Information processing device, display control method, a program, and an information storage medium

• US 8,983,777 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2011
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kaido, Kenji, Nishina, Eiichi, Konno, Shohei, Hasekura, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kan, Yuri
• Application Number:
  US13/807,776
• Publication Number:
  US 20130103310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: 701/32.4, 701/428, 701/519, 701/420, 711/103, 342/357.4, 342/357.47, 455/456.1
• US Class Current: 701/519
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/216 using geographical information, e.g. location of the game device or player using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/352 involving special game server arrangements, e.g. regional servers connected to a national server or a plurality of servers managing partitions of the game world
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/795 for finding other players; for building a team; for providing a buddy list
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/798 for assessing skills or for ranking players, e.g. for generating a hall of fame computing the game score A63F13/46
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/205 for detecting the geographical location of the game platform
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/2746 Sorting, e.g. according to history or frequency of use
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/27475 using interactive graphical means or pictorial representations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

Provided is an information processing device that provides a user with a trajectory of positions calculated by positioning unit in a user-friendly way without displaying a map. The device includes a positioning section (60) repeatedly calculates a position, a position coordinate storage section (62) that stores a plurality of positions calculated by the positioning section, and an other-user information providing section (70) that displays letter strings indicating the positions stored in the position coordinate storage section (62) in an order that the positions are calculated. The positioning section (60) stores, in a case where a newly calculated position is at a given distance or more from the position last stored in the position coordinate storage section (62), the newly calculated position into the position coordinate storage section (62).

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising:

a positioning section configured to repeatedly calculates a position;

a position storage section configured to store a plurality of positions calculated by the positioning section;

a storing section configured to store, in a case where a position newly calculated by the positioning section is at a given distance or more from the position last stored in the position storage section, the newly calculated position into the position storage section;

a position coordinate transmitting section configured to transmit the newly calculated position to a user position management server;

a user terminal configured to receive from the user position management server a position of a nearby user that is at a given distance or less from the newly calculated position; and

a display control section configured to control to display respective letter strings indicating the positions stored in the position storage section and the position received from the user position management server in an order that the positions were calculated.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the storing section is configured to store the position calculated by the positioning section together with a calculating date/time of the position into the position storage section, and

wherein the display unit is configured to display the calculating date/time of the position together with a letter string indicating the position.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a device number obtaining section configured to obtain a number of devices which have been at the position stored in the position storage section,

wherein the display control section is configured to control to display an image corresponding to the number obtained by the device number obtaining section together with information indicating the position.

4. An apparatus comprising a microprocessor operating under the control of a computer program to implement a method comprising:

repeatedly calculating a position;

storing, in a case where a position newly calculated in the calculating step is at a given distance or more from the position last stored in a position storage section configured to store a plurality of positions calculated in the calculating step, the newly calculated position into the position storage section;

transmitting the newly calculated position to a user position management server;

receiving from the user position management server a position of a nearby user that is at a given distance or less from the newly calculated position; and

displaying respective letter strings indicating the positions stored in the position storage section and the position received from the user position management server in an order that the positions were calculated.

5. A program product comprising a non-transitory storage medium with a set of instructions stored therein that, when executed by a processor cause a computer to execute the steps of:

repeatedly calculating a position;

storing, in a case where a position newly calculated in the calculating step is at a given distance or more from the position last stored in a position storage section configured to store a plurality of positions calculated in the calculating step, the newly calculated position into the position storage section;

transmitting the newly calculated position to a user position management server;

receiving from the user position management server a position of a nearby user that is at a given distance or less from the newly calculated position; and

displaying respective letter strings indicating the positions stored in the position storage section and the position received from the user position management server in an order that the positions were calculated.

6. A non-transitory, computer readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer of an information processing device to execute the steps of:

repeatedly calculating a position;

storing, in a case where a position newly calculated in the calculating step is at a given distance or more from the position last stored in a position storage section configured to store a plurality of positions calculated in the calculating step, the newly calculated position into the position storage section;

transmitting the newly calculated position to a user position management server;

receiving from the user position management server a position of a nearby user that is at a given distance or less from the newly calculated position; and

displaying respective letter strings indicating the positions stored in the position storage section and the position received from the user position management server in an order that the positions were calculated.