Electronic apparatus

• US 10,015,402 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2015
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ogasawara, Yoshiyasu, Osawa, Kazuyoshi, Kawakami, Tomohisa, Kinuwaki, Shinichi, Inoue, Fumihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Henn, Timothy J
• Application Number:
  US14/842,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20160073033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,036 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/143 Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/113 Recognition of static hand signs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/51 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof

Abstract

An exemplary portable electronic apparatus includes a display provided at a front surface, and an infrared camera and a distance measuring sensor which are provided at a side surface. When a user holds the portable electronic apparatus with their left hand and makes a gesture with their right hand, the portable electronic apparatus analyzes an image from the infrared camera to detect the gesture made by the user. The portable electronic apparatus displays an image corresponding to a result of detection of the gesture on the display.

Claims

1. A hand-held electronic apparatus comprising:

an information processor;

a housing;

an input section of the apparatus which can be operated by a user;

a display provided at a front surface of the housing;

a camera configured to capture an image in a side surface direction of the housing;

an irradiation section which emits infrared light in a side surface direction of the housing at a predetermined time interval in synchronization with a timing at which an image is captured by the camera; and

a held portion of the housing to be held by a user, the held portion provided in the housing at a side opposite to the side of the housing used as an imaging direction for the camera;

wherein the input section can be operated by the user with their hand holding the held portion,

wherein the information processor is configured to function as;

an image acquirer to acquire and process an input image captured by the camera;

a detector to detect a specific object based upon the input image acquired by the image acquirer; and

a display controller to cause an output image corresponding to a result of detection by the detector to be displayed on the display,

wherein information processing is performed by the information processor based on the input image captured by the camera and a user operation performed on the input section,

wherein in a case where the specific object is detected based upon the input image, and when the user operation is performed on the input section, first information processing is performed, and

wherein in a case where the specific object is detected based upon the input image, and when the user operation is not performed on the input section, second information processing different from the first information processing is performed.

2. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector detects a gesture made by a user.

3. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the camera is provided at a side surface of the housing.

4. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector detects a gesture made with a hand of the user opposite to a hand of the user that holds the held portion.

5. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input section capable of being operated by the user at least with the hand holding the held portion is provided to the held portion.

6. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the input section is operated with a finger capable of being moved when the held portion is held.

7. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the input section comprises at least one push button.

8. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the housing has a rectangular shape, and the camera is provided at a short side of the housing.

9. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a game processor configured to perform game processing on the basis of the result of the detection by the detector, wherein the display controller causes an output image corresponding to a result of the game processing to be displayed on the display.

10. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the camera is a camera capable of receiving infrared light.

11. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a vibration controller configured to operate a vibrator for providing vibration to a user, in accordance with the result of the detection by the detector.

12. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector obtains position information of a specific object present in the side surface direction of the housing, and the display controller causes the output image to be displayed on the display on the basis of the position information.

13. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detector detects a gesture made by a user with the specific object, and obtains position information of the specific object present in the side surface direction of the housing, and the display controller causes the output image to be displayed on the display on the basis of the position information and the gesture.

14. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a touch panel is provided on the display.

15. The hand-held electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sound controller configured to cause a sound to be outputted in accordance with the result of the detection by the detector.

16. A hand-held electronic apparatus comprising:

a housing;

a display provided at a front surface of the housing;

a camera configured to capture an image in a side surface direction of the housing;

an irradiation section which emits infrared light in a side surface direction of the housing at a predetermined time interval in synchronization with a timing at which an image is captured by the camera,

a held portion of the housing to be held by a user, the held portion provided in the housing at a side opposite to the side of the housing used as an imaging direction for the camera;

an input section which can be operated by a user with their hand holding the held portion; and

a processor configured to;

detect a gesture made by a user'"'"'s hand based on the captured image;

perform a predetermined process in an application program; and

generate an output image to be displayed on the display, the output image corresponding to the detected gesture and the performed process,

wherein information processing is performed by the processor based on the input image captured by the camera and a user operation performed on the input section,

wherein in a case where the specific object is detected based on the input image, and when the user operation is performed on the input section, first information processing is performed, and

wherein in a case where the specific object is detected based on the input image, and when the user operation is not performed on the input section, second information processing different from the first information processing is performed.

17. A hand-held electronic apparatus comprising:

a housing including a first side, a second side opposite the first side, and a front surface;

the housing further including a holdable portion configured to be held by a hand of a user, the holdable portion of the housing provided at the second side of the housing opposite the first side,

at least one user-manipulable input device disposed on the housing, the at least one user-manipulable input device configured to be operated by the hand of the user while said hand holds the holdable portion,

a camera configured to capture, using an image capture timing, images in an imaging direction associated with the first side of the housing;

an infrared emitter which intermittently emits infrared light in the imaging direction associated with the first side of the housing, at a timing that is synchronized with the image capture timing used by the camera;

a display provided at the housing front surface; and

an information processor operatively coupled to the at least one user-manipulable input device, the camera, the display and the infrared emitter, the information processor configured to;

acquire images captured by the camera;

detect a specific object based upon acquired images;

detect whether or not a predetermined user operation is performed using the at least one user-manipulable input device;

perform first information processing upon detecting both (a) the specific object and (b) the predetermined user operation is performed, and

perform second information processing different from the first information processing upon detecting both (a) the specific object and (c) the predetermined user operation is not performed.