Process execution apparatus, process execution method and process execution program

• US 20060287770A1
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamada, Tomohiro, Ishihara, Atsushi, Chosokabe, Yoshihiro, Ohguchi, Nobuhiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,720,571 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/26 for automatically producing a series of tones
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/026 for games, e.g. videogames
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing

Abstract

A process execution apparatus and method is disclosed by which a process can be executed significantly simply and readily. The process execution apparatus includes a direction recognition section for recognizing a housing member shaking direction in which a housing member is shaken, and a process execution section for executing a process in response to the housing member shaking direction recognized by the direction recognition section. The direction recognition section recognizes the housing member shaking direction with respect to a direction of the gravity detected when the housing member is held by a person.

Claims

1. A process execution apparatus, comprising:

a direction recognition section configured to recognize a housing member shaking direction in which a housing member is shaken; and

a process execution section configured to execute a process in response to the housing member shaking direction recognized by said direction recognition section;

said direction recognition section recognizing the housing member shaking direction with respect to a direction of the gravity detected.

2. The process execution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said direction recognition section includes an acceleration detection section configured to detect an acceleration value applied to said housing member, a gravity direction detection section configured to detect the direction of the gravity acting upon said housing member when the acceleration value detected by said acceleration detection section is outside a predetermined range, and an angle detection section for detecting the angle of the housing member shaking direction with respect to the direction of the gravity detected by said gravity direction detection section, and said process execution section executes a process in response to the angle detected by said angle detection section.

3. The process execution apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a supporting section configured to support said housing member, said acceleration detection section detecting a gravity acceleration value in a horizontal direction which is a horizontal direction when said housing member is supported through said supporting section, said gravity direction detection section detecting the direction of the gravity acting upon said housing member when the gravity acceleration value in the horizontal direction detected by said acceleration detection section is outside a predetermined range.

4. The process execution apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said process execution section executes a reproduction control process of music data stored in a storage section.

5. The process execution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a contact detection section configured to detect a contacting operation of a user with said contact detection section from the outside, said process execution section executing no process when no input from the user is detected by said contact detection section.

6. The process execution apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a contact detection section configured to detect a contacting operation of a user with said contact detection section from the outside, said processing execution section executing a process when an input from the user is detected by said contact detection section.

7. A process execution method for a process execution apparatus, comprising the steps of:

recognizing a housing member shaking direction in which a housing member of said process execution apparatus is shaken with respect to a direction of the gravity detected while said housing member is held by a user; and

executing a process in response to the housing member shaking direction recognized at the direction recognition step.

8. The process execution method according to claim 7, wherein the direction recognition step comprises the steps of:

detecting an acceleration value applied to said housing member;

detecting the direction of the gravity acting upon said housing member when the acceleration value detected at the acceleration detection step is outside a predetermined range; and

detecting the angle of the housing member shaking direction with respect to the direction of the gravity detected at the gravity direction detection step, and

wherein the process execution step executes a process in response to the angle detected at the angle detection step.

9. The process execution method according to claim 8, wherein the acceleration detection step detects a gravity acceleration value in a horizontal direction which is a horizontal direction when said housing member is supported through a supporting section which is provided for supporting said housing, and the gravity direction detection step detects the direction of the gravity acting upon said housing member when the gravity acceleration value in the horizontal direction detected at the acceleration detection step is outside a predetermined range.

10. The process execution method according to claim 7, wherein the process execution step executes a reproduction control process of music data stored in a storage section.

11. The process execution method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of detecting a contacting operation of a user with said process execution apparatus from the outside, the process execution step executing no process when no input from the user is detected by the contact detection step.

12. The process execution method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of detecting a contacting operation of a user with said process execution apparatus from the outside, the process execution step executing a process when an input from the user is detected by the contact detection step.

13. A recording medium on or in which a process execution program to be executed by a computer is recorded, the process execution program comprising the steps of:

recognizing a housing member shaking direction in which a housing member of said process execution apparatus is shaken with respect to a direction of the gravity detected while said housing member is held by a user; and

executing a process in response to the housing member shaking direction recognized at the direction recognition step.