Storage medium having stored thereon program for adjusting pointing device, and pointing device

• US 8,674,937 B2
• Filed: 05/11/2011
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Aonuma, Eiji, Matsutani, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ketema, Benyam
• Application Number:
  US13/105,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20110210916A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 345/157, 463 43- 53
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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 13/22 Setup operations, e.g. calibration, key configuration or button assignment
• 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
• 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 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

A pointing device includes a controller for pointing a position on a display surface by imaging an imaging objective such as two markers positioned with a predetermined interval therebetween in a vicinity of the display surface of a monitor. With the pointing device, a width of the display surface and the interval between the markers are obtained to determine an appropriate distance between the controller and the monitor. Further, a current distance between the controller and the monitor (markers) is calculated. Relation between the current distance and the appropriate distance is notified by such as image display or sound output. For example, an image indicating the appropriate distance and an adjustment image varying in size in conjunction with the current distance are displayed on the monitor.

Claims

1. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a program which is executable by a computer, input data being one of data of an image of an imaging object obtained by an imaging unit and data obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the data of the obtained image, and information processing being performed using the input data to output to a display apparatus, the program upon execution by the computer causing the computer to:

obtain a width of a display surface of said display apparatus;

determine an appropriate distance between an input apparatus and said display apparatus according to the obtained width of said display surface;

calculate a current distance between said imaging unit and said imaging object based on said input data; and

generate a notification according to relation between said appropriate distance and said current distance.

2. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to:

generate said notification by one of outputting image display, outputting sound including at least one of a voice sound and a sound effect, and having said input apparatus vibrate, according to a difference between said current distance and said appropriate distance.

3. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to:

generate said notification by displaying, on said display apparatus, a reference image having a predetermined size and an adjustment image varying in size in conjunction with said current distance and becoming the same size as said reference image when said current distance is equal to said appropriate distance.

4. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

said imaging object is constituted by two markers positioned with a distance therebetween measured in a first scale,

the program upon execution by the computer further causes the computer to obtain said distance between the two markers either inputted by a user or previously stored, and

to obtain the width of the display surface, the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to:

measure a distance between said two markers in a second scale by varying an interval in the positioning direction between said two markers in an image displayed on said display surface, according to the input by the user; and

calculate the width of said display surface in said first scale based on a ratio between said obtained distance and the measured distance between said markers, as well as based on the width of said display surface in said second scale.

5. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 4, wherein the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to:

calculate said current distance using the distance between said two markers on said obtained image.

6. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

said imaging object is constituted by two markers positioned with a distance therebetween measured in a first scale,

the program upon execution by the computer further causes the computer to obtain said distance between the two markers either inputted by a user or previously stored, and

to obtain the width of the display surface, the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to:

measure a distance between said two markers in a second scale by varying an interval in the positioning direction between said two markers in an image displayed on said display surface, according to the input by the user; and

calculate the width of said display surface in said first scale based on a ratio between the measured distance between said markers and the width of said display surface in said second scale, as well as based on said obtained distance.

7. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 6, wherein the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to:

calculate said current distance using the distance between said two markers on said obtained image.

8. A non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

to obtain the width of the display surface, the program upon execution by the computer causes the computer to obtain the width, inputted by the user, of the display surface of said display apparatus.

9. A pointing device for obtaining input data, the input data being one of data of an image of an imaging object obtained by an imaging unit and data obtained by performing a predetermined operation on the data of the obtained image, and information processing being performed using the input data to output to a display apparatus, comprising:

a display surface width obtainer for obtaining a width of a display surface of said display apparatus;

an appropriate distance determiner for determining an appropriate distance between an input apparatus and said display apparatus according to the width of said display surface obtained by said display surface width obtainer;

a current distance calculator for calculating a current distance between said imaging unit and said imaging object based on said input data; and

a notifier for making a notification according to relation between said appropriate distance and said current distance.

10. A method comprising:

obtaining input data from an imaging unit for imaging an imaging object;

performing, by a computer system having one or more computers, information processing using the input data to generate an output to a display apparatus;

obtaining a width of a display surface of said display apparatus;

determining an appropriate distance between a controller and said display apparatus according to the obtained width of said display surface;

calculating a current distance between said imaging unit and said imaging object based on said input data; and

generating a notification according to relation between said appropriate distance and said current distance.

11. A system comprising:

an imaging element configured to obtain an image of an imaging object; and

a computer configured to;

receive input data;

perform information processing using the input data to generate an output to a display apparatus;

obtain a width of a display surface of said display apparatus;

determine an appropriate distance between a controller and said display apparatus according to the obtained width of said display surface;

calculate a current distance between said imaging element and said imaging object based on said input data; and

generate a notification according to a relation between said appropriate distance and said current distance.