Storage medium having stored thereon information processing program and information processing apparatus

• US 9,501,158 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2009
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Konish, Yoshinori, Okamura, Yuichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Carolyn R
• Application Number:
  US12/621,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20110065488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,560 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-178
• 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 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• 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

A data obtaining unit repeatedly obtains acceleration data. An acceleration vector generation unit generates first acceleration vector in accordance with first acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining unit, and generates second acceleration vector in accordance with second acceleration data time-sequentially obtained by the data obtaining unit following the first acceleration data. A cross product direction calculation unit calculates a direction of a cross product between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector. A swing direction identification unit identifies a swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with the direction of the cross product.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon an information processing program executed on a computer of an information processing apparatus which executes a process using acceleration data outputted from an acceleration sensor detecting acceleration along at least two axis directions applied to an input device, the information processing program causing the computer to perform:

data obtaining for repeatedly obtaining the acceleration data;

acceleration vector generation for generating first acceleration vector in accordance with first acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining, and for generating second acceleration vector in accordance with second acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining time-sequentially following the first acceleration data;

cross product direction calculation for calculating a direction of a cross product between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector; and

swing direction identification for identifying a swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with the direction of the cross product.

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

the swing direction identification identifies the swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with whether the direction of the cross product is a first direction or a second direction that is reverse of the first direction.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to claim 2, wherein

the swing direction identification identifies that the swing direction in which the input device is swung is a third direction when the direction of the cross product is the first direction, and identifies that the swing direction in which the input device is swung is a fourth direction, which is reverse of the third direction, when the direction of the cross product is the second direction.

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

the cross product direction calculation includes cross product value calculation for calculating a cross product value indicative of a component of a cross product, in a predetermined direction, between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector, and

the swing direction identification identifies the swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with the cross product value.

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

the swing direction identification identifies the swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with whether the cross product value is negative or positive.

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

the cross product direction calculation includes:

cross product value calculation for calculating a cross product value indicative of a component of a cross product, in a predetermined direction, between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector;

first threshold determination for determining whether or not the cross product value is less than a first threshold which is a negative value set in advance; and

second threshold determination for determining whether or not the cross product value is greater than a second threshold which is a positive value and which has an absolute value different from the first threshold,

the swing direction identification identifies that the swing direction in which the input device is swung is the third direction when the first threshold determination determines that the cross product value is less than the first threshold, and identifies that the swing direction in which the input device is swung is the fourth direction when the second threshold determination determines that the cross product value is greater than the second threshold.

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

when the first threshold determination determines that the cross product value is equal to or greater than the first threshold and when the second threshold determination determines that the cross product value is equal to or less than the second threshold, the swing direction identification identifies that the input device is not being swung.

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

the acceleration sensor detects acceleration along at least three axis directions applied to the input device, and outputs acceleration data corresponding to the acceleration, and

the acceleration vector generation sets a predetermined projective plane in a space defined by the three axes as coordinate axes, and projects first acceleration indicated by the first acceleration data and second acceleration indicated by the second acceleration data onto the projective plane, so as to generate the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector.

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

the acceleration sensor detects acceleration along at least three axis directions applied to the input device, and outputs acceleration data corresponding to the acceleration, and

the acceleration vector generation sets, in a space defined by the three axes as coordinate axes, a projective plane so as to be non-parallel to an axis of swing rotation supposedly defined for the input device swung in the third direction and in the fourth direction, and projects first acceleration indicated by the first acceleration data and second acceleration indicated by the second acceleration data, which are arranged in the space, onto the projective plane, and generates the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to according to claim 9, wherein

the acceleration vector generation sets the projective plane, in the space, so as to be substantially perpendicular to the axis of swing rotation.

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

the acceleration sensor detects acceleration along at least three axis directions applied to the input device, and outputs acceleration data corresponding to the acceleration,

a trajectory of acceleration, which is detected by the acceleration sensor and is drawn in a space defined by the three axes as the coordinate axes when the input device is swung in the third direction, is drawn substantially in a circle shape, when projected onto a predetermined plane,

a trajectory of acceleration, which is detected by the acceleration sensor and is drawn in the space when the input device is swung in the fourth direction, is drawn, when projected onto the predetermined plane, substantially in a circle shape in a direction reverse of a direction of the trajectory obtained when the input device is swung in the third direction, and

the acceleration vector generation sets a projective plane so as to be substantially non-perpendicular to the predetermined plane, and projects first acceleration indicated by the first acceleration data and second acceleration indicated by the second acceleration data, which are arranged in the space, onto the projective plane, and generates the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector.

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

the acceleration vector generation sets the projective plane so as to be substantially parallel to the predetermined plane.

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

the acceleration vector generation generates the first acceleration vector by using a value obtained by projecting components of two axis directions, among components of the three axis directions of the first acceleration, onto the projective plane, and a value of a component of a remaining one axis direction, and generates the second acceleration vector by using a value obtained by projecting components of two axis directions of the second acceleration onto the projective plane, and a value of a component of a remaining one axis direction of the second acceleration.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon the information processing program according to according to claim 4, further causing the computer to perform:

angle calculation for calculating an angle relative to a swing direction identified by the swing direction identification, in accordance with the cross product value calculated by the cross product value calculation; and

display control for arranging, in accordance with an angle calculated by the angle calculation, an object in a virtual world, at the angle, and displaying the object on a display device.

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

the angle calculation calculates an angular velocity in the swing direction identified by the swing direction identification, in accordance with the cross product value calculated by the cross product value calculation, and calculates the angle in accordance with the angular velocity.

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

the angle calculation calculates angular acceleration in the swing direction identified by the swing direction identification, in accordance with the cross product value calculated by the cross product value calculation, and calculates the angular velocity in accordance with the angular acceleration.

17. An information processing apparatus performing a process using acceleration data outputted from an acceleration sensor detecting acceleration along at least two axis direction applied to an input device, comprising:

a data obtaining unit for repeatedly obtaining the acceleration data;

an acceleration vector generation unit for generating first acceleration vector in accordance with first acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining unit, and for generating second acceleration vector in accordance with second acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining unit time-sequentially following the first acceleration data;

a cross product direction calculation unit for calculating a direction of a cross product between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector; and

a swing direction identification unit for identifying a swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with the direction of the cross product.

18. An information processing system, including an input device and an information processing apparatus performing a process using acceleration data outputted from an acceleration sensor detecting acceleration along at least two axis direction applied to the input device, comprising:

a data obtaining unit for repeatedly obtaining the acceleration data; and

a processing system, including one or more computer processors, configured to;

generate a first acceleration vector in accordance with first acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining unit, and generate a second acceleration vector in accordance with second acceleration data obtained by the data obtaining unit time-sequentially following the first acceleration data;

calculate a direction of a cross product between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector; and

identify a swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with the direction of the cross product.

19. A computer-implemented method for executing a process using acceleration data outputted from an acceleration sensor detecting acceleration along at least two axis directions applied to an input device, the method comprising:

repeatedly obtaining the acceleration data;

generating a first acceleration vector in accordance with obtained first acceleration data, and generating a second acceleration vector in accordance with obtained second acceleration data time-sequentially following the first acceleration data;

calculating, via one or more computer processors, a direction of a cross product between the first acceleration vector and the second acceleration vector; and

identifying a swing direction in which the input device is swung in accordance with the direction of the cross product.