JP2013175208A - Information processing apparatus and information processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing program which can perform switching of a plurality of input means in high-response.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus acquires motion information which is the information related to motion applied to an input device housing itself comprising a pointing device among a plurality of input means. On the basis of the motion information, the information processing apparatus calculates a movement amount of the input device housing. The information processing apparatus determines whether or not the movement amount satisfies predetermined conditions. When satisfying the predetermined conditions, the information processing apparatus designates a position on the basis of output from the pointing device.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing program for performing position selection on a screen and executing selection processing, and more specifically, based on outputs from at least a plurality of input means including a pointing device. The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing program that perform position instruction and selection processing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a computer system or the like, a coordinate input device has been used to give instructions corresponding to processing contents (menu) and processing contents. Among them, there is a utilization form in which a plurality of coordinate input devices, for example, a mouse and a tablet are connected and used together as appropriate. In the case of such a use form, it is necessary to switch a plurality of coordinate input devices as necessary, and a switching device for the plurality of coordinate input devices is also known (for example, Patent Document 1). In the coordinate input device switching device, a coordinate input device in which a change in designated coordinates has continuously occurred for a predetermined time or more is selected. That is, it is selected only when one of the mouse and the tablet operates for a predetermined time.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-208435

  However, in the coordinate input device switching device as described above, when switching the coordinate input device, there are the following problems. That is, in the switching device described above, the selection of the coordinate input device to be used is determined based on whether or not it has operated for a predetermined time or more as described above. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes some time to switch the coordinate input device. That is, there is a problem that the coordinate input device cannot be switched with high response at the timing when the user wants to switch, because the switching response is poor.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus and an information processing program capable of switching a plurality of input means with high response.

  The present invention employs the following configuration in order to solve the above problems. Note that the reference numerals in parentheses, supplementary explanations, and the like are examples of the correspondence with the embodiments described later in order to help understanding of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention.

  A first invention is an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that gives a position instruction on a screen based on outputs from a plurality of input means including at least one pointing device, It functions as information acquisition means (S47), movement amount calculation means (S48), threshold value determination means (S52), and first position instruction means (S54, S24). The movement information acquisition means acquires movement information that is information relating to movement applied to the first input device casing itself including the pointing device. The movement amount calculating means calculates the movement amount of the first input device casing based on the movement information. The threshold determination means determines whether or not the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold. The first position instruction means issues a position instruction based on an output from the pointing device when it is determined that the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to detect a motion applied to the input device itself including the pointing device and switch to a position instruction operation by the pointing device based on the motion. Thereby, when performing an operation using a plurality of input means, it is possible to switch the input means used by the player with higher response.

  In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the first input device casing also includes a non-pointing device that is an input means that is not a pointing device among the plurality of input means. Then, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as determination means (S23) and second position instruction means (S25, S26). The determination means determines whether or not an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when the position instruction is performed by the first position instruction means. When the determination unit determines that an input to the non-pointing device has occurred, the second position instruction unit issues a position instruction based on the output from the non-pointing device.

  According to the second invention, when an input device including a pointing device and a non-pointing device is used in the same housing, it is possible to realize switching of the operation method using each device with high response.

  According to a third invention, in the first invention, the second input device casing includes a non-pointing device which is an input means that is not a pointing device among the plurality of input means. Then, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as determination means (S23) and second position instruction means (S25, S26). The determination means determines whether or not an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when the position instruction is performed by the first position instruction means. When the determination unit determines that an input to the non-pointing device has occurred, the second position instruction unit issues a position instruction based on the output from the non-pointing device.

  According to the third aspect, when the pointing device and the non-pointing device are stored in separate housings, it is possible to realize switching of the input method using each device with high response.

  In a fourth aspect based on the first aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to operate based on the first position instruction mode by the first position instruction means and the output from the non-pointing device which is an input means that is not a pointing device. And further switching function (S27, S54) for switching the position instruction mode between the second position instruction mode for performing the position instruction. The switching means switches to the first position indicating mode when the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold when the position indicating mode is the second position indicating mode, and the position indicating mode is the first position indicating mode. When an input to the non-pointing device occurs, the second position indication mode is switched.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, switching between an operation method for position indication by a pointing device and an operation method for position indication by a non-pointing device can be performed with high response according to the movement applied to the input device casing itself. It is possible to switch.

  In a fifth aspect based on the fourth aspect, the information processing program measures a period during which it is determined that there is no input to the non-pointing device when the position pointing mode is the second position pointing mode. It further functions as non-input period measuring means (S46, S53). The switching means switches the position instruction mode to the first position instruction mode when the period measured by the non-input period measuring means exceeds a predetermined value.

  According to the fifth aspect, the operability of the input device can be improved, and the convenience for the user can be further improved.

  In a sixth aspect based on the first aspect, the first input device casing includes a motion sensor for detecting a motion applied to the first input device casing itself. The motion information acquisition means acquires data output from the motion sensor as motion information.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, it is possible to more accurately recognize the content of the movement applied to the first input device casing itself, and it is possible to switch the operation method more accurately and with high response.

  In a seventh aspect based on the first aspect, the motion information acquisition means repeatedly acquires data indicating the position indicated by the pointing device as motion information. Further, the movement amount calculation means calculates the movement amount based on the change amount of the designated position by the pointing device.

  According to the seventh aspect of the invention, since the amount of change in the pointing position of the pointing device is used to determine whether or not to use the operating method by the pointing device, the movement applied to the input device casing itself is more accurately detected. It becomes possible.

  In an eighth aspect based on the first aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as accumulation means (S49) for accumulating the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation means. Then, the threshold value determining means determines whether or not the value accumulated by the accumulating means exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  According to the eighth aspect, it is possible to more accurately determine the timing at which the user wants to switch the operation method.

  In a ninth aspect based on the eighth aspect, the accumulating means accumulates the movement amount for a predetermined period up to the present time.

  According to the ninth aspect, when a minute movement is continuously applied to the first input device casing for a long time, it is possible to prevent erroneous switching to the first position indicating means.

  In a tenth aspect based on the eighth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as cumulative value resetting means (S28) for resetting the cumulative value when an input to the input means other than the pointing device occurs.

  According to the tenth aspect, the operation method can be switched more accurately.

  In an eleventh aspect based on the first aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as movement change amount calculation means (S48) for calculating the change amount of the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation means. Then, the threshold value determining unit determines whether or not the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculating unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  In a twelfth aspect based on the eleventh aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as change amount accumulation means (S49) for accumulating the change amounts calculated by the movement change amount calculation means. Then, the threshold value determination unit determines whether or not the change amount accumulated by the change amount accumulation unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  According to the eleventh to twelfth inventions, the movement applied to the input device housing can be detected based on the movement change amount, and the movement amount can be more accurately determined.

  In a thirteenth aspect based on the twelfth aspect, the change amount accumulating means accumulates the change amount for a predetermined period up to the present time.

  According to the thirteenth aspect, when a minute movement is continuously applied to the first input device casing for a long time, it is possible to prevent erroneous switching to the first position indicating means.

  In a fourteenth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as cumulative value resetting means (S28) for resetting the accumulated change amount when input to the input means other than the pointing device occurs.

  According to the fourteenth aspect, the operation method can be switched more accurately.

  In a fifteenth aspect based on the first aspect, the first input device casing includes imaging means for imaging at least one imaging target arranged in the vicinity of the display device. The first position instruction means includes captured image data acquisition means (21). The captured image data acquisition unit acquires captured image data output from an input device housing including the imaging unit. And a 1st position instruction | indication means performs a position instruction | indication based on the imaging target reflected in the captured image shown by captured image data.

  According to the fifteenth aspect, when using a pointing device that operates the input device toward the display device, the operability can be further improved and the switching can be performed with high response. Is possible.

  A sixteenth aspect of the invention is an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that selects one of a plurality of objects displayed on a screen, the computer being configured to acquire motion information acquisition means (S47), It functions as selection mode switching means (S23, S27, S52 to S54). The movement information acquisition means acquires movement information that is information relating to movement applied to a predetermined input device casing itself used for an object selection operation. The selection mode switching means is capable of designating an arbitrary position on the screen, and a pointing selection mode in which the object can be selected by designating the display position of any object displayed on the screen. A key capable of selecting an object by switching the focus state setting indicating the selected state between a plurality of objects displayed on the screen in a predetermined order in response to a predetermined key input. The selection mode is switched between the selection modes based on the motion information.

  According to the sixteenth aspect, switching between the selection method using the pointing method and the selection method not using the switching method is performed based on the movement applied to the input device casing itself, thereby realizing a switching operation with higher response. Can do.

  In a seventeenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as first determination means (S23) and movement amount calculation means (S48). The first determination means determines whether or not a predetermined key input has been performed when the selection mode is the pointing selection mode. The movement amount calculation means calculates the movement amount of the input device itself based on the movement information when the selection mode is the key selection mode. The selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the key selection mode when the first determination means determines that the key input has been performed, and the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation means exceeds a predetermined threshold value. When this occurs, the selection mode is switched to the pointing selection mode.

  According to the seventeenth aspect, the switching of the selection method can be realized using an operation that does not give the user a sense of incongruity.

  In an eighteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the input device housing includes a motion sensor for detecting a motion applied to the input device housing itself. The motion information acquisition means acquires data output from the motion sensor as motion information.

  According to the eighteenth aspect, it is possible to more accurately detect the movement applied to the input device itself.

  In a nineteenth aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as accumulation means (S49) for accumulating the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation means. The selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the value accumulated by the accumulation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

  According to the nineteenth aspect, it is possible to more accurately determine the timing at which the user wants to switch the operation method.

  In a twentieth aspect based on the nineteenth aspect, the accumulating means accumulates the movement amount for a predetermined period up to the present time.

  According to the twentieth invention, when a minute movement is continuously applied to the input device casing for a long time, it is possible to prevent the selection mode from being erroneously switched.

  In a twenty-first aspect based on the nineteenth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to perform cumulative value resetting means (S28) for resetting the cumulative value when the first determination means determines that a predetermined key input has been performed. Further function.

  According to the twenty-first aspect, the selection method can be switched more accurately.

  In a twenty-second aspect based on the sixteenth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as movement change amount calculation means for calculating the change amount of the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation means. The selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

  In a twenty-third aspect based on the twenty-second aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as change amount accumulation means for accumulating the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculation means. The selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the amount of change accumulated by the change amount accumulation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.

  According to the twenty-second to twenty-third aspects, the movement applied to the input device housing can be detected based on the movement change amount, and the movement amount can be determined more accurately.

  In a twenty-fourth aspect based on the twenty-third aspect, the change amount accumulating means accumulates the change amount for a predetermined period until the present time.

  According to the twenty-fourth aspect, when a minute movement is continuously applied to the input device casing for a long time, it is possible to prevent the selection mode from being erroneously switched.

  In a twenty-fifth aspect based on the twenty-third aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to further function as cumulative value resetting means for resetting the accumulated change amount when an input to the input means other than the pointing device occurs.

  According to the twenty-fifth aspect, the selection method can be switched more accurately.

  In a twenty-sixth aspect based on the seventeenth aspect, the information processing program causes the computer to measure a period during which it is determined that no key input is performed when the selection mode is the key selection mode. It further functions as measurement means (S46, S53). The selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the period measured by the non-input period measuring means exceeds a predetermined value.

  According to the twenty-sixth aspect, the convenience for the user can be further improved.

  A twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus for instructing a position on a screen based on outputs from a plurality of input means including at least one pointing device, the motion information acquisition means (10), and a movement amount calculation Means (10), threshold judgment means (10), and first position instruction means (10) are provided. The movement information acquisition means acquires movement information that is information relating to movement applied to the first input device casing itself including the pointing device. The movement amount calculating means calculates the movement amount of the first input device casing based on the movement information. The threshold determination means determines whether or not the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold. The first position instruction means issues a position instruction based on an output from the pointing device when it is determined that the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold.

  According to the twenty-seventh aspect, the same effect as in the first aspect can be obtained.

  A twenty-eighth aspect of the invention is an information processing apparatus that selects one of a plurality of objects displayed on the screen, and includes a motion information acquisition unit (10) and a selection mode switching unit (10). The movement information acquisition means acquires movement information that is information relating to movement applied to a predetermined input device itself used for the object selection operation. The selection mode switching means is capable of designating an arbitrary position on the screen, and a pointing selection mode in which the object can be selected by designating the display position of any object displayed on the screen. A key capable of selecting an object by switching the focus state setting indicating the selected state between a plurality of objects displayed on the screen in a predetermined order in response to a predetermined key input. The selection mode is switched between the selection modes based on the motion information.

  According to the twenty-eighth aspect, the same effect as in the sixteenth aspect can be obtained.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to improve the operativity of a player and the convenience which can be switched by a high response about several position instruction | indication systems including the method using a pointing device.

1 is an external view for explaining a game system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Functional block diagram of the game apparatus body 3 of FIG. The perspective view seen from the upper surface back of the controller 7 of FIG. The perspective view which looked at the controller 7 of FIG. 3 from the lower surface front The perspective view which shows the state which removed the upper housing of the controller 7 of FIG. The perspective view which shows the state which removed the lower housing of the controller 7 of FIG. The block diagram which shows the structure of the controller 7 of FIG. The figure which shows an example of a captured image The figure for demonstrating game operation using the controller 7 Example of game screen assumed in this embodiment Example of game screen assumed in this embodiment Example of game screen assumed in this embodiment Example of game screen assumed in this embodiment Example of game screen assumed in this embodiment Example of game screen assumed in this embodiment The figure which shows the memory map of the main memory 12 The flowchart which shows the game processing which concerns on embodiment of this invention The flowchart which showed the detail of the initialization process shown by step S1 of FIG. The flowchart which showed the detail of 1 frame process shown by step S2 of FIG. The flowchart which showed the detail of the cross key mode process shown by step S31 of FIG. Diagram of controller 7 connected to expansion controller 9 The figure which shows how to hold the controller 7 which connected the expansion controller 9

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited by this Example.

(Overall configuration of game system)
With reference to FIG. 1, a game system 1 including a game apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an external view of the game system 1. Hereinafter, the game apparatus and the game program of the present embodiment will be described using a stationary game apparatus as an example. In FIG. 1, the game system 1 includes a television receiver (hereinafter simply referred to as “TV”) 2, a game apparatus body 3, an optical disk 4, a controller 7, and a marker unit 8. This system executes game processing in the game apparatus body 3 based on a game operation using the controller 7.

  An optical disk 4, which is an example of an information storage medium that can be used interchangeably with the game apparatus body 3, is detachably inserted into the game apparatus body 3. The optical disc 4 stores a game program to be executed in the game apparatus body 3. An insertion slot for the optical disc 4 is provided on the front surface of the game apparatus body 3. The game apparatus body 3 executes a game process by reading and executing a game program stored on the optical disc 4 inserted into the insertion slot.

  A television 2 which is an example of a display device is connected to the game apparatus body 3 via a connection cord. On the television 2, a game image obtained as a result of the game process executed in the game apparatus body 3 is displayed. In addition, a marker unit 8 is installed around the screen of the television 2 (upper side of the screen in FIG. 1). The marker unit 8 includes two markers 8R and 8L at both ends thereof. The marker 8R (same for the marker 8L) is specifically one or more infrared LEDs, and outputs infrared light toward the front of the television 2. The marker unit 8 is connected to the game apparatus body 3, and the game apparatus body 3 can control lighting of each infrared LED included in the marker unit 8.

  The controller 7 is an input device that gives operation data indicating the content of the operation performed on the controller 7 itself to the game apparatus body 3. The controller 7 and the game apparatus body 3 are connected by wireless communication. In the present embodiment, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) technology is used for wireless communication between the controller 7 and the game apparatus body 3. In other embodiments, the controller 7 and the game apparatus body 3 may be connected by wire.

(Internal configuration of game apparatus body 3)
Next, the internal configuration of the game apparatus body 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the game apparatus body 3. The game apparatus body 3 includes a CPU 10, a system LSI 11, an external main memory 12, a ROM / RTC 13, a disk drive 14, an AV-IC 15, and the like.

  The CPU 10 executes a game process by executing a game program stored on the optical disc 4, and functions as a game processor. The CPU 10 is connected to the system LSI 11. In addition to the CPU 10, an external main memory 12, a ROM / RTC 13, a disk drive 14, and an AV-IC 15 are connected to the system LSI 11. The system LSI 11 performs processing such as control of data transfer between components connected thereto, generation of an image to be displayed, and acquisition of data from an external device. The internal configuration of the system LSI will be described later. The volatile external main memory 12 stores a program such as a game program read from the optical disc 4 or a game program read from the flash memory 17, or stores various data. Used as a work area and buffer area. The ROM / RTC 13 includes a ROM (so-called boot ROM) in which a program for starting the game apparatus body 3 is incorporated, and a clock circuit (RTC: Real Time Clock) that counts time. The disk drive 14 reads program data, texture data, and the like from the optical disk 4 and writes the read data to an internal main memory 11e or an external main memory 12 described later.

The system LSI 11 includes an input / output processor 11a, a GPU (Graphics).
A processor unit (11b), a digital signal processor (DSP) 11c, a VRAM 11d, and an internal main memory 11e are provided. Although not shown, these components 11a to 11e are connected to each other by an internal bus.

  The GPU 11b forms part of a drawing unit and generates an image according to a graphics command (drawing command) from the CPU 10. More specifically, the GPU 11b performs calculation processing necessary for displaying 3D graphics according to the graphics command, for example, processing such as coordinate conversion from 3D coordinates to 2D coordinates, which is a pre-processing of rendering, Game image data is generated by performing a final rendering process. Here, the CPU 10 provides the GPU 11b with an image generation program necessary for generating game image data in addition to the graphics command. The VRAM 11d stores data (data such as polygon data and texture data) necessary for the GPU 11b to execute the graphics command. When an image is generated, the GPU 11b creates image data using data stored in the VRAM 11d.

  The DSP 11c functions as an audio processor, and generates sound data using sound data and sound waveform (tone color) data stored in the internal main memory 11e and the external main memory 12. Similarly to the external main memory 12, the internal main memory 11e stores programs and various data, and is also used as a work area and a buffer area for the CPU 10.

  The image data and audio data generated as described above are read out by the AV-IC 15. The AV-IC 15 outputs the read image data to the television 2 via the AV connector 16, and outputs the read audio data to the speaker 2 a built in the television 2. As a result, an image is displayed on the television 2 and a sound is output from the speaker 2a.

  The input / output processor (I / O processor) 11a transmits / receives data to / from components connected to the input / output processor (I / O processor) 11a or downloads data from an external device. The input / output processor 11a is connected to the flash memory 17, the wireless communication module 18, the wireless controller module 19, the expansion connector 20, and the memory card connector 21. An antenna 22 is connected to the wireless communication module 18, and an antenna 23 is connected to the wireless controller module 19.

  The input / output processor 11a is connected to the network via the wireless communication module 18 and the antenna 22, and can communicate with other game devices and various servers connected to the network. The input / output processor 11a periodically accesses the flash memory 17 to detect the presence / absence of data that needs to be transmitted to the network. If there is such data, the input / output processor 11a communicates with the network via the wireless communication module 18 and the antenna 22. Send. Further, the input / output processor 11a receives data transmitted from other game devices and data downloaded from the download server via the network, the antenna 22 and the wireless communication module 18, and receives the received data in the flash memory 17. Remember. By executing the game program, the CPU 10 reads out the data stored in the flash memory 17 and uses it in the game program. In the flash memory 17, in addition to data transmitted and received between the game apparatus body 3 and other game apparatuses and various servers, game save data (game result data or halfway) played using the game apparatus body 3 is stored. Data) may be stored.

  The input / output processor 11a receives operation data transmitted from the controller 7 via the antenna 23 and the wireless controller module 19, and stores (temporarily stores) the data in the buffer area of the internal main memory 11e or the external main memory 12.

  Further, an expansion connector 20 and a memory card connector 21 are connected to the input / output processor 11a. The expansion connector 20 is a connector for an interface such as USB or SCSI, and connects a medium such as an external storage medium, a peripheral device such as another controller, or a wired communication connector. By connecting, communication with the network can be performed instead of the wireless communication module 18. The memory card connector 21 is a connector for connecting an external storage medium such as a memory card. For example, the input / output processor 11a can access an external storage medium via the expansion connector 20 or the memory card connector 21 to store data or read data.

  The game apparatus body 3 is provided with a power button 24, a reset button 25, and an eject button 26. The power button 24 and the reset button 25 are connected to the system LSI 11. When the power button 24 is turned on, power is supplied to each component of the game apparatus body 3 through an AC adapter (not shown). In addition, when the power button 24 is pressed again in a state where the power is turned on, a transition to the low power standby mode is performed. Even in this state, the game apparatus body 3 is energized, so that it can always be connected to a network such as the Internet. In addition, when it is desired to turn off the power once the power is turned on, the power can be turned off by pressing the power button 24 for a predetermined time or longer. When the reset button 25 is pressed, the system LSI 11 restarts the boot program for the game apparatus body 3. The eject button 26 is connected to the disk drive 14. When the eject button 26 is pressed, the optical disk 4 is ejected from the disk drive 14.

  Next, the controller 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the controller 7 as viewed from the upper rear side. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the controller 7 as viewed from the lower front side.

  3 and 4, the controller 7 includes a housing 71 and an operation unit 72 including a plurality of operation buttons provided on the surface of the housing 71. The housing 71 of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with the front-rear direction as a longitudinal direction, and has a size that can be gripped with one hand of an adult or a child as a whole, and is formed by plastic molding, for example.

  A cross key 72 a is provided on the center front side of the upper surface of the housing 71. The cross key 72a is a cross-shaped four-way push switch, and operation portions corresponding to the four directions (front and rear, left and right) are arranged at 90 ° intervals on the cross-shaped projecting pieces. The player selects one of the front, rear, left and right directions by pressing one of the operation portions of the cross key 72a. For example, when the player operates the cross key 72a, it is possible to instruct the moving direction of a player character or the like appearing in the virtual game world, or to select and instruct from a plurality of options.

  Note that the cross key 72a is an operation unit that outputs an operation signal in response to the above-described direction input operation of the player, but may be an operation unit of another mode. For example, four push switches may be provided in the cross direction, and an operation unit that outputs an operation signal according to the push switch pressed by the player may be provided. Further, apart from the four push switches, a center switch may be provided at a position where the cross direction intersects, and an operation unit in which the four push switches and the center switch are combined may be provided. Further, an operation unit that outputs an operation signal according to the tilt direction by tilting a tiltable stick (so-called joystick) protruding from the upper surface of the housing 71 may be provided instead of the cross key 72a. Furthermore, an operation unit that outputs an operation signal corresponding to the sliding direction by sliding a horizontally movable disk-shaped member may be provided instead of the cross key 72a. Further, a touch pad may be provided instead of the cross key 72a.

  A plurality of operation buttons 72 b to 72 g are provided on the rear surface side of the cross key 72 a on the upper surface of the housing 71. The operation buttons 72b to 72g are operation units that output operation signals assigned to the operation buttons 72b to 72g when the player presses the button head. For example, functions as a first button, a second button, and an A button are assigned to the operation buttons 72b to 72d. Further, functions as a minus button, a home button, a plus button, and the like are assigned to the operation buttons 72e to 72g. These operation buttons 72a to 72g are assigned respective operation functions according to the game program executed by the game apparatus body 3. In the arrangement example shown in FIG. 3, the operation buttons 72 b to 72 d are arranged side by side along the center front-rear direction on the upper surface of the housing 71. Further, the operation buttons 72e to 72g are arranged in parallel between the operation buttons 72b and 72d along the left-right direction of the upper surface of the housing 71. The operation button 72f is a type of button whose upper surface is buried in the upper surface of the housing 71 and is not accidentally pressed by the player.

  An operation button 72h is provided on the front surface side of the cross key 72a on the upper surface of the housing 71. The operation button 72h is a power switch for turning on / off the power source of the game apparatus body 3 from a remote location. This operation button 72h is also a type of button whose upper surface is buried in the upper surface of the housing 71 and that the player does not accidentally press.

  A plurality of LEDs 702 are provided on the rear surface side of the operation button 72 c on the upper surface of the housing 71. Here, the controller 7 is provided with a controller type (number) to distinguish it from other controllers 7. For example, the LED 702 is used to notify the player of the controller type currently set in the controller 7. Specifically, when transmission data is transmitted from the controller 7 to the game apparatus main body 3, the LED corresponding to the type among the plurality of LEDs 702 is turned on according to the controller type.

  Further, on the upper surface of the housing 71, a sound release hole is formed between the operation button 72b and the operation buttons 72e to 72g for emitting sound from a speaker (speaker 706 in FIG. 5) described later to the outside.

  On the other hand, a recess is formed on the lower surface of the housing 71. As will be described later, the recess on the lower surface of the housing 71 is formed at a position where the player's index finger or middle finger is positioned when the player grips the front surface of the controller 7 with one hand toward the markers 8L and 8R. The An operation button 72i is provided on the inclined surface of the recess. The operation button 72i is an operation unit that functions as a B button, for example.

  An imaging element 743 that constitutes a part of the imaging information calculation unit 74 is provided on the front surface of the housing 71. Here, the imaging information calculation unit 74 is a system for analyzing the image data captured by the controller 7 to determine a location where the luminance is high and detecting the position of the center of gravity, the size, and the like of the location. Since the maximum sampling period is about 200 frames / second, even a relatively fast movement of the controller 7 can be tracked and analyzed. The detailed configuration of the imaging information calculation unit 74 will be described later. A connector 73 is provided on the rear surface of the housing 71. The connector 73 is an edge connector, for example, and is used for fitting and connecting with a connection cable, for example.

  Here, in order to make the following description concrete, a coordinate system set for the controller 7 is defined. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, xyz axes orthogonal to each other are defined for the controller 7. Specifically, the longitudinal direction of the housing 71 that is the front-rear direction of the controller 7 is the z-axis, and the front surface (the surface on which the imaging information calculation unit 74 is provided) of the controller 7 is the z-axis positive direction. Further, the vertical direction of the controller 7 is defined as the y-axis, and the upper surface (surface provided with the operation buttons 72a and the like) of the housing 71 is defined as the positive y-axis direction. Further, the left-right direction of the controller 7 is the x-axis, and the left side surface (side surface not shown in FIG. 3 but shown in FIG. 4) is the x-axis positive direction.

  Next, the internal structure of the controller 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the controller 7 as viewed from the rear side with the upper housing (a part of the housing 71) removed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the state in which the lower housing (a part of the housing 71) of the controller 7 is removed as seen from the front side. Here, the substrate 700 shown in FIG. 6 is a perspective view seen from the back surface of the substrate 700 shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 5, a substrate 700 is fixed inside the housing 71, and operation buttons 72a to 72h, an acceleration sensor 701, an LED 702, an antenna 754, and the like are provided on the upper main surface of the substrate 700. These are connected to the microcomputer 751 and the like (see FIGS. 6 and 7) by wiring (not shown) formed on the substrate 700 and the like. The microcomputer 751 functions as an example of the button data generating means of the present invention to generate operation button data corresponding to the type of the operation button 72a and the like. This mechanism is a known technique, and is realized by the microcomputer 751 detecting contact / cutting of wiring by a switch mechanism such as a tact switch disposed below the key top, for example. More specifically, when the operation button is pressed, for example, the wiring contacts and energizes, so that the microcomputer 751 detects which operation button is connected to the wiring, and according to the type of the operation button. The signal is generated.

  The controller 7 functions as a wireless controller by the wireless module 753 (see FIG. 7) and the antenna 754. A quartz oscillator (not shown) is provided inside the housing 71, and generates a basic clock for the microcomputer 751, which will be described later. A speaker 706 and an amplifier 708 are provided on the upper main surface of the substrate 700. Further, the acceleration sensor 701 is provided on the substrate 700 on the left side of the operation button 72d (that is, on the peripheral portion, not the central portion). Therefore, the acceleration sensor 701 can detect the acceleration including the component due to the centrifugal force in addition to the change in the direction of the gravitational acceleration in accordance with the rotation about the longitudinal direction of the controller 7. The game apparatus body 3 and the like can determine the rotation of the controller 7 from the detected acceleration data with good sensitivity.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 6, an imaging information calculation unit 74 is provided at the front edge on the lower main surface of the substrate 700. The imaging information calculation unit 74 includes an infrared filter 741, a lens 742, an imaging element 743, and an image processing circuit 744 in order from the front of the controller 7, and each is attached to the lower main surface of the substrate 700. A connector 73 is attached to the rear edge on the lower main surface of the substrate 700. Further, a sound IC 707 and a microcomputer 751 are provided on the lower main surface of the substrate 700. The sound IC 707 is connected to the microcomputer 751 and the amplifier 708 through wiring formed on the substrate 700 or the like, and outputs an audio signal to the speaker 706 via the amplifier 708 according to the sound data transmitted from the game apparatus body 3.

  A vibrator 704 is attached on the lower main surface of the substrate 700. The vibrator 704 is, for example, a vibration motor or a solenoid. Vibrator 704 is connected to microcomputer 751 by wiring formed on substrate 700 and the like, and turns on / off its operation in accordance with vibration data transmitted from game apparatus body 3. Since the vibration is generated in the controller 7 by the operation of the vibrator 704, the vibration is transmitted to the hand of the player holding it, and a so-called vibration-compatible game can be realized. Here, since the vibrator 704 is disposed slightly forward of the housing 71, the housing 71 vibrates greatly when the player is gripping it, and it is easy to feel the vibration.

  Next, the internal configuration of the controller 7 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the controller 7.

  In FIG. 7, the controller 7 includes a communication unit 75 in addition to the above-described operation unit 72, imaging information calculation unit 74, acceleration sensor 701, vibrator 704, speaker 706, sound IC 707, and amplifier 708. .

  The imaging information calculation unit 74 includes an infrared filter 741, a lens 742, an imaging element 743, and an image processing circuit 744. The infrared filter 741 allows only infrared rays to pass from light incident from the front of the controller 7. Here, the markers 8 </ b> L and 8 </ b> R arranged in the vicinity of the display screen of the television 2 are infrared LEDs that output infrared light toward the front of the television 2. Therefore, by providing the infrared filter 741, the images of the markers 8L and 8R can be taken more accurately. The lens 742 collects the infrared light transmitted through the infrared filter 741 and causes the infrared light to enter the image sensor 743. The imaging element 743 is a solid-state imaging element such as a CMOS sensor or a CCD, for example, and images the infrared rays collected by the lens 742. Therefore, the image sensor 743 captures only the infrared light that has passed through the infrared filter 741 and generates image data. Hereinafter, an image captured by the image sensor 743 is referred to as a captured image. Image data generated by the image sensor 743 is processed by an image processing circuit 744. The image processing circuit 744 calculates the position of the imaging target (markers 8L and 8R) in the captured image. Hereinafter, a method for calculating the position of the imaging target will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a captured image. In the captured image shown in FIG. 8, the image 8L ′ of the marker 8L and the image 8R ′ of the marker 8R are arranged side by side. When a captured image is input, first, the image processing circuit 744 calculates coordinates indicating the position of a region that matches a predetermined condition in the captured image for each region. Here, the predetermined condition is a condition for specifying an image (target image) to be imaged, and the specific content of the predetermined condition is an area having a luminance equal to or higher than a predetermined value (high luminance area), and The size of the region is within a predetermined range. The predetermined condition may be a condition for specifying an imaging target, and in other embodiments, may include a condition related to the color of the image.

  When calculating the position of the target image, first, the image processing circuit 744 specifies the high-intensity region as a target image candidate from the captured image region. This is because the target image appears as a high luminance area in the image data of the captured image. Next, the image processing circuit 744 performs determination processing for determining whether or not the high luminance area is the target image based on the size of the specified high luminance area. In addition to the images 8L ′ and 8R ′ of the two markers 8L and 8R that are target images, the captured image may include images other than the target image due to sunlight from a window or light from a fluorescent lamp in a room. is there. In this case, images other than the images 8L ′ and 8R ′ of the markers 8L and 8R also appear as high luminance areas. The above determination processing is processing for distinguishing the images 8L ′ and 8R ′ of the markers 8L and 8R, which are target images, from other images and accurately specifying the target image. Specifically, in the determination process, it is determined whether or not the specified high luminance area has a size within a predetermined range. If the high brightness area is a size within the predetermined range, the high brightness area is determined to represent the target image. If the high brightness area is not a size within the predetermined range, the high brightness area is other than the target image. It is determined that the image is represented.

  Furthermore, as a result of the above determination processing, the image processing circuit 744 calculates the position of the high luminance region for the high luminance region determined to represent the target image. Specifically, the barycentric position of the high brightness area is calculated. Note that the position of the center of gravity can be calculated on a more detailed scale than the resolution of the image sensor 743. Here, it is assumed that the resolution of the captured image captured by the image sensor 743 is 126 × 96, and the position of the center of gravity is calculated on a scale of 1024 × 768. That is, the coordinates of the barycentric position are expressed by integer values from (0, 0) to (1024, 768). As shown in FIG. 8, the position in the captured image is represented by a coordinate system (xy coordinate system) in which the upper left of the captured image is the origin, the downward direction is the positive y-axis direction, and the right direction is the positive x-axis direction. Shall.

  As described above, the image processing circuit 744 calculates the coordinates indicating the position of the region that matches the predetermined condition in the captured image for each region. Hereinafter, the coordinates calculated by the image processing circuit 744 are referred to as marker coordinates. The marker coordinates are coordinates indicating the position of the imaging target in the coordinate system for representing the position on the plane corresponding to the captured image. The image processing circuit 744 outputs the marker coordinates to the microcomputer 751 of the communication unit 75. The marker coordinate data is transmitted as operation data to the game apparatus body 3 by the microcomputer 751. Since the marker coordinates change corresponding to the orientation (posture) and position of the controller 7 itself, the game apparatus body 3 can calculate the orientation and position of the controller 7 using the coordinate values. In the present embodiment, the process from the captured image to the process of calculating the marker coordinates is performed by the image processing circuit 744 and / or the microcomputer 751 of the controller 7. However, for example, the captured image is sent to the game apparatus body 3 and the subsequent processes are performed. Equivalent processing can be performed by the CPU 10 of the game apparatus body 3 or the like.

  The controller 7 is preferably provided with a triaxial (x, y, z axis) acceleration sensor 701. The three-axis acceleration sensor 701 detects linear acceleration in three directions, that is, an up-down direction, a left-right direction, and a front-rear direction. In other embodiments, depending on the type of control signal used in the game process, biaxial acceleration detection that detects only linear acceleration along each of the vertical and horizontal directions (or other paired directions). Means may be used. For example, the triaxial or biaxial acceleration sensor 701 may be of the type available from Analog Devices, Inc. or ST Microelectronics NV. The acceleration sensor 701 may be a capacitance type (capacitive coupling type) based on a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) technique in which silicon is finely processed. However, the triaxial or biaxial acceleration sensor 701 may be provided by using existing acceleration detecting means technology (for example, a piezoelectric method or a piezoresistive method) or other appropriate technology developed in the future.

  As known to those skilled in the art, the acceleration detection means used in the acceleration sensor 701 can detect only the acceleration (linear acceleration) along a straight line corresponding to each axis of the acceleration sensor. That is, the direct output from the acceleration sensor 701 is a signal indicating linear acceleration (static or dynamic) along each of the two or three axes. For this reason, the acceleration sensor 701 cannot directly detect physical characteristics such as movement, rotation, rotational movement, angular displacement, inclination, position, or posture along a non-linear (for example, arc) path.

  However, based on the acceleration signal output from the acceleration sensor 701, a computer such as a game device processor (for example, the CPU 10) or a controller processor (for example, the microcomputer 751) performs processing to estimate further information regarding the controller 7. Those skilled in the art can easily understand from the description of the present specification that they can be calculated (determined). For example, when processing is performed on the computer side on the assumption that the controller equipped with the acceleration sensor is in a static state (that is, when processing is performed assuming that the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is only gravitational acceleration), the controller is actual. In the static state, it can be determined whether or not the attitude of the controller is inclined with respect to the direction of gravity based on the detected acceleration. Specifically, when the detection axis of the acceleration sensor is oriented vertically downward, it can be determined whether or not it is tilted only by whether or not 1G (gravity acceleration) is applied, You can know how much it is tilted by its size. In the case of a multi-axis acceleration sensor, it is possible to know in detail how much each axis is inclined with respect to the direction of gravity by further processing the acceleration signal of each axis. In this case, the processor may perform processing for calculating the tilt angle data of the controller 7 based on the output from the acceleration sensor 701. However, without performing the processing for calculating the tilt angle data, the acceleration sensor Based on the output from 701, a rough inclination may be estimated. Thus, by using the acceleration sensor 701 in combination with the processor, the inclination, posture, or position of the controller 7 can be determined. On the other hand, when it is assumed that the acceleration sensor is in a dynamic state, acceleration corresponding to the motion of the acceleration sensor is detected in addition to the gravitational acceleration component, so if the gravitational acceleration component is removed by a predetermined process, , Know the direction of movement. Specifically, when the controller 7 including the acceleration sensor 701 is dynamically accelerated and moved by a user's hand, the acceleration signal generated by the acceleration sensor 701 is processed to perform various movements of the controller 7 and / Or the position can be calculated. Even when it is assumed that the acceleration sensor is in a dynamic state, if the acceleration according to the motion of the acceleration sensor is removed by a predetermined process, the inclination with respect to the direction of gravity can be known. . In another embodiment, the acceleration sensor 701 is a built-in signal processing device or the like for performing desired processing on the acceleration signal output from the built-in acceleration detection means before outputting the signal to the microcomputer 751. This type of processing device may be provided. For example, if the acceleration sensor is for detecting a static acceleration (for example, gravitational acceleration), the built-in or dedicated processing device uses the detected acceleration signal as the corresponding inclination angle (or other It may be converted into a preferable parameter.

  In an example of another embodiment, a gyro sensor incorporating a rotation element or a vibration element may be used as a motion sensor that detects the movement of the controller 7. An example of a MEMS gyro sensor used in this embodiment is available from Analog Devices, Inc. Unlike the acceleration sensor 701, the gyro sensor can directly detect rotation (or angular velocity) about the axis of at least one gyro element incorporated therein. As described above, since the gyro sensor and the acceleration sensor are basically different from each other, it is necessary to appropriately change the processing to be performed on the output signals from these devices depending on which device is selected for each application. There is.

  Specifically, when the inclination or posture is calculated using a gyro sensor instead of the acceleration sensor, a significant change is made. That is, when the gyro sensor is used, the inclination value is initialized in the detection start state. Then, the angular velocity data output from the gyro sensor is integrated. Next, a change amount of the inclination from the initialized inclination value is calculated. In this case, the calculated inclination is a value corresponding to the angle. On the other hand, when the inclination is calculated by the acceleration sensor, the inclination is calculated by comparing the value of the component relating to each axis of the gravitational acceleration with a predetermined reference, so the calculated inclination can be expressed by a vector. Thus, it is possible to detect the absolute direction detected using the acceleration detecting means without performing initialization. In addition, the property of the value calculated as the inclination is an angle when a gyro sensor is used, but a vector when an acceleration sensor is used. Therefore, when a gyro sensor is used instead of the acceleration sensor, it is necessary to perform predetermined conversion in consideration of the difference between the two devices with respect to the tilt data. Since the characteristics of the gyro sensor as well as the basic difference between the acceleration detecting means and the gyro sensor are known to those skilled in the art, further details are omitted in this specification. While the gyro sensor has the advantage of being able to directly detect rotation, in general, the acceleration sensor has the advantage of being more cost effective than the gyro sensor when applied to a controller as used in this embodiment. Have.

  The communication unit 75 includes a microcomputer (microcomputer) 751, a memory 752, a wireless module 753, and an antenna 754. The microcomputer 751 controls the wireless module 753 that wirelessly transmits transmission data while using the memory 752 as a storage area during processing. Further, the microcomputer 751 controls the operation of the sound IC 707 and the vibrator 704 in accordance with data from the game apparatus body 3 received by the wireless module 753 via the antenna 754. The sound IC 707 processes sound data transmitted from the game apparatus main body 3 via the communication unit 75. Further, the microcomputer 751 activates the vibrator 704 in accordance with vibration data (for example, a signal for turning the vibrator 704 on or off) transmitted from the game apparatus body 3 via the communication unit 75.

  An operation signal (key data) from the operation unit 72 provided in the controller 7, an acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 701 (x, y, and z-axis direction acceleration data; hereinafter simply referred to as acceleration data), and imaging information The processing result data from the calculation unit 74 is output to the microcomputer 751. The microcomputer 751 temporarily stores the input data (key data, acceleration data, processing result data) in the memory 752 as transmission data to be transmitted to the wireless controller module 19. Here, the wireless transmission from the communication unit 75 to the wireless controller module 19 is performed at predetermined intervals, but since the game processing is generally performed in units of 1/60 seconds, it is more than that. It is necessary to perform transmission in a short cycle. Specifically, the processing unit of the game is 16.7 ms (1/60 seconds), and the transmission interval of the communication unit 75 configured by Bluetooth (registered trademark) is, for example, 5 ms. When the transmission timing to the wireless controller module 19 comes, the microcomputer 751 outputs the transmission data stored in the memory 752 as a series of operation information and outputs it to the wireless module 753. The wireless module 753 then modulates the operation information using a carrier wave having a predetermined frequency based on, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark) technology, and radiates the radio signal from the antenna 754. That is, key data from the operation unit 72 provided in the controller 7, acceleration data from the acceleration sensor 701, and processing result data from the imaging information calculation unit 74 are modulated into radio signals by the wireless module 753 and transmitted from the controller 7. Is done. Then, the radio controller module 19 of the game apparatus body 3 receives the radio signal, and the game apparatus body 3 demodulates and decodes the radio signal, so that a series of operation information (key data, acceleration data, and processing result data) is obtained. ) To get. Then, the CPU 10 of the game apparatus body 3 performs a game process based on the acquired operation information and the game program. When the communication unit 75 is configured using Bluetooth (registered trademark) technology, the communication unit 75 can also have a function of receiving transmission data wirelessly transmitted from other devices.

  Here, the game operation using the controller 7 will be described. When playing a game using the controller 7 in the game system 1, the player holds the controller 7 with one hand. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the player holds the controller 7 in a state where the front surface of the controller 7 (the light entrance side of the light imaged by the imaging information calculation unit 74) faces the direction of the markers 8L and 8R. In this state, the player changes the inclination of the controller 7, changes the position (instructed position) on the screen indicated by the controller 7, or changes the distance between the controller 7 and each of the markers 8L and 8R. The game operation is performed by.

  Next, an overview of processing executed in the game system 1 configured as described above will be described. The present invention is generally applicable to the process of “selecting” an object or the like displayed on the screen. In this embodiment, as an example, a game in which a plurality of mini-games can be enjoyed is assumed. Among the processes, the process and operation on the menu screen for selecting a mini game desired by the player will be described as an example.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the menu screen. In FIG. 10, objects 101 to 103 to be selected and a pointer 104 are displayed. Each object represents one of the plurality of mini games, and the player selects one of these objects 101 to 103 and presses a predetermined decision button (for example, the operation button 72b). Thus, it is possible to start playing a desired mini game. In principle, the pointer 104 is displayed at a position (instructed position) on the screen indicated by the controller 7.

  Next, the selection operation mode (hereinafter simply referred to as operation mode) in the present embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, two types of operation modes, “pointing mode” and “cross key mode”, are used. The pointing mode is an operation mode in which the object can be selected by moving the pointer 104 on the screen. The cross key mode is an operation mode in which the object can be selected by pressing the cross key 72a.

  The selection operation in the pointing mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. First, as shown in FIG. 10, the pointer 104 is displayed at the upper left part of the screen (instructed by the controller 7). Suppose there is. When the pointer 104 (instructed position) is moved to the display position of the object 101 from this state, the selection frame 105 is displayed so as to surround the object 101 as shown in FIG. 11, and the object 101 is selected. Become. From this state, if a position where an object is not displayed is indicated, the selected state is canceled (the selection frame 105 is not displayed). Further, when the pointer 104 is moved from the state of FIG. 11 to the display position of the object 102, the selection frame 105 is displayed so as to surround the object 102 as shown in FIG. 12, and the object 102 is selected. .

  Next, the selection operation in the cross key mode will be described. For example, when the player presses the “right” of the cross key 72a in a state where the object 101 as shown in FIG. 11 is selected, it is displayed on the right side of the object 101 as shown in FIG. The object 102 is selected. That is, a process of selecting an object in the direction in which the cross key 72a is pressed is executed based on the currently selected object. Further, at this time, the display position of the pointer 104 is changed to a position slightly lower left in the center of the selected object 102.

  When the “left” of the cross key 72 a is pressed in the state of FIG. 11, the rightmost object 103 is selected as shown in FIG. 14, and the pointer 104 is positioned slightly lower left in the center of the object 103. Is displayed. That is, in this embodiment, when “right” is pressed while the rightmost object 103 is selected, the leftmost object 101 is selected, and the leftmost object 101 is selected. When “Left” is pressed in the state of being in the state, the rightmost object 103 is selected.

  Although illustration is omitted, when the objects are displayed in the vertical direction, the objects along the vertical direction are similarly displayed by pressing “up” or “down” of the cross key 72a. Can be selected.

  Note that the selection order control in the cross key mode is an example. For example, when “right” is pressed while the rightmost object 103 is selected, the selection state is not changed (that is, the selection state is changed). Alternatively, the object 103 may remain selected.

  Next, a method for switching between the two types of operation modes will be described. In the present embodiment, the cross key mode is entered by pressing the cross key 72a in the pointing mode. That is, in the state of FIG. 10, when the player presses the cross key 72a, one of the objects is selected (in this embodiment, the object selected immediately before is selected). Here, while in the cross key mode, the pointer 104 does not move even if the designated position on the screen is changed. For example, even if the position indicated by the controller 7 is moved, for example, to the upper part of the screen while the object 102 is selected as shown in FIG. 13, the display position of the pointer 104 does not move and the selected state of the object 102 is maintained. Will remain.

  On the other hand, in order to switch to the pointing mode in the cross button mode, an operation of “shaking” the controller 7 is performed. In the present embodiment, whether or not this “shake” operation is performed is detected based on acceleration data output from the acceleration sensor 701. In other words, if an acceleration greater than or equal to a predetermined magnitude (generated by “shaking”) is detected within a predetermined time during the cross key mode, the operation mode is switched to the pointing mode. For example, if the controller 7 is swung while the object 103 is selected as shown in FIG. 14, the pointer 104 is displayed at the indicated position detected at that time as shown in FIG. 15 at the same time as switching to the pointing mode. Is done.

  The switching from the cross button mode to the pointing mode is performed by accumulating the movement amount of the controller 7 calculated based on the acceleration data, and switching to the pointing mode when the accumulated value exceeds a predetermined threshold. It may be. In addition, when the amount of change in acceleration per unit time (for example, one frame) exceeds a predetermined threshold, the mode may be switched to the pointing mode, or the amount of change is accumulated and the accumulated value of the amount of change is stored. May be switched to the pointing mode when a predetermined threshold is exceeded.

  In this way, by switching the two types of operation modes by performing the operation of “shaking” the controller 7, it is possible to realize switching without a sense of incongruity and high response. That is, in this embodiment, since the controller 7 is operated as shown in FIG. 9 described above, the shaking operation (for example, a snapping operation such as twisting the wrist) and the method of moving the controller by the pointing operation are the controller 7. It is common in that it moves with the elbow and wrist mainly with the tip of the screen facing the screen, and the “shaking” operation is highly compatible with the “pointing operation”. For this reason, switching from the cross key mode to the pointing mode can be performed instantaneously in a natural flow of operation with no sense of incongruity (such as holding the controller 7 after performing a shaking operation). And pointing operation can be performed as is). Further, to switch from the pointing mode to the cross button mode, only the cross key 72a is pressed. Therefore, as a result, a switching operation with high response is possible for switching between the pointing mode and the cross button mode.

  In the present embodiment, when the cross key 72a is not operated for a certain period of time during the cross key mode and the controller 7 is pointing in the screen, the process of automatically switching to the pointing mode is also performed. This improves the convenience of the player.

  Next, details of the game process executed by the game apparatus body 3 will be described. First, data stored in the external main memory 12 during game processing will be described. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a memory map of the external main memory 12 of the game apparatus body 3. In FIG. 16, the external main memory 12 includes a program storage area 120 and a data storage area 124. Data in the program storage area 120 and the data storage area 124 is stored in the optical disc 4 and transferred to the external main memory 12 and stored when the game program is executed.

  The program storage area 120 stores a game program executed by the CPU 10. This game program includes a pointer control program 121, a one-frame processing program 122, a cross key mode program 123, and the like.

  The data storage area 124 stores data such as operation data 125, previous acceleration vector 126, acceleration array 127, operation mode 128, no-input time 129, and various variables and flags used during program execution. The

  The operation data 62 is operation data transmitted from the controller 7 to the game apparatus body 3. As described above, since the operation data is transmitted from the controller 7 to the game apparatus main body 3 at a rate of once every 1/200 seconds, the operation data 62 stored in the main memory is updated at this rate. In the present embodiment, only the latest (last acquired) operation data may be stored in the main memory.

  The operation data 125 includes acceleration data 1251, marker coordinate data 1252, and operation button data 1253. The acceleration data 1251 is data indicating the acceleration (acceleration vector) detected by the acceleration sensor 701. Here, the acceleration data 1251 indicates a three-dimensional acceleration vector V1 having acceleration as components for the xyz three-axis directions shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the magnitude of the acceleration vector V1 detected by the acceleration sensor 701 while the controller 7 is stationary is “1”. That is, the magnitude of gravitational acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 701 is “1”.

  The marker coordinate data 1252 is data indicating coordinates calculated by the image processing circuit 744 of the imaging information calculation unit 74, that is, the marker coordinates. The marker coordinates are expressed in a two-dimensional coordinate system (xy coordinate system shown in FIG. 8) for representing a position on a plane corresponding to the captured image. Note that, when the two markers 8R and 8L are imaged by the imaging element 743, two marker coordinates are calculated. On the other hand, when either one of the markers 8R and 8L is not located within the imageable range of the image sensor 743, only one marker is imaged by the image sensor 743, and only one marker coordinate is calculated. Further, when both the markers 8R and 8L are not located within the imageable range of the image sensor 743, the marker is not imaged by the image sensor 743, and the marker coordinates are not calculated. Therefore, the marker coordinate data 1252 may indicate two marker coordinates, may indicate one marker coordinate, or may indicate that there is no marker coordinate.

  The operation button data 1253 is data indicating an input state with respect to the operation buttons 72a to 72i. Therefore, data indicating the pressed state of the cross key 72a (whether the up / down / left / right direction is pressed) is also included in the data.

  The previous acceleration vector 126 is data indicating an acceleration vector calculated immediately before the acceleration data 1251. More specifically, the processing unit of the game according to the present embodiment is 1/60 seconds, and the processing described later is repeated in units of 1/60 seconds. The acceleration data is acceleration data calculated in the current processing loop, and the previous acceleration vector 126 is vector data indicating the acceleration calculated in the immediately preceding processing loop.

  The acceleration array 127 is a set of data (one-dimensional array) used for the determination of switching of the operation mode in the processing described later, and is data representing a history of the amount of change in acceleration. In the following description, assuming that the number of elements of the array is N and counting from “0”, the array may be represented as acceleration arrays Q [0] to Q [N−1]. The storage method is so-called FIFO (First In First Out), and the latest data is stored in Q [0] and the oldest data is stored in Q [N-1].

  The operation mode 128 is a flag for indicating whether the current operation mode is “pointing mode” or “cross key mode”. In this embodiment, “0” is set in the “pointing mode”, and “1” is set in the “cross key mode”.

  The no-input time 129 is a variable for counting the time when the input to the cross key 72a is not performed (the time when the cross key 72a is not pressed) in the cross key mode.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 17 to 20, the game process executed by the game apparatus body 3 will be described. When the power of the game apparatus main body 3 is turned on, the CPU 10 of the game apparatus main body 3 executes a startup program stored in the ROM / RTC 13, whereby each unit such as the main memory 33 is initialized. Then, the game program stored in the optical disc 4 is read into the external main memory 12, and the CPU 10 starts executing the game program. The flowchart shown in FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a game process performed after the above process is completed. Moreover, the processing loop of step S2 to step S3 shown in FIG. 17 is repeatedly executed for each frame. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, control of the pointer 104 and object selection performed based on an operation related to the controller 7 by executing a pointer control program included in the game program in the processing will be described. Detailed descriptions of other processes not directly related to are omitted.

  In FIG. 17, first, the CPU 10 executes an initialization process (step S1). FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing details of the initialization process shown in step S1. In FIG. 18, first, the CPU 10 initializes the acceleration array 127 (step S11). More specifically, the CPU 10 sets “0” to each variable constituting the acceleration array 127.

  Next, the CPU 10 initializes the no-input time 129 (step S12). Specifically, the CPU 10 sets “0” in the no-input time 129.

  Next, the CPU 10 executes a process for calculating the designated coordinate Pos (step S13). The designated coordinate Pos is a variable for representing a position indicated by the controller 7. The process of step S13 will be described more specifically. First, the CPU 10 calculates the designated coordinate Pos of the controller 7 based on the marker coordinate data 1252 from the operation data 125. Here, the calculation method of the designated coordinate Pos may be any method. For example, the following method is conceivable.

  Hereinafter, an example of a method for calculating the designated coordinate Pos will be described. The operation data 125 acquired from the controller 7 includes marker coordinate data 1252 that is data indicating the marker coordinates. Since the data indicates two marker coordinates (see FIG. 8) corresponding to the markers 8a and 8b, the CPU 10 first calculates the midpoint of the two marker coordinates. The position of the midpoint is represented by the xy coordinate system for representing the position on the plane corresponding to the captured image. Next, the CPU 10 converts the coordinates indicating the position of the midpoint into coordinates in a coordinate system (referred to as an x′y ′ coordinate system) for representing a position on the screen of the television 2. This conversion may be performed using a function that converts the coordinates of the midpoint calculated from a certain captured image into coordinates on the screen corresponding to the actual designated position of the controller 7 when the captured image is captured. it can. At that time, since the designated position of the controller 7 and the position of the marker coordinates in the captured image move in the opposite direction, conversion is performed so that the top, bottom, left and right are reversed. The value indicated by the x′y ′ coordinate value calculated as described above becomes the designated coordinate Pos of the controller 7. However, as described above, the marker coordinate data 1252 may indicate that there is no marker coordinate. In such a case, data indicating that there is no marker coordinate, such as a NULL value, is also set in the designated coordinate Pos.

  Next, the CPU 10 determines whether or not the designated position indicated by the designated coordinate Pos is included in the screen (step S14). That is, it is determined whether or not the front surface of the controller 7 (the light entrance side of the light imaged by the imaging information calculation unit 74) is directed to the screen. More specifically, when the content of the designated coordinate Pos indicates that there is no marker coordinate, it is determined that the designated position indicated by the designated coordinate Pos is not included in the screen. In this case, it is determined that the designated position indicated by the designated coordinate Pos is included in the screen.

  Next, the CPU 10 sets an operation mode. Specifically, as a result of the determination in step S14, when it is determined that the designated position indicated by the designated coordinate Pos is included in the screen (YES in step S14), the CPU 10 changes the operation mode 128 to “ “0” which is a value indicating “pointing mode” is set. (Step S15). On the other hand, when it is determined that the designated position indicated by the designated coordinates Pos is not included in the screen (NO in step S14), the CPU 10 has a value indicating “cross key mode” in the operation mode 128 “1”. "Is set (step S16). This is the end of the initialization process.

  Returning to FIG. 17, when the initialization process is completed, the CPU 10 next executes one frame process (step S <b> 2). FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing details of the one-frame process shown in step S2. In FIG. 19, first, the CPU 10 executes a process for calculating the indicated coordinate Pos (step S21). Since the content of the process is the same as that in step S13, description of the content is omitted.

  Next, the CPU 10 refers to the operation mode 128 and determines whether or not the current operation mode is the “pointing mode” (step S22). That is, the CPU 10 determines whether or not the value of the operation mode 128 is “0”. If the result of this determination is that the operation mode is not “pointing mode” (NO in step S22), the CPU 10 executes cross key mode processing (step S31). Details of this processing will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the operation mode is the “pointing mode” (YES in step S22), the CPU 10 next refers to the operation button data 1253 and determines whether or not the cross key 72a has been pressed (step S23). . As a result of the determination, when the cross key 72a is not pressed (NO in step S23), the CPU 10 executes a process of moving the pointer 104 to a position on the screen indicated by the designated coordinates Pos (step S24). That is, the processing as the “pointing mode” is continued. At this time, when there is any object at the movement destination of the pointer 104 (that is, when the pointer 104 indicates any object), the object is selected (more specifically, the focus is set). To make it a selected state). Furthermore, the CPU 10 places the selection frame 105 on the object in the selected state. Thereafter, the processing proceeds to step S30 described later, and the pointer 104 is drawn at the moved position (when any object is selected, the selection frame 105 is also drawn).

  On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S23 is that the cross key 72a has been pressed (YES in step S23), the CPU 10 executes a process for selecting any object in the screen (step S25). Specifically, when the determination is executed, if any object has already been selected (see, for example, FIG. 11), the CPU 10 presses the position based on the position of the selected object. Of the objects existing in the direction of the cross key 72a, the object closest to the designated position is selected. When the determination is executed and no object is selected (see, for example, FIG. 10), the object is at a position closest to the indicated position (position indicated by the indicated coordinate Pos). The object is selected (when there are a plurality of closest objects, the object existing in the direction of the pressed cross key 72a is selected). That is, according to this processing, when the cross key is pressed in the pointing mode, any object is immediately selected.

  Next, the CPU 10 moves the pointer 104 to a position (see FIGS. 13 and 14) near the center of the selected object (the object on which the focus is set) (step S26). At this time, the CPU 10 places the selection frame 105 on the object in the selected state.

  Next, the CPU 10 sets “1”, which is a value indicating the cross key mode, in the operation mode 128 (step S27).

  Next, the CPU 10 executes initialization of the acceleration array 127 (step S28) and initialization of the no-input time 129 (step S29).

  Next, the CPU 10 executes a drawing process (step S30). That is, a process of generating an image as shown in FIG. 10 and displaying it on the television 2 as a game image is executed. Then, the CPU 10 ends the one frame process.

  Next, the processing when the operation mode is “cross key mode” (the value of the operation mode 128 is “1”) as a result of the determination in step S22 will be described. In this case, the CPU 10 executes a cross key mode process (step S31). FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of the cross key mode process shown in step S31. 20, first, the CPU 10 refers to the operation button data 1253 to determine whether or not the cross key 72a has been pressed (step S41). If the result of this determination is that the cross key 72a has been pressed (YES in step S41), processing for continuing the processing in the “cross key mode” is executed. First, the CPU 10 executes initialization of the acceleration array 127 (step S42) and initialization of the no-input time 129 (step S43).

  Next, the CPU 10 executes processing for selecting an object in accordance with the direction of the pressed cross key 72a (step S44). That is, the closest object among the objects existing in the direction of the pressed cross key 72a is selected based on the position of the currently selected object. As described above with reference to FIGS. 11 and 13, when the “left” direction is pressed when the object 101 displayed at the leftmost end in the screen is selected, the object 101 is displayed at the right end. The selected object 103 is selected. Similarly, when the “right” direction is pressed while the rightmost object 103 is selected, the leftmost object 101 is selected.

  Next, the CPU 10 moves the pointer 104 to a position near the center of the selected object (see FIG. 13 and the like) (step S45). At this time, the CPU 10 places the selection frame 105 on the object in the selected state. Thereafter, the CPU 10 ends the cross key mode process.

  Next, a process when it is determined that the cross key 72a is not pressed as a result of the determination in step S41 (NO in step S41) will be described. In this case, it is determined whether or not the controller 7 is shaken, and the process of switching to the pointing mode is executed according to the result. Specifically, first, the CPU 10 adds “1” to the no-input time 129 (step S46). Next, the CPU 10 refers to the acceleration data 1251 and acquires the acceleration vector V1 (step S47).

Next, the CPU 10 acquires the previous acceleration vector 126 and calculates an acceleration change amount q (step S48). The acceleration change amount q is an amount of change from the acceleration vector calculated in the process related to the immediately preceding frame to the acceleration vector calculated in the process related to the current frame. The amount of change q is obtained, for example, as follows. First, the change vector Vs is calculated by the following equation.
Change vector Vs = acceleration vector V1-previous acceleration vector V2
Then, the magnitude (scalar value) of the calculated change vector Vs is set as a change amount q.

  Next, the CPU 10 updates the acceleration array (step S49). Specifically, the CPU 10 updates the data of the acceleration array Q [N-1] with the data of Q [N-2], and updates the data of Q [N-2] with the data of Q [N-3]. I will do it. Thereafter, updating is performed in the same manner, and finally, the calculated change amount q is stored in the acceleration array Q [0].

Next, the CPU 10 calculates an integrated value Qt of each value of the acceleration array 127 using the following equation (step S50).
Integrated value Qt = Q [0] + Q [1] + Q [2] +... + Q [N−1]

  Next, the previous acceleration vector 126 is updated with the value of the acceleration vector V1 (step S51).

  Next, the CPU 10 determines whether or not the integrated value Qt calculated in step S50 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (step S52). That is, it is determined whether or not the amount of change in acceleration within a predetermined time indicated by the number of elements of the acceleration array 127 is a large amount of change that can be said to be a “swing” operation. As a result of the determination, when the integrated value Qt is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (YES in step S52), it is considered that the “swing” operation has been performed. (Shown value) is set (step S54).

  On the other hand, when the integrated value Qt is not greater than or equal to the threshold value (NO in step S52), the CPU 10 then indicates that the no-input time 129 is greater than or equal to a predetermined second threshold value and is indicated by the designated coordinate Pos. It is determined whether or not the position is included in the screen (step S53). That is, it is determined whether or not the cross key 72 a has been pressed for a certain period of time and the player is pointing to the screen with the controller 7. As a result of the determination, if the above condition is satisfied (YES in step S53), the CPU 10 proceeds to step S54 and executes a process of setting the “pointing mode” as the operation mode. That is, in the “cross key mode”, when the player keeps the front of the controller 7 facing the screen and does not press the cross key 72a for a certain period of time, the operation mode is switched to the pointing mode.

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S53 shows that the above condition is not satisfied (NO in step S53), the CPU 10 ends the cross key mode process. When the cross key mode process is completed, the process proceeds to the process of step S30 in FIG. 19, the drawing process of the pointer 104 and the like is executed, and the one frame process is completed.

  Returning to FIG. 17, after the one-frame process of step S2, it is determined in step S3 whether or not the game has ended. If YES, the CPU 10 ends the game process, and if NO, the process returns to step S2. Repeat the game process. Thus, the game process according to the present embodiment is completed.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the “swing” operation is detected during the operation using the cross key 72a, the operation mode is switched to the pointing operation method. Further, when the cross key is pressed during the pointing operation, the operation mode is switched by the cross key. In other words, when it is desired to move directly to the operation to be performed, specifically, when it is desired to perform a selection operation using the cross key 72a, the cross key 72a is pressed and the pointer 104 is moved to perform pointing. When it is desired to perform an operation, the operation method can be switched by performing an operation of shaking the controller 7 itself. Thereby, a plurality of selection operation methods can be switched with an operation with high response and no sense of incongruity.

  Further, as described above, in this embodiment, the change amount of the acceleration data is accumulated in the acceleration array 127 that is a finite array, and the cross key mode is changed to the pointing mode depending on whether or not the accumulated value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. Switching judgment is performed. Thus, by buffering the acceleration data in a finite array, for example, when the motion applied to the controller 7 is small but continues for a long time, the acceleration data is accumulated over a long time. As a result, it is possible to prevent erroneous switching of the operation mode as described above. In other words, the operation mode switching is not executed unless a certain amount of movement such as a “swing” operation occurs within a predetermined period (corresponding to the number of elements in the array). It can be prevented from occurring. What is necessary is just to set suitably about the length (the number of elements of an arrangement | sequence) of the said predetermined period according to process content, such as a game in which this process is performed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the acceleration data output from the acceleration sensor is used to detect the “swing” operation. However, the “swing” operation is detected based on the angular velocity data output from the gyro sensor. Also good. In this case, for example, the controller 7 incorporates a three-axis gyro sensor. Alternatively, an expansion unit including a three-axis gyro sensor is connected to the controller 7. Then, the angular velocity may be detected and output as angular velocity data, and detection of the “swing” operation may be executed in place of the acceleration data or in combination with the acceleration data.

  Further, the change amount of the designated position may be used instead of detecting the “swing” operation. That is, when a large change occurs in the designated position within a predetermined time, it may be switched to the pointing operation method on the assumption that a large “movement” is applied to the controller 7. For example, in the cross key mode process, the designated coordinate Pos is stored in the external main memory 12 as data indicating the designated position one frame before, and in the next processing loop, the designated coordinate one frame before and the current instruction are stored. The amount of change from the coordinates is calculated. Then, if the amount of change exceeds a predetermined threshold, switching to the pointing operation method may be executed. Of course, not only the comparison of the designated coordinates with the previous frame, but also the change amount of the designated coordinates in a period of several frames to several tens of frames may be calculated and used for switching determination of the operation method.

  Further, not only the above-described acceleration, angular velocity, and change amount of the designated position, but also any detection method may be used as long as “movement” applied to the controller 7 during the cross key mode can be detected. Then, switching to the pointing mode may be executed based on the magnitude of the movement.

  Further, in the above embodiment, two types of operations of the cross key mode and the pointing mode can be performed with one casing called the controller 7, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration using a plurality of casings is also possible. good. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, the expansion controller 9 is connected to the connector 73 of the controller 7. When playing the game, for example, as shown in FIG. 22, the player has the controller 7 with his right hand and the expansion controller 9 with his left hand. At this time, the player holds the controller 7 with the front surface of the controller 7 held in the right hand (the entrance side of the light imaged by the imaging information calculation unit 74) facing the direction of the markers 8L and 8R. The expansion controller 9 is provided with a stick 91. By operating the stick 91, the same operation as in the cross key mode can be performed. Then, when the player is operating using the stick 91 (in the cross key mode), the controller 7 that is gripped by the right hand is swung to switch to the pointing mode. Further, during the pointing mode, by operating the stick 91 of the extension controller 9 held by the left hand, processing is performed so as to switch to the cross key mode. At this time, the cross key 72a of the controller 7 may be made valid. That is, the operation in the cross key mode is made possible with the stick 91 of the expansion controller 9 or the cross key 72a of the controller 7. If the stick 91 or the cross key 72a is pressed during the pointing mode, the cross key mode may be switched.

  Further, when a plurality of casings as described above are used, an acceleration sensor may be built in each of the casings, and the operation method may be switched to that of the swinging casing. In the above example, for example, the controller 7 may be switched to the pointing mode when the controller 7 gripped with the right hand is swung, and the cross key mode may be switched when the expansion controller 9 gripped with the left hand is swung. In this case, identification information indicating the output source may be attached in association with the acceleration data output from each controller.

  Also, when using multiple housings, for example, when using two housings, each has a built-in pointing device and an acceleration sensor so that the operation can be switched to the pointing device on the side where “swing” is detected. Also good.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the cross key mode, control is performed such that any of the objects displayed on the screen is always selected. Control may be performed such that the pointer 104 is moved by a predetermined distance in accordance with the pressing direction of the key 72a. That is, in the cross key mode, control may be performed such that the pointer 104 is moved by the cross key 72a.

  Further, regarding the selection operation in the cross key mode, the selection operation may be made possible with one predetermined button instead of the cross key 72a. For example, in the cross key mode, each time the operation button 72b is pressed, a process may be executed in which objects selected in a predetermined order are switched (focus is moved in a predetermined order).

  Further, the present invention can be applied not only to the above-described game processing but also to general selection operations used in the information processing, even for information processing other than the game processing.

  An information processing apparatus and an information processing program according to the present invention can switch a plurality of operation methods with high response, and are useful for an information processing apparatus that performs operations using a stationary game apparatus or a pointing device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Game system 2 ... Monitor 2a ... Speaker 3 ... Game device 4 ... Optical disk 7 ... Controller 9 ... Expansion controller 10 ... CPU
11 ... System LSI
11a: I / O processor 11b: GPU
11c DSP
11d ... VRAM
11e ... internal main memory 12 ... external main memory 13 ... ROM / RTC
14 ... Disk drive 15 ... AV-IC
16 ... AV connector 17 ... Flash memory 18 ... Wireless communication module 19 ... Wireless controller module 20 ... Expansion connector 21 ... External memory card connector 22 ... Antenna 23 ... Antenna 24 ... Power button 25 ... Reset button 26 ... Eject button 71 ... Housing 72 ... Operation unit 73 ... Connector 74 ... Imaging information calculation unit 741 ... Infrared filter 742 ... Lens 743 ... Imaging element 744 ... Image processing circuit 75 ... Communication unit 751 ... Microcomputer 752 ... Memory 753 ... Wireless module 754 ... Antenna 700 ... Substrate 701 ... Acceleration sensor 702 ... LED
703 ... Crystal oscillator 704 ... Vibrator 707 ... Sound IC
708 ... amplifier

Claims (28)

An information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that gives a position instruction on a screen based on outputs from a plurality of input means including at least one pointing device,
The computer,
Motion information acquisition means for acquiring motion information that is information relating to motion applied to the first input device housing itself including the pointing device;
A movement amount calculating means for calculating a movement amount of the first input device housing based on the movement information;
Threshold determination means for determining whether or not the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold;
An information processing program that functions as first position instruction means for performing position instruction based on an output from the pointing device when it is determined that the movement amount exceeds the predetermined threshold. The first input device housing includes a non-pointing device that is an input unit that is not a pointing device among the plurality of input units,
The information processing program causes the computer to
Determination means for determining whether or not an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when the position instruction is performed by the first position instruction means;
2. The information according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that an input to the non-pointing device has occurred, the information is further functioned as a second position instruction unit that performs a position instruction based on an output from the non-pointing device. Processing program. Among the plurality of input means, a non-pointing device that is an input means that is not a pointing device is included in the second input device casing,
The information processing program causes the computer to
Determination means for determining whether or not an input to the non-pointing device has occurred when the position instruction is performed by the first position instruction means;
2. The information according to claim 1, wherein when the determination unit determines that an input to the non-pointing device has occurred, the information is further functioned as a second position instruction unit that performs a position instruction based on an output from the non-pointing device. Processing program. The information processing program instructs the computer to perform a position instruction based on a first position instruction mode by the first position instruction means and an output from a non-pointing device that is an input means that is not a pointing device. Further function as a switching means for switching the position instruction mode between the instruction mode,
The switching means switches to the first position indicating mode when the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold when the position indicating mode is the second position indicating mode, and the position indicating mode is the first position indicating mode. The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein when the input to the non-pointing device is generated in the position instruction mode, the information processing program is switched to the second position instruction mode. The information processing program uses the computer as a non-input period measuring unit that measures a period in which it is determined that there is no input to the non-pointing device when the position instruction mode is the second position instruction mode. Make it work,
The information processing program according to claim 4, wherein the switching unit switches the position instruction mode to the first position instruction mode when a period measured by the non-input period measuring unit exceeds a predetermined value. The first input device housing includes a motion sensor for detecting movement applied to the first input device housing itself,
The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the motion information acquisition unit acquires data output from the motion sensor as motion information. The motion information acquisition means repeatedly acquires data indicating the position indicated by the pointing device as motion information,
The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the movement amount calculation unit calculates the movement amount based on a change amount of an indicated position by the pointing device. The information processing program causes the computer to further function as an accumulation unit that accumulates the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit,
The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the threshold determination unit determines whether or not a value accumulated by the accumulation unit exceeds a predetermined threshold.   The information processing program according to claim 8, wherein the accumulating unit accumulates a movement amount for a predetermined period up to a current time.   The information processing program according to claim 8, wherein the information processing program further causes the computer to function as cumulative value resetting means for resetting a cumulative value when an input to input means other than the pointing device is generated. The information processing program further causes the computer to function as a movement change amount calculation unit that calculates a change amount of the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit,
The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein the threshold determination unit determines whether or not the amount of change calculated by the movement change amount calculation unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. The information processing program causes the computer to further function as change amount accumulation means for accumulating the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculation means,
The information processing program according to claim 11, wherein the threshold determination unit determines whether or not a change amount accumulated by the change amount accumulation unit exceeds a predetermined threshold value.   The information processing program according to claim 12, wherein the change amount accumulating unit accumulates a change amount for a predetermined period up to a current time.   The information processing program according to claim 12, wherein the information processing program causes the computer to further function as a cumulative value reset unit that resets the accumulated change amount when an input to an input unit other than the pointing device is generated. program. The first input device housing includes an imaging unit for imaging at least one imaging object arranged in the vicinity of the display device,
The first position indicating means includes
Including captured image data acquisition means for acquiring captured image data output from an input device housing including the imaging means,
The information processing program according to claim 1, wherein a position instruction is given based on an imaging target shown in a captured image indicated by the captured image data. An information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus that selects one of a plurality of objects displayed on a screen,
The computer,
Motion information acquisition means for acquiring motion information that is information relating to motion applied to a predetermined input device casing itself used for the object selection operation;
An arbitrary position on the screen can be specified, and a pointing selection mode in which any object displayed on the screen can be selected by selecting the displayed position and a predetermined key input Depending on the key selection mode in which the object can be selected by switching the focus state setting indicating the selected state between a plurality of objects displayed on the screen in a predetermined order. An information processing program that causes selection mode switching means to switch a selection mode based on the motion information. The information processing program causes the computer to
First determination means for determining whether or not the predetermined key input is performed when the selection mode is a pointing selection mode;
When the selection mode is a key selection mode, it further functions as a movement amount calculating means for calculating a movement amount of the input device itself based on the movement information,
The selection mode switching unit switches the selection mode to the key selection mode when the first determination unit determines that the key input is performed, and the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit is a predetermined amount. The information processing program according to claim 16, wherein when the threshold value is exceeded, the selection mode is switched to the pointing selection mode. The input device housing includes a motion sensor for detecting movement applied to the input device housing itself,
The information processing program according to claim 16, wherein the motion information acquisition unit acquires data output from the motion sensor as motion information. The information processing program causes the computer to further function as an accumulation unit that accumulates the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit,
The information processing program according to claim 16, wherein the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when a value accumulated by the accumulation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.   The information processing program according to claim 19, wherein the accumulating unit accumulates a movement amount for a predetermined period up to a current time.   The information processing program causes the computer to further function as a cumulative value reset unit that resets the cumulative value when the first determination unit determines that the predetermined key input has been performed. Information processing program. The information processing program further causes the computer to function as a movement change amount calculation unit that calculates a change amount of the movement amount calculated by the movement amount calculation unit,
The information processing program according to claim 16, wherein the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the amount of change calculated by the movement change amount calculation means exceeds a predetermined threshold. The information processing program causes the computer to further function as change amount accumulation means for accumulating the change amount calculated by the movement change amount calculation means,
The information processing program according to claim 22, wherein the selection mode switching means switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when the amount of change accumulated by the change amount accumulation means exceeds a predetermined threshold.   The information processing program according to claim 23, wherein the change amount accumulating unit accumulates a change amount for a predetermined period up to a current time.   24. The information processing program according to claim 23, wherein the information processing program causes the computer to further function as cumulative value resetting means for resetting the accumulated change amount when an input to input means other than the pointing device is generated. program. The information processing program causes the computer to further function as a no-input period measuring unit that measures a period in which it is determined that the key input is not performed when the selection mode is the key selection mode.
18. The information processing program according to claim 17, wherein the selection mode switching unit switches the selection mode to the pointing selection mode when a period measured by the non-input period measuring unit exceeds a predetermined value. An information processing apparatus for performing a position instruction on a screen based on outputs from a plurality of input means including at least one pointing device,
Motion information acquisition means for acquiring motion information that is information relating to motion applied to the first input device housing itself including the pointing device;
A movement amount calculating means for calculating a movement amount of the first input device housing based on the movement information;
Threshold determination means for determining whether or not the movement amount exceeds a predetermined threshold;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a first position instruction unit that issues a position instruction based on an output from the pointing device when it is determined that the amount of movement exceeds the predetermined threshold. An information processing apparatus that selects one of a plurality of objects displayed on a screen,
Motion information acquisition means for acquiring motion information that is information relating to motion applied to a predetermined input device casing itself used for the object selection operation;
An arbitrary position on the screen can be specified, and a pointing selection mode in which any object displayed on the screen can be selected by selecting the displayed position and a predetermined key input Depending on the key selection mode in which the object can be selected by switching the focus state setting indicating the selected state between a plurality of objects displayed on the screen in a predetermined order. And a selection mode switching means for switching the selection mode based on the motion information.

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