Game apparatus and storage medium storing a handwriting input program

• US 20070177801A1
• Filed: 09/26/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Ito, Jun, Kawamoto, Koichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,907,779 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/187
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/2145 the surface being also a display device, e.g. touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/26 having at least one additional display device, e.g. on the game controller or outside a game booth
• 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 13/426 involving on-screen location information, e.g. screen coordinates of an area at which the player is aiming with a light gun
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/80 Special adaptations for executing a specific game genre or game mode
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/822 Strategy games; Role-playing games A63F13/825, A63F13/828 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/92 Video game devices specially adapted to be hand-held while playing
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/0418 with a grid, e.g. 'Sudoku'-type games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1423 the instrument generating sequences of position coordinates corresponding to handwriting preprocessing or recognising digital ink G06V30/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/36 Matching; Classification

Abstract

A game apparatus displays a game screen of 9×9 grid, for example, of a Sudoku puzzle on one LCD and an empty cell (cell to be answered) is large-displayed on the other LCD. A touch panel is provided on the LCD to allow a player to handwrite a numeral to fill in the cell with a stick, etc. on the touch panel. When a handwritten region is larger at a certain degree or more with respect to the cell, it is considered that an answer numeral is input, and the answer numeral is large-displayed. If the handwritten region is not so large as to the cell, it is considered that a note numeral is input, and the note numeral is displayed in a smaller region in the cell. However, if the notes numeral is settled as an answer numeral, a game determination is performed according to the answer numeral.

Claims

1. A game apparatus for playing a game to fill in cells with characters, comprising:

an answer character input means for inputting an answer character;

an answer character display means for displaying the answer character when the answer character is input by said answer character input means;

a game determination means for performing a game determination on the basis of said answer character;

a result display means for displaying a result of the game determination by said game determination means;

a note character input means for inputting a note character;

a note character display means for displaying the note character input by said note character input means; and

a settling means for settling said note character as said answer character.

2. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said note character input means can input a plurality of note characters, and said note character display means simultaneously displays said plurality of note characters.

3. A game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said answer character input means and said note character input means include

a handwriting input means having a defined handwriting region,

a locus storing means for storing a locus of a handwritten input by said handwriting input means,

a character recognition means for recognizing the handwritten character according to said locus, and

a size determination means for determining whether a size of the handwritten character at that time is above a certain degree on the basis of said locus, wherein

said answer character input means, according to an affirmative determination of said size determination means, and said note character input means, according to a negative determination of said size determination means, adopt the character recognized by said character recognition means as said answer character and said note character, respectively.

4. A game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said locus storing means stores a locus for each stroke, and further comprising a stroke counter for counting the number of strokes, wherein said character recognition means recognizes a handwritten character on the basis of both of loci of a previous stroke and a current stroke when a count value of said stroke counter is not a predetermined value.

5. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said note character display means displays said note character in a handwritten position of the previous stroke when said size determination means makes a negative determination as to the handwritten character of the current stroke.

6. A game apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said character recognition means recognizes the handwritten character on the basis of the current stroke when the count value of said stroke counter is said predetermined value.

7. A storage medium storing a handwriting input program for working a handwriting input device including a display means, a storage means, a handwriting input means as a handwriting input device, said program causes a computer of the handwriting input device to execute following steps:

a handwriting inputting step for storing a locus of a handwritten input in said storage means;

a locus region specifying step for specifying a region occupying the handwritten input region in which the locus is set in advance in said storage means on the basis of the locus of said handwritten input, and storing it in said storage means;

a character recognizing step for performing a character recognition process on the locus of the handwritten input stored in said storage means; and

a recognition result displaying step for displaying said recognition result in a size corresponding to the size of the region specified according to said locus region specifying step and in a position corresponding to said region on said display means.

8. A storage medium according to claim 7, wherein

said recognition result displaying step further includes a character display size determining step for determining a display size of said recognition result in correspondence to the size of the region specified by said locus region specifying step, and a character display position determining step for determining a display position of said character recognition result in correspondence to the position of the region specified by said locus region specifying step.

9. A storage medium according to claim 8, wherein said character display size determining step determines said display size depending on whether or not a central point of the region specified by said locus region specifying step is included in a predetermined region of said handwritten input region stored in said storage means in advance, and whether or not the region has a predetermined size.

10. A storage medium according to claim 8, wherein said display position determining step determines that the central point of said region corresponds to which of said plurality of display positions of said recognition result stored in said storage means in advance, and displays the recognition result in said corresponding display position.