Indication position calculation system, indicator for indication position calculation system, game system, and indication position calculation method for user input in dynamic gaming systems

• US 8,290,214 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2008
• Issued: 10/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc.), Shang Hwang Industry Company Limited, Tatsuji Kumabayashi, Zeroplus Technology Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Namco Bandai Games Inc., Shang Hwang Industry Company Limited, Tatsuji Kumabayashi, Zeroplus Technology Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Tai, Shing Lung, Kuo, Chun Liang, Kumabayashi, Tatsuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Zarka, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Mia M
• Application Number:
  US12/068,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20080199047A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,708 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/106, 382/255, 382/276, 382/312, 382/313, 356/3, 463/32, 463/33, 463/34, 463/43
• US Class Current: 382/106
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/219 for aiming at specific areas on the display, e.g. light-guns
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/837 Shooting of targets
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1087 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. a camera
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8076 Shooting
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/2633 using a TV type screen, e.g. a CRT, displaying a simulated target
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/2661 in which the light beam is sent from the target to the weapon F41G3/2638 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/163 Determination of attitude using inertial means G01C9/00; control of attitude G05D1/49
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image

Abstract

When the user of a system directs an indicator toward a light-emitting section, an imaging section provided in the indicator acquires an image PA in a given area including the light-emitting section. A determination section determines whether or not each pixel individually satisfies a first condition based on light-reception information relating to each pixel of the image PA, and a calculation section calculates an indication position of the indicator based on the positions of effective pixels in the image using the effective pixels which satisfy the first condition as pixels corresponding to the light-emitting section. The calculation section calculates a representative value of the effective pixels based on identification information relating to the effective pixels while changing weighting on the identification information relating to the effective pixels depending on whether or not the effective pixels satisfy a second condition.

Claims

1. An indication position calculation system calculating an indication position of an indicator, the indication position calculation system comprising:

a light-emitting section;

an indicator including an imaging section which acquires an image and outputs light-reception information of a plurality of pixels of the acquired image;

a determination section which determines that each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition when a value of the light-reception information is larger than a first threshold value, and then determines that the primary effective pixel is a secondary effective pixel satisfying a second condition when the value of the light-reception information is also larger than a second threshold value which is larger than the first threshold value; and

a calculation section which performs position calculations based on identification information of the primary effective pixel,

wherein the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the secondary effective pixels larger than a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the primary effective pixels in calculation.

2. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 1,

wherein the calculation section sets a predetermined area of the image including the first effective pixel as a determination area, and performs the position calculations based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels included in the determination area.

3. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 2, comprising:

a plurality of the light-emitting sections having a predetermined positional relationship with each other,

wherein the calculation section sets a predetermined area of the image including the first effective pixel as a first determination area, sets another predetermined area of the image including a second effective pixel which has been primarily determined to satisfy the first condition among the pixels out of the first determination area as a second determination area, and then performs the position calculations based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels within the first determination area and the second determination area.

4. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a shielding section provided in the light-emitting section and shielding part of light from the light-emitting section emitted downward in a predetermined degrees of angle or less from the horizontal.

5. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 4,

wherein the shielding section is disposed at a position enabling the shielding section to shield part of the light from the light-emitting section emitted downward from the horizontal so that no reflected light from a lower space enters the imaging section when the light-emitting section and the imaging section have a given reference positional relationship.

6. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 1,

wherein the light-emitting section is directed in a direction so as to prevent light from the light-emitting section from being emitted downward from the horizontal so that no reflected light from a lower space enters the imaging section when the light-emitting section and the imaging section have a given reference positional relationship.

7. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a filter which is provided in the indicator and through which light in a wavelength band equal to that of light from the light-emitting section is allowed to pass toward the imaging section.

8. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 1, comprising:

a plurality of the light-emitting sections having a predetermined positional relationship with each other,

wherein the calculation section performs the position calculations based on a representative value corresponding to each of the light-emitting sections.

9. The indication position calculation system as defined in claim 1,

wherein the determination section determines that all pixels that are not primary effective pixels or secondary effective pixels are ineffective pixels.

10. An indicator for an indication position calculation system, the indicator comprising:

an imaging section which acquires an image of a light-emitting section and outputs light-reception information of a plurality of pixels of the acquired image;

a determination section which determines that each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition when a value of the light-reception information is larger than a first threshold value, and then determines that the primary effective pixel is a secondary effective pixel satisfying a second condition when the value of the light-reception information is also larger than a second threshold value which is larger than the first threshold value; and

a calculation section which performs position calculations based on identification information of the primary effective pixel,

wherein the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the secondary effective pixels larger than a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the primary effective pixels in calculation.

11. A game system calculating an indication position of an indicator, the game system comprising:

a display section which displays an object;

a light-emitting section which has a given positional relationship with the display section;

an indicator including an imaging section which acquires an image and outputs light-reception information of a plurality of pixels of the acquired image;

a determination section which determines that each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition when a value of the light-reception information is larger than a first threshold value and then determines that the primary effective pixel is a secondary effective pixel satisfying a second condition when the value of the light-reception information is also larger than a second threshold value which is larger than the first threshold value; and

a calculation section which performs position calculations based on identification information of the primary effective pixel,

wherein the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the secondary effective pixels larger than a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the primary effective pixels in calculation.

12. An indication position calculation method comprising:

causing an imaging section provided in an indicator to acquire an image of a light-emitting section and output light-reception information of a plurality of pixels of the acquired image;

causing a determination section to determine that each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition when a value of the light-reception information is larger than a first threshold value, and then determines that the primary effective pixel is a secondary effective pixel satisfying a second condition when the value of the light-reception information is also larger than a second threshold value which is larger than the first threshold value; and

causing a calculation section to perform position calculations based on identification information of the primary effective pixel,

wherein the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making a weighing coefficient for the identification information of the secondary effective pixels than a weighing coefficient on the identification information of the primary effective pixels in calculation.

13. An indication position calculation system calculating an indication position of an indicator, the indication position calculation system comprising:

a light-emitting section;

an indicator including an imaging section which acquires an image and successively outputs light-reception information of a plurality of pixels of the acquired image;

a determination section which determines whether or not each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition and then determines whether or not any of the pixels determined to be primary effective pixels are secondary effective pixels satisfying a second condition based on the light-reception information; and

a calculation section which performs position calculations based on identification information of the primary effective pixel in order to obtain an indication position of the indicator when light received by the primary and secondary effective pixels is included in light emitted from the light-emitting section, wherein the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making different weighing coefficients for the identification information of the primary effective pixels and the identification information of the secondary effective pixels in the calculation, and

one of the pixels having the light-reception information output first is disposed on a lower side of the image and another of the pixels having the light-reception information output last is disposed on an upper side of the image when the indicator is held in a reference position.

14. An indicator for an indication position calculation system, the indicator comprising:

an imaging section which acquires an image a light-emitting section and successively outputs light-reception information of pixels of the acquired image;

a determination section which determines whether or not each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition and then determines whether or not any of the pixels determined to be primary effective pixels are secondary effective pixels satisfying a second condition based on the light-reception information; and

a calculation section which performs position calculations based on the identification information of the primary effective pixel in order to obtain the indication position of the indicator when light received by the primary and secondary effective pixels is included in light emitted from the light-emitting section, wherein

the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making different weighing coefficients for the identification information of the primary effective pixels and the identification information of the secondary effective pixels in the calculation, and

one of the pixels having the light-reception information output first is disposed on a lower side of the image and another of the pixels having the light-reception information output last is disposed on an upper side of the image when the indicator is held in a reference position.

15. A game system calculating an indication position of an indicator, the game system comprising:

a display section which displays an object;

a light-emitting section which has a given positional relationship with the display section;

an indicator including an imaging section which acquires an image and successively outputs light-reception information of pixels of the acquired image;

a determination section which determines whether or not each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition and then determines whether or not any of the pixels determined to be primary effective pixels are secondary effective pixels satisfying a second condition based on the light-reception information; and

a calculation section which performs position calculations based on the identification information of the primary effective pixel in order to obtain the indication position of the indicator when light received by the primary and secondary effective pixels is included in light emitted from the light-emitting section, wherein

the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making different weighing coefficients for the identification information of the primary effective pixels and the identification information of the secondary effective pixels in the calculation, and

one of the pixels having the light-reception information output first is disposed on a lower side of the image and another of the pixels having the light-reception information output last is disposed on an upper side of the image when the indicator is held in a reference position.

16. An indication position calculation method comprising:

causing an imaging section provided in an indicator to acquire an image of a light-emitting section and successively output light-reception information of pixels of the acquired image;

causing a determination section to determine whether or not each of the pixels is a primary effective pixel satisfying a first condition and determine whether or not any of the pixels determined to be primary effective pixels are secondary effective pixels satisfying a second condition based on the light-reception information; and

causing a calculation section to perform position calculations based on identification information of the primary effective pixel in order to obtain the indication position of the indicator when light received by the primary and secondary effective pixels is included in light emitted from the light-emitting section, wherein

the calculation section calculates a representative value representing the primary and secondary effective pixels based on the identification information of the primary and secondary effective pixels and then performs the position calculations based on the representative value, while making different weighing coefficients for the identification information of the primary effective pixels and the identification information of the secondary effective pixels in the calculation, and

one of the pixels having the light-reception information output first is disposed on a lower side of the image and another of the pixels having the light-reception information output last is disposed on an upper side of the image when the indicator is held in a reference position.