hongo illustrates and describes a game apparatus where characters corresponding to three dimensional toy bodies are displayed on a monitor, and controllers effect movements of the characters on the monitor.
- the present invention is for a computerized puppet theatre for staging puppet shows for children (a child hereinafter referred to as a user) of different ages ranging from pre-school age through to high school age for both entertainment purposes, for example, for staging Red Riding Hood, Robin Hood, and the like, and educational purposes, for example, for teaching popular science, history, and the like.
- a basic version of the computerized puppet theatre of the present invention stages a pre-prepared puppet show particularly suitable for young users including reproduction of a soundtrack with narration, music, songs, etc, and optional lighting effects, in accordance with a computerized puppet show script.
- Each script includes instructions for visually discernible actions, for example, nodding, clapping hands, and the like, and/or translatory stage movements of each of its characters played by a different puppet.
- the puppets preferably have appearances corresponding to the characters which they are intended to portray but they also may have non-distinguishing appearances.
- the soundtrack is a preferably multi-track soundtrack such that different tracks can be played back over different speakers of a multi-speaker sound system, for example, to enable each puppet to play back only those parts of a script associated with its character, thereby rendering a more interesting, life-like performance.
- a more sophisticated version of the computerized puppet theatre of the present invention enables older users to stage their own puppet shows by way of a script editing software application, and one or more hand worn manipulators each controlling a puppet's visually discernible actions, and its translatory stage movements. Additionally, one or more remote computerized puppet theatres can communicate with one another via an on-line chat site such that they each can simultaneously stage the same puppet show in a similar manner to an on-line bridge game.
- FIG. 1A is a pictorial representation illustrating a first embodiment of a computerized puppet theatre for staging a pre-prepared puppet show in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 1B is a pictorial representation of a puppet of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a pictorial partially cut-away representation of the puppet of FIG. 1B;
- FIGS. 4A and 4B are pictorial longitudinal cross sectional representations of the puppet of FIG. 1B with its right arm being raised and its right hand effecting a hand clapping action, respectively;
- FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of a second embodiment of a computerized puppet theatre in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation illustrating a hand worn manipulator concealed in a glove puppet for use with the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 5;
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are pictorial representations illustrating the use of the manipulator of FIG. 6 for effecting a stage movement of a puppet between an extreme leftmost position (FIG. 7A) and an extreme rightmost position (FIG. 7B) on the stage of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 5, respectively;
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are pictorial representations illustrating the use of the manipulator of FIG. 6 for turning a puppet from a front facing position (FIG. 8A) to a side facing position (FIG. 8B) on the stage of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 5, respectively;
- FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a third embodiment of a computerized puppet theatre in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 10 is a pictorial representation of a set of Batman and Robin portraying puppet exterior, and a CD storing computerized Batman and Robin puppet show scripts; and FIG. 11 is a pictorial representation of a puppet having a front side and a rear side each having a different appearance for portraying a different character.
- a computerized puppet theatre 1 is configured as a battery or mains operated portable housing 2 having a base 3 and a cover 4 disposable between a closed position, and an open position enabling the staging of a pre-prepared puppet show.
- the base 3 includes a stage 6 having a pair of parallel grooves G 1 and G 2 each associated with a puppet transport device D (see FIG. 3) for sliding its associated puppet P therealong constituting a so-called translatory stage movement.
- the housing 2 has a speaker 7 connected to a sound system 8 (see FIG. 2) for playing back a soundtrack including narration, background music, special sound effects, and the like, and one or more spotlights 9 for illuminating the stage 6 .
- Each puppet P has a body portion 11 with a movable head support 12 , a pair of movable arms 13 A and 13 B, and a speaker 16 connected to the sound system 8 .
- the head support 12 is adapted to have an exchangeable puppet exterior 17 snap fitted thereon.
- Each puppet exterior 17 includes an appearance identifier device 18 for enabling computerized identification of its appearance for allocation of characters to puppets based on their appearance. Different puppet exteriors 17 are employed for staging different puppet shows.
- the housing 2 has an ON/OFF switch 19 , a volume control 21 , a puppet show selection interface 22 , a cassette player like user interface 23 , computerized control circuitry 24 including a main controller 26 , a flash memory 27 , a communication controller 28 , a LCD display 29 and the sound system 8 (see FIG. 2).
- the puppet show selection interface 22 includes a COM button 22 A, a SELECT button 22 B, and SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons 22 C and 22 D.
- the COM button 22 A controls the communication controller 27 for establishing a connection to a Website 31 , an external data storage device 32 , for example, a CD, a DVD, and the like, storing an inventory of computerized puppet show scripts.
- the SELECT button 22 B selects a computerized puppet show script to be executed for staging a puppet show.
- the SCROLL UP and SCROLL DOWN buttons 22 C and 22 D enable a user to scroll through computerized puppet show scripts stored in the flash memory 26 .
- the user interface 23 includes a PLAY button 23 A, a STOP button 23 B, a REWIND button 23 C, and a FORWARD button 23 D.
- the PLAY button 23 A activates the main controller 26 for controlling the puppets P, the puppet transport devices D, the sound system 8 , and the spotlights 9 for staging a puppet show on the stage 6 in accordance with the computerized puppet show script stored in the flash memory 27 .
- the REWIND and FORWARD buttons 23 C and 23 D respectively rewind and forward the computerized puppet show script stored in the flash memory 27 in either slow mode or fast mode similar to a VCR, namely, in the slow mode, the puppet show is rewound or forwarded at regular play speed such that a user can arrive at a particular part of the puppet show whilst, in the fast mode, the puppet show is not staged.
- a puppet's body portion 11 includes a lower section 37 which extends through its associated groove G, and an upper generally cylindrical section 38 disposed above the stage 6 .
- the lower section 37 is formed with oppositely formed apertures 39 A and 39 B through which extends a rack 41 along which a puppet P is driven by a puppet transport device D constituted by a motor driven pinion 42 under the control of the main controller 26 .
- the upper section 38 is rotatably mounted on the lower section 37 by way of a motor 43 under the control of the main controller 26 , and is capable of being rotated through about 90° between a front position facing a user (see FIG. 8A) and a side position facing across the stage (see FIG. 8B).
- the upper section 38 includes an upper slot 44 through which extends the head support 12 , and a pair of oppositely disposed arcuate slots 46 A and 46 B through which extend the arms 13 A and 13 B, respectively.
- the head support 12 can be rocked to and fro by a motor 47 under the control of the main controller 26 whereby the puppet head 17 can effect a head nodding action (see FIG. 4A).
- Each arm 13 is supported on a support rod 48 transversing a bearing 49 mounted in an arcuate support piece 51 having an outermost portion 52 slidingly mounted in its associated aperture 46 .
- Each support rod 48 is rotatable by a motor 53 under the control of the main controller 26 whereby its associated arm 13 can be raised and lowered (see FIG. 4A).
- Each support piece 51 has a lower rack portion 54 engaged by a motor driven pinion 56 under the control of the main controller 26 whereby a puppet's arms 13 A and 13 B can effect a hand clapping action (see FIG. 4B).
- a user depresses the COM button whereupon the list of available titles of computerized puppet show scripts is displayed on the LCD display and/or announced over the speaker. Sufficient time is provided between consecutive titles such that a user has sufficient time to consider whether he is interested in a particular title.
- the user depresses the SELECT button whereupon the computerized puppet show script is downloaded to his computerized puppet theatre.
- the computerized control circuitry identifies which puppet is portraying which character by its appearance from its appearance identifier device and then proceeds to control each puppet in accordance with the character of the selected computerized puppet show script. At the same time that it is controlling the puppets on the stage, the computerized control circuitry plays back the soundtrack over the sound system, and operates the lighting system if instructions are also included in the selected computerized puppet show script.
- the script can be rewound and forwarded in either slow mode or fast mode as described hereinabove.
- a computerized puppet theatre 100 is similar to the computerized puppet theatre 1 insofar that it can stage pre-prepared puppet shows but it enables a user to control the visually discernible actions, and the stage movements of a puppet P puppet on-the-fly by way of a hand worn manipulator 101 (see FIG. 6) concealed in a glove puppet 102 .
- the computerized puppet theatre 100 can also be hooked up to a computer 103 running a script editing software application for transforming the computer 103 into a computerized script editing station for recording an entire original user directed and produced computerized puppet show script in a similar manner to a film producer producing a film.
- the computerized puppet theatre 100 has a port 104 for cable connection to the computer 103 , and has four ports 106 for cable connection of upto four glove puppets 101 for controlling upto four puppets P.
- the computerized puppet theatre 100 may not necessarily be provided with its own sound system which instead the computer's sound system may be used for the purpose of staging a puppet show.
- a manipulator 101 includes a control box 107 for comfortably nesting in the palm of a user's hand, and a finger activated selector 108 (not shown) for selecting the puppet P to be under its instantaneous control if there are more puppets P than manipulators 101 .
- the manipulator 101 includes a sensor 109 for sensing a pincer-like finger movement denoted A of a user's thumb and middle finger for effecting a puppet's hand clapping action.
- the sensor 109 is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed flex sensitive sensors 111 A and 111 B having finger sockets 112 A and 112 B for receiving a user's thumb and middle finger.
- Each flex sensitive sensor 111 includes a pair of leaf springs 113 A and 113 B sandwiching therebetween a force sensitive resistor 114 .
- the flex sensitive sensors 111 A and 111 B are rotatably mounted on the control box 109 which includes a pair of potentiometers 116 A and 116 B for sensing up/down movements denoted B of the user's thumb and middle finger for independently raising and lowering a puppet's arms.
- An additional flex sensitive sensor 111 C is interdisposed between the pair of opposite flex sensitive sensors 111 A and 111 B and is provided with a finger socket 112 C for receiving a user's forefinger for sensing a finger bending movement denoted C for effecting a puppet's head nodding action.
- the manipulator 101 includes a fluid inclinometer 117 constituting a linear displacement sensitive sensor for sensing the orientation of a user's forearm between an upright orientation K 1 (see FIG. 7A) and a flat orientation K 2 (see FIG. 7B) across his body for effecting a stage movement of its associated puppet P from an extreme leftmost position L 1 (see FIG. 7A) to an extreme rightmost position L 2 (see FIG. 7B) along its associated groove G, respectively.
- the manipulator 101 includes an electronic compass 118 constituting a rotation displacement sensitive sensor for sensing the orientation of a user's hand between a so-called “palm facing out” orientation M 1 in which the puppet P faces the user N 1 (see FIG. 8A) and a so-called “palm facing sideways” orientation M 2 in which the puppet P faces across the stage M 2 (see FIG. 8B).
- a user prepares a manuscript for a computerized puppet show script which he wishes to produce.
- the manuscript includes all the visually discernible actions, for example, clapping hands, nodding its head, etc, and stage movements of all the characters involved in his intended puppet show, and their narrations.
- the manuscript may include background music, sound effects, and lighting effects.
- a single user is controlling four puppets, he can switch between the puppets on-the-fly by pressing the selector on his manipulator. At the same time he is recording the tracks for the puppets, he can record a soundtrack. Once all the relevant script portions have been recorded, the user then edits the entire script adding background music, sound effects, and lighting effects to produce the final computerized puppet show script which can then be staged on the computerized puppet theatre in the same manner as a pre-prepared computerized puppet show script.
- FIG. 9 exemplifies a computerized puppet theatre 120 employing a magnetic propulsion arrangement 121 for effecting multi-directional translatory stage movements of puppets P on a stage 122 , and wireless communication between glove puppets 102 , a computer 103 , and the stage 122 .
- FIG. 10 exemplifies a set of Batman and Robin puppet exteriors 123 and 124 for sale together with a data storage device 126 , for example, a CD, a DVD, or similar, storing one or more computerized Batman and Robin puppet show scripts.
- FIG. 9 exemplifies a computerized puppet theatre 120 employing a magnetic propulsion arrangement 121 for effecting multi-directional translatory stage movements of puppets P on a stage 122 , and wireless communication between glove puppets 102 , a computer 103 , and the stage 122 .
- FIG. 10 exemplifies a set of Batman and Robin puppet exteriors 123 and 124 for sale together with a data storage device 126 , for example,
- the puppet 127 has an appearance identifier device 18 enabling identification of its two appearances when mounted on stage, and its disposition such that one or the other of its appearances faces a user.
- Puppets may not be motorized as illustrated and described hereinabove but instead may employ electrical current sensitive springs to effect their visually discernible actions.
Abstract
A computerized puppet theatre (1, 100, 120) including one or more puppets P each
capable of performing visually discernible actions and/or translatory stage movements on a stage (6, 122) for playing the role of at least one character of a
puppet show in accordance with a computerized puppet show script. A computerized puppet show script may be either pre-prepared, or user directed and produced using a computerized script editing station and at least one hand worn manipulator (101) for controlling puppets.
Description
- The invention is in the field of game apparatus.
- Children the world over are enchanted by storytelling, role playing, Punch and Judy shows, and the like.
- To this end, various game apparatuses in the broadest sense are known in the art including inter alia:
- U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,611 to Bierwiler illustrates and describes an motorized children's marionette theatre including one or more puppets hanging from self-propelled puppet transport vehicles which may include additional mechanisms for imparting movements to a puppet's arms legs, etc.
- U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,176 to Flicker et al. illustrates and describes a toy camera having a rotatable lens for actuating a posable doll mounted on a platform, and a viewfinder for viewing the doll so as to simulate a photography session.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,994 to Tong illustrates and describes an interactive computer controlled motorized doll in which a program source can operate one or more dolls provided with actuators for moving doll parts, a speaker, etc.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,602 to Kikinis illustrates and describes a PC peripheral interactive doll similar to U.S. Pat. No. '994.
- U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,077 to Hongo illustrates and describes a game apparatus where characters corresponding to three dimensional toy bodies are displayed on a monitor, and controllers effect movements of the characters on the monitor.
- Broadly speaking, the present invention is for a computerized puppet theatre for staging puppet shows for children (a child hereinafter referred to as a user) of different ages ranging from pre-school age through to high school age for both entertainment purposes, for example, for staging Red Riding Hood, Robin Hood, and the like, and educational purposes, for example, for teaching popular science, history, and the like.
- A basic version of the computerized puppet theatre of the present invention stages a pre-prepared puppet show particularly suitable for young users including reproduction of a soundtrack with narration, music, songs, etc, and optional lighting effects, in accordance with a computerized puppet show script. Each script includes instructions for visually discernible actions, for example, nodding, clapping hands, and the like, and/or translatory stage movements of each of its characters played by a different puppet. The puppets preferably have appearances corresponding to the characters which they are intended to portray but they also may have non-distinguishing appearances. The soundtrack is a preferably multi-track soundtrack such that different tracks can be played back over different speakers of a multi-speaker sound system, for example, to enable each puppet to play back only those parts of a script associated with its character, thereby rendering a more interesting, life-like performance.
- A more sophisticated version of the computerized puppet theatre of the present invention enables older users to stage their own puppet shows by way of a script editing software application, and one or more hand worn manipulators each controlling a puppet's visually discernible actions, and its translatory stage movements. Additionally, one or more remote computerized puppet theatres can communicate with one another via an on-line chat site such that they each can simultaneously stage the same puppet show in a similar manner to an on-line bridge game.
- In order to understand the invention and to see how it can be carried out in practice, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar parts are likewise numbered, and in which:
- FIG. 1A is a pictorial representation illustrating a first embodiment of a computerized puppet theatre for staging a pre-prepared puppet show in accordance with the present invention;
- FIG. 1B is a pictorial representation of a puppet of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is a pictorial partially cut-away representation of the puppet of FIG. 1B;
- FIGS. 4A and 4B are pictorial longitudinal cross sectional representations of the puppet of FIG. 1B with its right arm being raised and its right hand effecting a hand clapping action, respectively;
- FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of a second embodiment of a computerized puppet theatre in accordance with the present invention;
- FIG. 6 is a pictorial representation illustrating a hand worn manipulator concealed in a glove puppet for use with the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 5;
- FIGS. 7A and 7B are pictorial representations illustrating the use of the manipulator of FIG. 6 for effecting a stage movement of a puppet between an extreme leftmost position (FIG. 7A) and an extreme rightmost position (FIG. 7B) on the stage of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 5, respectively;
- FIGS. 8A and 8B are pictorial representations illustrating the use of the manipulator of FIG. 6 for turning a puppet from a front facing position (FIG. 8A) to a side facing position (FIG. 8B) on the stage of the computerized puppet theatre of FIG. 5, respectively;
- FIG. 9 is a pictorial representation of a third embodiment of a computerized puppet theatre in accordance with the present invention;
- FIG. 10 is a pictorial representation of a set of Batman and Robin portraying puppet exterior, and a CD storing computerized Batman and Robin puppet show scripts; and FIG. 11 is a pictorial representation of a puppet having a front side and a rear side each having a different appearance for portraying a different character.
- With reference now to FIGS. 1A and 1B, a
computerized puppet theatre 1 is configured as a battery or mains operatedportable housing 2 having abase 3 and acover 4 disposable between a closed position, and an open position enabling the staging of a pre-prepared puppet show. Thebase 3 includes astage 6 having a pair of parallel grooves G1 and G2 each associated with a puppet transport device D (see FIG. 3) for sliding its associated puppet P therealong constituting a so-called translatory stage movement. Thehousing 2 has aspeaker 7 connected to a sound system 8 (see FIG. 2) for playing back a soundtrack including narration, background music, special sound effects, and the like, and one ormore spotlights 9 for illuminating thestage 6. - Each puppet P has a
body portion 11 with amovable head support 12, a pair ofmovable arms speaker 16 connected to thesound system 8. Thehead support 12 is adapted to have anexchangeable puppet exterior 17 snap fitted thereon. Each puppet exterior 17 includes anappearance identifier device 18 for enabling computerized identification of its appearance for allocation of characters to puppets based on their appearance.Different puppet exteriors 17 are employed for staging different puppet shows. - The
housing 2 has an ON/OFF switch 19, avolume control 21, a puppetshow selection interface 22, a cassette player likeuser interface 23,computerized control circuitry 24 including amain controller 26, aflash memory 27, acommunication controller 28, aLCD display 29 and the sound system 8 (see FIG. 2). - The puppet
show selection interface 22 includes aCOM button 22A, aSELECT button 22B, and SCROLL UP andSCROLL DOWN buttons 22C and 22D. TheCOM button 22A controls thecommunication controller 27 for establishing a connection to aWebsite 31, an externaldata storage device 32, for example, a CD, a DVD, and the like, storing an inventory of computerized puppet show scripts. TheSELECT button 22B selects a computerized puppet show script to be executed for staging a puppet show. The SCROLL UP and SCROLLDOWN buttons 22C and 22D enable a user to scroll through computerized puppet show scripts stored in theflash memory 26. - The
user interface 23 includes aPLAY button 23A, aSTOP button 23B, aREWIND button 23C, and aFORWARD button 23D. ThePLAY button 23A activates themain controller 26 for controlling the puppets P, the puppet transport devices D, thesound system 8, and thespotlights 9 for staging a puppet show on thestage 6 in accordance with the computerized puppet show script stored in theflash memory 27. The REWIND and FORWARDbuttons flash memory 27 in either slow mode or fast mode similar to a VCR, namely, in the slow mode, the puppet show is rewound or forwarded at regular play speed such that a user can arrive at a particular part of the puppet show whilst, in the fast mode, the puppet show is not staged. - With reference now to FIG. 3, a puppet's
body portion 11 includes alower section 37 which extends through its associated groove G, and an upper generallycylindrical section 38 disposed above thestage 6. Thelower section 37 is formed with oppositely formedapertures rack 41 along which a puppet P is driven by a puppet transport device D constituted by a motor drivenpinion 42 under the control of themain controller 26. Theupper section 38 is rotatably mounted on thelower section 37 by way of amotor 43 under the control of themain controller 26, and is capable of being rotated through about 90° between a front position facing a user (see FIG. 8A) and a side position facing across the stage (see FIG. 8B). Theupper section 38 includes anupper slot 44 through which extends thehead support 12, and a pair of oppositely disposedarcuate slots arms head support 12 can be rocked to and fro by amotor 47 under the control of themain controller 26 whereby thepuppet head 17 can effect a head nodding action (see FIG. 4A). Each arm 13 is supported on asupport rod 48 transversing abearing 49 mounted in an arcuate support piece 51 having anoutermost portion 52 slidingly mounted in its associated aperture 46. Eachsupport rod 48 is rotatable by a motor 53 under the control of themain controller 26 whereby its associated arm 13 can be raised and lowered (see FIG. 4A). Each support piece 51 has a lower rack portion 54 engaged by a motor driven pinion 56 under the control of themain controller 26 whereby a puppet'sarms - The use of the
computerized puppet theatre 1 is as follows: - A user depresses the COM button whereupon the list of available titles of computerized puppet show scripts is displayed on the LCD display and/or announced over the speaker. Sufficient time is provided between consecutive titles such that a user has sufficient time to consider whether he is interested in a particular title. On hearing a title of a puppet show that he is interested in watching, the user depresses the SELECT button whereupon the computerized puppet show script is downloaded to his computerized puppet theatre. The user presses the PLAY button for staging the puppet show on the computerized puppet theatre whereupon the computerized control circuitry checks whether the puppets have the correct puppet exteriors for portraying all the characters of the selected computerized puppet show script. If necessary, the user is instructed to clip certain puppet exteriors onto the puppets. The computerized control circuitry identifies which puppet is portraying which character by its appearance from its appearance identifier device and then proceeds to control each puppet in accordance with the character of the selected computerized puppet show script. At the same time that it is controlling the puppets on the stage, the computerized control circuitry plays back the soundtrack over the sound system, and operates the lighting system if instructions are also included in the selected computerized puppet show script. The script can be rewound and forwarded in either slow mode or fast mode as described hereinabove.
- With reference now to FIG. 5, a
computerized puppet theatre 100 is similar to thecomputerized puppet theatre 1 insofar that it can stage pre-prepared puppet shows but it enables a user to control the visually discernible actions, and the stage movements of a puppet P puppet on-the-fly by way of a hand worn manipulator 101 (see FIG. 6) concealed in aglove puppet 102. Thecomputerized puppet theatre 100 can also be hooked up to acomputer 103 running a script editing software application for transforming thecomputer 103 into a computerized script editing station for recording an entire original user directed and produced computerized puppet show script in a similar manner to a film producer producing a film. Thecomputerized puppet theatre 100 has aport 104 for cable connection to thecomputer 103, and has fourports 106 for cable connection of upto fourglove puppets 101 for controlling upto four puppets P. Thecomputerized puppet theatre 100 may not necessarily be provided with its own sound system which instead the computer's sound system may be used for the purpose of staging a puppet show. - With reference now to FIG. 6, a
manipulator 101 includes acontrol box 107 for comfortably nesting in the palm of a user's hand, and a finger activated selector 108 (not shown) for selecting the puppet P to be under its instantaneous control if there are more puppets P thanmanipulators 101. Themanipulator 101 includes asensor 109 for sensing a pincer-like finger movement denoted A of a user's thumb and middle finger for effecting a puppet's hand clapping action. Thesensor 109 is constituted by a pair of oppositely disposed flexsensitive sensors finger sockets leaf springs sensitive resistor 114. The flexsensitive sensors control box 109 which includes a pair ofpotentiometers sensitive sensor 111C is interdisposed between the pair of opposite flexsensitive sensors finger socket 112C for receiving a user's forefinger for sensing a finger bending movement denoted C for effecting a puppet's head nodding action. Themanipulator 101 includes afluid inclinometer 117 constituting a linear displacement sensitive sensor for sensing the orientation of a user's forearm between an upright orientation K1 (see FIG. 7A) and a flat orientation K2 (see FIG. 7B) across his body for effecting a stage movement of its associated puppet P from an extreme leftmost position L1 (see FIG. 7A) to an extreme rightmost position L2 (see FIG. 7B) along its associated groove G, respectively. Themanipulator 101 includes anelectronic compass 118 constituting a rotation displacement sensitive sensor for sensing the orientation of a user's hand between a so-called “palm facing out” orientation M1 in which the puppet P faces the user N1 (see FIG. 8A) and a so-called “palm facing sideways” orientation M2 in which the puppet P faces across the stage M2 (see FIG. 8B). - The use of the
computerized puppet theatre 100 is as follows: - A user prepares a manuscript for a computerized puppet show script which he wishes to produce. The manuscript includes all the visually discernible actions, for example, clapping hands, nodding its head, etc, and stage movements of all the characters involved in his intended puppet show, and their narrations. In addition, the manuscript may include background music, sound effects, and lighting effects. Once the manuscript is ready, the user snaps the appropriate puppet exteriors onto the puppets whereupon he can now begin recording his puppet show. The script editing software application running on the computer identifies the puppet exteriors and records a separate track for each puppet. The tracks for the different puppets can be recorded consecutively or simultaneously depending on how many users are controlling the puppets. If a single user is controlling four puppets, he can switch between the puppets on-the-fly by pressing the selector on his manipulator. At the same time he is recording the tracks for the puppets, he can record a soundtrack. Once all the relevant script portions have been recorded, the user then edits the entire script adding background music, sound effects, and lighting effects to produce the final computerized puppet show script which can then be staged on the computerized puppet theatre in the same manner as a pre-prepared computerized puppet show script.
- While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations, modifications and other applications of the invention can be made within the scope of the appended claims- For example, FIG. 9 exemplifies a
computerized puppet theatre 120 employing amagnetic propulsion arrangement 121 for effecting multi-directional translatory stage movements of puppets P on astage 122, and wireless communication betweenglove puppets 102, acomputer 103, and thestage 122. FIG. 10 exemplifies a set of Batman andRobin puppet exteriors data storage device 126, for example, a CD, a DVD, or similar, storing one or more computerized Batman and Robin puppet show scripts. FIG. 11 exemplifies apuppet 127 having a front side and a rear side each having a different appearance, say, abusinessman 128 and anurse 129, only one thereof being employable at any one time during the staging of a puppet show. Thepuppet 127 has anappearance identifier device 18 enabling identification of its two appearances when mounted on stage, and its disposition such that one or the other of its appearances faces a user. Puppets may not be motorized as illustrated and described hereinabove but instead may employ electrical current sensitive springs to effect their visually discernible actions.
Claims (32)
1. Computerized puppet theatre for staging a puppet show, the theatre comprising:
(a) a stage;
(b) at least one puppet each capable of performing visually discernible actions and/or translatory stage movements on said stage; and
(c) at least one hand worn manipulator each capable of controlling at least one puppet of said at least one puppet for staging a user directed and produced puppet show.
2. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising:
(a) a computerized script editing station for recording a computerized puppet show script of the user directed and produced puppet show including the instructions for the visually discernible actions and/or translatory stage movements of said at least one hand worn manipulator controlled puppet; and
(b) a computerized control circuitry for executing a computerized puppet show script for staging either a user directed and produced or a pre-prepared puppet show.
3. The theatre as claimed in claim 2 wherein a computerized puppet show script includes a soundtrack for playing back over a sound system.
4. The theatre as claimed in claim 2 wherein a computerized puppet show script includes instructions for operating a lighting system integrally formed with the theatre.
5. The theatre as claimed in claim 2 wherein each puppet of said at least one puppet is capable of assuming at least one appearance, and said computerized control circuitry is capable of identifying the at least one appearance of each puppet of said at least one puppet for allocation of the characters of the pre-prepared puppet show to the at least one puppet by appearance.
6. The theatre as claimed in claim 5 wherein a puppet is adapted to receive an exchangeable puppet exterior for changing its appearance, each said puppet exterior having an appearance identifier device addressable by said computerized control circuitry for enabling identification of its appearance.
7. The theatre as claimed in claim 5 wherein a puppet has a front side and a rear side each having a different appearance only one thereof being employed for portraying a character at any one time during the staging of a puppet show, and an appearance identifier device addressable by said computerized control circuitry for enabling identification of its two appearances, and its disposition relative to a user the staging of a puppet show.
8. The theatre as claimed in claim 2 wherein said computerized control circuitry instructs a user which characters are required to stage a pre-prepared puppet show.
9. The theatre as claimed in claim 2 wherein said computerized control circuitry stages a pre-prepared puppet show on the condition that all its characters are portrayed on said stage.
10. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a puppet is motorized for effecting its visually discernible actions in accordance with a computerized puppet show script.
11. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a puppet includes electrical current sensitive springs for effecting its visually discernible actions in accordance with a computerized puppet show script.
12. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a manipulator includes a selector for selecting which puppet of said at least one puppet is to be instantaneously under its control.
13. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a manipulator includes a sensor for sensing a pincer-like finger movement of a pair of a user's fingers for effecting a puppet's hand clapping action.
14. The theatre as claimed in claim 13 wherein a manipulator includes a pair of sensors for sensing up/down movements of the pair of user's fingers executing the pincer-like finger movement for independently raising and lowering a puppet's arms.
15. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a manipulator includes a sensor for sensing a user's finger bending movement for effecting a puppet's head nodding action.
16. The theatre as claimed in claim 15 wherein the user's finger controlling a puppet's head nodding action is interdisposed between his fingers for effecting the puppet's hand clapping action.
17. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a manipulator includes a linear displacement sensitive sensor for controlling the position of a puppet on said stage.
18. The theatre as claimed in claim 17 wherein said linear displacement sensitive sensor senses a roll orientation of a user's forearm between an upright orientation and a flat orientation with his forearm crossing his body corresponding to two extreme translatory positions of a puppet on said stage.
19. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein a manipulator includes an angular displacement sensitive sensor for controlling the turning of a puppet on said stage.
20. The theatre as claimed in claim 19 wherein said angular displacement sensitive sensor senses the twist orientation of a user's hand between a “palm facing out” orientation and a “palm facing sideways” orientation corresponding to two extreme rotational positions of a puppet on said stage relative to a user.
21. The theatre as claimed in claim 1 wherein said manipulator is concealed in a glove puppet.
22. For use with a computerized puppet theatre as claimed in claim 1 , a computer program loadable into the computerized puppet theatre for staging a pre-prepared puppet show in accordance with a computerized puppet show script including instructions for the visually discernible actions and/or translatory stage movements of each character of its one or more characters, and a soundtrack for playing back over the sound system.
23. The computer program as claimed in claim 22 wherein the computer program resides on a Website.
24. The computer program as claimed in claim 22 wherein the computer program is tangibly embodied in a computer readable medium.
25. For use with a computerized puppet theatre as claimed in claim 1 , a puppet capable of performing at least visually discernible actions and capable of assuming at least one appearance each having an appearance identifier device associated therewith whereby a computerized control circuitry of the computerized puppet theatre is capable of identifying the at least one appearance of each puppet of said at least one puppet for allocation of the characters of the pre-prepared puppet show to the at least one puppet by appearance.
26. The puppet as claimed in claim 25 wherein a puppet is adapted to receive an exchangeable puppet exterior for changing its appearance, each said puppet exterior having an appearance identifier device addressable by said computerized control circuitry for enabling identification of its appearance.
27. The puppet as claimed in claim 25 wherein a puppet has a front side and a rear side each having a different appearance only one thereof being employed for portraying a character at any one time during the staging of a puppet show, and an appearance identifier device addressable by said computerized control circuitry for enabling identification of its two appearances, and its disposition relative to a user the staging of a puppet show.
28. The puppet as claimed in claim 25 wherein it is motorized for effecting its visually discernible actions in accordance with a computerized puppet show script.
29. The puppet as claimed in claim 25 wherein it includes electrical current sensitive springs for effecting its visually discernible actions in accordance with a computerized puppet show script.
30. A computer program for running a computerized script editing station for recording a computerized puppet show script of a user directed and produced puppet show including the instructions for the visually discernible actions and/or translatory stage movements of at least puppet under the controlled of a hand worn manipulator.
31. The computer program as claimed in claim 30 wherein the computer program enables the recording of a soundtrack for playing back over a sound system.
32. The computer program as claimed in claim 30 wherein the computer program enables the recording of instructions for operating a lighting system.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
IL134432 | 2000-02-08 | ||
IL13443200A IL134432A0 (en) | 2000-02-08 | 2000-02-08 | Computerized puppet theatre |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20030039947A1 true US20030039947A1 (en) | 2003-02-27 |
Family
ID=11073797
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US10/182,557 Abandoned US20030039947A1 (en) | 2000-02-08 | 2001-02-07 | Computerized puppet theatre |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20030039947A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1253970A2 (en) |
AU (1) | AU2001234028A1 (en) |
IL (1) | IL134432A0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2001058557A2 (en) |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070227339A1 (en) * | 2006-03-30 | 2007-10-04 | Total Sound Infotainment | Training Method Using Specific Audio Patterns and Techniques |
US20100093252A1 (en) * | 2008-10-09 | 2010-04-15 | National Chiao Tung University | Glove puppet manipulating system |
US20140302744A1 (en) * | 2010-12-21 | 2014-10-09 | William Mark Corporation | Method and Apparatus for Manipulation of a Toy Marionette |
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- 2001-02-07 AU AU2001234028A patent/AU2001234028A1/en not_active Abandoned
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
IL134432A0 (en) | 2001-04-30 |
WO2001058557A3 (en) | 2002-04-11 |
EP1253970A2 (en) | 2002-11-06 |
AU2001234028A1 (en) | 2001-08-20 |
WO2001058557A2 (en) | 2001-08-16 |
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Legal Events
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AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SCHNEIDER, YITZHAK, ISRAEL Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF UNDIVIDED 50%;ASSIGNOR:ARLINSKY, DAVID;REEL/FRAME:013279/0534 Effective date: 20020728 |
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STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
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