System and method for detecting moment of impact and/or strength of a swing based on accelerometer data

• US 20070270217A1
• Filed: 08/15/2006
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo of America, Inc. (Nintendo Company Limited)
• Inventors: Rabin, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,814,641 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/37
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/219 for aiming at specific areas on the display, e.g. light-guns
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/285 Generating tactile feedback signals via the game input device, e.g. force feedback
• 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 13/577 using determination of contact between game characters or objects, e.g. to avoid collision between virtual racing cars
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/812 Ball games, e.g. soccer or baseball
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/814 Musical performances, e.g. by evaluating the player's ability to follow a notation
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/638 according to the timing of operation or a time limit
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8047 Music games
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 33/00 Adaptations for training adaptations of barrels for recoil reinforcement F41A21/26; Gun simulators teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying F41G3/26 ; shooting games A63F9/02; military simulation G09B9/003
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0008 Associated control or indicating means
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/311 with controlled tactile or haptic feedback effect; output interfaces therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2220/395 Acceleration sensing or accelerometer use, e.g. 3D movement computation by integration of accelerometer data, angle sensing with respect to the vertical, i.e. gravity sensing. conductor baton movement sensing G10H2220/206, angle sensing without reference to gravity G10H2220/391; player body joint angle sensing G10H2220/321
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2230/275 Spint drum

Abstract

An example system and method is provided for detecting a moment of impact and/or strength of a swing based on moving a hand-held device including an accelerometer arrangement. A moment and a magnitude of simulated striking of the object are determined based on one or more accelerometer arrangement outputs resulting from the moving of the hand-held device. Using one or more of aural, visual and tactile outputs, the striking of the object is simulated in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

Claims

1. A method of simulating the striking of an object based on moving a hand-held device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the method comprising:

determining a moment of simulated striking of the object based on a first accelerometer arrangement output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the object based on a second accelerometer arrangement output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device; and

using one or more of aural, visual and tactile outputs, simulating the striking of the object in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the accelerometer arrangement comprises a multi-axis accelerometer and the first and second accelerometer outputs correspond to different axes of the multi-axis accelerometer.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the accelerometer arrangement comprises first and second different accelerometers and the first and second accelerometer outputs are from the first and second accelerometers, respectively.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first accelerometer arrangement output is indicative of a downward acceleration resulting from the moving of the hand-held device and the second accelerometer arrangement output is indicative of a centripetal acceleration resulting from the moving of the hand-held device.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the moment of simulated striking is determined to be when the first accelerometer arrangement output reaches a maximum value that exceeds a specified value.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the specified value is about 1.6G.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnitude of the simulated striking is determined based on an integration operation involving the second accelerometer arrangement output.

8. A data signal embodied in a carrier wave and representing a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of simulating the striking of an object based on moving a hand-held device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the method comprising:

determining a moment of simulated striking of the object based on a first accelerometer arrangement output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the object based on a second accelerometer arrangement output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device; and

using one or more of aural, visual and tactile outputs, simulating the striking of the object in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

9. A computer-readable medium having computer program code embodied thereon which, when executed, causes a processor to perform a method of simulating the striking of an object based on moving of a hand-held device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the method comprising:

determining a moment of simulated striking of the object based on a first accelerometer arrangement output;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the object based on a second accelerometer arrangement output; and

using one or more of using one or more of aural, visual and tactile outputs, simulating the striking of the object in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

10. The computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the computer program code is part of a video game program.

11. The computer-readable medium according to claim 9, comprising an optical disk.

12. A method of simulating the striking of a drum based on moving a hand-held device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the method comprising:

determining a moment of simulated striking of the drum based on a first accelerometer output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the drum based on a second accelerometer output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device; and

aurally simulating the striking of the drum in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

13. A computer-readable medium having computer program code embodied thereon which, when executed, causes a processor to perform the method of simulating the striking a drum according to claim 12.

14. The computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the computer program code is part of a video game program.

15. The computer-readable medium according to claim 13, comprising an optical disk.

16. A method of simulating the striking of drums based on moving first and second hand-held devices comprising respective first and second accelerometer arrangements, the method comprising:

determining a moment of simulated striking of a first drum based on a first output of the first accelerometer arrangement resulting from the moving of the first hand-held device;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the first drum based on a second output of the first accelerometer arrangement resulting from the moving of the first hand-held device;

determining a moment of simulated striking of a second drum based on a first output of the second accelerometer arrangement resulting from the moving of the second hand-held device;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the second drum based on a second output of the second accelerometer arrangement resulting from the moving of the first hand-held device;

aurally simulating the striking of the drums in accordance with the determined moments of simulated striking and the determined magnitudes of the simulated striking.

17. A computer-readable medium having computer program code embodied thereon which, when executed, causes a processor to perform the method of simulating the striking of a drum according to claim 16.

18. The computer-readable medium according to claim 17, wherein the computer program code is part of a video game program.

19. The computer-readable medium according to claim 17, comprising an optical disk.

20. A computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave comprising program code for causing a computer, which is connected to a display device and which receives signals from a hand-held device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, to execute steps for simulating the striking of a drum based on moving of the hand-held device, the steps comprising:

determining a moment of simulated striking of the drum based on a first accelerometer output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device;

determining a magnitude of the simulated striking of the drum based on a second accelerometer output resulting from the moving of the hand-held device; and

aurally simulating the striking of the drum in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

21. A server computer that transmits the computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave according to claim 20.

22. A game console that receives and processes the computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave according to claim 20.

23. A method of simulating the striking of an object based on moving a hand-held device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the method comprising:

determining a moment and a magnitude of simulated striking of the object based on one or more accelerometer arrangement outputs resulting from the moving of the hand-held device; and

using one or more of aural, visual and tactile outputs, simulating the striking of the object in accordance with the determined moment of simulated striking and the determined magnitude of the simulated striking.

24. A method of determining a swing strength associated with the swinging of a hand-held control device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the method comprising:

determining the swing strength based on an accelerometer arrangement output corresponding to a centripetal force applied to the hand-held device during the swinging; and

generating one or more of aural, visual and tactile outputs based on the determined swing strength.

25. A computer-readable medium having computer program code embodied thereon which, when executed, causes a processor to perform the method of determining a swing strength according to claim 24.