Display control device and display control program for grouping related items based upon location

• US 9,092,894 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2007
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawamoto, Kouichi, Takahata, Satoru
• Primary Examiner(s): HAJNIK, DANIEL F
• Application Number:
  US11/723,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20080188301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,050 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/003 Navigation within 3D models or images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/36 Level of detail

Abstract

A game device stores data of news information related to a plurality of news locations on a map. The game device divides the news locations into groups, and sets a determination region for each group. Further, the game device receives an input of designating a position in a display region from the user. When the designated position is within a determination region, news information related to one or more news locations included in a group corresponding to the determination region is displayed on a display device.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a display control program which is executable by a computer of a display control device for providing a display on a display device of a particular region of a three-dimensional virtual space captured by a virtual camera placed in the three-dimensional space and displaying particular pieces of information corresponding to user selected positions within a displayed region of the virtual space, wherein the display control device has access to storage memory which contain a plurality of particular pieces of the information which relate to particular locations in the virtual space, and wherein the display control program causes the computer to perform operations and function as:

a virtual camera setting changer which changes at least an attitude of the virtual camera provided in the three-dimensional virtual space in accordance with an input provided via an input device by a user;

a display position calculator which calculates distances between display positions in a displayed region of the virtual space of the locations in the virtual space to which the plurality of pieces of the particular information are related based on a setting of the virtual camera;

a display position comparator which compares the calculated distances between the displays positions;

an information group setter which sets a group of pieces of the plurality of pieces of particular information related to the locations for which a distance between the display positions is smaller than a predetermined first reference based on a result of the display position distance comparison, thereby dividing the plurality of particular pieces of information into a plurality of groups of particular information;

a determination region setter which sets a determination region corresponding to each group within the displayed region based on display positions of the locations to which grouped information is related;

a first display controller which generates and displays an image of the virtual space on the display device based on the setting of the virtual camera;

a first input receiver which receives an input via the input device from the user for designating a position within the displayed region; and

a second display controller which, when a designated position provided via the input device by the user is located within the set determination region, displays the particular pieces of information which are included in a group corresponding to the determination region on the display device.

2. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the computer repeatedly executes a process of newly setting one group for predetermined display information for which a group has not been set, and putting, into the group, display information related to a location having a smaller distance from a location related to the display information in the display region than a predetermined distance, until no display information for which a group has not been set remains.

3. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 2, wherein the storage memory further stores a predetermined second reference for setting a region with respect to a position in the display region of each location, the computer sets the predetermined distance based on the second reference, and the computer sets a region for a location to which a predetermined piece of display information included in a group is related, based on the second reference, as a determination region corresponding to the group.

4. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 3, wherein the determination region is a circular region having a radius of a first length, the storage memory stores the first length as the second reference, and the computer sets the predetermined distance to be a length two times larger than the first length.

5. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 4, wherein the determination region is a circular region having a position in the display region of the location as a center thereof.

6. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the computer sets a region including all locations to which display information included in a group is related, as a determination region for the group.

7. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the storage memory further stores a predetermined second reference for setting a region for a display position in the display region of each location, and

the computer sets a region for each location to which display information included in a group is related, based on the second reference, and sets each set region as a determination region corresponding to the group.

8. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the computer calculates a display position in the display region based on a display position of each location to which display information included in a group is related, and sets a region including the calculated position as a determination region corresponding to the group.

9. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the computer displays an image of the virtual space and an image representing a group in relation to a position of the determination region corresponding to the group.

10. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the computer displays a list of display information included in a group corresponding to the determination region when the designated position is present within the determination region.

11. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 10, wherein the display control program causes the computer to further perform:

receiving an input of selecting display information from the list of display information displayed in the second display control, and, when display information is selected in the second input receipt, displaying the selected display information on the display device.

12. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein

the display control program further causes the computer to:

set a group of display information pieces based on one or more calculated display position, and

generate an image of the three-dimensional space based on the setting change of the virtual camera and display the image on the display device.

13. The non-transitory storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the display control program alternatively provides a display of a two-dimensional virtual space along with particular pieces of information corresponding to user selected positions within a displayed region of the two-dimensional virtual space,

and wherein the display control program also causes the computer to changeably set a size of a region within the two-dimensional space to be displayed, and

to display an image of the region on the display device.

14. A display control device for providing a display of a particular region of a three-dimensional virtual space captured by a virtual camera placed in the three-dimensional space and displaying particular pieces of information corresponding to user selected positions within a displayed region of the virtual space, comprising:

a computer system, including a computer processor, an information storage memory, an input device for providing inputs from a user of the computer system and a display device, the computer system being at least configured to;

store in the storage memory a plurality of particular pieces of information which relate to particular locations in the virtual space;

change at least an attitude setting of the virtual camera provided in the three-dimensional virtual space, in accordance with an input provided via the input device by a user;

calculate distances between display positions in a displayed region of the virtual space of the locations in virtual space to which the plurality of pieces of the particular information are related based on a setting of the virtual camera;

compare the calculated distances between said display positions;

set a group of pieces of particular information related to the locations for which a distance between the display positions is smaller than a predetermined first reference based on a result of the comparison of the calculated distances, thereby dividing the plurality of pieces of particular information into a plurality of groups of particular information;

set a determination region corresponding to each group of particular information within the displayed region based on display positions of the locations to which grouped information is related;

generate and display an image of the virtual space on the display device based on the setting of the virtual camera;

receive an input via the input device from the user for designating a position within the displayed region; and

when a designated position provided via the input device by the user is located within the determination region, display the particular pieces of information which are included in a group corresponding to the set determination region on the display device.

15. A data distributing system comprising a display control device for providing a display of a particular region of a three-dimensional virtual space captured by a virtual camera placed in the three-dimensional space and displaying particular pieces of information corresponding to user selected positions within a displayed region of the virtual space, and

a server capable of communicating with the display control device, wherein the server transmits distribution data indicating relations between locations in the virtual space and one or more of the particular pieces of information, to the display control device, and wherein the display control device comprises a computer system, including a computer processor, an information storage memory, a display device and an input device for providing inputs from a user of the computer system, the computer system being at least configured to:

change at least an attitude of the virtual camera provided in the three-dimensional virtual space in accordance with an input provided by a user via the input device;

calculate distances between display positions in a displayed region of the virtual space of the locations in the virtual space to which the particular pieces of information are related based on a setting of the virtual camera;

compare the calculated distances between the display positions;

set a group of the pieces of information which are related to locations for which a distance between the display positions is smaller than a predetermined first reference based on a result of the display position distance comparison, thereby dividing the particular pieces of information into a plurality of groups of information;

set a determination region corresponding to each group within the displayed region based on display positions of the locations to which grouped information is related;

generate and display an image of the virtual space on the display device based on the setting of the virtual camera;

receive an input via the input device from the user for designating a position within the displayed region; and

when a designated position provided via the input device by the user is located within the determination region, display the information included in a group corresponding to the set determination region on the display device.