INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM RECORDING INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM

• US 20100097309A1
• Filed: 01/13/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: NISHIDA, Kenichi, Sakaguchi, Tsubasa
• Granted Patent: US 8,502,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/219 for aiming at specific areas on the display, e.g. light-guns
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/32 Remote control based on movements, attitude of remote control device

Abstract

Motion information is obtained which is information about a motion applied to an input device housing itself including a pointing device of a plurality of input mean. Next, based on the motion information, a movement amount of the input device housing is calculated. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the movement amount satisfies predetermined conditions. When the predetermined conditions are satisfied, a position is designated based on an output from the pointing device.

Claims

1. A computer-readable recording medium recording an information processing program executable by a computer of an information processing apparatus for designating a position on a screen based on outputs of a plurality of input means including at least one pointing device, the program causing the computer to function as:

an motion information obtaining means for obtaining motion information that is information about a motion applied to a first input device housing itself including the pointing device;

a movement amount calculating means for calculating a movement amount of the first input device housing based on the motion information;

a threshold determining means for determining whether or not the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

a first position designating means for designating a position based on an output from the pointing device when the threshold determining means determines that the movement amount exceeds the predetermined threshold.

2. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the first input device housing further includes a non-pointing device that is an input means that is not a pointing device, of the plurality of input means, and

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a determination means for determining whether or not an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when position designation is being performed by the first position designating means; and

a second position designating means for designating a position based on an output from the non-pointing device when the determination means determines that an input to the non-pointing device has occurred.

3. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

a non-pointing device that is an input means that is not a pointing device, of the plurality of input means, is included in a second input device housing, and

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a determination means for determining whether or not an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when position designation is being performed by the first position designating means; and

a second position designating means for performing position designation based on an output from the non-pointing device when the determination means determines that an input to the non-pointing device has occurred.

4. A computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a switching means for switching a position designation mode between a first position designation mode in which position destination is performed using the first position designating means and a second position designation mode in which position designation is performed based on an output from a non-pointing device that is an input means that is not a pointing device, and

the switching means switches the position designation mode to the first position designation mode if the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold when the position designation mode is the second position designation mode, and switches the position designation mode to the second position designation mode if an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when the position designation mode is the first position designation mode.

5. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 4, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a no-input period measuring means for measuring a period of time during which it is determined that there is not an input to the non-pointing device when the position designation mode is the second position designation mode, and

the switching means switches the position designation mode to the first position designation mode when the period of time measured by the no-input period measuring means exceeds a predetermined value.

6. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the first input device housing includes a motion sensor for detecting a motion applied to the first input device housing itself, and

the motion information obtaining means obtains data output from the motion sensor as the motion information.

7. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the motion information obtaining means repeatedly obtains data indicating a position designated by the pointing device, as the motion information, and

the movement amount calculating means calculates the movement amount based on a change amount of the designated positions of the pointing device.

8. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

an accumulation means for accumulating the movement amounts calculated by the movement amount calculating means, and

the threshold determining means determines whether or not the cumulative value of the accumulation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

9. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 8, wherein

the accumulation means accumulates the movement amounts for a predetermined period of time until a current time.

10. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 8, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a cumulative value resetting means for resetting the cumulative value when an input has occurred with respect to an input means other than the pointing device.

11. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a movement change amount calculating means for calculating a change amount of the movement amounts calculated by the movement amount calculating means, and

the threshold determining means determines whether or not the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculating means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

12. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 11, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a change amount accumulating means for accumulating the change amounts calculated by the movement change amount calculating means, and

the threshold determining means determines whether or not the cumulative change amount of the change amount accumulating means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

13. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12, wherein

the change amount accumulating means accumulates the change amounts for a predetermined period of time until a current time.

14. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 12, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a cumulative value resetting means for resetting the cumulative change amount when an input has occurred with respect to an input means other than the pointing device.

15. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 1, wherein

the first input device housing includes an image capturing means for capturing an image of at least one object whose image to be captured and which is located in a vicinity of a display device,

the first position designating means includes:

a captured image data obtaining means for obtaining captured image data output from the first input device housing including the image capturing means, and

the first position designating means designates a position based on an object whose image to be captured is shown in a captured image indicated by the captured image data.

16. A computer-readable recording medium recording an information processing program executable by a computer of an information processing apparatus for selecting one of a plurality of objects displayed on a screen, the program causing the computer to function as:

an motion information obtaining means for obtaining motion information that is information about a motion applied to a predetermined input device housing itself used for an operation of selecting the objects; and

a selection mode switching means for switching a selection mode based on the motion information, between a pointing selection mode and a key selection mode, the pointing selection mode being a selection mode in which any position on the screen can be designated, and any of the objects displayed on the screen can be selected by designating a position where the object is displayed, and the key selection mode being a selection mode in which setting of a focused state Indicating a selected state is changed among the objects displayed on the screen in a predetermined order, depending on a predetermined key input.

17. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a first determination means for determining whether or not the predetermined key input has been performed when the selection mode is the pointing selection mode; and

a movement amount calculating means for calculating a movement amount of the input device itself based on the motion information when the selection mode is the key selection mode, and

the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the key selection mode when the first determination means determines that the key input has been performed, and switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculating means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

18. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein

the input device housing includes a motion sensor for detecting a motion applied to the input device housing itself, and

the motion information obtaining means obtains data output from the motion sensor as the motion information.

19. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

an accumulation means for accumulating the movement amounts calculated by the movement change amount calculating means, and

the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the cumulative value of the accumulation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

20. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein

the accumulation means accumulates the movement amounts for a predetermined period of time until a current time.

21. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 19, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a cumulative value resetting means for resetting the cumulative value when the first determination means determines that the predetermined key input has been performed.

22. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 16, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a movement change amount calculating means for calculating a change amount of the movement amounts calculated by the movement amount calculating means, and

the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculating means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

23. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 22, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a change amount accumulating means for accumulating the change amounts calculated by the movement change amount calculating means, and

the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the cumulative change amount of the change amount accumulating means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

24. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 23, wherein

the change amount accumulating means accumulates the change amounts for a predetermined period of time until a current time.

25. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 23, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a cumulative value resetting means for resetting the cumulative change amount when an input has occurred with respect to an input means other than the pointing device.

26. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 17, wherein

the information processing program causes the computer to further function as:

a no-input period measuring means for measuring a period of time during which it is determined that the key input is not being performed when the selection mode is the key selection mode, and

the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the period of time measured by the no-input period measuring means exceeds a predetermined value.

27. An information processing apparatus for designating a position on a screen based on outputs of a plurality of input means including at least one pointing device, comprising:

an motion information obtaining means for obtaining motion information that is information about a motion applied to a first input device housing itself including the pointing device;

a movement amount calculating means for calculating a movement amount of the first input device housing based on the motion information;

a threshold determining means for determining whether or not the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

a first position designating means for designating a position based on an output from the pointing device when the threshold determining means determines that the movement amount exceeds the predetermined threshold.

28. An information processing apparatus for selecting one of a plurality of objects displayed on a screen, comprising:

an motion information obtaining means for obtaining motion information that is information about a motion applied to a predetermined input device housing itself used for an operation of selecting the objects; and

a selection mode switching means for switching a selection mode based on the motion information, between a pointing selection mode and a key selection mode, the pointing selection mode being a selection mode in which any position on the screen can be designated, and any of the objects displayed on the screen can be selected by designating a position where the object is displayed, and the key selection mode being a selection mode in which setting of a focused state indicating a selected state is changed among the objects displayed on the screen in a predetermined order, depending on a predetermined key input.