JP2009131596A - Information processor, image processor, information processing method, information processing program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to enjoy a pseudo race by using a freely designed image. <P>SOLUTION: A race game device 1 performs a race game, based on parameter information which indicates course information, racing car information, and racing car performance. The device includes: an image recognizing part 141 for acquiring image information; an image correcting part 143 for acquiring racing car information, based on the acquired image information; a parameter generating part 142 for acquiring the parameter information, based on the acquired image information; a state storage part 144 for controlling the movement of racing cars, based on the parameter information, so as to perform the race; a state calculating part 145; a state analyzing part 146; and a plotting processing part 148 for displaying a race image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing device, an image processing device, an information processing method, an information processing program, and a recording medium, and more particularly to control of a race game.

  Conventionally, a game device called a bar code butler has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The game device described in Patent Document 1 includes a device that optically reads a barcode, and uses a numerical value recorded in the barcode on a card possessed by the player to play against the attacking player and the defending player. It is a game which competes for victory or defeat based on the battle result determined from each other's numerical data.

An apparatus for performing a battle game using external information converted into parameter information according to a predetermined conversion method and using the parameter information as a battle parameter such as the attack power and defense power of the character selected by the player is a CD as well as a barcode. (Compact Disc) TOC (Table Of Contents) data (for example, refer to Patent Document 2), remote control code for AV (Audio Visual) equipment such as TV and video (for example, refer to Patent Document 3), referred to as a game card A game apparatus using external information such as information relating to characters such as identification information and personality expression information stored in a storage medium (see, for example, Patent Document 4) has been proposed. As a result, the player can enjoy the game using the external information.
JP-A-5-30475 JP-A-6-79061 JP 7-323154 A JP 2001-334021 A

  However, in the conventional game device described above, existing external information such as information on CD TOC data, AV device remote control code, and characters is converted into parameter information and used. For this reason, the user who is a player can use his creativity only in terms of how to select a character prepared in advance and external information that already exists. That is, it does not correspond to processing such as making a picture drawn by the player appear in the game, and there is a limit to the originality that the player can exhibit in the game.

  In response to such a problem, the inventors of the present invention invented an information processing apparatus that determines a parameter based on the characteristics of an image input by a user and executes a game based on the parameter, and filed an application. (Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-077945). In this application, a game is disclosed in which a parameter is generated based on an image of a character input by a user, and characters of the image input based on the generated parameter fight each other. As a result, the user can make the character he / she draws participate in the battle, but the user's request is various, and a game other than the battle game is desired. There is.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to enjoy a race in a pseudo manner using an image freely designed by a user.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 includes course information for displaying a race track, racing car information for displaying a racing car traveling on the race track, and performance of the racing car. An information processing apparatus that executes a racing game based on parameter information that is shown, the image acquiring unit acquiring image information including information for displaying the racing car, and the racing car based on the acquired image information A racing car information acquisition unit for acquiring information, a parameter information acquisition unit for acquiring the parameter information based on the acquired image information, and controlling the movement of the racing car on the race track based on the acquired parameter information A race execution unit for executing the race, and a race execution by the race execution unit Depending on the situation, and having a drawing control unit that displays the racing car to be drawn by the acquired racing car information in said race track drawn by the course information.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the racing car information acquisition unit extracts a portion where the racing car is displayed in an image drawn by the racing car information. Then, the image information is acquired.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the racing car information acquisition unit transparentizes a background portion in an image drawn by the acquired image information and performs the racing. Car information is acquired.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the racing car information acquisition unit displays the racing car in an image drawn by the acquired image information. The racing car information is acquired by thickening a line to be drawn.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the racing car information acquisition unit includes a pixel analysis unit that analyzes pixels constituting the image drawn by the acquired image information. A pixel correcting unit that corrects the pixel in accordance with an analysis result of the pixel analyzing unit, wherein the pixel correcting unit determines a pixel to be corrected, is an analysis result by the pixel analyzing unit, and the correction The line for drawing the racing car is thickened by changing the information of the correction target pixel in accordance with the analysis result of the pixel adjacent to the target pixel.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the parameter information acquisition unit sets the parameter based on information about the characteristics of the acquired image information. It is characterized by generating.

  The invention according to claim 7 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an image feature information acquisition unit that acquires information about the characteristics of the acquired image information, and the image feature information acquisition unit Is characterized in that at least one of information relating to the dimensions of the portion where the racing car is displayed in the image drawn by the acquired image information and information relating to the area of the racing car are extracted.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image feature information acquisition unit is configured to display a portion of the racing car displayed in the image drawn by the acquired image information. The coordinates above the lower end from the lower end are scanned in the horizontal direction, and the interval from the left end to the right end where the racing car is displayed is extracted as information on the dimensions.

  The invention according to claim 9 is the information processing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein an interval from a lower end to an upper end of a portion where the racing car is displayed in the image drawn by the acquired image information. Is extracted as information on the dimensions.

  The invention according to claim 10 is the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information regarding the plurality of parameter information and the plurality of reference images respectively associated with the plurality of parameter information. And a parameter storage unit that selects information related to the plurality of reference images based on the acquired image information, and is associated with the information related to the selected reference image. Parameter information is obtained.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the race execution unit automatically processes from the start to the end of the race. To do.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising an operation unit that allows a user to input operation information to the information processing apparatus, and executing the race. The unit executes the race based on the input operation information.

  The invention according to claim 13 is the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a plurality of the image information, and at least of the plurality of image information. One image information is acquired through a public line network.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus including the information processing apparatus according to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, wherein the original is optically scanned to display the racing car. And an image information input unit for inputting image information including the above information.

  The invention according to claim 14 is based on course information for displaying a race track, racing car information for displaying a racing car traveling on the race track, and parameter information indicating the performance of the racing car. An information processing method for executing a racing game, acquiring image information including information for displaying an image racing car, acquiring the racing car information based on the acquired image information, and acquiring the acquired image information The parameter information is acquired based on the parameter, the race is executed by controlling the movement of the racing car on the race track based on the acquired parameter information, and the acquired racing is performed according to the race execution status. The racing car drawn by the car information is changed to the race car drawn by the course information. Characterized in that it displayed during the scan field.

  The invention according to claim 15 is an information processing program, and causes the information processing apparatus to execute the information processing method according to claim 14.

  The invention according to claim 16 is a recording medium, wherein the information processing program according to claim 15 is recorded in a format readable by the information processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to enjoy a race in a pseudo manner using an image freely designed by a user.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
In the present embodiment, in a racing game in which a pseudo-defined racing car is run in a pseudo-defined racetrack, a picture drawn by a user on a paper medium is scanned and generated. A racing game apparatus that generates a racing car performance as a parameter based on an image and displays an image generated as a racing car having the parameter as a performance will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation mode of the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is operated by being connected to a scanner 2 that optically scans an image. The race game apparatus 1 installs dedicated software in an information processing apparatus such as a general PC (Personal Computer) including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). Is realized.

  With reference to FIG. 2, the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 100, a network I / F 110, an input device 120, and a display monitor 130. The controller 100 includes a main control unit 101, an input / output control unit 102, a display control unit 103, and a game control unit 104. Further, the game control unit 104 includes an image recognition unit 141, a parameter generation unit 142, an image correction unit 143, a state storage unit 144, a state calculation unit 145, a state analysis unit 146, a course information storage unit 147, and a drawing processing unit 148. .

  The network I / F 110 is an interface when the race game apparatus 1 communicates with other devices. The network I / F 110 is realized by, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) connection interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection interface. In the present embodiment, the race game apparatus 1 receives image information from the scanner 2 via the network I / F 110. The input device 120 is a user interface such as a keyboard or a mouse for a user to give a command to the race game apparatus 1 and operate it. The display monitor 130 is a display device that displays a moving image in the race game apparatus 1 and can be realized by an existing display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Monitor) or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).

  The controller 100 is configured by a combination of software and hardware. Specifically, ROM (Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable ROM), and a control program such as firmware stored in a nonvolatile storage medium such as an HDD or an optical disk, DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like. The controller 100 is configured by a software control unit that is loaded into a volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as a memory) and configured under the control of the CPU and hardware such as an integrated circuit. The controller 100 functions as a control unit that controls the operation of the race game apparatus 1.

  The main control unit 101 plays a role of controlling each unit included in the controller 100, and gives a command to each unit of the controller 100. The input / output control unit 102 controls reception of information input from the outside to the network I / F 110 in accordance with the control of the main control unit 101. In the present embodiment, the input / output control unit 102 inputs image information input from the scanner 2 to the network I / F 102 to the game control unit 104. The display control unit 103 controls the display monitor 130 under the control of the main control unit 101 to display the game state processed by the game control unit 104 on the display monitor 130.

  The game control unit 104 executes a racing game in a pseudo manner based on the input image information by the operation of each configuration described below. The image recognition unit 141 acquires image information input from the input / output control unit 102 to the game control unit 104 and recognizes it as an image of a racing car appearing in the game. Further, the image recognition unit 141 extracts information that is a feature of the acquired image information. Based on the information extracted by the image recognition unit 141, the parameter generation unit 142 generates a parameter that is the performance of the racing car when the input image is made to appear in the game as a racing car. The image correction unit 143 corrects the image recognized by the image recognition unit 141 and generates a racing car image to be displayed on the display monitor 130.

  In addition to the parameters generated by the parameter generation unit 142, the state storage unit 144 stores information related to the state of the racing car during the game. Based on the information stored in the state storage unit 144, the state calculation unit 145 calculates the state of the next racing car, that is, the state of the race that changes over time. The state analysis unit 146 analyzes the state calculated by the state calculation unit 145, determines whether the race car is out of course or the race is finished, and updates the state stored in the state storage unit 144.

  The course information storage unit 147 stores race track information in the race game processed by the game control unit 104. The racetrack information includes bitmap information for displaying the racetrack on the display monitor 130, and information indicating the inside of the course, the outside of the course, the start line and the like in the coordinates of the bitmap information. The drawing processing unit 148 is based on the racing car image generated by the image correcting unit 143, the course information stored in the course information storage unit 147, and the racing car state information stored in the state storage unit 144. Generate and output drawing information for drawing the screen.

  Next, the scanner 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the scanner 2 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the scanner 2 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 200, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 201, a scanner unit 202, a paper discharge tray 203, a network I / F 204, a display panel 205, and the like. An HDD 206 is included. The controller 200 includes a main control unit 211, an engine control unit 212, an input / output control unit 213, an image processing unit 214, and an HDD controller 215. In FIG. 3, the electrical connection is indicated by a solid arrow, and the flow of a sheet or a document bundle is indicated by a broken arrow.

  The network I / F 204 is an interface when the scanner 2 communicates with the race game apparatus 1. Image information generated by scanning by the scanner 2 is transmitted to the race game apparatus 1 via the network I / F 204. The display panel 205 is an output interface that visually displays the state of the scanner 2, and is also an input interface when the user directly operates the scanner 2 as a touch panel. The controller 200 is configured by a combination of software and hardware, like the controller 100 of the race game apparatus 1, and functions as a control unit that controls the scanner 2.

  The main control unit 211 plays a role of controlling each unit included in the controller 200, and gives a command to each unit of the controller 200. The engine control unit 212 controls the scanner unit 202. The input / output control unit 213 inputs operation information input by the user from the display panel 205 to the main control unit 211, displays information on the display panel 205 in accordance with a command from the main control unit 211, or sets the network I / F 204. Information to other devices via

  The image processing unit 214 processes the imaging information input from the scanner unit 202 under the control of the main control unit 211, and generates image information. The image information is stored in the HDD 206 via the HDD controller 215 as a scan operation result (result information) obtained by scanning a picture drawn on a paper medium by a user, or a race game via the network I / F 204. Information transmitted to the device 1. The HDD controller 215 controls recording of information on the HDD 206 or reading of information from the HDD 206 according to the control of the main control unit 211.

  When the scanner 2 executes a scan, the input / output control unit 213 sends a scan execution signal to the main control unit 211 in accordance with the operation of the display panel 205 by the user or the information of the scan execution command input via the network I / F 204. Send. The main control unit 211 controls the engine control unit 212 based on the scan execution signal received from the input / output control unit 213. The engine control unit 212 drives the ADF 201 and conveys the document to be imaged set on the ADF 201 to the scanner unit 202. In addition, the engine control unit 212 drives the scanner unit 202 and images a document conveyed from the ADF 201. If no original is set on the ADF 201 and the original is directly set on the scanner unit 202, the scanner unit 202 captures the set original under the control of the engine control unit 212. That is, the scanner unit 202 operates as an imaging unit.

  In the imaging operation, an imaging element such as a CCD included in the scanner unit 202 optically scans the document, and imaging information is generated based on the optical information. The engine control unit 212 transfers the imaging information generated by the scanner unit 202 to the image processing unit 214. The image processing unit 214 generates image information based on the imaging information received from the engine control unit 212 according to the control of the main control unit 211. The image information generated by the image processing unit 214 is sequentially spooled in a storage area such as the HDD 206. The spooled image information generated and spooled by the image processing unit 214 is stored as it is in the HDD 206 or transmitted to the race game apparatus 1 via the input / output control unit 213 and the network I / F 204 in accordance with a user instruction.

  In such a racing game apparatus 1 and the scanner 2, the gist of the present embodiment is that the scanner 2 scans a picture of a racing car drawn on a paper medium by a user to generate racing car image information, and the racing car. In the racing game processed by the racing game apparatus 1. Another aspect is to generate parameter information indicating the performance of the racing car according to the characteristics of the image of the racing car. Hereinafter, operations of the race game apparatus 1 and the scanner 2 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operations of the race game apparatus 1 and the scanner 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, first, scanning is performed in the scanner 2, and image information is input (S401). Here, FIG. 5 shows a GUI (Graphical User Interface) displayed on the display monitor 130 of the race game apparatus 1 in S401. As shown in FIG. 5, the racing game GUI according to the present embodiment includes a course display portion 5a, racing car display portions 5b to 5e, a course selection button 5f, and a start button 5g. The GUI shown in FIG. 5 is displayed when the drawing processing unit 148 generates information for drawing the GUI, and the display control unit 103 controls the display monitor 130 based on the information.

  The course display unit 5a is a part that displays an image of the racetrack stored in the course information storage unit 147 in the GUI. As described above, the image of the racetrack stored in the course information storage unit 147 is two-dimensional bitmap information. However, the course display unit 5a simulates the perspective by reproducing the perspective. Are displayed in three dimensions.

  When inputting the image information in S401, the user clicks the “scan” button displayed on the racing car display portions 5b to 5e shown in FIG. 5 by operating the input device 120 such as a mouse. As a result, a scan execution command is transmitted from the race game apparatus 1 to the scanner 2. Upon receiving the scan effective command, the scanner 2 scans the original set on the ADF 201 or the scanner unit 202 by the above-described processing, generates image information, and transmits the image information to the race game apparatus 1. As a result, image information is input to the race game apparatus 1. The image information input to the race game apparatus 1 is input to the image recognition unit 141 of the game control unit 104 via the network I / F 110 and the input / output control unit 102. That is, the scanner 2, the network I / F 110, and the input / output control unit 102 function as an image information input unit. The image recognition unit 141 functions as an image acquisition unit. Note that the “call” button shown in FIG. 5 is a button for calling an image that has already been scanned and stored in the race game apparatus 1.

  When image information is input to the race game apparatus 1, the image recognition unit 141 recognizes the input image and extracts a racing car image from the image information (S402). Here, the extraction process in S402 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). Consider a case where an image as shown in FIG. 6A is input from the scanner 2. In FIG. 6A, the hatched portion is the background, and is a blank portion where the racing car is not drawn by the user. In this case, the image recognition unit 141 recognizes the image drawn by the user in the image shown in FIG. 6A, that is, the upper and lower ends and the left and right ends of the racing car. And the range outside the recognized upper and lower and left and right ends is deleted. Thereby, as shown in FIG.6 (b), the image of a racing car is recognized. When the image is made to appear in the game in the state shown in FIG. 6A, the racing car is displayed as if it floats because there is a gap between the lower end of the image and the lower end of the racing car. Such a problem can be solved by deleting the margin of the image as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6B, hereinafter, in the racing car image, the vertical direction is the Y axis and the horizontal direction is the X axis.

  When the image recognition unit 141 completes the recognition of the image information, the image correction unit 143 next corrects the image recognized by the image recognition unit 141 in order to generate a racing car image to be displayed on the display monitor 130 ( S403). Note that the image recognized by the image recognition unit 141 is an image in the state shown in FIG. Here, image correction processing by the image correction unit 143 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6B, 6C, and 7. FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the image correcting unit 143 determines whether the background of the image to be corrected (hereinafter referred to as the target image) is white or black (S701). In this embodiment, a binary, that is, a black and white image will be described as an example. When the background of the target image is white (S701 / YES), the image correction unit 143 performs the contraction process of the target image (S702). On the other hand, when the background of the target image is black (S701 / NO), the image correction unit 143 performs the target image expansion process (S702).

  Here, with reference to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, the image shrinking process and the expanding process will be described. As shown in FIG. 8A, the image contraction processing is performed by analyzing an image for each pixel, and if there is even one black pixel adjacent to the target pixel (target pixel), the target pixel Is the process of making the black. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, the image expansion process analyzes an image for each pixel, and if there is at least one white pixel adjacent to the target pixel, the target pixel is set to white. It is processing. That is, the image correction unit 143 includes a pixel analysis unit that analyzes the pixels constituting the target image and a pixel correction unit that corrects pixel information according to the analysis result of the pixels. In the examples of FIGS. 8A and 8B, the example of determining the pixels in the vicinity of 8 including diagonally up, down, left, and right is shown. Also good.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a picture drawn by a user on a paper medium is input by scanning. A picture drawn by handwriting by the user may be a thin line or a thin and faint case. Even if such a picture is scanned and displayed as a racing car as it is, it may be difficult to see in the game. On the other hand, by performing the above-described contraction or expansion processing, as shown in FIG. 6C, the lines constituting the racing car are thickened, and the picture handwritten by the user is displayed easily in the game. Is possible.

  When the image contraction process or the expansion process is completed, the image correction unit performs a process of making the background of the image transparent (S704), and ends the process. When an image is made to appear in the game in the state shown in FIG. 6A, a white portion around the racing car is also drawn at the same time. By making the background transparent, it is possible to display the racetrack and the racing car in an appropriately superimposed manner. Note that the contraction process in S702 or the expansion process in S703 may be repeated a plurality of times depending on the state of the image. The image correction unit 143 stores the generated racing car image. In addition, the image correction unit 143 transmits the generated racing car image to the image recognition unit 141. Thus, in the present embodiment, racing car information that is display information of a racing car to be displayed on the GUI that is the game screen is generated by the functions of the image recognition unit 141 and the image correction unit 143. That is, the image recognition unit 141 and the image correction unit 143 function as a racing car information acquisition unit.

  When receiving the racing car image from the image correction unit 143, the image recognition unit 141 extracts the characteristics of the received image (S404). That is, the image recognition unit 141 functions as an image feature information acquisition unit. Here, FIG. 9 shows image feature information (hereinafter referred to as image feature information) extracted by the image recognition unit 141. As shown in FIG. 9, the image feature information extracted by the image recognition unit 141 includes information on dimensions such as image height information and wheelbase information, and image area information. Here, the wheel base is the distance between the front wheel and the rear wheel of the racing car. Next, the extraction mode of each information is demonstrated with reference to Fig.10 (a)-(c). FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating a mode of extracting image height information. As shown in FIG. 10A, the image recognition unit 141 extracts coordinate intervals between both ends in the vertical direction in the image recognized in S402 as image height information. That is, the image height information is a dimension of an interval from the upper end to the lower end of the range where the racing car is displayed in the input image.

  FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating an extraction mode of wheelbase information. When extracting the wheel base information, the image recognition unit 141 uses a line parallel to the X axis, that is, a line in the horizontal direction as a scanning line S, which is a Y coordinate on the predetermined range from the lowest end in the Y axis direction of the image. A range on the X axis where the image exists on the scanning line S, that is, a range where the racing car is displayed and not the background is obtained as wheelbase information. More specifically, on the scanning line S, the distance from the leftmost side, that is, the smallest point of the X coordinate to the rightmost side, that is, the largest point of the X coordinate in the range where the image exists is obtained. Base information.

  FIG. 10C is a diagram illustrating an extraction mode of image area information. When extracting the image area information, the image recognition unit 141 recognizes a portion other than the background and calculates the number of pixels. Here, the part other than the background is a part of a line indicating a racing car in FIG. Through these processes, the image recognition unit 141 extracts image feature information as shown in FIG. With these processes, the process of S402 is completed. The image recognition unit 141 inputs the extracted image feature information to the parameter generation unit 142.

  When the extraction of the image feature information by the image recognition unit 141 is completed, the parameter generation unit 142 performs parameter generation processing based on the information (S405). FIG. 11 shows parameter information generated by the parameter generation unit 142. As shown in FIG. 11, the parameter information indicating the performance of the racing car includes radar distance information, maximum speed information, acceleration performance information, and rotation angle information of the racing car. The actual race game process is executed automatically instead of being operated by the user, and the racing car detects whether the course is ahead or outside the course, recognizes that the course is curved, and changes the course . The radar distance indicates which point the racing car detects in front of the traveling direction. Here, a point at which each racing car detects the front in the traveling direction based on the radar distance is defined as a radar point. That is, as the radar distance is longer, the radar point is earlier, the curve can be detected at an earlier timing, and the traveling direction can be changed at an earlier timing, so that smooth cornering can be performed.

  As the name suggests, the maximum speed indicates the maximum distance that the racing car can travel in unit time. Here, the distance in the present embodiment is the distance of the racetrack indicated by the bitmap, and is indicated by the number of pixels. In the present embodiment, the race progresses by updating the screen. That is, the unit time according to the present embodiment is an interval for updating the screen, in other words, an interval for drawing the screen to be displayed. Therefore, the speed according to the present embodiment is the number of pixels that are advanced by one screen update, and is indicated in units of “pixel / drawing”. The acceleration performance is an increase value of the speed per unit time until the racing car reaches the maximum speed, and is indicated in units of “pixel / drawing” like the maximum speed. The rotation angle is an angle of the traveling direction that can be changed by one screen update when the racing car detects a curve and changes the traveling direction, and is represented by “degree / drawing”.

Next, a method in which the parameter generation unit 142 generates parameter information based on the image feature information will be described. First, the radar distance is generated by the following equation (1) based on the image height information.

  This indicates that the higher the height of the racing car, the greater the distance can be seen. Note that “maximum image height” in equation (1) is the maximum height that can be drawn when the user draws the racing car. For example, the image including the background shown in FIG. It is height. The “maximum radar distance” is set as a limit value of the radar distance of the racing game according to the present embodiment.

Next, the maximum speed is generated by the following equation (2) based on the image area information.

  This means that the larger the racing car, the higher the maximum speed. In addition, the “maximum image area” in the expression (2) is the maximum area that can be drawn when the user draws the racing car, for example, the area of the image including the background shown in FIG. is there. The “maximum maximum speed” is set as a limit value of the maximum speed of the racing game according to the present embodiment.

Further, the acceleration performance is generated by the following expression (3) based on the image area information.

  This means that the smaller the racing car is lighter, the faster the maximum speed is reached. Note that “basic acceleration performance” in the equation (3) indicates a reference value of the acceleration performance of the racing game according to the present embodiment, and the reciprocal of the ratio of the image area to the maximum area as shown in the equation (3). The multiplied value is the acceleration performance of the racing car.

The rotation angle is generated by the following equation (4) based on the wheelbase information.

  This means that the shorter the wheel base, the smaller the angle, the larger the angle that can be rotated per unit time. Note that the “maximum image width” in the equation (4) is the maximum width that can be drawn when the user draws the racing car, for example, the width of the image including the background shown in FIG. is there. The “maximum rotation angle” is set as a limit value of the rotation angle of the racing game according to the present embodiment.

  With this process, the parameter generation process by the parameter generation unit 142 is completed. That is, the parameter generation unit 142 functions as a parameter information acquisition unit. The parameter information generated by the parameter generation unit 142 is input to the state storage unit 144 and stored in the state storage unit 144. FIG. 12 shows an example of information stored by the state information storage unit 144. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the state information storage unit 144 stores position information, speed information, and vector information in addition to the parameter information input by the parameter generation unit 142. These pieces of information are information indicating the state during the race of the racing game. At the stage where the parameter information is generated, the coordinates of the starting point of the racetrack displayed on the course display unit 5a shown in FIG. 5 are stored in the position information. In addition, “0” indicating a stopped state is input as the speed information, and a vector indicating the course direction from the start point is input as the vector information.

  After the image correction processing by the image correction unit 143 and the parameter generation processing by the parameter generation unit 142 are completed, the drawing processing unit 148 draws the racing car image generated by the image correction unit 143 (S406). If there is still an input image (S407 / NO), the processing from S401 is repeated. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the processes of S401 to S406 are repeated and a plurality of images are input and drawn. As shown in FIG. 13, the input racing car image is displayed on the racing car display portions 5 b to 5 e of the GUI. Further, the parameter information generated by the parameter generation unit 142 is displayed as a band on each of the racing car display units 5b to 5e. Furthermore, an image of the racing car generated by the image correction unit 143 is displayed on the course display unit 5a. Note that the racing car image is a two-dimensional image obtained by scanning a picture displayed on a paper medium. As shown in FIG. 13, a flat image is displayed on the course display unit 5a. It is displayed in a three-dimensional manner as if it were standing perpendicular to the ground.

  Thus, when the input of all the images is completed (S407 / YES), the race is started when the user clicks the start button 5g by operating the input device 120 (S408). When the race is started, race processing is executed by the state storage unit 144, the state calculation unit 145, the state analysis unit 146, and the drawing processing unit 148 (S409). When the race process of S408 is completed (S410), the process ends.

  Here, the race processing will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing detailed processing in S408. When the race is started, the state analysis unit 146 acquires information on the state of each racing car from the state storage unit 144, and calculates the coordinates of the radar point of each racing car based on the radar distance and vector information of each racing car. To do. Then, the state analysis unit 146 acquires from the course information storage unit 147 information indicating whether the racetrack coordinates and the respective coordinates are in the course or out of the course, and determines whether the radar point of each racing car is in the course. (S1401). Here, the information stored in the course information storage unit 147 and indicating whether the coordinates of the racetrack and the respective coordinates are within the course or outside the course will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the course information storage unit 147 includes coordinates corresponding to the coordinates of the racetrack bitmap and information indicating inside / outside of the course, in addition to the bitmap information of the racetrack displayed on the GUI. It is stored in association. Here, the information inside / outside of the course is “inside course” indicating that the course has not been removed from the course, “outside of course” indicating that the course has been removed from the course and outside the course, and It can be divided into three states: “outside of course” indicating that the course is off the inside.

  Here, an example where the radar point of the racing car is off the course will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 (a) and 16 (b). FIG. 16A is a diagram showing a state where the radar point P is outside the course, that is, a state of “outside outside the course” in FIG. On the other hand, FIG. 16B is a diagram showing a state in which the radar point P has deviated to the inside of the course, that is, a state of “inside outside the course” in FIG. At the start of the game, each racing car is placed on the start line, so the radar point will not be off the course.

  If the radar point is not off the course (S1401 / NO), the state analysis unit 146 increases the speed information stored in the state storage unit 144 by the acceleration performance of the racing car (S1403). In the speed update process of S1404, the maximum speed stored in the state storage unit 144 is set as the upper limit, and the speed information does not increase any more.

  Next, the state calculation unit 145 calculates the position information of each racing car, that is, the updated value of the coordinates on the race track, based on the information stored in the state storage unit 144. (S1404). When calculating the update value, the coordinates moved by the pixel indicated by the speed information in the direction indicated by the vector information are calculated. When calculating the update value, the state calculation unit 145 updates the position information by overwriting the calculated update value on the position information in the state storage unit 144 (S1404).

  On the other hand, when it is detected in S1401 that the radar point is off the course (S1402 / YES), the state analysis unit 146 uses the vector information stored in the state storage unit 144 for the rotation angle of each racing car. Change (S1402). Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13 and the like, the racetrack is a clockwise course. Therefore, when the radar point is off the course, if it is “outside of the course”, the rotation angle is clockwise when viewed from directly above the racetrack, and if it is “outside of the course”, the rotation angle is counterclockwise. The vector information is changed by the amount of. Further, when changing the vector in S1403, the state analysis unit 146 reduces the speed information stored in the state storage unit 144. This is to express deceleration in a curve even in an actual race or the like. After the vector changing process, the process proceeds to the coordinate changing process of S1404.

  When the processing from S1401 to S1404 is completed, the drawing processing unit 148 acquires position information and vector information from the state storage unit 144, and changes the display position and display angle of each racing car displayed on the course display unit 5a. (S1405). That is, the drawing processing unit 148 functions as a drawing control unit that controls GUI display based on information stored in the state storage unit 144.

  The process from S1401 to S1405 is a process of one cycle in which the display position of the racing car displayed on the course display unit 5a in the GUI is updated once. As the game control unit 104 repeats the processes of S1401 to S1405, the race game progresses. Note that the interval at which the processes of S1401 to S1405 are executed can be changed by the setting of the game control unit 104, but is, for example, an interval of 0.5 (seconds).

  After the drawing processing unit 148 updates the display of the course display unit 5a, the state analysis unit 146 moves the race car, that is, the coordinates before the update of the position information stored in the state storage unit 144 and the post-update. It is determined whether or not the line segment connecting with the coordinates intersects the start line segment stored in the course information storage unit 147 (S1406). If the moving track of the racing car does not intersect the start line (S1406 / NO), the processing from S1401 is repeated. On the other hand, if the moving track of the racing car intersects the start line (S1406 / YES), the state analysis unit 146 determines that the racing car has reached the goal, and ends the processing of the racing car (S1407). . That is, for the racing car determined to have reached the goal, the state calculation unit 145 does not update the position information and stops near the start line.

  For all the racing cars, the state analysis unit 146 determines a goal and repeats the processing from S1401 until the processing is completed (S1408 / NO). When the process is completed for all the racing cars (S1408 / YES), the drawing processing unit 148 updates the screen to indicate the end of the race (S1409) and ends the process. By such processing, the racing game processing according to the present embodiment is executed. In the present embodiment, the race automatically proceeds by the processing of the state storage unit 144, the state calculation unit 145, and the state analysis unit 146, as described above, instead of an operation by the user. That is, the state storage unit 144, the state calculation unit 145, and the state analysis unit 146 function as a race execution unit in conjunction with each other. Thereby, the game progresses based only on the parameters generated from the drawn picture. Therefore, it is possible to determine the victory or defeat only with the input image without being affected by the user's operation skill.

  As described above, the race game apparatus according to the present embodiment makes it possible to enjoy a race in a pseudo manner using an image freely designed by the user.

  In the above description, an example in which a race automatically proceeds under the control of the game control unit 104 has been described. However, acceleration, direction control, and the like of the racing car are controlled by a user operation via the input device 120. You may be made to do. As a result, winning or losing is determined based on two elements, that is, the image input by the user and the operation skill of the user, and a game including more various winning / losing factors can be executed.

  In the above description, an example has been described in which a user inputs a picture drawn on a paper medium by handwriting through the scanner 2. In addition, for example, an image drawn using a PC or the like can be input. This also makes it possible to obtain the same effect as described above.

  In the above description, as described with reference to FIG. 11, the example in which the information on the radar distance, the maximum speed, the acceleration performance, and the rotation angle is used as parameter information indicating the performance of the racing car has been described. This is an example, and other elements can be included. For example, it is possible to extract a line that is the shortest distance of the course from the racetrack image stored in the course information storage unit 147 and set a parameter that indicates the followability to the line. In addition, when the course curve is detected and the vector is changed, processing is performed so that the speed is reduced. However, a parameter indicating the amount of deceleration at that time may be set. Furthermore, the air resistance may be calculated according to the outer shape of the input racing car image to influence the acceleration performance and the maximum speed. These parameters are calculated based on the image recognized by the image recognition unit 141 as described above.

  In the above description, an example has been described in which each parameter is calculated by the methods shown in equations (1) to (4). This is an example, and it is also possible to calculate by other calculation methods. For example, in the above description, an example in which a binary image is input as an image of a racing car has been described. However, it is also possible to input a color image having three or more values and calculate a parameter according to the color.

  In the above description, as shown in the equations (1) to (4), the example in which each parameter is calculated according to the characteristics of the input image has been described. This not only makes the input image appear in the game, but also enjoys drawing a picture so that the performance in the game is improved.

  In the above description, an example in which the image recognition unit 141 extracts image feature information based on the image corrected by the image correction unit 143 and the parameter generation unit 142 generates parameters has been described. As described above, when the image before being corrected by the image correction unit 143 is a line drawing or the like, the area becomes very small. Such a problem can be solved by extracting the feature of the image after the expansion / contraction process. On the other hand, when the input image is not handwritten but an image generated by a PC drawing application or the like, feature information may be extracted from the image before the correction process is performed.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In Embodiment 1, the example which calculates the parameter information of a racing car using Formula (1)-Formula (4) was demonstrated. In the present embodiment, another example will be described as a parameter setting method for an input image. In addition, about the structure which attaches | subjects the code | symbol similar to Embodiment 1, the same or equivalent part as Embodiment 1 is shown, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Here, the racing game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image comparison unit 149 and a parameter storage unit 150 in place of the parameter generation unit 142. The parameter storage unit 150 is a storage unit that stores a plurality of images and parameter information associated with the images. Here, the plurality of images stored in the parameter storage unit 150 are images serving as a reference for determining parameters to be set in an image input to the image recognition unit 141 as a racing car image. The image comparison unit 149 detects similarities between the image stored in the parameter storage unit 150 and the image recognized by the image recognition unit 141, and parameter information associated with the image most similar to the input image. Is obtained from the parameter storage unit 150.

  FIG. 18 shows an example of information stored in the parameter storage unit 150. As shown in FIG. 18, the parameter storage unit 150 includes a radar distance, a maximum speed, an acceleration as an image ID for identifying an image for determining a similarity with the input image, and parameter information associated with the image ID. Information on performance and rotation angle is stored. In the calculation of the image similarity by the image comparison unit 149, for example, image feature information as described in FIG. 9 of the first embodiment is extracted, and the similarity is calculated by comparing the extracted image feature information. can do. In addition, a known technique can be used for calculating the similarity between images.

  The operation of the race game apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as the operation described in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment. Here, in the present embodiment, the process of S404 in FIG. 4 is different from that in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, parameters are generated using the extracted image feature information and the calculations of equations (1) to (4) as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, as described above, parameter information is acquired by the functions of the image comparison unit 149 and the parameter storage unit 150 and is input to the state storage unit 144. Other processes are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  As described above, in the racing game device according to the present embodiment, one of the parameter information stored in the parameter storage unit 150 is selected according to the input image, and the race is executed based on the parameter information. Is done. Thereby, the parameter information of the racing car can be any one of the information stored in the parameter storage unit 150 in advance. Therefore, since it is possible to adjust the difference in performance between the racing cars in advance, it is possible to prevent the performance difference between the racing cars from being widened and the unilateral race from being developed.

  In the above description, the example in which the parameter storage unit 150 stores the comparison reference image and the parameter information associated with the image has been described. However, if the parameter storage unit 150 stores at least information that allows the image comparison unit 149 to determine similarities with the input image, the above-described effects can be obtained. Therefore, as described above, when the feature information of the image is extracted and the similarity is determined, the same effect as described above can be obtained if the feature information associated with each parameter is stored instead of the image itself. It becomes possible.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1, the example in which the race game apparatus 1 operates by acquiring image information from the scanner 2 connected via the network has been described. In the present embodiment, an example in which an image processing apparatus having an image input function such as a scanner is configured as a race game apparatus as one aspect of the race game apparatus 1 will be described. In addition, about the structure which attaches | subjects the code | symbol similar to Embodiment 1, 2, the same part as Embodiment 1 or an equivalent part is shown, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image processing apparatus 3 as a racing game apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 19, the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment includes a controller 100, an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 111, a scanner unit 112, a paper discharge tray 113, a network I / F 110, and a display panel. 131, a paper feed table 114, a print engine 1115, and a paper discharge tray 116. The image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment is configured as an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having functions such as a printer, a scanner, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine.

  The controller 100 includes a main control unit 101, an input / output control unit 102, an operation display control unit 123, a game control unit 104, an engine control unit 105, and an image processing unit 106. In FIG. 19, the electrical connection is indicated by solid arrows, and the flow of paper is indicated by broken arrows. The controller 100 is configured by a combination of software and hardware as in the first embodiment.

  The display panel 131 has the functions of the input device 120 and the display monitor 130 in the first embodiment. That is, the display panel 131 is an output interface that visually displays the state of the image processing apparatus 3 and also an input interface when the user directly operates the image processing apparatus 3 as a touch panel.

  The engine control unit 105 serves as a drive unit that controls or drives the print engine 115, the scanner unit 112, and the like. The input / output control unit 102 inputs information such as a print job input via the network I / F 110 to the main control unit 111. In addition, the input / output control unit 102 transmits information to other devices connected to the network via the network I / F 110 in accordance with instructions from the main control unit 111.

  The image processing unit 106 generates drawing information based on information included in the print job according to the control of the main control unit 101. The drawing information is information for drawing an image to be formed by the print engine 115 in the image forming operation. The image processing unit 106 processes image data input from the scanner unit 112 and generates image information. The image information is information stored in a HDD (not shown) as a result of the scanner operation or transmitted to another information terminal via the network I / F 110. In the present embodiment, the image processing unit 106 inputs image information generated according to the scan to the game control unit 104.

  Similar to the display control unit 103 according to the first embodiment, the operation display control unit 123 displays information on the display panel 131 according to the control of the main control unit 101. The operation display control unit 123 inputs operation information input by the user from the display panel 105 to the main control unit 111. The game control unit 104 has the same configuration as in the first and second embodiments, and has the same configuration as in FIG. 2 or FIG.

  When the image processing apparatus 3 operates as a printer, the input / output control unit 102 first receives a print job via a USB or LAN connected to the network I / F 110. As a result, a print job is generated in the image processing apparatus 3. When a print job occurs, the main control unit 101 inputs image information included in the print job to the image processing unit 106. The image processing unit 106 generates drawing information based on the input image information in accordance with a command from the main control unit 101. The drawing information generated by the image processing unit 106 is temporarily stored in an HDD (not shown) sequentially.

  The engine control unit 105 drives the paper feed table 114 under the control of the main control unit 101 and conveys the printing paper to the print engine 115. Further, the engine control unit 105 acquires drawing information held in an HDD (not shown) and inputs the drawing information to the print engine 115. The print engine 115 executes image formation on the paper conveyed from the paper feed table 114 based on the drawing information received from the engine control unit 105. That is, the print engine 115 operates as an image forming unit. As a specific mode of the print engine 115, an image forming mechanism using an ink jet method, an image forming mechanism using an electrophotographic method, or the like can be used. A document on which an image is formed by the print engine 115 is discharged to a discharge tray 116.

  When the image processing apparatus 3 operates as a scanner, the operation display control unit 103 or the input / output control unit 102 is mainly used in response to a user operation on the display panel 131 or a scan execution instruction input via the network I / F 110. A scan execution signal is transmitted to the control unit 101. The main control unit 101 controls the engine control unit 105 based on the received scan execution signal. The engine control unit 105 drives the ADF 111 and conveys the document to be imaged set on the ADF 111 to the scanner unit 112.

  In addition, the engine control unit 105 drives the scanner unit 112 and images a document conveyed from the ADF 111. If no document is set on the ADF 111 and a document is set on the scanner unit 112, the scanner unit 112 captures the set document according to the control of the engine control unit 105. That is, the scanner unit 112 operates as an imaging unit.

  In the imaging operation, an imaging element such as a CCD included in the scanner unit 112 optically scans the document, and imaging information is generated based on the optical information. The engine control unit 105 transfers the imaging information generated by the scanner unit 112 to the image processing unit 106. The image processing unit 106 generates image information based on the imaging information received from the engine control unit 105 according to the control of the main control unit 101. Image information generated by the image processing unit 106 is temporarily stored in an HDD (not shown).

  Image information generated by the image processing unit 106 and held in an HDD (not shown) is stored in accordance with a user instruction or transmitted to an external information terminal via the input / output control unit 102 and the network I / F 110. In the present embodiment, the held image information is input to the game control unit 104. When the image processing apparatus 3 operates as a copier, the image processing unit 106 generates drawing information based on the imaging information received from the scanner unit 112 by the engine control unit 105. Based on the drawing information, the engine control unit 105 drives the print engine 115 as in the case of the printer operation.

  In such an image processing device 3, one of the gist of this embodiment is that the image processing device 3 can execute the race game operation described in the first and second embodiments alone. The operation when the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment executes the racing game is substantially the same as the operation described in FIG. Here, in the embodiment, the apparatus that executes the process of S401 in FIG. 4 is the image processing apparatus 3, which is different from the first embodiment.

  That is, in the present embodiment, image information generated by the operation of the engine control unit 105, the image processing unit 106, and the scanner unit 112 described above is input to the image recognition unit 141 of the game control unit 104. That is, the scanner unit 112, the engine control unit 105, and the image processing unit 106 function as an image information input unit. Subsequent processing is executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  Note that the functions performed by the input device 120 and the display monitor 130 in the first embodiment are performed by the display panel 131 in the present embodiment. That is, the display panel 131 displays a GUI as shown in FIG. Further, the user touches the GUI displayed on the display panel 131 to input a scan execution instruction or a race start instruction command.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment can execute the race game described in the first and second embodiments alone. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare the race game apparatus and the scanner separately. In addition, by installing the function of the game control unit 104 in the image processing apparatus 3, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus with added value.

Embodiment 4.
In the present embodiment, an example of a game system that can be played through a network will be described. In addition, about the structure which attaches | subjects the code | symbol similar to Embodiment 1-3, the same or an equivalent part is shown and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation mode of the game system according to the present embodiment. The game system according to the present embodiment includes a PC 4, a scanner 2, a game server 6, and an MFP 7. The PC 4, the game server 6 and the MFP 7 are communicably connected via a network 8 which is a public line network such as the Internet line. In the present embodiment, the process of the game server 6 enables a battle between a user operating the PC 4 and a user operating the MFP 7. That is, in the present embodiment, a battle can be made via the network 8.

  The PC 4 is a general information processing terminal operated by a user, and has a hardware configuration as a general information processing terminal. The PC 4 is connected to the scanner 2. As a result, the PC 4 can process image information generated by scanning by the scanner 2. The MFP 7 is an image processing apparatus as a multifunction machine having functions such as a printer, a scanner, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine. The MFP 7 according to the present embodiment has a configuration other than the game control unit 104 among the configurations of the image processing apparatus 3 shown in FIG. The game server 6 operates as a racing game device in this embodiment. FIG. 22 shows a configuration of the game server 6 according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the game server 6 according to the present embodiment has a configuration substantially similar to that of the race game apparatus 1 described in FIG. Here, the game control unit 104 of the game server 6 according to the present embodiment further includes a login control unit 151. In the game server 6, the input device 120, the display monitor 130, and the display control unit 103 of the controller 100 are omitted from the game apparatus 1. The login control 151 manages access from the PC 4 or MFP 7 in the game system according to the present embodiment. Further, the login control unit 151 stores information related to login of the user who is operating the PC 4 or the MFP 7 and racing car image information input by the user.

  FIG. 22 shows an example of information stored in the login control unit 151 (hereinafter referred to as login information). As shown in FIG. 22, the login information includes user ID, IP address, parameter information, and image storage path information. The user ID is information that uniquely identifies a logged-in user who operates the PC 4 or the MFP 7. The IP address is information indicating addresses in the network 8 of the PC 4 and the MFP 7.

  The parameter information is racing car parameter information input by each user, and is the same as the information shown in FIG. The image storage path is information indicating a storage area in which image information of the racing car is stored in the login control unit 151. The login control unit 151 stores only login information of a user who has logged into the game system. That is, the login control unit 151 discards the login information of the user who has logged out from the game system.

  Next, the operation of the game system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the game system according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 23, an example in which processing is executed starting from a user who operates the MFP 7 will be described. First, the MFP 7 acquires information for displaying a login screen from the game server 6 in accordance with a user operation, and displays it on the display panel of the MFP 7 (S2301). An example of the GUI of the login screen displayed in S2301 is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the GUI of the login screen has an input unit for inputting a user ID and buttons for instructing execution of scanning and login. The user instructs execution of scanning and login by touching a button portion of the login screen displayed on the display panel. The GUI information shown in FIG. 24 includes command information for controlling the scanner unit of the MFP 7. A scan is executed according to this command information.

  The MFP 7 performs a scan according to the user's instruction, and transmits a login request to the game server 6 (S2302). FIG. 25 shows an example of information (hereinafter referred to as login request information) transmitted from the MFP 7 to the game server 6 in S2302. As shown in FIG. 25, the login request information includes header information indicating that it is a login request, IP address information of the MFP 7, and image information generated by scanning.

  The input / output control unit 102 receives the login request information transmitted to the game server 6 via the network I / F 110. The input / output control unit 102 inputs the received login request information to the login control unit 151 of the game control unit 104. The game control unit 104 that has received the login request information generates a parameter based on the received image information (S2303). In the processing of S2303, the same processing as S402 to S405 in FIG. 4 is executed.

  In the process of S2303, first, the login control unit 151 inputs image information of the received login request information to the image recognition unit 141. The image recognition unit 141 recognizes the acquired image information and extracts a racing car image from the image information (S402). The image recognition unit 141 inputs the extracted racing car image to the image correction unit 143. The image correction unit 143 corrects the input racing car image (S403). The image correction unit 143 inputs the extracted racing car image information to the login control unit 151 and the image recognition unit 141.

  The image recognition unit 141 extracts the features of the racing car image input from the image correction unit 143 (S404). When the image recognition unit 141 completes feature extraction, the parameter generation unit 142 generates parameter information based on the extracted features (S405). The parameter generation unit 142 inputs the generated parameter information to the login control unit 151.

  The login control unit 151 stores login request information received from the MFP 7, racing car image information acquired from the image correction unit 143, and parameter information acquired from the parameter generation unit 142 as login information. Thereby, the login information as described in FIG. 22 is generated.

  When the generation of the parameter information is completed, the game server 6 transmits screen display information for displaying an opponent selection screen to the MFP 7 that is the transmission source of the login request (S2304). The screen display information transmitted in S2304 includes all login information stored in the login control unit 151. In step S <b> 2304, the login control unit 151 generates screen display information and inputs the generated screen display information to the input / output control unit 102. Accordingly, the input / output control unit 102 transmits screen display information to the MFP 7 via the network I / F 110.

  Upon receiving the screen display information from the game server 6, the MFP 7 displays an opponent selection screen on the display panel (S2305). Here, the selection screen of the opponent displayed in S2305 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 26, the GUI of the opponent selection screen includes a part for displaying the own machine that is his / her racing car (hereinafter referred to as the own machine display unit), a user logged in to the game system, and the user And a portion for displaying a racing car (hereinafter referred to as an opponent display portion). These pieces of information are displayed based on login information included in the screen display information. In the opponent display section, a battle request button is provided for each opponent. When the battle request button is touched by the user, the MFP 7 transmits a battle request with the racing car to the game server 6 (S2306).

  The information transmitted in S2306 includes header information indicating that it is a battle request and identification information for identifying the designated opponent. As the identification information, for example, the above-described user ID can be used. When the game server 6 receives the battle request, the game server 6 notifies the battle request with the IP address of the opponent specified in the identification information as a destination (S2307). In this embodiment, the case where the user who operates PC4 is an opponent is taken as an example. In addition, it is also possible to select a plurality of users as opponents.

  When receiving the notification of the battle request, the PC 4 displays a screen on the display unit that allows the user to input an answer as to whether or not to accept the request. The PC 4 transmits a match request acceptance notification to the game server 6 in accordance with the user's operation (S2308). If the user operating the PC 4 refuses the match, the process ends at that point. When the game server 6 receives the notification of acceptance of the battle request from the PC 4, the game server 6 transmits a game start notification to the MFP 7 and the PC 4 (S2309).

  Here, in the processing of S2309, information for displaying the GUI described in FIG. 13 is transmitted. At this time, the login control unit 151 inputs the racing car image and the IP address information to the drawing processing unit 148. The racing car image input here is a racing car image of the user who has logged in from the MFP 7 and the PC 4 that are the targets of the battle. The input IP address information is the IP address information of the MFP 7 and the PC. In addition, the login control unit 151 inputs parameter information to the state storage unit 144. The parameter information input here is parameter information of a user who has logged in from the MFP 7 and the PC 4.

  The drawing processing unit 148 generates information for displaying the GUI based on the racing car image input from the login control unit 151 and the information stored in the state storage unit 144. Then, the rendering processing unit 148 notifies the input / output control unit 102 of the input IP address information and information for displaying the generated GUI. The input / output control unit 102 transmits information for displaying the GUI with the notified IP address as a destination. Accordingly, the MFP 7 displays a game screen (S2310). Further, the PC 4 displays a game screen (S2311).

  When the game server 6 transmits a game start notification, the game server 6 executes game processing, and transmits processing information to the MFP 7 and the PC 4 (S2312). In the process of S2312, the process is executed as in FIG. Here, in the present embodiment, the drawing processing unit 148 inputs the IP address information and the updated display information to the input / output control unit 102 as processing corresponding to S1405 and S1409 in FIG. The input / output control unit transmits the input display information with the input IP address as a destination. Thereby, the MFP 7 updates the game screen (S2313). Further, the PC 4 updates the game screen (S2314).

  By such processing, the processing of the game system according to the present embodiment is completed. In the present embodiment, the game server 6 provides a game via the network 8. Thereby, the battle | competition between the users in the distant position is attained. Therefore, the user can enjoy the game without preparing an opponent. In addition, by providing the game server 6 and managing the login information, each user can easily confirm information of other users who can currently compete with the screen shown in FIG.

  In the above description, an example in which the game server 6 has all the functions of the game control unit 104 that provides functions as a game device has been described. In addition, the game server 6 may include only the above-described login control unit 151 among the configurations included in the game control unit 104. In this case, other functions of the game control unit 104 are provided in the PC 4 or MFP 7 as described in FIG. 2 or FIG. The operation of such an example is shown in FIG. FIG. 27 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation when the game server 6 includes the login control unit 151 and executes only login control.

  In the case of the example of FIG. 27, the processing from S2701 to S2711 is executed in the same manner as S2301 to S2311 of FIG. After displaying the game screen in S2710, the MFP 7 executes the game process and transmits process information to the PC 4 (S2712). The MFP 7 also executes the process described with reference to FIG. 14 in the process of S2712 as in the case of S2312 of FIG. Then, the MFP 7 updates the game screen displayed on its own display unit as processing corresponding to S1405 and S1409 in FIG. 14 (S2713). Further, the MFP 7 transmits the updated display information to the PC 4 as processing corresponding to S1404 and S1406 in FIG. When the PC 4 receives the updated display information, the PC 4 updates the game screen (S2714).

  The processing to be executed by the game server 6 increases according to the number of users who use the game system. If the processing capacity of the game server 6 exceeds the amount of processing to be executed by the game server 6, a system failure may occur. In the example of FIG. 27, it is possible to reduce processing to be executed by the game server 6, which is preferable.

  In the example of FIG. 27, the example in which the MFP 7 as the battle request side executes the game process has been described. However, if the game process is automatically executed based on the same parameter, the same result should be obtained. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 28, after the game start notification (S2809), each of the MFP 7 and the PC 4 may execute the game process. In this case, since it is not necessary to transmit display information for updating the game screen, it becomes possible to reduce network impossibility. The sequence diagram of FIG. 28 is substantially the same as the processing of FIG.

  Further, in the above description, the example in which the game server 6 controls the login of the user based on the function of the login control unit 151 has been described. Thereby, the user can select an opponent using the screen described in FIG. In addition, when the IP address of the opponent is known in advance, it is possible to obtain the same effect as described above without providing the game server 6. Such an example is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 29 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example in which a game is executed by directly exchanging racing car information between the PC 4 and the MFP 7. In the case of the example of FIG. 29, the PC 4 and the MFP 7 have the function of the game control unit 104 as described with reference to FIGS. The MFP 7 performs a scan in accordance with a user instruction, and generates parameter information by the same process as described above (S2901). Then, the MFP 7 transmits a battle request with the IP address input by the user as the destination (S2902).

  The battle request transmitted in S2902 includes the racing car image generated in the MFP 7, parameter information, and information on the IP address of the MFP 7. Upon receiving the battle request, the PC 4 transmits a battle request acceptance notification in accordance with the user's operation (S2903). The consent notification transmitted in S2903 includes the racing car image and parameter information generated in PC4.

  Upon receiving the acceptance notification from the PC 4, the MFP 7 transmits a game start notification to the PC 4 (S2904). The information transmitted in S2904 includes information for displaying the GUI described in FIG. 13 as in S2309. Thereby, the MFP 7 displays a game screen (S2905). Further, the PC 4 displays a game screen (S2906).

  After displaying the game screen, the MFP 7 executes the game process and transmits the process information to the PC 4 (S2907). In the process of S2907, the MFP 7 executes the process described with reference to FIG. 14 as in S2312 of FIG. Then, the MFP 7 updates the game screen displayed on its own display unit as processing corresponding to S1405 and S1409 of FIG. 14 (S2908). Further, the MFP 7 transmits the updated display information to the PC 4 as processing corresponding to S1405 and S1409 in FIG. 14 (S2907). Upon receiving the updated display information, the PC 4 updates the game screen (S2909).

  Through such processing, a battle between individual users via a network is possible without providing the game server 6. In addition, as shown in FIG. 30, the processing may be executed by each of the MFP 7 and the PC 4 after S2904 in FIG. In this case, as in the example of FIG. 28, it is not necessary to transmit display information for updating the game screen, so that it is possible to reduce network impossibility. The sequence diagram of FIG. 30 is substantially the same as the processing of FIG.

  In the above description, the case where the MFP 7 is the starting point of processing has been described as an example. In addition, even when the PC 4 is the starting point of the process, the process can be executed in the same manner as described above, and the same effect can be obtained. It is also possible to apply a battle through the network according to the present embodiment to the aspect of the second embodiment.

It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the race game apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the race game apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the race game apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows GUI of the race game apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the correction aspect of the input image which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the correction process of the image which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the contraction and expansion process of the image which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the image feature information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the extraction aspect of the image feature information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the parameter information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in the state memory | storage part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows GUI of the race game apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the race process which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in the course information storage part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the radar point function which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the race game apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information memorize | stored in the parameter storage part which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation | use form of the game system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the game server which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information which the login control part which concerns on other embodiment of this invention has memorize | stored. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the game system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the login screen which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information contained in the login request information which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows GUI of the opponent selection screen which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the game system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the game system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the game system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the game system which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Race game apparatus 2 Scanner 100 Controller 101 Main control part 102 Input / output control part 103 Display control part 104 Game control part 105 Engine control part 106 Image processing part 110 Network I / F
111 ADF
112 scanner unit 113 paper discharge tray 114 paper feed table 115 print engine 116 paper discharge tray 120 input device 123 operation display control unit 130 display monitor 131 display panel 141 image recognition unit 142 parameter generation unit 143 image correction unit 144 status storage unit 145 state Calculation unit 146 State analysis unit 147 Course information storage unit 148 Drawing processing unit 149 Image comparison unit 150 Parameter storage unit 151 Login control unit 200 Controller 201 ADF
202 Scanner unit 203 Output tray 204 Network I / F
205 Display panel 206 HDD
211 Main control unit 212 Engine control unit 213 Input / output control unit 214 Image processing unit 215 HDD controller

Claims (17)

An information processing apparatus for executing a race game based on course information for displaying a race track, racing car information for displaying a racing car traveling on the race track, and parameter information indicating the performance of the racing car. ,
An image acquisition unit for acquiring image information including information for displaying the racing car;
A racing car information acquisition unit for acquiring the racing car information based on the acquired image information;
A parameter information acquisition unit that acquires the parameter information based on the acquired image information;
A race execution unit for controlling the movement of the racing car on the racetrack based on the acquired parameter information and executing the race;
A drawing control unit configured to display the racing car drawn by the acquired racing car information in the race track drawn by the course information according to a race execution state by the race execution unit. An information processing apparatus.   2. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the racing car information acquisition unit acquires the racing car information by extracting a portion where the racing car is displayed in an image drawn by the image information. apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the racing car information acquisition unit acquires the racing car information by making a background portion in an image drawn by the acquired image information transparent.   The racing car information acquisition unit acquires the racing car information by thickening a line for drawing the racing car in an image drawn by the acquired image information. The information processing apparatus according to item. The racing car information acquisition unit
Pixel analysis means for analyzing pixels constituting the image drawn by the acquired image information;
Pixel correction means for correcting the pixel according to the analysis result of the pixel analysis means,
The pixel correction unit determines a pixel to be corrected, and changes the information of the correction target pixel according to an analysis result of the pixel adjacent to the correction target pixel, which is an analysis result of the pixel analysis unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a line for drawing the racing car is thickened.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter information acquisition unit generates the parameter based on information related to characteristics of the acquired image information. An image feature information acquisition unit that acquires information related to the characteristics of the acquired image information;
The image feature information acquisition unit extracts at least one of information on a dimension of a portion where the racing car is displayed and information on an area of the racing car in an image drawn by the acquired image information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6.   The image feature information acquisition unit horizontally scans coordinates above a predetermined interval from a lower end of a portion where the racing car is displayed in an image drawn by the acquired image information, and the racing car is displayed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein an interval from a left end to a right end is extracted as information on the dimensions.   9. The information processing according to claim 7, wherein an interval from a lower end to an upper end of a portion where the racing car is displayed in an image drawn by the acquired image information is extracted as information on the dimensions. apparatus. A parameter storage unit that stores a plurality of parameter information and information related to a plurality of reference images respectively associated with the plurality of parameter information;
The parameter acquisition unit selects information related to the plurality of reference images based on the acquired image information, and acquires parameter information associated with the information related to the selected reference image. The information processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 5.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the race execution unit automatically processes from the start to the end of the race. A user operation unit for inputting operation information to the information processing apparatus;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the race execution unit executes the race based on the input operation information.   13. The acquisition unit according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a plurality of pieces of the image information, and acquires at least one of the plurality of pieces of image information via a public network. The information processing apparatus described in 1. An image processing apparatus including the information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
An image processing apparatus, comprising: an image information input unit that inputs image information including information for optically scanning a document to display the racing car. An information processing method for executing a race game based on course information for displaying a racetrack, racing car information for displaying a racing car traveling on the racetrack, and parameter information indicating the performance of the racing car. ,
Obtain image information including information for displaying the image racing car,
Acquiring the racing car information based on the acquired image information;
Acquiring the parameter information based on the acquired image information;
Performing the race by controlling the movement of the racing car on the racetrack based on the acquired parameter information;
The information processing method characterized by displaying the racing car drawn by the acquired racing car information in the race track drawn by the course information according to the execution state of the race.   An information processing program causing an information processing apparatus to execute the information processing method according to claim 14.   A recording medium in which the information processing program according to claim 15 is recorded in a format readable by an information processing apparatus.

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