ES1180760U - Increased board document (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Regular board grid of a numerical or logical puzzle consisting of square cells, with the symbols that serve as an initial clue to solve it, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of cells (2) that are colored with tones with a difference in the luminance component greater than 60%, and whose spatial arrangement forms an invariant code at rotations of 90, 180 and 270 degrees. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

image 1

DESCRIPTION

INCREASED BOARD GRID

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The present invention falls within the technical area of virtual reality applications. Specifically, in the area that concerns augmented reality systems that improve the user experience by enriching the content of logical games and puzzles.

10 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are many logical puzzles of Japanese origin that are solved in a grid of square cells, which have become popular in the Western world due to their appearance in newspapers in the form of hobbies in the last decade. Many of them share the same problem and a solution can be applied

15 similar to that proposed in this invention to improve game dynamics. In order to illustrate the current situation and the main characteristics of the invention, the following paragraphs are focused on a particularly well-known puzzle: sudoku. Although it should be noted that the scope of the invention is broader when covering any type of puzzle that takes place on a grid

20 regular, preferably with the same number of cells on each side.

Sudoku (in Japanese,) is a mathematical game in which you must fill in a

数 独

grid of 9 × 9 cells (81 cells) divided into 3 × 3 sub-grids (also called "boxes" or "regions") with the figures from 1 to 9 starting from some numbers already arranged in some of the cells, which once completed must meet the

25 different figures must not be repeated in the same row, column or sub-grid.

The solution to a sudoku puzzle is always a Latin square, and it must be unique if it is correctly posed.

It was first published in the late 1970s, became popular in Japan in 1986, and in the rest of the world for a decade, when numerous newspapers image2

30 started posting it in their hobby section.

image3

Starter kits can be 4x4 boards with 2x2 regions; Under the name of Logi-5, 5x5 tables with pentominos as regions have been published; The Times newspaper proposes the Dodeka Sudoku, a 12x12 table with 12 4x3 regions, Dell Magazines frequently publishes 16x16 games (the 16x16 variant normally uses the symbols 1 to G, instead of the symbols 0 to the F used in hexadecimal), The puzzle editor Nikoli proposes the Giant Sudoku of 25x25.

Games built from multiple Sudoku tables are also common. In Japan, the Sudoku Gattai 5 (mix of 5) is known, composed of 5 9x9 boards with overlapping in the corner regions in the shape of a quincunx. In newspapers like The Times or The Sydney Morning Herald, this variant is known as Sudoku Samurai. Others like the Baltimore Sun and the Toronto Star publish this variant in their Sunday edition under the name High Five. Tracks are often not provided in the overlapping regions. Variants are also published with sequential tables, rather than overlapping, in which the values of certain positions are transferred from one table to another.

As already noted, some cells already contain numbers, known as "given numbers" (or sometimes "clues"). From these indications the player must solve the number puzzle. The goal is to fill in the empty cells, with a number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1–9 only once.

The size of the board does not determine the difficulty of the game, although a greater number of cells increases the possible combinations to take into account.

Unfortunately, when players are faced with these types of logic games and want to get a clue to help them advance or consolidate their progress, they only have the possibility to consult the complete solution in the corresponding section of the magazine or book (in whose case is usually at the end along with the solutions of other nearby page puzzles). So when the player takes a look at the solution, he not only sees the part of the path that he wants to confirm, but he usually recognizes an important part of the set of neighboring numbers, with the consequent damage to the dynamics of the game.

On the other hand, pattern recognition systems have become popular in

many fields of application. Mobile phones and tablets are often equipped with

image4

image5

at least one image acquisition system and have more than enough computational capacity to process images and identify two-dimensional geometric elements.

These recent advances make it possible to develop augmented reality applications on mobile devices. Thus, through its screen the physical environment of the real world is perceived, whose elements are combined with virtual elements to create a mixed reality in real time. The additional information displayed on the interface can be modified according to the needs and reactions of the user, turning static media into new interactive platforms.

The case of Sudoku is especially favorable due to the regularity of the shape of the board, its position and relative orientation can be located with the help of the straight lines that delimit the cells. And even in high-end mobile terminals it is possible to identify the values of the initial boxes through automatic character recognition), as demonstrated by the AR (Augmented Reality) Sudoku application for devices with Android operating system. However, this type of application requires that nothing has been written on the board, the images are taken in good lighting conditions and the font is standard.

The present invention presents an alternative for the recognition of boards formed by grids (as is the case with Sudoku, but also that of many other puzzles) in which it is not necessary to use automatic character recognition and the consumption of computational resources is considerably lower. by transforming the dash grid into a unique fiat brand.

These marks can later be recognized automatically with a computer vision system and thus offer the player a set of clues or a virtual reward upon completion of the game, without the fun of the pastime being negatively affected by unwanted access. to the complete solution.

The applicants of the present invention are unaware of the existence of antecedents that satisfactorily solve the aforementioned problems.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

There are many types of fiduciary brands, being especially popular, due to the

simplicity of detection algorithms and their creation cost, fiduciary marks image6

image7

planes that have patterns made up of square cells colored in a discrete set of shades of gray (typically just two: black and white). The position and color of the cells form a unique code that identifies each marker and can be associated with a specific object or action in a database.

This type of fiduciary marks shares with the logic puzzles of Japanese origin the fact that they are formed by a grid of square cells, where the color contains the information that allows to uniquely identify the fiduciary marks.

Therefore, the present invention proposes the combination of both concepts to obtain the augmented board grid.

Depending on the nature of the logic puzzle, it is possible to encode the identifier by modifying the luminance level of the color with which the cells that compose it are printed without modifying the dynamics of the game. A clear example is the case of Sudoku, in which the color of the cells does not have a meaning in the development of the game itself or its solution, so it can be freely altered to generate a code recognizable by the computer system. From the recognition of this code, additional information related to the solution of the puzzle can be offered without exposing much of it, proposing resolution strategies, and even virtual rewards when demonstrating that it has been completed.

It is not always possible to alter the luminance level of the cells in the grid, as they may either have their own meaning or the way to solve it involves filling the cells with solid colors (instead of symbols, unlike in the case of sudoku). A well-known example in the West of this type of logic puzzle played on a grid of square cells is Hitori. At the beginning, each cell contains a number. The goal is to paint some cells to remove numbers, so that there are no duplicates in rows or columns. Orthogonal connections are important too; cells painted (black) cannot be connected orthogonally, and the other cells must be connected orthogonally in a single group. That is, two black boxes cannot be adjacent to each other, and all unpainted boxes must be connected, horizontally or vertically, to create a set that is connected.

In the case of puzzles like the Hitori, the fiduciary mark formed by square cells surrounds the original board, so that the code can be recognized and the puzzle solved without altering the game dynamics since only the cells of the ring that surrounds the board original have colors with different shades of gray whose information identifies the code of the fiduciary brand.

image8

image9

To make it easier to distinguish the outline of the original board, in both cases it is surrounded by a colored line with a lower luminance tone and of thickness equivalent to that of the side of a cell. Optionally in the case of the use of rings with the information of the fiduciary brand, the set can also be seen surrounded by a second, a colored line with a lower luminance tone and of thickness equivalent to that of the side of a cell, so that the limit is easier to distinguish by computer vision algorithms.

There are many logic puzzles that can benefit from using the augmented board grid. The following is a non-exhaustive list listing games in which the grid-shaped boards are easily adaptable for adoption in augmented reality applications in accordance with the present invention. Along with the transcription of the name in Latin characters, the name in Japanese characters and the literal translation into Spanish have been added, if applicable:

• Aisuban (or "ice barn")

• Akari (or Turn on the light)

• Arukone (or "link the numbers")

• Baggu Cave (, also known as Corral)

• Banzu (, "barn")

美 バ 術 ぼ ア ブ ア ー チ

image10

館 ん イ ロ ル ン ョ ォ

image11

直 さ バ フ ス ッ コ ズ ボ コ ー

image12

橋 ん ッ ァ バ ク ネ ー オ ナ セ マ イ グ ー ご ダ ミ ル ッ ブ ン き ー ノ ボ ズ ト セ げ ブ ッ ル ん ロ ク ズ な ッ ス な ク め

• Bodaburokku (or “border between blocks”)

• Bokkusu or Kakurasu (or “box”)

• Bonsan ()

• Burokku (or "block puzzle")

• Chokona (or "chocolate")

• Chokuhashi (or "direct bridge")

• Faibuseruzu (or “5 cells”)

• Fillomino ()

• Firumatto (or "stuffed with rugs")

• Foseruzu ("four cells")

• Gokigen Naname (or "pending")

image13

ひ コ お ナ ク ま は カ ク と 波 コ ケ ー 家 カ ン リ し ナ メ 磁 こ ッ ロ り 及 ブ 碁 線 イ ジ 黒 ク モ へ へ ッ ロ な ー ゅ キ ジ へ 石 い ッ 帰 ロ ジ チ チ チ ク チ チ ク ー マ チ チス リ び イ り タ ロ チ ト し 果 or ひ ペ ケ image15 ス シ コ わ ろ ル ネ な を ン と “子 ケ ン い チ ル に て ろ シ は ュ or ロ け ン コ コ or キ わ か ト“ け コ マ ト "リ "り 部 ご ガ ー ろ れ こ ト カ ゲ ろ ー バ 屋 or ム だ ン ー ロ ー" oo ト ー シ "" ド

• Hakoiri (framed ”)

• Hakyuu (earthquake ”)

• Hashiwokakero (or "bridges")

• Hebi-Ichigo (or “the strawberry snake”) 5 • Heyawake (or “spatial reasoning”)

• Hiroimono (go stones)

• Hitori (or "leave me alone")

• Hitori Ribashi (, paper variant of the reversi or Othello)

• Hotarubimu (or “dragonfly beam”) 10 • Ichimaga (or “position of the magnets”)

• Inshi no heya (elements of each region ”)

• Kaero (or "go home")

• Kakkuru ()

• Kakuro (or “cross sums”) • Kanjo (環状 ャ ル or “

15 cancellation of special lines ”)

• Kantori Rodo (or "country road")

• Keisuke ()

• Kin-Kon-Kan ()

• Koburin () 20 • Kojun ()

• Kuriku (or "stream")

• Kuromasu ()

• Kuroshuto (black shot ”)

• Kurotto (black unit ”) 25 • Manekingeto ()

• Masyu (pearls ”)

• Mejirinku ()

• Mochikoro ()

• Mochinyoro () 30 • Nagewana (or “rope throw”)

• Nanro (or "way of numbers")

• Nansuke ()

ヴ ィ ろ ヤ

image16

ウ 四 ー ジ 遠 修 ぬ コ サ さ シ 独 ス た 天 ペ ウ 角 ま リ パ さ 島 タ い シ 学 り ス タ ト ロ ム と ロ ラ す 体

image17

シ ソ に ン タ 誓 し 国 ー 旅 か リ イ リ ヤ ラ が ク ロ く シ ン ャ タ 切 プ リ が ミ い ク 行 べ ザ ル プ ギ イ え ロ ー え ョ ト タ カ れ リ フ ね バ ワ タ の ー ペ レ と ン り リ ム あ ー エ シ ミ 連 リ ン レ ー テ 夜 リ イ イ オ ン リ ャ 番 ク ク ズ ボ

image18

ス オ ク ア カ 窓 ト ー ク ト カ 口 リ ヨ ミ ン コ ク ボ ー

image19 • Nawabari (or "territory")

• Norinori ()

• Nurikabe (or "paint walls")

• Paipurinku (or “connected pipes) 5 • Peintoeria (, paint areas)

• Renban Madoguchi (or “counting sequences of numbers in a group”)

• Rifurekutorinku (or “linked light reflection”)

• Rome ()

• Samurain (or “add lines”) 10 • Sashigane ()

• Satogaeri (or "back home")

• Shakashaka ()

• Shikaku (or “divide by the box”)

• Shikuwazu (or “alphabet soup”) 15 • Shimaguni (or “emerged lands”)

• Shirokuro (or "link between black and white")

• Shugaku ()

• Sudoku (or "numbers alone")

• Sukoro () 20 • Suraromu (or “slalom”)

• Surizarinku (or “barriers”)

• Tairupeinto (or “crazy pavement”)

• Tasukuea (or "square")

• Tatamibari () 25 • Tateboo Yokoboo (or “vertical and horizontal sticks”)

• Tentaisho (or "galaxies")

• Toichika (or "distant promise")

• Toripureisu (or "birds in their place")

• Usotatami () 30 • Viu ()

• Yagitoookami (or "the wolf and the goat")

• Yajilin (or "link with the direction arrow")

image20

image21

よ せ な べ や じ さ ん か ず さ ん

• Yajisan Kazusan (or “wrong number on the arrow of

address")

• Yosenabe ()

The detection and identification of the augmented dashboard grid is relatively

5 simple and can be done by combining algorithms well known in the state of the art of the field of artificial vision, which can also robustly estimate the position and orientation of the camera in real time [Garrido-Jurado, S., Muñoz- Salinas, R., Madrid-Cuevas, FJ, & Marín-Jiménez, MJ (2014). "Automatic generation and detection of highly reliable fiducial markers under occlusion". Pattern Recognition,

10 47 (6), 2280-2292] [Atcheson, B., Heide, F., & Heidrich, W. (2010, November). "CALTag: High Precision Fiducial Markers for Camera Calibration". In VMV (Vol. 10, pp. 41-48)].

First, the image captured by the camera of the electronic device to be used (typically a mobile phone or a tablet) is binarized by choosing a threshold value that depends on the lighting conditions and the luminance tone used in the cells.

15 that encode the information. Subsequently, the connected areas are detected and a contour detection algorithm is applied to them, which makes it possible to obtain the vertices and edges that delimit most of the cells in the grid.

It should be noted that the pattern of cells with different colors must result in unique fiat marks and represent a symbol in a dictionary whose design does not match

20 another that only assumes a rotation of 90 °, 180 ° or 270 °. In this way, by recognizing the code, its orientation with respect to the camera can also be deduced. Therefore, rotationally symmetric patterns where this condition is not met are discarded.

The simplest coding is binary, which can be represented with only two colors, which allows maintaining a large separation in luminance between them.

25 The greater Hamming distance between the representations of the symbols in the dictionary, the less the possibility of misinterpreting the patterns that the augmented checkerboard grid forms.

As already indicated, another aspect that facilitates the detection process is the placement of a frame around each fiduciary mark, of a uniform thickness and a

Distinctive color with respect to the rest of the surface of the object, which can be, for example, the color of lower luminosity if the code is binary.

image22

image23

It is convenient that the boards have a square shape, since it is enough to extract the points corresponding to the corners of their borders to calculate the homography of each view and with them, the extrinsic parameters of the camera are calculated, with the that machine vision algorithms represent the position and orientation of the camera.

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge from the detailed description of a particular embodiment of the invention that follows with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, in which, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented. following:

Figure 1.-Front view of a classic Sudoku board with a 9 × 9 cell grid divided into 3 × 3 sub-grids with the figures from 1 to 9 starting from some numbers already arranged in some of the cells. The upper part shows an example of the state of the art (a), while the lower part shows how it changes when integrated into an augmented board grid (1) with cells in two differentiated luminance tones, where the dark ones ( 2) encode the identifier information of the corresponding board. In addition, it is surrounded by a frame (3) around a uniform thickness also made up of cells of the same size.

Figure 2.-Front view of an enlarged board grid (1) of the Dodeka sudoku variant. The number of possible identification codes is in this case greater as it has more rows and columns than classic Sudoku. It is appreciated as the fiduciary brand that it forms does not affect the dynamics of the game.

Figure 3.-Front view of an enlarged board grid (1) of the multi-4 sudoku variant in which 4 classic 9 × 9 boards partially overlap. The frame (3) is in the shape of a cross, not a square.

Figure 4.-Front view of an enlarged board grid (1) of the Sudoku Samurai variant 5 classic 9 × 9 boards are partially overlapped. Again, the

frame (3) has a different shape than a square.

image24

image25

Figure 5.-Front view of a Banzu board with 10x10 squares that can be found between the pages of a magazine or newspaper. In the upper part an example of the state of the art is shown (a), while in the lower part (b) it is seen how it changes when integrated into an augmented board grid (1), a frame (3) has been added that facilitates the automatic recognition of the board and the position of the gray cells (2), to interpret the board as if it were a fiduciary mark in which the gray areas form a code that can be associated with the game solution. In this case, a special code has not been encoded, but the arrangement of the elements on the board forms the identifier.

Figure 6.- Front view of the enlarged board grid (1) corresponding to the Banzu puzzle of figure 5 on which the solution layout has been superimposed. The intricate route means that the player has to look at a good part of the solution if he wants to find the area where he may have gotten stuck or a possible error, so when consulting these types of solutions (which are usually located at end of book or magazine) many times interest in the puzzle is lost because too large a part is exposed.

Figure 7.-Representation of a user using an augmented reality application

(1) which makes use of the enlarged board grid corresponding to Banzu's puzzle in figure 5, to consult a part of the layout, while the rest is hidden.

Figure 8.- Front view of an enlarged board grid (1) of an example of a Hitori game in which the cells that encode the information (2) of the fiduciary brand identifier have been arranged around the original board. In addition, the grid is surrounded by two frames (3), one inside and the other outside, to delimit both areas both for the algorithm that has to make the recognition and for the player trying to solve the numerical puzzle.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Figure 2 shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the augmented board grid (1) for the Dodeka sudoku variant, in which there is a grid of 12x12 square cells with 12 regions of 4x3 in which they are applied. rules as in Sudoku: all cells must be filled without repeating the symbols (in this case 12) in rows, columns or regions.

image26

image27

of cells (2) scattered so that they have a lower luminance level. In order for them to be distinguished under adverse lighting conditions, it is preferable that the difference between the luminance component and the rest of the cells is at least 60%.

The spatial arrangement of said cells forms a code that can be interpreted by a computer program from the perspective image captured by a camera (similar to that illustrated in figure 7). This code must be unique for each possible game board and invariant at 90, 180 and 270 degree rotations.

In addition, a frame (3) has been added to facilitate its detection and recognition.

10 Figure 8 shows an example of an alternative preferred embodiment in which the code is placed around a Hitori board, which is delimited by two frames (3), one inside and the other outside, to also facilitate detection and recognition. of the pattern.

Once the nature of the present invention has been sufficiently described, as well as an example of a preferred embodiment, it only remains to add that said invention may suffer

15 certain variations in shape and materials, as long as said alterations do not substantially vary the characteristics claimed below.

image28

Claims (3)

image 1 1. Regular board grid of a numerical or logical puzzle made up of square cells, with the symbols that serve as an initial clue to solve it characterized 5 because it comprises a plurality of cells (2) that are colored with tones with a difference in the luminance component greater than 60%, and whose spatial arrangement forms an invariant code at rotations of 90, 180 and 270 degrees. 2. Board grid, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the area The game is surrounded by a frame (3) whose thickness coincides with the length of the side of the square cells that make up the board. Board grid, according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the colored cells (2) are arranged around the playing area instead of inside it and the ring they form is surrounded by an additional frame (3). image2