Storage medium having input processing program stored thereon and input processing device

• US 20060082573A1
• Filed: 09/23/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ebisawa, Yasushi, Ajioka, Yoshitaka, Mizuki, Kiyoshi, Konno, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 8,619,025 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/419
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An input processing device comprises a display screen and a pointing device for inputting corresponding 2-dimensional coordinates on the display screen. A 3-dimensional space is displayed on the display screen and the 2-dimensional coordinates inputted from the pointing device are detected. Next, shift amounts, per unit of time, of the detected 2-dimensional coordinates are calculated based on a predetermined calculation start condition. And the calculated shift amounts are converted to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the 3-dimensional space.

Claims

1. A storage medium having stored thereon a program to be executed by a computer in an input processing device including a display screen and a pointing device for inputting corresponding 2-dimensional coordinates on the display screen, wherein

the computer is operable to execute:

a display control step for displaying a virtual 3-dimensional space on the display screen;

a 2-dimensional coordinate detection step for detecting the 2-dimensional coordinates inputted from the pointing device;

a 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation step for calculating shift amounts, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates detected in the 2-dimensional coordinate detection step, according to a predetermined calculation start condition; and

a 3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion step for converting the shift amounts calculated in the 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation step, to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the virtual 3-dimensional space.

2. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the computer is further operable to execute an input status determination step for determining an input status from the pointing device, and

in the2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation step, based on the calculation start condition that calculation starts when a status where an input from the pointing device is continuously being conducted is changed to a status where there is no input is determined in the input status determination step, the shift amounts, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates detected immediately before the status of no input in the 2-dimensional coordinate detection step are calculated.

3. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 2, wherein

in the display control step, a predetermined virtual projection plane is set in the virtual 3-dimensional space and when in the input status determination step, an input from the pointing device is determined as being continuously conducted, a predetermined object is displayed at a position where the 2-dimensional coordinates detected in the 2-dimesional coordinate detection step are projected on the virtual projection plane, and

when the conversion of the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts has been conducted in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion step, the object is lifted off the virtual projection plane, moved in the virtual 3-dimensional space, based on the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts, and displayed therein.

4. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 3, wherein

in the display control step, when in the input status determination step, an input from the pointing device is determined as being continuously conducted, a display angle of the object to be projected on the virtual projection plane is controlled based on the 2-dimensional coordinates detected in the 2-dimensional coordinate detection step.

5. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 3, wherein

the computer is further operable to execute a motion trajectory calculation step for calculating a motion trajectory, per unit of time, in the virtual 3-dimiensional space by setting the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts converted in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion step, as an initial motion vector of the object in the virtual 3-dimensional space, and

in the display control step, based on the motion trajectory calculated in the motion trajectory calculation step, the object is lifted off the virtual projection plane, moved in the virtual 3-dimensional space, and displayed therein.

6. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 5, wherein

in the display control step, when in the input status determination step, an input from the pointing device is determined as being continuously conducted, a display angle of the object to be projected on the virtual projection plane is controlled based on the 2-dimensional coordinates detected in the 2-dimensional coordinate detection step, and

in the motion trajectory calculation step, an initial normal vector of the object is set according to the display angle, and a motion trajectory, per unit of time, in the virtual 3-dimensional space is calculated based on the motion vector and the normal vector.

7. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 1, wherein

in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion step, based on the shift amounts of a first axis and a second axis, calculated in the 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation step, a shift amount of a third axis perpendicular to the first axis and the second axis is calculated.

8. The storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 7, wherein

in the3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion step, when the shift amounts of the first axis and the second axis calculated in the 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation step are vx and vy, respectively, and predetermined constants are a, b, c, d, e, and f, a shift amount Vx of the first axis, a shift amount Vy of the second axis, and a shift amount Vz of the third axis, which are represented as the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts, are calculated using

$\left(\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{Vx}\\ \mathrm{Vy}\\ \mathrm{Vz}\end{array}\right)=\left(\begin{array}{cc}a& b\\ c& d\\ e& f\end{array}\right)$

 

⁢

(vxvy).

9. The input processing program according to claim 8, wherein the constants a, b, c, d, e, and f respectively vary according to each kind of the objects.

10. A storage medium having stored thereon an input processing program executed by a computer in an input processing device, including a display screen and a pointing device for inputting corresponding 2-dimensional coordinates on the display screen, wherein

the computer is operable to execute:

a projection plane setting step for setting a virtual projection plane in the virtual 3-dimensional space;

a 2-dimensional coordinate detection step for detecting 2-dimensional coordinates inputted from the pointing device;

an on-projection-plane moving step for moving a predetermined object to a position on the virtual projection plane, corresponding to the 2-dimensional coordinates, by projecting on the virtual projection plane the 2-dimensional coordinates detected in the 2-dimensional coordinate detection step;

an in-3-dimensional-space moving step for moving the object in the virtual 3-dimensional space which is outside the virtual projection plane, according to a predetermined input condition; and

a display control step for displaying the object, on the display screen, which is moved in the on-projection-plane moving step and the in-3-dimensional-space moving step and represented in the virtual 3-dimensional space.

11. An input processing device, comprising:

a display screen;

a pointing device for inputting corresponding 2-dimensional coordinates on the display screen;

a display control means for displaying a virtual 3-dimensional space on the display screen;

a 2-dimensional coordinate detection means for detecting the 2-dimensional coordinates inputted from the pointing device;

a 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation means for calculating shift amounts, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates detected by the 2-dimensional coordinate detection means, according to a predetermined calculation start condition; and

a 3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion means for converting the shift amounts calculated by the 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation means, to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the virtual 3-dimensional space.

12. The input processing device according to claim 11, wherein the pointing device is a touch panel covering the display screen.

13. An input processing device, comprising:

a display screen for displaying a virtual 3-dimensional space;

a pointing device for inputting corresponding 2-dimensional coordinates on the display screen;

a projection plane setting means for setting a virtual projection plane in the virtual 3-dimensional space;

a 2-dimensional coordinate detection means for detecting the 2-dimensinal coordinates inputted from the pointing device;

an on-projection-plane moving means for moving a predetermined object to a position on the virtual projection plane corresponding to the 2-dimensional coordinates, by projecting on the virtual projection plane the 2-dimensional coordinates detected by the 2-dimensional coordinate detection means;

an in-3-dimensional-space moving means for moving the object in the virtual 3-dimensional space which is outside the virtual projection plane, according to a predetermined input condition; and

a display control means for displaying the object, on the display screen, which is moved in the on-projection-plane moving step and the in-3-dimensional-space moving step and represented in the virtual 3-dimensional space.

14. The input processing device according to claim 13, wherein the pointing device is a touch panel covering the display screen.