US 5,405,153 AGrant

Musical Electronic Game

Issue Date:1995-04-11

•38 Claims

•10 Drawing Sheets

Abstract

The game includes a device for randomly selecting a sequence of musical notes for game playing purposes. Another device enables a player to preview a recognition sequence of a portion of the sequence of musical notes prior to game play. A switch device actuated by the player causes a signal to be generated indicative that the player identified the recognition sequence of notes embedded within sequence of musical notes during game play.

Metadata

Inventor

Lane T. Hauck

Application Information

Application Number:US 0306983

Filing Date:1993-03-12

Priority Date:1993-03-12

Art Unit:334

Classifications

IPC:

A63B 7106

Field of Search:

2734348485 G;138 A;439;429;460;430;432319;321;322470 R;600;609;649

Patent Drawings (10 sheets)

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates in general to an electronic game device, and a method of using it. More particularly, the present invention relates to sight and sound electronic game device and method of using it either alone or with one or more other similar devices.

BACKGROUND ART

Electronic games are well known and very popular. Many electronic games utilize a display device to present colorful and fast-moving graphics to challenge a player's visual and motor skills. While these games include sound generating means for simulating game sound effects, the role of such sound effects is to accent the action of the game, instead of taking part in the game action or strategy.

Therefore, it would be innovative and highly desirable to have a new and improved electronic game that makes use of sound as a strategic game element, where recognition of musical sounds plays a dominant role in the play of the game rather than serving merely to accent other actions. Such a game should also be readily playable by persons without sight.

It would be further desirable if, while playing the game, the player were able to develop and improve his or her ability to recognize properly tuned notes of the scale in various patterns and in various keys, thus stimulating ear training. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved electronic game that helps a user recognize properly tuned notes of the scale in various patterns and in various keys.

Additionally, it would be very desirable if two or more game units could be connected together, allowing multiple players to play competitively. Such a competitive arrangement would be most advantageously implemented if the multiple-player game were enabled by simply connecting a cabling or wireless communication arrangement between identical game units. Such a game should be compact, portable and relatively inexpensive.

Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a new and improved electronic game that can be played by one, two or more players. Such a game should also be compact, portable and relatively inexpensive.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Therefore, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved electronic game device that makes use of sound as a strategic game element, where recognition of musical sounds plays a dominant role in the play of the game rather than serving merely to accent other actions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such a new and improved electronic game device that develops the ability of a player to recognize properly tuned notes of the scale in various patterns and in various keys, thus stimulating ear training.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a new and improved electronic game device that can be played either alone or played simultaneously with one or more other similar devices.

Briefly, the above and further objects of the present invention are realized by providing a new and improved sight and sound electronic game device which is entertaining and helps a user to facilitate his or her ability to recognize properly tuned notes of the scale in various patterns, and in various keys to stimulated sound recognition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above mentioned and other objects and features of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of the embodiment of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a musical electronic game which is constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a symbolic music timing diagram of a sequence of musical notes and corresponding light illuminations which might be encountered during a typical round of the game play illustrated with possible player responses;

FIG. 3 is an electronic schematic of a microprocessor circuit used to implement the game of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the structure of a computer program that implements a game for a single player;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of two compact versions of the game interconnected by a cable to allow two players to play competitively;

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of four identical game units connected by a cable to allow multiple players to play competitively;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the structure of a computer program that implements a multiple player game according to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram which illustrates how a single master game unit synchronizes multiply-connected slave units, and detects when all connected units have finished a round of play;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic view of another embodiment of a musical electronic game which is constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a symbolic block diagram of a wireless musical electronic game which is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown an electronic game device 10, which is constructed in accordance with the present invention.

The electronic game device 10 includes a microprocessor 11 (FIG. 3) for controlling game play, and a loudspeaker 13 for emitting audible sounds of a random melodic multiple note sequence, such as a sequence 17 (FIG. 2), to be recognized by a player (not shown) during the course of game play. A group 12 of lights 12A-H (FIG. 3) provide a visual indication to the player of the multiple note sequence, such as the sequence 17 (FIG. 2). A single momentary pushbutton switch 14 enables the player to initiate game action by causing a preview sequence, such as a PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, (FIG. 2) to be heard on the loudspeaker 13 and displayed by selected ones of the lights 12A-H. In this regard, the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A consists of at least three notes which may be displayed by selected ones of the lights in the group 12. The momentary pushbutton switch 14 causes the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A to be repeated a single time for each actuation. Game play begins when the player fails to actuate the momentary pushbutton switch 14 after reviewing the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A at least once. A light actuation switch 28 enables a player to play the game with or without actuating the light in the group 12.

Game Play

Considering now the operation of the electronic game device 10 with reference to FIGS. 1-2, a musical chart 17B illustrates a series of musical notes in a given melody line, such as the melody line 17, where a portion of the melody line 17 consists of notes 30-37. During the course of a single round of play, the melody line notes, beginning with notes 30-37, are heard by a user as audible sounds produced by the loudspeaker 13 and seen by a user as a sequence of visual indications as selected ones of the lights 12A-12H are illuminated provided switch 28 is activated. The melody line 17, as will be explained hereinafter, is automatically changed during each round of play to provide the player or players with different note sequences and faster rhythms to increase recognition difficulty.

In order to assist in understanding of the operation of the game device 10, a timing diagram 19 is provided for illustrating the various events that may occur in the course of a single round of play. In this regard, the object of the game is for a player to recognize a three note sequence within the melody line, such as the three note PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, consisting of the notes 32, 33 and 34. A player indicates recognition, by actuating the momentary pushbutton switch 14 during the time the melody line 17 is playing.

A player, may or may not recognize the three note sequence during a round of play. Thus, for example, if the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 too soon or too late, recognition is faulty or considered a miss, such as a miss 16A and a miss 16B respectively. Immediate recognition before any other note outside of the sequence 17A is played is considered a hit 15A, and delayed recognition within one note after the sequence 17A has played is considered a miss by one note indicated generally at 15B.

To further assist in understanding the operation of the device 10, a light illumination sequence 18 (FIG. 2) is shown that illustrates which of the numbered (1-8) lights 12A-12H respectively are illuminated during the time the melody line notes 30-37 are heard. For example, when note 30 is heard, light (#7) 12G is illuminated as illustrated by an illumination state 20. Other illumination states 21-27 are also illustrated in sequence 18 to show which lights are illuminated during the time the melody line notes 31-37 are heard. In this regard, for note 31, light (#8) 12H is illuminated, as illustrated by state 21; for note 32, light (#4) 12D is illuminated, as illustrated by state 22; etc.

Considering now the play of a game, a game consists of multiple rounds. Before the start of a round, the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 to audition or preview a melodic fragment consisting of three notes which are selected from a musical scale of eight notes. The player may actuate momentary pushbutton switch 14 as many times as desired to commit the three note sequence to memory. The dotted box "A" in FIG. 2 illustrates the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, whereby every time momentary pushbutton switch 14 is actuated, the notes 32, 33 and 34 are played in sequence through loudspeaker 13. The notes are separated by silent intervals or "rests" of equal duration to the notes. Also as notes 32-34 are heard, corresponding lights may or may not be illuminated depending on the on/off position of switch 28, as shown by states 22-24 respectively. Thus a player hears the notes "F-A-C" and sees the light pattern "4-6-1" every time the momentary pushbutton switch 14 is activated. The light actuation switch 28 enables a player to hear the melody line with or without accompanying lights. In this regard, the player is free to manipulate switch 28 during the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A and hear the three preview notes either with or without the accompanying lights.

When the player feels that the three-note audible PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A is adequately memorized, the player initiates a round by not actuating the momentary pushbutton switch 14 for a predetermined period of time. The predetermined period of time is between about 1 second and 60 seconds. A more preferred period of time is between about 2 seconds and 30 seconds, while the most preferred period of time is between about 3 seconds and 10 seconds.

After the lapse of the predetermined time period, the melody 17 begins to play through loudspeaker 13. Also, after the predetermined period of time has elapsed, the state of switch 28 is stored by the microprocessor 11 and the lights are either activated, illuminating in step with the melody line 17, or deactivated (all off) during the round according to the ON or OFF state of switch 28. This prevents a player from changing his or her mind regarding the use of the lights 12 during a round since manipulation of switch 28 has no effect once the round has started.

During a round, the melodic sequence of up to thirty notes is heard in loudspeaker 13. For clarity, only the first eight notes of the melody 17 are shown in FIG. 2. At some point in melody 17, the three notes heard during the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A are imbedded. The goal of the player is to identify the appearance of the previously memorized PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A which were heard and memorized preceding the round. When the player thinks he or she has recognized the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 which causes the melody 17 to stop playing and a score value for the round to be awarded. Depending on the accuracy with which the player identifies the three note sequence 17A, different point values are possible. The scoring can be best understood by referring to time-line 19 (FIG. 2), where various actuation times are shown where a player might actuate the momentary pushbutton switch 14. In this regard, four actuation time intervals are shown in time-line 19, as follows:

A. If the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 any time after the first note 30 of melody 11 is played but prior to the playing of the third note 34 of the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, the "miss" 16A is scored since the three notes of the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A have not yet been heard.

B. If the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 after the playing of the third note 34 of the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, but before the playing of the next note 35, the "hit" 15A is scored. This is the highest possible score, since the player has correctly identified the appearance of the three-note PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A before any other notes thereafter have been heard.

C. If the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 after the playing of note 35, which is one note past the notes in the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, but before the playing of note 36 the "miss-by-1" is scored, since the melody 17 has played one note past the three-note PREVIEW SEQUENCE of notes 17A.

D. If the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14 any time after the playing of note 36 or never presses the momentary pushbutton switch 14, the "miss" 16B is scored because the melody has proceeded two notes or more past the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A.

The actual notes selected for melody 17, and the relative position of the three preview notes 32-33-34 in melody 17 are determined by the microprocessor 11 and its associated firmware for every round on a random basis. Therefore, although in FIG. 2 the three preview notes 17A appear as the third, fourth and fifth notes of the thirty note melody 17, in the next round a different sequence of thirty notes are played, and the position of the three preview notes could be anywhere in the melody, for example the 25th, 26th and 27th notes. This variation of melodies and positions of the preview notes within the melody prevents a player from detecting patterns and anticipating the best times to actuate the momentary pushbutton switch 14.

Although a three note preview sequence and a thirty note melody are described it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other preview sequence lengths and melody line lengths are possible. For example, a four-note PREVIEW SEQUENCE and a forty note melody line.

The strategic value of switch 28 can now be appreciated. If a player elects to play a round using the lights by placing switch 28 to the "ON" position, the player has the benefit of responding not only to the sounds of the notes played through loudspeaker 13, but also the visual cue of a pattern of lights in the group of lights 12. In the example round of FIG. 2, if the player elects to play the round with lights, he or she may watch the lights and memorize the visual pattern of lights four-six-one in sequence. This makes recognition of the notes in the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A much easier, since two senses, sight and sound, are employed in combination to recognize the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A.

The scoring system is arranged so that for any given score, an additional bonus score is added if the round was played without benefit of watching the lights. This gives players an incentive to develop ear training, since bonus points are only awarded to players who can successfully play rounds by ear alone.

To increase the challenge of the game as the rounds progress, the tempo of the notes increases for every round. The tempo of the notes played during a preview sequence, such as the PREVIEW SEQUENCE 17A, is the same as the tempo of the notes played in the melody 17, so the player can hear the tempo for the upcoming round by noticing that the preview notes 17A are heard at a faster and faster rate as the rounds progress. In other words, the player "previews" the three-note pattern and the tempo of the melody for each upcoming round. Even the best players will probably need to start using the lights as the tempo reaches a very rapid pace. Deciding when to use the lights thus becomes a strategic and competitive decision for each player.

To heighten the tension as the rounds progress, the musical key of the melody notes 17 is raised by one note of the scale for every round. Accurate musical tuning is maintained in every key. The general increase in pitch and the quickened tempo of every round makes rounds more and more exciting and challenging as the game progresses.

Scoring

A round ends when the player actuates the momentary pushbutton switch 14, or if the momentary pushbutton switch 14 is never actuated, after the last note of the melody line 17 is played. The player's score is calculated and updated after every round. The score depends on three factors:

(A) the player's precision in actuating the momentary pushbutton switch 14 as previously described;

(B) whether or not the lights were used during the round as selected by switch 28, and

A typical scoring system is to award "H" points for a "hit" M points for a "miss-by-1" where H>M, and penalty points "P" for a miss where M>P. If the player scores either a hit or a miss-by-1, an additional point value B is added if the round was played without the lights. The numbers H, M, and B generally increase with round number, since the notes are played faster as the rounds advance and it is correspondingly more and more difficult to activate momentary pushbutton switch 14 at the proper time. After each round, the player is informed of the achieved round score by a sequence of short beeps where one beep is heard per point, or by a different sound (a "razz" sound) for a miss. The player's total score is then indicated using the lights 12 and loudspeaker 13 to issue one beep per point, while sequencing the lights 12, once per beep.

Typical values for round 1 would be H=2, M=1, B=1, and P=-2. Thus a player who plays round 1 with the lights scores 2 points for a hit, 1 point for a miss-by-1, and -2 points for a miss; while a player who plays round 1 without the lights scores 3 points for a hit, 2 points for a miss-by-1, and -2 points for a miss. The score is never allowed to go below 0. For an advanced round, such as round 12, score values might be H=4, M=3, and B=2. A schedule of score values by round is kept in a table in a computer program used to play the game as will be described hereinafter.

A game could end when a player scores a miss or after a certain number of Y misses. A preferred way to end the game is to allow the player unlimited misses up to a certain round, such as round eight, and then to end the game for any miss after round eight. This allows beginners to play eight rounds without ending the game. The indicator light 16 in FIG.1 illuminates, and a distinctive sound is heard from loudspeaker 13, at the beginning of round eight to alert the player that any subsequent miss will end the game. Indicator light 16 also has other purposes in the multiple-player game, such as indicating which player has won the round, which will become clear when the multiple-player game is described hereinafter.

Hardware

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is shown a schematic diagram of the device 10. The microprocessor 11, is controlled by a game computer program 100. Microprocessor 11 is a Philips/Signetics 87C751, a single chip processor with an Electrically Programmable ROM (EPROM), or an 83C751, which uses a masked ROM. This processor, which is a member of the Intel 8051 family, is described in the Philips data book IC20, entitled 80C51-Based 8-Bit Microcontrollers, dated February 1992. The general characteristics of the processor family and the instruction set are described in Section 1 (pp. 3-132), and the specific features of the 87C751 are described on pages 573-590.

A crystal 101 establishes a precise internal clock frequency for the microprocessor 11. The precision of this clock signal allows accurately tuned musical notes, and also allows precise timing relationships to be established in the signals that are sent between units. A pair of capacitors 102 and 103 provide the proper loading for crystal 101. The eight lights 12A-12H are connected to an output PORT3 of microprocessor 11, and they share a single current-limiting resistor 114 since only one light is energized at any given time. Whenever the internal program writes a logic "0" to one of the PORT3 output bits, the LED connected to that output pin is illuminated.

Loudspeaker 13 is powered by a transistor 110 through a current limiting resistor 111, which is connected to PORT1.0 of the microprocessor 11. When power is first applied to processor 11, all port bits are "HI" which causes transistor 110 to turn off, insuring that the loudspeaker 13 is off when power is first turned on.

Momentary pushbutton switch 14 is connected to pin 18 of the microprocessor 11, which functions as input PORT1.5 and also as an interrupt input/INTO. Switch 28 is connected to PORT1.1, which is used as an input port. Connector 90 is the bus interface connector, which implements a single wire, bi-directional bus by serving both as an input to, and an output from, the microprocessor 11. Signals from other devices or game units attached to connector 90 are sensed by microprocessor input port PORT1.6,(112), and microprocessor 11 drives the bus from it's output PORT0.0 (113) which is an "open-drain" output. This type of output consists of a switching transistor connected to ground potential (0 volts), so that it can connect the signal at connector 90 to a logic "LO" or leave it floating. A pullup resistor 109 insures that when the PORT0.0 output is not driving low, the bus is pulled up to a logic HI state due to the connection through the resistor 109 to the positive power supply.

The game is powered by a standard 9 volt battery 104, which is connected to one side of a power on/off switch 15. The other side of switch 15 is connected to a voltage regulator 106, which supplies the system with a regulated source of 5 volt power. A capacitor 107 is required by regulator 106 for stability. A capacitor 108 provides a reset signal to the processor 11 when power is first applied. A light emitting diode 16 is connected between an output PORT 1.7 and the 5 volt source via a 150 ohm resistor 115. The diode 16 is illuminated at the end of one round of play and during multiple player play to indicate the winning player.

Random Number Generator

The notes of the melody played during a round are selected on a random basis, so that the melodies are never predictable from round to round or from game to game. The random sequence of tones used to play the melody every round is generated by a computer algorithm that generates random numbers with special properties. An informative article by Martin Gardner in the April 1978 issue of Scientific American entitled "White and Brown Music, Fractal Curves and 1/f Fluctuations" (pp 16-31) which is incorporated herein by reference, discusses computer-generated music, and investigates various types of random number generators and their suitability for generating "random" music. To summarize the article, three types of random number generators can be used to produce random melodies: white noise, brownian noise, and 1/f noise. If a computer is programmed to generate sequences of random numbers of each of these three types, and notes of the scale are assigned to the random numbers so generated, then the resulting melodies will have distinctly different characteristics, some more interesting and pleasing than others.

Melodies generated with white noise tend to have no correlation, and sound like the dull kind of music that would result from a monkey hitting piano keys with one finger. Melodies generated using brownian noise (where the step sizes, although random, are small) has a "meandering" scale-like sound, also with little interest or aesthetic appeal.

Melodies generated with 1/f noise have the characteristic of a "fractal" curve, i.e. the sequence of notes is moderately correlated, not just over short runs but throughout runs of any size. (A common fractal example in graphic form is an aerial photograph of a coastline, where the detail of the coastline appears the same no matter what magnification is used to inspect it.) Because of the partial correlation that exists in runs of notes generated with 1/f random numbers, melodies generated with a 1/f noise algorithm are judged by most observers to be more pleasing than those generated with either white-noise or brown-noise random numbers.

Furthermore, the moderate correlation that exists in melodies generated with a 1/f noise algorithm makes the present invention very interesting and challenging, for the following reason. If a sequence of tones is generated with a 1/f-noise generator, and if a small portion of notes is removed from the sequence and played in isolation (the "preview" notes), then when the entire melody is played there will be many instances when three-note sequences are heard that are very close to, but do not exactly match, the preview notes. This makes the game very entertaining and challenging, and discourages the player's natural tendency to anticipate by pressing the stop button after hearing two of the three sought notes, just as the third one starts playing.

The computer algorithm described in pages 24-25 of the Gardiner article for generating "1/f" noise is implemented in the subroutine "OOF" ("One Over F"), commencing on line 1387 of the listing in Appendix A, which is a fully commented software program for the 87C751 processor circuit shown in FIG. 3. A random number generator routine "RANDOM" is called at various times by the "OOF" routine. The "RANDOM" routine begins on line 1345 of Appendix A. This algorithm is described on page 487 of Musical Applications of Microprocessors, by Hal Chamberlain, Hayden Books, 1988, which is incorporated herein by reference. The algorithm is enhanced slightly to add a check for a zero value of the 16-bit random polynomial randH:randL (the concatenation of 8-bit bytes randH and randL), since if the polynomial takes on a value of zero the result is an endless stream of O's.

Considering now the subroutine "OOF" in greater detail, the "one-over-f" random sequence generator is based on the algorithm mentioned in the Gardiner article. The algorithm is based on the analogy of considering four imaginary eight-sided dice, each capable of giving random values between 0 and 7. To generate a random number that has the properties of "1/f" noise, certain imaginary dice are tossed, and the spot totals for all four imaginary dice are added together to give the random value. The key to the algorithm is that not all the imaginary dice are tossed every time, but all of the imaginary dice, whether thrown or not, contribute to the sum. Thus some retain their values while others contribute randomly to the sum for any particular "toss," giving the partial correlation property.

Which of the imaginary dice are tossed each time is determined by tabulating the binary values of a four-bit counter, and looking for transitions, either 0-to-1 or 1-to-0, in the bits. Whenever a bit makes a transition, its corresponding "imaginary die" is tossed.

In the "OOF" subroutine, four 4-bit values D1, D2, D3 and D4 represent the four "imaginary dice." The variable "mask" implements a four-bit counter as illustrated in Table I.

At lines 1390-1392, the value of "mask" is incremented, exclusive-ORed with its previous value, and then saved in the variable "shift-mask," which contains a "1" in any bit position where there was a bit transition. Then the bits are examined one at a time to determine which of the dice need to be tossed.

Considering now the subroutine "RANDOM" in greater detail, the subroutine "RANDOM" commencing at line 1345, is called whenever a new random value is required for one of the dice D1-D4. 8-bit random values from the "RANDOM" subroutine are scaled to values 0-7 by zeroing all but the three least-significant bits. The four dice are then summed, and again scaled to the interval 0-7 by using only the three least-significant bits. When the four-bit count value of "mask" reaches 15 (1111), the next value it assumes is 0 (0000), i.e. the counter "wraps around" at a count of 15, and the count sequence begins again at 0. This is shown as the last entry in Table I.

In addition to the random generation of melodies, an added feature of the device 10 is that melodies may also be pre-stored, and substituted for the random melodies, but on a very unpredictable basis. For example, if a player is able to accumulate a score of 16 without any misses, there is a 50--50 chance in any subsequent round that a melody which consists of an edited version of J. S. Bach's Suite no. 1 in G minor for unaccompanied cello (BWV 1007) will be played in place of the random melody, but only once per game. This melody is stored in the table labelled, "Bach-melody" commencing at line 1551 of Appendix A, and the program logic which decides if and when to play the special pre-stored melody occupies lines 933-943 of Appendix A. If it is decided to substitute the special pre-stored melody in place of the randomly generated melody, the preview notes are selected from the pre-stored melody in a random position, exactly in the manner that preview notes are randomly selected in a random melody. The appearance of a pre-stored melody can have a very startling and amusing effect, especially to a musician playing the game who recognizes the pre-stored melody. Due to the unpredictable and fleeting appearance of the pre-stored melody, there will be much puzzlement regarding whether or not the game "randomly played Bach", and players may try in earnest to cause it to occur again.

Game Flowchart

The game and all of the features therein are implemented by the computer program 100 in microprocessor 11. This program, shown as a fully commented listing in Appendix A, is organized in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. 4, which shows a "top level" flowchart 400 of the game operations.

At the beginning of the game, as indicated at 200, the slowest tempo value and lowest starting note of the scale are initialized.

The program then determines the preview notes, shown at 203. This is done by calculating a random number which is limited to possible beginning points in the melody for the three note preview notes.

The program then enters a waiting loop comprising flowchart elements 204 through 206. At 204, momentary pushbutton switch 14 (henceforth referred to as "the button") is sensed. If it is depressed, the preview notes are played, indicated at 205. The button is then checked again at 204. If the button is not depressed, a check is made to see if 3 seconds have elapsed since the button was last pushed, indicated at 206. If 3 seconds have not elapsed, the button is again checked at 204. In this manner the player may press the button as many times as desired to hear the preview notes.

Once three seconds have elapsed, the round begins at 208. The melody commences playing at 208. As the melody plays, the button is checked, indicated at 209. If the button is not pressed, the melody continues at 208. As soon as the button is pressed, the round is scored at 213.

The round is scored at 213, and the score is indicated to the player in the lights and loudspeaker at 214. At 215 the game unit determines whether the game is over, and if it is the final score is blinked in the lights at 216. If the game is not over, another round is initialized at 217, where the game tempo is increased and the "note offset", or beginning pitch of the notes of the scale to be used to play the melody, is increased. Another round then commences at 203 for the single player game.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown an electronic game arrangement 500 which is constructed in accordance with the present invention. The game arrangement 500 generally includes a pair of similar game devices 501 and 521 respectively. Game devices 501 and 521 are substantially similar to game device 10 and are interconnected to one another by a cable 510 for enabling two players to engage in simultaneous competition.

Considering now the game arrangement 500 in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5, novel feature of the arrangement 500 is that multiple games may be connected together so that multiple players may compete against each other. Referring to FIG. 5, this is accomplished by connecting the cable 510 from connector 590 of device 501 to connector 591 of the second similar device 521. Although for clarity a two player game is shown and described, it will become clear that the techniques used to expand the game from one to two players may be easily extended to more than two players.

After the two devices 501 and 521 have been connected via the cable 510, they are turned on using their respective power switches 515 and 526. In response to the devices 501 and 521 being energized, the indicator light 516 and 527 illuminates on each respective device 501 and 521 to indicate that a connection has been achieved. The game now plays in an almost identical manner as the single device, such as the device 10 alone, but with interesting differences to account for the competitive play.

Each player begins a round by determining whether he or she desires to play with or without lights 512 and 523 on devices 501 and 521 respectively by actuating respective switches 518 and 529. Each player then actuates his or her respective pushbuttons 514 and 525, to hear the preview notes, as in the single player game. Due to communication between the two devices 501 and 521 which will be subsequently described, each device plays the same three note PREVIEW SEQUENCE. As in the single-player game, the players may actuate their respective switches 514 and 525 as many times as desired to repeat the PREVIEW SEQUENCE, and manipulate the respective "LIGHTS" switches 518 and 529 freely during the PREVIEW SEQUENCE. When neither player actuates his or her respective pushbuttons 514 and 525 for at least 3 seconds, a round commences.

Both devices 501 and 521 now play exactly the same melody, with notes playing at exactly the same times (in unison) in each respective devices speaker 513 and 528. This synchronization is achieved via the cable 510 connecting the two devices 501 and 521. Each player is free to actuate the respective switch 514 and 525 on his or her device to terminate the round, as in the single player game. When the player actuates his or her momentary switch, the melody stops playing, and the lights (if enabled) turn off, but the round does not end until all players have actuated their associated momentary switches, or the melody has played out. The end of a round for a multiple-player game is thus, when all players have ended their individual rounds.

Score data is then passed between the devices 501 and 521 via the connecting cable 510, and the scoring is performed. The scoring system is similar to a single player game, but is enhanced to account for the competition between the multiple-players. To win "hit" points, a player must not only satisfy the requirements of a "hit" for the single player game, but that player must also have actuated his or her toggle switch at a more advantageous time than the other player or players.

Suppose that there are two players, A and B. Referring to FIG. 2, if player A actuates his or her switch during interval 15A, scoring a "hit", and player B actuates his or her switch during interval 15B, scoring a "miss-by-1", player A wins the round. Likewise, a miss-by-1 15B beats a miss 16A or miss 16B. In other words, a better score always beats a worse score.

There may be instances when both players actuate their pushbuttons 514 and 525 (FIG. 5), in the same time intervals. For example, suppose both player A and player B actuate their pushbutton 514, 525 during interval 15A (FIG. 2). This causes a second criterion to be used to determine the winner. The time that has elapsed between the onset of note 34, which is the third note of the PREVIEW SEQUENCE, and the time that the pushbutton was actuated is recorded for both players. The player with the lowest time so measured then wins the round. In other words, the fastest winning push wins. It is possible for players to hit their pushbuttons at precisely the same time, and thus to "tie", in which case all tied players are awarded the winning points.

After every round, the winner is determined, and light 516 or 527 (FIG. 5) illuminates only on the device of the winner. The game then proceeds to the next PREVIEW SEQUENCE, as in the single-player game. The game ends when both players miss after round eight.

It should be emphasized that the two player utilization of the game arrangement 500 is accomplished by merely connecting cable 510 between identical single player devices such as between devices 501 and 521, and no special switches, cartridges or other selection means are needed to activate the multiple-player game. The game software as will be explained hereinafter enables multiple-player games to be played, using substantially the same computer code as for a single player game but with a few modifications.

N-Players

Game play is not limited to one or two players, but may be played simultaneously by N players where N is greater than two. In this regard, as best seen in FIG. 6, four like game units 610-613 are interconnected together by a set of Y conductors 649-651 respectively. As games 610-613 are each substantially similar to game 10, they will not be described in greater detail.

Certain augmentations to the game electronics and software permit multiple standard game units to be coupled together and used to play simultaneous games in a competitive manner, as follows:

1. A means is provided to allow the game units to communicate data back and forth, such as the round initialization data and end-of-round score data.

2. A means is provided to synchronize the game units so that the melody notes are played at exactly the same time in all units.

3. A signalling method is provided to allow game units to detect when all the other connected units have finished with the PREVIEW SEQUENCE and rounds.

4. The scoring system is expanded to handle multiple players.

For the purpose of exchanging data between connected units, a master-slave relationship is first established among the connected units. There is only one master unit, and there can be multiple slave units. The master unit:

Provides initialization data to all slave units to insure that identical rounds are played on all units;

Provides a tempo timer to all slave units, so that the identical melody notes heard from all units are played in unison;

Receives preliminary score data from the slave units at the end of every round, arbitrates the round score data as to winners and losers, and sends final round score data back to the slave units so that they may indicate their individual scores.

The master unit enjoys no strategic advantage in the game. For example, if two identical game units 501 and 521 are connected via cable 510 (FIG. 5), and turned on one hundred times, device 501 will become the master approximately half of the times and device 521 will become the master the other half of the times, with no indication whatsoever of a master-slave arrangement evident to the player. In other words, the master-slave arrangement is merely a "bookkeeping" arrangement, which has no impact on the play of the game.

Communication takes place over a two conductor cable 510 (FIG. 5), where one wire of the cable is a common ground, and the other wire is connected as a "wired-OR" bidirectional bus. In a wired-OR arrangement, the bus signal line is pulled up to the positive power supply through a resistor in every game unit. As previously described, every game unit has the capability to read the state of the bus, and also to pull the bus LO (said to "assert" the bus) through an electronic switch to ground. Any game unit that asserts its own driver pulls the bus low. Only when all game units do not assert their individual bus drivers (said to "release" the bus) does the bus return to its non-driven HI state.

The wired-OR property is used to establish which of the game units is to be the master and which are to be slaves. Before a game starts, at a certain time, one of the game units asserts its bus driver, pulling the bus line low, and it holds it low for a random time interval between .5T and T. Any game units that are not at that instant trying to become the master by pulling their own bus driver low recognize this hi-to-lo transition and immediately assume the slave mode. They indicate this by asserting their own bus drivers for a time interval equal to T, commencing time T after the LO pulse began. The unit that has asserted its bus then de-asserts its driver by time T, and then it checks the state of the bus at time (1.5).times.(T). If it finds a LO, it knows that other units have become slaves and its "master" status is established.

When the unit that is attempting to become the master by asserting the bus LO (unit A) de-asserts the bus, it immediately checks the bus state. If it finds the bus still LO, it is discovered that another unit (unit B) has pulled the bus LO in an attempt to become the master at exactly the same time that unit A did. However the fact that the bus is still low after unit A releases the bus causes unit A to immediately assume slave status. In this way conflicts between potential masters are resolved.

If the unit which has asserted its bus detects that the bus is HI at time (1.5).times.(T), then no units have responded as slaves and the process of establishing a master-slave connection continues. If at any time during this arbitration process the player presses the pushbutton, a one-player game is initiated and the master-slave search and arbitration is abandoned.

To insure that two game units which make simultaneous attempts to become a master do not continue to make simultaneous attempts, each game unit waits a random time interval before attempting again to become the master by asserting the bus. Ultimately, there will always be a time when only one unit tries to become the master and the arbitration is successful.

Once a master-slave relationship is determined, a single master is established, but it is not yet certain how many slaves are connected. A check is therefore made for the existence of more than one slave. This is done by initiating a secondary arbitration sequence, whereby the master sends out address data on the bus, and looks for an acknowledgement by one or more slave units. Data is passed between units as 8-bit bytes, using "software UART" (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) subroutines in each game unit. Serial 8-bit data is received using the "Rx" routine commencing at line 1015, and transmitted using the "Tx" routine commencing at line 1053, of Appendix A. The techniques for implementing a software UART are well known and documented in many sources, for example pages 716-721 of the aforementioned Philips-Signetics Data Book.

The Tx and Rx routines are augmented to add an "acknowledge" pulse whenever a unit receives data from another unit. Transmission begins with a "start bit", which is a LO value on the bus, followed by eight data bits. Finally, a HI "stop bit" is sent. The receiver asserts the bus for a brief time after the stop bit, indicating to the sender that the byte was received.

Suppose that the master has just sent the address "001" using its Tx subroutine. All slaves simultaneously receive this value, having summoned their respective "Rx" subroutines. For the master-slave arbitration process only, a special acknowledge sequence is used, whereby each slave waits a random time interval before asserting its acknowledge pulse. Any slave A whose random time has elapsed, and therefore is ready to assert the bus to a LO state to begin its own acknowledge pulse, first checks the bus state, and if it finds it already LO, concludes that another slave unit B has already responded and it, unit A, therefore should not assume slave address 001. If slave A finds the bus HI, and has then held its acknowledge pulse LO for a time interval required for the master unit to read it, it then de-asserts its bus driver, again after a random time interval. Just after releasing the bus, it checks the bus state, and if it finds it LO, it is determined that another slave unit is also responding with an acknowledge pulse, and it relinquishes address 001 to the other slave unit. In other words, the first slave to assert the ACK wins the arbitration and assumes the transmitted slave address, and if there is a simultaneous bus assertion, the last slave to release the bus wins the arbitration.

The master then transmits slave address "002", and again checks for an acknowledge pulse. This process continues until no acknowledge is received, indicating that all connected slaves have been accounted for.

In this manner all slave game units establish a unique "address" with which the master unit can individually communicate with each slave unit over the single-wire bus using the serial transmit and receive routines. The master communicates with any individual slave by first sending a transfer request byte which contains the desired slave address, and only the requested slave unit responds on the bidirectional bus.

The method whereby all game units play melody notes in unison may be understood by referring to FIG. 8, where there are shown various waveforms that occur during a round on the wired-OR bus interconnecting the game units. The master issues a pulse at time A which is used by the slave units as a "metronome", that is a signal to play the next note or rest of the melody in sequence. The falling edge of the pulse beginning at A, indicated by an arrow, is used to establish the metronome "tick", and the ensuing width of the pulse is then used to convey when all game units have completed their respective rounds, as follows. The "metronome" pulse issued by the master at A can assume two different widths, either duration T or 2T as indicated in the waveforms 202. The 2T wide pulse is used when the game unit is playing a round, and the T-wide pulse is used when the game unit has finished its round (the player has pressed the pushbutton). Likewise, all slave units respond to the pulse at A by asserting their bus driver with a pulse of width 2T during their rounds, and of width T when their respective rounds are over. Thus only when the bus is LOW at time C are all game units finished with their respective rounds.

In waveforms 200, both the master and slave units are in the process of playing a round. In waveforms 201, the master has finished the round but the slave has not. In this case the master must continue to issue metronome pulses even though its own round is finished, so that the remaining slaves that are still playing their rounds will continue to play the melody notes in unison. In waveforms 202, the slave has finished but the master has not. In waveforms 203, both master and slave(s) units have finished, which is detected in all game units by the HI state of the bus at time C. Because of the "wired-OR" nature of the bus, it is HI at time C only after all units, master and all slaves, have completed their rounds.

Extension of the scoring system for multiple-players is straightforward. After every round, the master requests score information from each slave, addressing them in turn. From this score information the master makes the determination as to which of the players pressed the button at the most advantageous time, and in the case of ties, the reaction time is used to resolve the tie as in the two player game. The individual score information is then sent to each slave, each responding to its own unique address, and the individual units compute and display their scores. Thus the multiple-player scoring system is a simple extension of the two player scoring system, as previously described.

Multi-player Game Flowchart

The game arrangement 500 and all of the features therein are implemented by a computer program which is shown as a fully commented listing in Appendix B, and is organized in accordance with a flowchart 700 which shows "top level" game operations. The flow chart 700 includes each of the steps described relative to flowchart 400. Therefore, the description of these steps will not be repeated.

Referring now to FIG. 7, at 701, if more than one unit is connected, a master-slave relationship is established, which allows one game unit to act as timekeeper and scorekeeper for the other connected game units. If a multiple-player game is in progress, the master game sends initialization information to the slave unit or units, indicated at 702. This initialization information insures that all connected games play the same preview notes and melody notes, such as the preview notes 17A and the melody notes 17 (FIG. 2) during every round.

Once the three seconds have elapsed, a decision instruction 707 is executed if a multiple-player game is being played, to insure that all connected games have finished their PREVIEW SEQUENCE. If all units have not finished previewing, in other words they have not all waited 3 seconds after pressing their respective pushbutton, the loop is continued at 704.

The melody is then played simultaneously on each unit, such as units 501 and 521 (FIG. 5). As the melody plays, each button is checked at 710 to determine if all buttons have been actuated. If all buttons have been actuated or the melody has completed its sequence, the program advances to instruction box 711 where the slave unit or units send score information to the master unit. This information consists of hit/miss information, and timing information indicative of how fast the player pressed the button. The master unit then arbitrates the individual scores, determines winners and losers for the round, and then transmits the score results to the slave unit or units at 712.

Referring now to FIG. 9, there is shown an electronic game device 910 which is constructed in accordance with the present invention. The game device 910 is similar to game device 10 except the single multi-function game momentary pushbutton switch 14 is replaced by three individual pushbutton switches, for example a PREVIEW switch 914, a START switch 915, and a STOP switch 916 as best seen in FIG. 9. In this regard, FIG. 9 illustrates an electronic game device 900 which is similar to device 10 but includes switches 114, 115 and 116 in lieu of a single momentary pushbutton switch 14. Game is played in a similar manner except at the beginning of every round, switch 914 is actuated to preview the three notes, in the same manner as initiated by the momentary pushbutton switch 14 in FIG. 1. A round is initiated, when the START button 915 is actuated. Once the round starts, actuating the STOP button 916 terminates the round for scoring purposes. A power ON/OFF switch 917 enables power to be applied to the unit 910. A light emitting diode 918 serves the same purpose as LED 16 (FIG. 1). A set 912 of lights is controlled by a light switch 913. Sounds are heard via a speaker 920. A connector 919 allows similar game units to be connected together via a cable (not shown) for simultaneous multiplayer games.

Wireless

Referring now to FIG. 10, another electronic game device 300 is shown which is constructed in accordance with the present invention. The device 300 is similar to device 10 except that connector 90 is replaced by a communication arrangement 309 having a receiver, such as an infrared or radio frequency receiver 310 and transmitter 311 for communication purposes with a similar unit.

As best seen in FIG. 10, the receiver 310 is connected to a communication input PORT P1.6/INTI of a microprocessor 301. Microprocessor 301 is similar to microprocessor 11. The transmitter 311 is connected to a communication output port P.phi..0 of the microprocessor 301.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood that various different modifications are possible and are contemplated within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims. There is no intention, therefore, of limitations to the exact abstract or disclosure herein presented. ##SPC1##

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic game device, comprising: melody means for generating a sequence of melody signals indicative of a musical melody having a sequence of N number of musical notes to be generated during game play; said melody means for generating prior to said game play, a series of preview signals indicative of a preview recognition sequence having a predetermined M number of musical notes, where M is substantially less than N; said musical melody of N number of musical notes including said preview recognition sequence of M number of musical notes; note indicating means responsive to said sequence of melody signals for generating a user perceptible indication of individual ones of said sequence of said N number of musical notes to permit user recognition of said preview recognition sequence of M number of musical notes during said sequence of N number of musical notes generated during game play in accordance with game rules; said note indicating means further responsive to said series of preview signals for generating a user perceptible indication of individual ones of said sequence of said M number of musical notes only to facilitate user recognition of the individual ones of the predetermined M number of musical notes of said preview recognition sequence prior to said game play in accordance with game rules; user actuation means for causing said melody means to generate said preview recognition sequence to facilitate user memorization of said preview recognition sequence prior to game play in accordance with game rules; game initiation means for causing said melody means to generate said sequence of melody signals following said preview recognition sequence; said user actuation means responsive to the user during said sequence of melody signals for generating a stop signal when the user perceives the occurrence of musical notes corresponding to the preview recognition sequence during said musical melody in accordance with game rules; and means responsive to said stop signal for determining that it occurred substantially concurrently with the generation of M number of musical notes corresponding to the preview recognition sequence of M number of musical notes.

2. An electronic game device according to claim 1, further comprising: means for generating a user perceptible award signal indicative of user recognition of said preview recognition sequence during said sequence of melody signals.

3. An electronic game device according to claim 1, wherein said note indicating means includes means responsive to said award signal for generating a user perceptible indication of user recognition of said preview recognition sequence within at least one predetermined period of time.

4. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said preview recognition sequence of M number of musical notes is a series of M consecutive musical notes.

5. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said series of M number of consecutive musical notes is a series of M consecutive musical notes selected randomly from said N number of musical notes.

6. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said note indicating means is audible means for generating audible sounds indicative of musical notes.

7. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said note indicating means is visual means for generating a visually perceptible light sequence indicative of musical notes.

8. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said melody means includes memory means for storing X substantially different musical melodies and means for controlling game play.

9. An electronic game according to claim 8, wherein means for controlling is microprocessor means and wherein said melody means is responsive to said microprocessor means for selecting an individual one of the X substantially different musical melodies for game playing purposes.

10. An electronic game according the claim 9, wherein said microprocessor means includes means for generating a fault signal indicative of user failure to recognize said preview recognition sequence within said predetermined period of time.

11. An electronic game according to claim 10, wherein said note indicating means includes: audible means for generating audible sounds indicative of the N musical notes in said musical melody or the M musical notes in said preview recognition sequence; and user selectable visual means for generating visually perceptible light sequences indicative of the N number of notes in said musical melody or the M number of notes in said preview recognition sequence.

12. An electronic game according to claim 11, further comprising switch means for selecting whether or not said visual means will be enabled during said sequence of melody signals.

13. An electronic game according to claim 12, further comprising: scoring means responsive to said award signal, and to said fault signal for generating a score signal indicative of the success or failure of a player to recognize said preview recognition sequence within said predetermined period of time.

14. An electronic game according to claim 13, wherein said note indicating means is responsive to said score signal for generating a player perceptible score indicative of the success or failure to recognize said preview recognition sequence within said predetermined period of time.

15. An electronic game device according to claim 8, wherein said user actuation means is switch means.

16. An electronic game device according to claim 15, wherein said switch means is a single switch.

17. An electronic game device according to claim 15, wherein said switch means includes a set of switches.

18. An electronic game device according to claim 17, wherein said set of switches includes a "PREVIEW switch for causing said melody means to generate said series of preview signal each time said PREVIEW switch is activated within a predetermined time period during each round of play.

19. An electronic game device according to claim 17, wherein said set of switches includes a START switch for causing said microprocessor means to initiate a single round of play whereby said melody means generates said sequence of melody signals once for defining a single round of play.

20. An electronic game device according to claim 17, wherein said set of switches includes a STOP switch for causing said melody means to terminate generating said sequence of melody signals.

21. An electronic game device according to claim 15, wherein said microprocessor means includes melody preview means responsive to said switch means for causing said melody means to select a musical melody having a given tempo and to generate said preview recognition sequence.

22. An electronic game device according to claim 21, wherein said microprocessor means includes round initiation means responsive to said switch means for causing said melody means to generate said sequence of melody signals once, said melody signals being indicative of the selected musical melody having said given tempo.

23. An electronic game according to claim 22, wherein said microprocessor means includes melody termination means responsive to said switch means for causing said melody means to terminate generating said sequence of melody signals and accuracy means responsive to said melody signals for determining whether a player actuated said switch means within said predetermined period of time following said preview recognition sequence.

24. An electronic game according to claim 23, wherein said microprocessor means terminates game play after a predetermined Y number of rounds of play whenever said player fails to actuate said switch means within said predetermined period of time following said preview recognition sequence.

25. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said melody means includes means for generating a melodic sequence of N number of musical notes arranged randomly in a given musical key and having a given tempo.

26. An electronic game according to claim 25, wherein said means for generating includes algorithm means for determining a numerically calculated sequence of random numbers with a spectral density of 1 divided by f.sup.n.

27. An electronic game according to claim 26, wherein n equals zero resulting in "white" noise.

28. An electronic game according to claim 26, wherein n equals one resulting in "1/f" noise.

29. An electronic game according to claim 26, wherein n equals two resulting in "Brownian" noise.

30. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said melody means includes tempo means for increasing the tempo of said musical melody from one round of play to the next round of play during game play.

31. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said melody means includes musical key means for increasing the musical key of said musical melody from one round of play to the next round of play by at least one note.

32. An electronic game according to claim 1, wherein said melody means includes means for controlling game play, said means for controlling game play terminating game play after a predetermined Y number of rounds of play.

33. An electronic game according to claim 32, wherein said predetermined Y number is at least 2.

34. A method of using an electronic game device, comprising: generating a sequence of melody signals indicative of a musical melody having N number of musical notes; generating a series of preview signals indicative of a preview recognition sequence of M number of musical notes selected from said N number of musical notes; where M is substantially less than N; generating a user perceptible indication of individual ones of said N number of musical note and individual ones of the M number of musical notes to facilitate user recognition of said musical melody and said preview recognition sequence; generating an award signals indicative of user recognition of said preview recognition sequence during said sequence of melody signals; and generating a user perceptible indication of user recognition of said preview recognition sequence within a predetermined period of time.

35. A method according to claim 34 wherein said step of generating a sequence of melody signals includes determining a numerically calculated sequence of random numbers with a spectral density of 1 divided by F.sup.n to establish a random sequence of melody signals.

36. An electronic game arrangement, comprising: a plurality of like electronic game units; each individual one of said plurality of game units including: communication means to enable said plurality of like electronic game units to transmit and receive data between one another for game playing purposes; master assertion means for generating randomly prior to game play a master request signal having a master time interval and for causing said communication means to transmit'said request signal to the other like game units; master slave means responsive to said request signal for setting a master flag after said master time interval if another master request signal from another like unit is not received and for setting a slave flag if another master request signal from another like unit is received; said master flag indicative that the unit is the master unit and said slave flag indicative that the unit is a slave unit; slave determination means responsive to said master flag for generating an arbitration signal to enable the master unit to determine the number of slave units available for game play; said arbitration Signal being transmitted to all slave units and being indicative of a unique address assignment for a single slave unit only; slave request means responsive to said arbitration signal for generating randomly prior to game play a slave request signal having a slave time interval; slave acknowledgement mean for accepting said address assignment and for causing said communication means to transmit an acknowledgement signal indicative that the transmitted address assignment has been assumed if another slave request signal is not received during said slave time interval and for rejecting said address assignment if another slave request signal is received during said slave time interval; said slave determination means responsive to said acknowledgement signal for generating another arbitration signal having another unique address assignment and for generating a game initialization signal when no acknowledgement signal is received to synchronize said plurality of like game units to enable simultaneous play; and user perceptible indication means for facilitating user recognition of game playing conditions.

37. An electronic game arrangement according to claim 36, wherein said communication means is wireless communication means.

38. An electronic game arrangement according to claim 36, wherein said communication means includes a single pair of electrical conductors.

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Abstract

Description