Method and system for location based game services for wireless devices

Abstract

A virtual gaming device ( 101 ) can include a transceiver ( 102 ) for wireless communication, a global positioning receiver ( 104 ) or other wireless positioning device coupled to the transceiver, a display ( 106 ), and a processor ( 114 ). The processor can be programmed to store a map of a game course including a plurality of locations for fixed game elements such as race course waypoints, mark ( 502 ) positions or time of a competitive article as it is being played relative to the map, and transmit ( 506 ) and receive information derived from the marked positions to and from a selected number of wireless devices. The stored information about the marked positions or times of the competitive article and the map is used to render ( 504 ) an image on the display representing a player in a position facing a heading based on a subsequently stored location of the marked position or time of the competitive article.

1 . A wireless communication device, comprising: 
 a transceiver for wireless communication among a plurality of devices;    a satellite position receiver or other wireless positioning device coupled to the transceiver;    a display; and    a processor coupled to the transceiver, the wireless positioning device or satellite position receiver, and the display, wherein the processor is programmed to: 
 store a map of a game course;  
 mark positions relative to the game course; and  
 transmit and receive information derived from the marked positions to and from a selected number of devices among the plurality of devices.  
   
   
   
       2 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the satellite position receiver is a global positioning satellite receiver and the transceiver is a cellular wireless transceiver.  
   
   
       3 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the map of the game course is a map of a predetermined golf course and the positions marked relative to the game course are marked positions for a golf ball location being played.  
   
   
       4 . The wireless communication device of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further programmed to use the stored information about the golf ball location and game course to render a perspective image on the display that represents a golfer in a position facing a heading based on a subsequently stored location of the golf ball location.  
   
   
       5 . The wireless communication device of  claim 4 , wherein the processor is further programmed to animate a golf swing followed by the golf ball traveling on an appropriate trajectory to land at an actual recorded destination.  
   
   
       6 . The wireless communication device of  claim 5 , wherein the processor animates the golf swing at either a conclusion of each golf swing and marking of the golf location or on demand as a replay of the golf swing.  
   
   
       7 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor transmits shot information as it is recorded to the selected number of devices among the plurality of devices players participating in a virtual game, enabling the selected number of devices to receive the shot information and render a played shot in substantially real-time or on demand.  
   
   
       8 . The Wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication device is further programmed to record and store a time that is either absolute or an interval from a previously recorded time along with a position reached at the time recorded.  
   
   
       9 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is programmed to maintain a virtual tournament among users of the wireless communication device and the selected number of devices among the plurality of devices.  
   
   
       10 . The wireless communication device of  claim 9 , wherein the display can render a scoreboard or a leader board based on a progress of users among the wireless communication device and the selected number of devices among the plurality of devices.  
   
   
       11 . The wireless communication device of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is programmed to maintain scores for each participant in the virtual tournament and can be programmed to perform the function of maintaining among league statistics, season statistics, and rankings.  
   
   
       12 . The wireless communication device of  claim 11 , wherein the wireless communication device notifies the user when a ranking has changed.  
   
   
       13 . The wireless communication device of  claim 5 , wherein the processor enables a variety of playback options based on stored shot locations among player, course, hole, perspective, and speed.  
   
   
       14 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein processor is further programmed to prohibit among distance calculation and other golfing advice when the wireless communication device receives a predetermined signal over-the-air.  
   
   
       15 . The wireless communication device of  claim 9 , wherein the virtual tournament provides a variety of competition options that relies on previously stored data among the options of randomly selecting from all of the same type (e.g. tee, fairway, sand, green, etc.) of shots stored for each hole and rendering them in sequence until it results in the ball in the hole and selecting the best stored shot of the appropriate type and rendering them in sequence until it results in the ball in the hole, where in each instance a score is tallied and the process is repeated for each subsequent hole.  
   
   
       16 . A virtual golf gaming device, comprising: 
 a transceiver for wireless communication among a plurality of wireless devices;    a global positioning receiver or a wireless positioning device coupled to the transceiver;    a display; and    a processor coupled to the transceiver, the wireless positioning device or the global positioning receiver, and the display, wherein the processor is programmed to: 
 store a map of at least one golf course including a plurality of locations for golf tees and golf holes;  
 mark positions of a golf ball as it is being played relative to the map of the at least one golf course using the global positioning receiver or the wireless positioning device; and  
 transmit and receive information derived from the marked positions to and from a selected number of wireless devices among the plurality of wireless devices.  
   
   
   
       17 . The virtual golf gaming device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is further programmed to use stored information about the marked positions of the golf ball and the map of the at least one golf course to render a perspective image on the display that represents a golfer in a position facing a heading based on a subsequently stored location the marked position of the golf ball.  
   
   
       18 . The virtual golf gaming device of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of the locations for golf tees and golf holes are pre-stored as part of the map or updated over-the-air as an update to the map.  
   
   
       19 . The wireless communication device of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is programmed to maintain a virtual tournament among users of the virtual golf gaming device and the selected number of wireless devices among the plurality of wireless devices.  
   
   
       20 . A machine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of: 
 selectively mark and store positions of a competitive article relative to a stored map of a game course in a wireless device as the competitive article is being played;    selectively display animations of a competitor corresponding to the selectively marked and stored positions of the competitive article; and    transmit information derived from the selectively marked and stored positions to a selected plurality of wireless devices from the wireless device.