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

• US 8,619,025 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2005
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Konno, Hideki, Ajioka, Yoshitaka, Ebisawa, Yasushi, Mizuki, Kiyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhou, Hong
• Application Number:
  US11/232,998
• Publication Number:
  US 20060082573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,021 Days
• Field of Search: 345/419, 345/6, 345/427, 345156-184, 463 30- 34, 715/757, 715/782, 715/836, 715848-852
• US Class Current: 345/157
• 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 non-transitory 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 in 2-dimensions 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; 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,

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, and

wherein in the 3-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

2. The input processing program according to claim 1, wherein the constants a, b, c, d, e, and f respectively vary according to different kinds of predetermined objects in the virtual 3-dimensional space and displayed on the display screen.

3. The non-transitory 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

the 2-dimensional coordinate shift amount calculation step starts when the input status determination step determines that a status changes of the input from the pointing device, the calculation steps continues while the input from the pointing device is continuously being received and ends when the input is changed to a status where there is no input as determined in the input status determination step,

wherein 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.

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

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-dimensional 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 predetermined 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.

5. The non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 4,

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.

6. The non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 4,

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-dimensional 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.

7. The non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon the input processing program according to claim 6, 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.

8. An input processing device, comprising:

a display screen;

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

a display controller configured to display in two-dimensions 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 along a first axis direction and along a second axis, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates detected by the 2-dimensional coordinate detection means; and

a 3-dimensional coordinate shift amount conversion means for converting the calculated shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the virtual 3-dimensional space, wherein in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts are based on the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis, and

wherein in the 3-dimensional coordinate conversion means apply the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis as vx and vy, respectively, and predetermined constants are a, b, c, d, e, and f, to determine a shift amount Vx of the first axis, a shift amount Vy of the second axis, and a shift amount Vz of a third axis, which are represented as the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts, are calculated using

9. The input processing device according to claim 8 wherein the pointing device is a touch panel covering the display screen.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the computer is further configured to move a virtual object in the 3-dimensional space corresponding to the shift amounts Vx, Vy and Vz.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the instructions further cause the system to move a virtual object in the 3-dimensional space corresponding to the shift amounts Vx, Vy and Vz.

12. A system comprising:

a display screen;

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

a computer configured to;

display in two-dimensions a virtual 3-dimensional space on the display screen;

receive data from the pointing device and detect the 2-dimensional coordinates inputted from the pointing device;

calculate shift amounts along a first axis direction and along a second axis, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates; and

convert the calculated shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the virtual 3-dimensional space, wherein in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts are based on the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis, and

apply the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis as vx and vy, respectively, and apply predetermined constants a, b, c, d, e, and f, to determine a shift amount Vx of the first axis, a shift amount Vy of the second axis, and a shift amount Vz of a third axis, which are represented as the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts, are calculated using

13. A system comprising:

a display device;

a pointing device for inputting 2-dimensional coordinates corresponding to an image presented by the display device;

a computer including a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions which when executed by the computer cause the system to;

display in two-dimensions a virtual 3-dimensional space using the display;

receive data from the pointing device and detect the 2-dimensional coordinates inputted from the pointing device;

calculate shift amounts along a first axis direction and along a second axis, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates; and

convert the calculated shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the virtual 3-dimensional space, wherein in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts are based on the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis, and

apply the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis as vx and vy, respectively, and apply predetermined constants a, b, c, d, e, and f, to determine a shift amount Vx of the first axis, a shift amount Vy of the second axis, and a shift amount Vz of a third axis, which are represented as the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts, are calculated using

14. A method using a pointing device and a computer, the method comprising:

receiving from the pointing device inputted 2-dimensional coordinates corresponding to positions in a 2-dimensional image presented by on a the display screen;

calculating by the computer of shift amounts along a first axis direction and along a second axis, per unit of time, of the 2-dimensional coordinates; and

converting by the computer the calculated shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis to 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts in the virtual 3-dimensional space, wherein in the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts are based on the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis, and

applying by the computer the shift amounts along the first axis and the second axis as vx and vy, respectively, and apply predetermined constants a, b, c, d, e, and f, to determine a shift amount Vx of the first axis, a shift amount Vy of the second axis, and a shift amount Vz of a third axis, which are represented as the 3-dimensional coordinate shift amounts, are calculated using

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising moving by the computer a virtual object in the 3-dimensional space corresponding to the shift amounts Vx, Vy and Vz.