Three-dimensional object manipulating apparatus, method and computer program

• US 20040164956A1
• Filed: 02/24/2004
• Published: 08/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Miyashita, Ken, Yamaguchi, Kosuke
• Granted Patent: US 7,330,198 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2016 Rotation, translation, scaling

Abstract

When the user touches a display screen, a touch-operated input device (7) detects a coordinate of a user-touched point on the display screen and a touch-input conversion program is executed to determine an axis, direction and speed of rotation of a three-dimensional object (40) on the basis of the user-defined coordinate, and give the information to a three-dimensional rendering program. The three-dimensional rendering program is executed to make a calculation for rotating the three-dimensional object (40) on the basis of the given information. The axis, direction and speed of the three-directional object rotation are repeatedly calculated in a fixed cycle only while the coordinate is kept defined by the user by continuously touching the display screen. Upon completion of each calculation, the results of calculation are given to the three-dimensional rendering program. Therefore, each time the user defines another point while continuously touching the display screen, the results of calculation of the axis, direction and speed of rotation change and thus the rotation of the three-dimensional object is dynamically changed. The present invention thus permits the user to intuitively make an manipulation, that is, rotation, movement, scale up or down, of a three-dimensional object with the use of the touch-operated input device.

Claims

1. A three-dimensional object manipulating apparatus, comprising:

a display means for displaying a three-dimensional object on the screen of a display unit;

a coordinate detecting means for detecting a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch;

a determination means for determining an axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means; and

an object rotating means for rotating the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination supplied from the determination means.

2. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the determination means determines the axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a positional relation between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means and a central coordinate on the display screen.

3. The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the determination means further determines a rotating speed for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a distance between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means and a central coordinate on the display screen, and the object rotating means rotates the three-dimensional object at the determined speed.

4. The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the determination means determines an axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a positional relation between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means and the three-dimensional object on the display screen.

5. The apparatus as set forth in claim 4, wherein the determination means determines a rotating speed for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a distance between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means and barycentric coordinate of the three-dimensional object on the display screen, and the object rotating means rotates the three-dimensional object at the determined speed.

6. A three-dimensional object manipulating apparatus, comprising:

a display means for displaying a three-dimensional object on the screen of a display unit;

a coordinate detecting means for detecting a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch;

a determination means for determining a moving direction for the three-dimensional object in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means and barycentric coordinate of the three-dimensional object on the display screen; and

an object moving means for moving the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination supplied from the determination means.

7. The apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein the determination means determines a moving speed on the basis of a distance between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means and barycentric coordinate of the three-dimensional object on the display screen, and the object rotating means moves the three-dimensional object at the determined speed.

8. A three-dimensional object manipulating apparatus, comprising:

a display means for displaying a three-dimensional object on the screen of a display unit;

a coordinate detecting means for detecting a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch;

a determination means for determining whether the three-dimensional object is to be scaled up or down in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by the coordinate detecting means; and

an object scale-up/-down means for scaling up or down the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination supplied from the determination means.

9. A three-dimensional object manipulating method in which a display unit, data processor and a coordinate detector which detects a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch are used, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying, under control of the data processor, a three-dimensional object on the display screen;

determining, under control of the data processor, an axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector; and

rotating, under control of the data processor, the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination.

10. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the data processor determines the axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a positional relation between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector and a central coordinate on the display screen.

11. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the data processor further determines a rotating speed for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a distance between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector and a central coordinate on the display screen, and rotates the three-dimensional object at the determined speed.

12. The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the data processor determines an axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a positional relation between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector and the three-dimensional object on the display screen.

13. The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the data processor further determines a rotating speed for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a distance between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector and barycentric coordinate of the three-dimensional object on the display screen, and rotates the three-dimensional object at the determined speed.

14. A three-dimensional object manipulating method in which a display unit, data processor and a coordinate detector which detects a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch are used, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying, under control of the data processor, a three-dimensional object on the display screen;

determining, under control of the data processor, a moving direction for the three-dimensional object in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector; and

moving, under control of the data processor, the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination.

15. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein the data processor further determines a moving speed for the three-dimensional object on the basis of a distance between the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector and barycentric coordinate of the three-dimensional object on the display screen, and moves the three-dimensional object at the determined speed.

16. A three-dimensional object manipulating method in which a display unit, data processor and a coordinate detector which detects a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch are used, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying, under control of the data processor, a three-dimensional object on the display screen;

determining, under control of the data processor, whether the three-dimensional object is to be scaled up or down in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by the coordinate detector; and

scaling up or down, under control of the data processor, the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination.

17. A computer program allowing a computer to function as:

a display means for displaying a three-dimensional object on the screen of a display unit;

a determination means for determining an axis and direction of rotation for the three-dimensional object in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by a coordinate detecting means for detecting a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch; and

an object rotating means for rotating the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination supplied from the determination means.

18. A computer program allowing a computer to function as:

a display means for displaying a three-dimensional object on the screen of a display unit;

a determination means for determining a moving direction for the three-dimensional object in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by a coordinate detecting means for detecting a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch and barycentric coordinate of the three-dimensional object on the display screen; and

an object moving means for moving the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination supplied from the determination means.

19. A computer program allowing a computer to function as:

a display means for displaying a three-dimensional object on the screen of a display unit;

a determination means for determining whether the three-dimensional object is to be scaled up or down in a predetermined cycle on the basis of the coordinate detected by a coordinate detecting means for detecting a coordinate defined on the display screen by a user'"'"'s touch; and

an object scale-up/-down means for scaling up or down the three-dimensional object on the basis of the result of determination supplied from the determination means.