Storage medium, information processing apparatus, information processing system and information processing method

• US 9,146,703 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2011
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamada, Yoichi, Fujibayashi, Hidemaro, Tanaka, Ryo
• Primary Examiner(s): Merouan, Abderrahim
• Application Number:
  US13/204,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20120256966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,513 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/94, 345/472, 345/551, 345/592, 345/440, 345/157, 345/473, 345/8, 345/107, 345/63, 345/88, 345/676
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• 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 13/533 for prompting the player, e.g. by displaying a game menu
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/308 Details of the user interface
• 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 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/60 Memory management
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums

Abstract

One of a plurality of areas is displayed as a display area on a display device, and based on an input from an input section, an object included in the display area is determined as a target to be moved, and when a predetermined movement is detected by a movement sensor, the currently displayed display area is switched to an area different from the currently displayed display area, and the area is displayed on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein an information processing program executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus for controlling an object displayed on a display device based on inputs from a movement sensor for detecting a movement and an input section, the information processing program, when executed, causing the computer to perform, at least, operations comprising:

displaying one of a plurality of areas on the display device as a display area;

determining an object included in the display area as a target to be moved based on an input from the input section;

when a predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to another area different from the display area currently displayed as a new display area and displaying the another area on the display device together with the object determined as the target to be moved;

based on an input from the input section, cancelling a determination of the object as being a target to be moved; and

when the determination is cancelled, positioning the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled in the new display area.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the information processing program further causes the computer to perform:

based on an input from the input section, moving the object determined as a target to be moved within the display area, and

when switching the currently displayed display area to the new display area and displaying the new display area on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved, displaying the object determined as a target to be moved at a position in the new display area which is the same position as a position of the object determined as a target to be moved in the currently displayed display area.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned at a position, in the new display area, associated with a position of the object at a time when the object is determined as a target to be moved.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned at a position, in the new display area, associated with a position of the object determined as a target to be moved in the currently displayed display area immediately before switching the currently displayed display area to the new display area.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned at a position, in the new display area, associated with a position of the object determined as a target to be moved in the new display area.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 3, wherein

at least one positioning area in which the object can be positioned is set in each of the plurality of areas, and

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned in a positioning area, in the new display area, associated with a positioning area in the display area before switching, in which the object determined as a target to be moved has been positioned.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 4, wherein

at least one positioning area in which the object can be positioned is set in each of the plurality of areas, and

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned in a positioning area, in the new display area, associated with a position of the object determined as a target to be moved in the currently displayed display area immediately before switching the currently displayed display area to the new display area.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 5, wherein

at least one positioning area in which the object can be positioned is set in each of the plurality of areas, and

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned in a positioning area, in the new display area, associated with a position of the object determined as a target to be moved in the new display area.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the information processing program further causes the computer to perform:

identifying a type of the object, and

when the determination of the object as being the target to be moved is cancelled, the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled is positioned at a position, in the new display area, associated with the type of the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the object is fixed while the object is determined as the target to be moved, and

when the predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to the another area different from the currently displayed display area as the new display area, in a state where the object determined as the target to be moved is fixed.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the information processing apparatus controls the object based on inputs from a first input device having the movement sensor and the input section.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 11, wherein

the plurality of areas are associated with each other in advance in a predetermined sequence, and

when the predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to an area associated with the currently displayed display area as the new display area and displaying the area on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 12, wherein

when the predetermined movement detected by the movement sensor is a movement in a first direction, switching to an area, which is associated with a currently displayed display area so as to immediately follow the currently displayed display area, as a new display area and displaying the area on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved, and

when the predetermined movement detected by the movement sensor is a movement in a second direction, switching to an area, which is associated with the currently displayed display area so as to immediately precede the currently displayed display area, as a new display area and displaying the area on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 12, wherein

the information processing apparatus controls the object displayed on the display device based on an input from a second input device having an additional movement sensor for detecting a movement,

when the predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to an area which is associated with a currently displayed display area so as to immediately follow the currently displayed display area as a new display area and displaying the area on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved, and

when the predetermined movement is detected by the additional movement sensor, switching to an area which is associated with the currently displayed display area so as to immediately precede the currently displayed display area as a new display area and displaying the area on the display device together with the object determined as a target to be moved.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the input section includes a pointing device, and

based on an input from the pointing device, an object included in the display area is determined as a target to be moved.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein the information processing program according to claim 1, wherein

the movement sensor detects at least one of an acceleration and an angular velocity, and

when an acceleration or an angular velocity which is greater than or equal to a predetermined value is detected by the movement sensor, switching to the another area different from the currently displayed display area as the display area and displaying the another area on the display device together with the object determined as the target to be moved.

17. An information processing apparatus for controlling an object displayed on a display device based on inputs from a movement sensor for detecting a movement and an input section, comprising:

a computer processing system, including at least one computer processor, the computer processing system being configured to control the information processing apparatus to perform operations comprising;

displaying one of a plurality of areas on the display device as a display area;

determining an object included in the display area as a target to be moved based on an input from the input section;

when a predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to another area different from the display area currently displayed as a new display area and displaying the another area on the display device together with the object determined as the target to be moved;

based on an input from the input section, cancelling a determination of the object as being a target to be moved; and

when the determination is cancelled, positioning the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled in the new display area.

18. An information processing system for controlling an object displayed on a display device based on inputs from a movement sensor for detecting a movement and an input section, comprising:

a computer processing system, including at least one computer processor, the computer processing system being configured to control the information processing system to perform operations comprising;

displaying one of a plurality of areas on the display device as a display area;

determining an object included in the display area as a target to be moved based on an input from the input section;

when a predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to another area different from the display area currently displayed as a new display area and displaying the another area on the display device together with the object determined as the target to be moved;

based on an input from the input section, cancelling a determination of the object as being a target to be moved; and

when the determination is cancelled, positioning the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled in the new display area.

19. An information processing method for controlling an object displayed on a display device based on inputs from a movement sensor for detecting a movement and an input section, comprising:

displaying one of a plurality of areas on the display device as a display area;

determining an object included in the display area as a target to be moved based on an input from the input section;

when a predetermined movement is detected by the movement sensor, switching to another area different from the display area currently displayed as a new display area and displaying the another area on the display device together with the object determined as the target to be moved;

based on an input from the input section, cancelling a determination of the object as being a target to be moved; and

when the determination is cancelled, positioning the object with respect to which the determination is cancelled in the new display area.