GAME APPARATUS AND STORAGE MEDIUM STORING A HANDWRITING INPUT PROGRAM

• US 20110190053A1
• Filed: 03/10/2011
• Published: 08/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ito, Jun, Kawamoto, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,306,330 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/31
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• 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 13/80 Special adaptations for executing a specific game genre or game mode
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/0418 with a grid, e.g. 'Sudoku'-type games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1423 the instrument generating sequences of position coordinates corresponding to handwriting preprocessing or recognising digital ink G06V30/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/36 Matching; Classification

Abstract

A method to detect answers and notes inputted a game apparatus including: receiving user input data and determining the received user input data to be an answer character based on a characteristic of the user input data; displaying on the display the answer character contemporaneously with the determination of the received user data is the answer character; making a game determination based on the answer character; displaying a result of the game determination; determining the received user input data to be a note character based on the characteristic of the user input data; displaying the note character contemporaneously with the determination that the user input data is the note character; settling the note character as an answer character based on a user input made after the note character is displayed, and displaying the answer character determined from settling the note character.

Claims

1. A game apparatus for playing a game to fill in cells with characters, comprising:

an answer character input means receiving an inputted an answer character;

an answer character display means for displaying the answer character when the answer character is input by said answer character input device;

a game determination means for performing a game determination on the basis of said answer character;

a result display means for displaying a result of the game determination by said game determination means;

a note character input means receiving an inputted note character;

a note character display means for displaying the note character input by said note character input means; and

a settling means for settling said note character as said answer character.

2. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said note character input means receives a plurality of note characters, and said note character display means simultaneously displays said plurality of note characters.

3. A game apparatus according to claim 1 wherein:

said answer character input means and said note character input means each include;

a handwriting input means having a defined handwriting region,

a locus storing means for storing a locus of a handwritten input by said handwriting input means,

a character recognition means for recognizing the handwritten character according to said locus, and

a size determination means for determining whether a size of the handwritten character is above a predetermined size based on said locus, wherein said answer character input means, according to an affirmative determination of said size determination means, and said note character input means, according to a negative determination of said size determination means, adopt the character recognized by said character recognition means as said answer character and said note character, respectively.

4. A game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said locus storing means stores a locus for each stroke, and said locus storing means further comprises a stroke counter for counting a number of strokes, wherein said character recognition means recognizes a handwritten character based on both the loci of a previous stroke and the loci of a current stroke when a count value of said stroke counter is not a predetermined value.

5. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said note character display means displays said note character in a handwritten position of the previous stroke when said size determination means makes a negative determination as to the handwritten character of the current stroke.

6. A game apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said character recognition means recognizes the handwritten character based on the current stroke when the count value of said stroke counter is at said predetermined value.

7. A non-transitory storage medium storing a handwriting input program for a computer apparatus including a display, a non-transitory storage device, and a handwriting input device, said program causes a computer of the computer apparatus to execute the following steps:

a handwriting inputting step which stores a locus of a handwritten input made with the handwriting input device in said storage device;

a locus region specifying step which specifies a locus region corresponding to the stored locus, wherein the locus region is within a handwritten input region stored in said storage device;

a character recognizing step which performs a character recognition process on the locus of the handwritten input stored in said storage device; and

a recognition result displaying step which displays a result of said character recognition process, wherein said result is displayed in a size corresponding to the size of the locus region and in a position corresponding to said locus region on said display.

8. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 7 wherein said recognition result displaying step further includes a character display size determining step for determining a display size of said recognition result in correspondence to the size of the locus region specified by said locus region specifying step, and a character display position determining step for determining a display position of said character recognition result in correspondence to the position of the locus region specified by said locus region specifying step.

9. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 8, wherein said character display size determining step determines said display size depending on whether or not a central point of the locus region specified by said locus region specifying step is included in a predetermined region of said handwritten input region stored in said storage means in advance, and whether or not the locus region has a predetermined size.

10. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 8, wherein said display position determining step determines that the central point of said locus region corresponds to one of said plurality of display positions of said recognition result stored in said storage device, and displays the recognition result in said corresponding display position.

11. A game apparatus for playing a game including at least one processor, a display, a non-transitory memory storing data and an executable program, and a data input device, wherein the executable program causes the processor to:

receive answer data inputted using the data input device and determine the received answer data to be an answer character based on the answer data as received;

display on the display the answer character contemporaneously with the determination of the received answer data being the answer character;

make a game determination based on the answer character;

display a result of the game determination;

receive note data inputted using the data input device and determine the received note data to be a note character based on the note data as received;

display the note character contemporaneously with the determination of the received note data to be the note character;

settle the note character as an answer character based on an input designating the displayed note character to be an answer character, and

displaying the answer character determined from settling the note character.

12. The game apparatus of claim 11 wherein the reception of the note data is repeated and a plurality of note characters are displayed each corresponding to one of the received note data.

13. The game apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the data input device includes a hand held input device, wherein the answer data and answer data are input as handwritten characters using the hand held input device, and the executable program causes the processor to:

store a locus of a handwritten character inputted by the hand held input device;

recognize the handwritten character based on the locus;

determine the recognized handwritten character to be the answer character if a size of the recognized handwritten character is greater than a predetermined size;

the determination of the received answer day include determining the recognized handwritten character to be the answer character if a size of the recognized handwritten character is greater than a predetermined size, and

the determination of the received note data includes determining the recognized handwritten character to be the note character if a size of the recognized handwritten character is smaller than the predetermined size.

14. The game apparatus of claim 13 wherein the storing a locus of a handwritten character includes:

storing a locus for each stroke made with the hand held input device to form the handwritten character,

counting the strokes, and

the recognition of the handwritten character is based on the loci of a previous stroke and a current stroke, when the current count is not a predetermined count value.

15. The game apparatus according to claim 14 the recognition of the handwritten character to be the note character includes displaying a prior stroke.

16. The game apparatus according to claim 14 wherein the recognition of the handwritten character is based on the current stroke when the count is at the predetermined value.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a handwriting input program causing a computer of the handwriting input device to execute following steps:

receive answer data from a data input device and determine the received answer data to be an answer character contemporaneously with when the answer data is received;

display on a display the answer character contemporaneously with the determination of the received answer data being an answer character;

make a game determination based on the answer character;

display a result of the game determination;

receive note data from the data input device and determine the received note data to be a note character;

display the note character contemporaneously with the determination of the received note data to be a note character;

settling the note character as an answer character based on an input designating the displayed note character as an answer character, and

displaying the answer character determined from settling the note character.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the reception of the note data is repeated, and a plurality of note characters are displayed each corresponding the received note data.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the data input device and the executable program causes the computer to:

store a locus of a handwritten character inputted by the hand held input device;

recognize the handwritten character based on the locus;

determine the recognized handwritten character to be the answer character if a size of the recognized handwritten character is greater than a predetermined size;

the determination of the received answer day include determining the recognized handwritten character to be the answer character if a size of the recognized handwritten character is greater than a predetermined size, and

the determination of the received note data includes determining the recognized handwritten character to be the note character if a size of the recognized handwritten character is smaller than the predetermined size.

20. The game apparatus of claim 19 wherein the storing a locus of a handwritten character includes:

storing a locus for each stroke made with the hand held input device to form the handwritten character,

counting the strokes, and

the recognition of the handwritten character is based on the loci of a previous stroke and a current stroke, when the current count is not a predetermined count value.

21. The game apparatus according to claim 20 the recognition of the handwritten character to be the note character includes displaying a prior stroke.

22. The game apparatus according to claim 19 wherein the recognition of the handwritten character is based on the current stroke when the count is at the predetermined value.

23. A method to detect and process answers and notes inputted as user input data to a game apparatus having a processor and a display, the method comprising:

receiving user input data and determining the received user input data to be an answer character based on a characteristic of the user input data;

displaying on the display the answer character contemporaneously with the determination of the received user data is the answer character;

making a game determination based on the answer character;

displaying a result of the game determination;

determining the received user input data to be a note character based on the characteristic of the user input data;

displaying the note character contemporaneously with the determination that the user input data is the note character;

settling the note character as an answer character based on a user input made after the note character is displayed, and

displaying the answer character determined from settling the note character.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the determination that the user input data is to be the answer character includes determining if an input stroke of the user input data is greater than a predetermined stroke size.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the storing a locus of a handwritten character includes:

storing a locus for each stroke made with the hand held input device to form the handwritten character,

counting the strokes, and

the recognition of the handwritten character is based on the loci of a previous stroke and a current stroke, when the current count is not a predetermined count value.

26. The game apparatus according to claim 25 the recognition of the handwritten character to be the note character includes displaying a prior stroke.

27. The game apparatus according to claim 25 wherein the recognition of the handwritten character is based on the current stroke when the count is at the predetermined value.