Systems and methods for determining controller functionality based on position, orientation or motion

• US 9,108,105 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2012
• Issued: 08/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Mao, Xiaodong, Rimon, Noam
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau, Ronald
• Application Number:
  US13/691,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20130090166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 463 35- 39, 345156-158
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• 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 13/214 for locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/215 comprising means for detecting acoustic signals, e.g. using a microphone
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/218 using pressure sensors, e.g. generating a signal proportional to the pressure applied by the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/25 Output arrangements for video game devices
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/843 involving concurrently two or more players on the same game device, e.g. requiring the use of a plurality of controllers or of a specific view of game data for each player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/538 for performing operations on behalf of the game client, e.g. rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0317 in co-operation with a patterned surface, e.g. absolute position or relative movement detection for an optical mouse or pen positioned with respect to a coded surface
• 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

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing input to an interactive program are presented. An interactive system includes a server for executing the interactive program, and a game client interfaced with the server over a network. The game client is configured to send, over the network, position data defining a position of a controller device. The server is configured to define interactive zones, each interactive zone being defined by a spatial region having an associated specified function for an action of the controller device when the controller device is located within that interactive zone. The server is further configured to set the functionality of the action of the controller device to the specified function associated with the interactive zone within which the controller device is located.

Claims

1. A system for interfacing with an interactive program, the system comprising:

a server for executing the interactive program;

a game client interfaced with the server over a network, the game client configured to send, over said network, position data defining a position of a controller device;

wherein the server is configured to define interactive zones, each interactive zone being defined by a spatial region having an associated specified function for an action of the controller device when the controller device is located within that interactive zone; and

wherein the server is configured to set the functionality of the action of the controller device to the specified function associated with the interactive zone within which the controller device is located.

2. The system of claim 1,

wherein the game client is interfaced with a display;

wherein the server is configured to send, over said network, image data to the game client for rendering on the display.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is defined by the Internet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a total volume defined by the interactive zones defines an interactive region within which the position of the controller device may be determined.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein each specified function is operable for causing an action within the interactive program.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is configured to dynamically determine the interactive zones according to a state of the interactive program.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the specified functions associated with two or more of the interactive zones are similar functions which vary by degree.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the specified functions associated with two or more of the interactive zones are dissimilar functions.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the action of the controller device is defined by activation of an input device of the controller device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the game client is configured to wirelessly communicate with the controller device.

11. A system for interfacing with an interactive program, the system comprising:

a server for executing the interactive program, the server configured to define a plurality of zones, the plurality of zones being defined within an interactive region of space for which a location of a controller device may be determined;

a game client interfaced with the server over a network, the game client configured to detect location data defining a location of one or more controller devices in the interactive region, the game client configured to send said position data, over said network, to the server;

wherein the server is configured to track the location of the one or more controller devices based on the location data;

wherein the server is configured, when a controller device is determined to be positioned within one of the plurality of zones, to set an action of the controller device to have a function associated with that zone, the function being defined for causing an action within the interactive program.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of zones are arranged in a non-overlapping and contiguous fashion so as to define a spatial matrix within the interactive region of space.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein a different subset of the plurality of zones is operative for determining the function of an action of each of the controller devices.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of the zones has one or more associated functions which correspond to one or more of the controller devices.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to activate a zone indicator when the controller device is determined to be positioned within one of the plurality of zones, the zone indicator providing a notification of which of the plurality of zones in which the controller device is located.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the server is configured to, upon detection of a transition of the controller device from a location within a zone to a location outside of the zone, cause a signaling response to be activated.

17. A server-implemented method for interfacing with an interactive program, the method comprising:

executing the interactive program on the server;

receiving from a game client, over a network, position data defining a position of a controller device;

defining interactive zones, each interactive zone being defined by a spatial region having an associated specified function for an action of the controller device when the controller device is located within that interactive zone; and

setting the functionality of the action of the controller device to the specified function associated with the interactive zone within which the controller device is located.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising,

sending, over said network, image data to the game client for rendering on a display.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the network is defined by the Internet.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the interactive zones are dynamically determined according to a state of the interactive program.