JP2002082768A - Transmission device, information processing device and method, and program storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To be able to easily recognize gestures and hand gestures. When a user grips and moves a spherical input device 141 in a predetermined direction, an acceleration sensor 154
The acceleration in the x-axis and y-axis directions is measured, and the acceleration sensor 153 measures the acceleration in the z-axis direction. Also,
When the user grips the spherical input device 141 and rotates it in a predetermined direction, the rotary encoders 151-1 and 151 are rotated.
-2 measures the number of rotations of the y-axis,
52-1 and 152-2 measure the number of rotations of the x-axis. These measurement results are wirelessly transmitted to the personal computer via the antenna 155. The personal computer controls screen display based on the received data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transmission apparatus, an information processing apparatus and method, and a program storage medium.
In particular, the present invention relates to a transmission device, an information processing device and a method, and a program storage medium capable of recognizing a user's hand gesture and gesture.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various switches and buttons have been provided on an input device as electronic devices have become multifunctional, and a user must search for a desired switch from a plurality of switches or buttons. In addition, the operation was troublesome.

Further, an input device has been developed in which the number of switches and buttons is reduced as much as possible, and one switch or button has a plurality of functions. The annoyance still remains.

[0004] In order to eliminate such troublesome operations, there have been proposed some techniques for taking an interface between a person and a computer by incorporating a gesture or a hand gesture of a user as computer graphics.

For example, an image of a user is taken by a camera,
A technology for estimating and recognizing a dimensional posture and a gesture to perform an interface between a computer and a person has been proposed.

[0006]

However, there is a risk that hand movements or gestures may not be accurately detected due to a change in illumination or the like, and there has been a problem of erroneous recognition.

[0007] Further, for example, in a simulator for amusement such as throwing a ball, there is a problem that the user lacks a sense of realism if the user merely gestures or gestures.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and recognizes a user's hand gesture and gesture using a spherical input device.
It is intended to give a sense of realism with a simulator or the like.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A transmitting apparatus according to the present invention comprises: rotation detecting means for detecting the direction of rotation of a sphere; acceleration detecting means for detecting acceleration in three directions when the sphere is moved; Transmitting means for wirelessly transmitting a detection result detected by the acceleration detecting means to another device.

In the transmitting apparatus of the present invention, the rotational direction of the sphere is detected, and when the sphere is moved, accelerations in three directions are detected, and the detection results are wirelessly transmitted to another apparatus.

[0011] An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a receiving means for receiving rotation information and acceleration information transmitted wirelessly, and a first means for calculating first data based on the rotation information received by the receiving means. Calculating means, second calculating means for calculating second data based on the acceleration information received by the receiving means, first data calculated by the first calculating means, and second calculating means. Display control means for controlling screen display based on the second data calculated by the calculation means.

The first data may be data on a rotation direction and an angle, and the second data may be data on a movement direction and a speed.

According to the information processing method of the present invention, a receiving step of receiving rotation information and acceleration information transmitted wirelessly, and calculating first data based on the rotation information received by the processing of the receiving step. A first calculation step, a second calculation step of calculating second data based on the acceleration information received by the processing of the reception step, and a first data calculated by the processing of the first calculation step And a display control step of controlling screen display based on the second data calculated by the processing of the second calculation step.

[0014] The program stored in the program storage medium of the present invention includes a receiving step of receiving rotation information and acceleration information wirelessly transmitted, and a rotation step based on the rotation information received by the processing of the receiving step. A first calculation step of calculating the first data, a second calculation step of calculating the second data based on the acceleration information received by the processing of the reception step, and a calculation by the processing of the first calculation step And a display control step of controlling screen display based on the first data obtained and the second data calculated by the processing of the second calculation step.

[0015] In the information processing apparatus and method of the present invention, and in the program stored in the program storage medium, rotation information and acceleration information transmitted wirelessly are received, and based on the received rotation information, First data is calculated, and based on the received acceleration information, a second data is calculated.
Is calculated, and the screen display is controlled based on the calculated first data and second data.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a notebook personal computer and a spherical input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 to 4 are views showing the appearance of the notebook personal computer.

The personal computer 1 basically has:
It comprises a main body 2 and a display unit 3 which can be opened and closed with respect to the main body 2. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a state where the display unit 3 is opened with respect to the main body 2. FIG. 2 shows the main body 2
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a jog dial 4 described later provided on the main body 2. FIG. 4 is a side view of the jog dial 4 provided on the main body 2.

The main body 2 has a keyboard 5 operated when inputting various characters and symbols, and a touch pad as a pointing device operated when moving a mouse pointer (mouse cursor) displayed on the LCD 7. 6 and a power switch 8 are provided on the upper surface thereof. The jog dial 4 and the IEEE1394 port 101 are provided on the side surface of the main body 2. Note that a stick-type pointing device can be provided instead of the touch pad 6.

An LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 7 for displaying an image is provided in front of the display unit 3. In the upper right part of the display unit 3, a power lamp PL and a battery lamp
BL, a message lamp ML (not shown) provided as required, and other lamps including LEDs are provided.
Further, a microphone 66 is provided above the display unit 3.

The power lamp PL, the battery lamp BL, the message lamp ML, and the like can be provided below the display unit 3.

Next, the jog dial 4 is, for example, between the keys A and B arranged on the right side of the keyboard 5 on the main body 2 in FIG. It is attached so that it becomes. The jog dial 4 performs a predetermined process (for example, a process of scrolling a screen) in response to a rotation operation indicated by an arrow a in FIG.
To execute a process corresponding to the moving operation indicated by the arrow b in the figure (for example, a process of deciding to select an icon).

The jog dial 4 may be arranged on the left side of the main body 2 or between the G key and the H key of the keyboard 5 or on the left or right side of the display unit 3 provided with the LCD 7. Vertically (ie jog dial 4
May rotate in either direction of the Y key or the B key).

The jog dial 4 can be operated with the thumb while operating the touch pad 6 with the index finger.
It may be arranged at the center of the front surface of the main body 2, may be arranged horizontally along the upper edge or the lower edge of the touch pad 6, or may be arranged vertically between the right button and the left button It may be arranged in the direction. Furthermore, the jog dial 4
The arrangement is not limited to the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and may be arranged at a predetermined angle in an oblique direction that is easy to operate with each finger. In addition, the jog dial 4 can be arranged at a position operable with the thumb on the side of the mouse as a pointing device. As the jog dial, it is possible to use a rotary operation type electronic component with a push switch disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-203387, filed by the applicant of the present invention.

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Elec)
The tronics engineer) 1394 port 101 has a structure based on the standard defined by IEEE1394, and a cable based on the standard defined by IEEE1394 is connected.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 1, an antenna 131 is connected to the IEEE1394 port 101 via an IEEE1394 cable 132. The antenna 131 receives data transmitted from the spherical input device 141 and supplies the data to the personal computer 1 via the IEEE1394 cable 132.

The spherical input device 141 is provided as a device operated when moving a mouse pointer displayed on the LCD 7 instead of the touch pad 6 provided on the main body 2. The user inputs the spherical input device 1
By performing a predetermined operation while holding the terminal 41, the spherical input device 141 transmits data corresponding to the operation to the antenna 131 connected to the main body 2 of the personal computer 1.
Wirelessly, and the mouse pointer displayed on the LCD 7 can be moved. When the spherical input device 141 is not operated, it is set on a predetermined base 142. The details of the spherical input device 141 will be described later.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the personal computer 1.

A central processing unit (CPU (Central Processing)
Unit) 51 is composed of, for example, a Pentium (trademark) processor manufactured by Intel Corporation and connected to the host bus 52. Host bus 52
Is further connected to a bridge 53 (a so-called north bridge). The bridge 53 is connected to an AGP (Acceler
ated Graphics Port) 50, and PCI (Peripheral Com
(Ponent Interconnect / Interface) bus 56.

The bridge 53 is, for example, manufactured by Intel Corporation.
It is composed of an AGP Host Bridge Controller such as 400BX, and has a CPU 51 and a RAM (Random-Access Memory).
y) It controls 54 (so-called main memory) and the like. Further, the bridge 53 controls the video controller 57 via the AGP 50. The bridge 53 and a bridge (so-called south bridge (PCI-ISA Bridg
e)) and 58 constitute a so-called chipset.

The bridge 53 is further connected to a cache memory 55. The cache memory 55
Compared with the RAM 54 such as an SRAM (Static RAM), it is configured by a memory capable of executing a write or read operation at a higher speed, and caches (temporarily stores) a program or data used by the CPU 51.

The CPU 51 has a primary cache memory (a memory that can operate at a higher speed than the cache memory 55 and is controlled by the CPU 51 itself).

The RAM 54 is, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic RAM).
A program executed by the CPU 51 or a CPU
Data necessary for the operation of 51 is stored. Specifically, for example, the RAM 54 stores the HDD 6
7, a movement detection program 54A, a rotation detection program 54B, a jog dial state monitoring program 54C, a jog dial driver 54D, an operating program (OS) 54E, a display control program 54F, and other application programs 54G _1.
Or storing 54G _n.

The movement detection program 54A includes the antenna 1
The program detects the moving direction and distance of the spherical input device 141 based on output data of the spherical input device 141 received via the IEEE1394 cable 132 and the IEEE1394 port 101.

The rotation detection program 54B includes the antenna 1
A program for detecting the rotation direction and angle of the spherical input device 141 based on output data of the spherical input device 141 received via the IEEE1394 cable 132 and the IEEE1394 port 101.

Jog dial status monitoring program 54C
Sends a notification as to whether or not it supports jog dial 4,
Received from each application program described above,
When the jog dial 4 is supported, the LCD 7 displays what can be performed by operating the jog dial 4.

Jog dial status monitoring program 54C
Detects an event of the jog dial 4 (an operation in which the jog dial 4 is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 3 or pressed in a direction indicated by an arrow b in FIG. 3), and
Execute the process corresponding to the detected event. The jog dial status monitoring program 54C has a list for receiving a notification from the application program. The jog dial driver 54D executes various functions in response to the operation of the jog dial 4.

An OS (Operating System) 54E is, for example, a so-called Windows (Windows) of Microsoft Corporation.
This is a program for controlling basic operations of a computer, such as 95 (trademark), Windows 98 (trademark), and so-called Mac OS (trademark) of Apple Computer.

The display control program 54F is based on the movement direction and distance of the spherical input device 141 detected by the movement detection program 54A, and the rotation direction and angle of the spherical input device 141 detected by the rotation detection program 54B. Move the mouse pointer displayed on the LCD 7
Control is performed so as to correspond to the operation of the spherical input device 141.

The video controller 57 is connected to the bridge 53 via the AGP 50, receives data (image data or text data, etc.) supplied from the CPU 51 via the AGP 50 and the bridge 53, and
Generate image data corresponding to the received data.
The video controller 57 causes the LCD 7 of the display unit 3 to display an image corresponding to the generated image data.

A sound controller 64 is connected to the PCI bus 56. The sound controller 64
A signal corresponding to the voice is taken in from the microphone 66, data corresponding to the voice is generated, and output to the RAM 54. Alternatively, the sound controller 64 drives the speaker 65 to cause the speaker 65 to output sound.

A modem 75 is connected to the PCI bus 56. The modem 75 transmits predetermined data to a communication network 80 such as the Internet or a mail server 78 via a public telephone line 76 and an Internet service provider 77, and receives predetermined data from the communication network 80 or the mail server 78. .

PC card slot interface 111
Supplies the data supplied from the interface card 112 connected to the PCI bus 56 and mounted in the slot 9 to the CPU 51 or the RAM 54, and
The data supplied from the interface card 11
Output to 2. The drive 113 includes the PC card slot interface 111 and the interface card 1
It is connected to the PCI bus 56 via the communication line 12.

The drive 113 includes the mounted magnetic disk 121, optical disk 122, and magneto-optical disk 12.
3 or the data recorded in the semiconductor memory 124 is read, and the read data is read from the PC card slot interface 111, the interface card 112,
And to the RAM 54 via the PCI bus 56.

A bridge 58 (so-called south bridge) is also connected to the PCI bus 56. The bridge 58 is made of, for example, PIIX4E manufactured by Intel Corporation, and has a built-in IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) controller / configuration register 59, a timer circuit 60, an IDE interface 61, a USB interface 68, and the like. The bridge 58 has an ID
Devices connected to the E bus 62 or ISA / EIO (Indu
stry Standard Architecture / Extended Input Outpu
t) Various I / O (Input / O / O) such as control of devices connected via the bus 63 or the I / O interface 69
utput).

The IDE controller / configuration register 59 includes two IDE controllers, a so-called primary IDE controller and a secondary IDE controller, and a configuration register (config
uration register) (both not shown).

An HDD 67 is connected to the primary IDE controller via an IDE bus 62. Also, the secondary IDE controller has another IDE bus, not shown.
When a so-called IDE device such as a CD-ROM drive or HDD is mounted, the mounted IDE device is electrically connected.

Note that the HDD 67 has a movement detection program 6
7A, rotation detection program 67B, jog dial state monitoring program 67C, jog dial driver 67
D, OS 67E, display control program 67F, and a plurality of other application programs 67G _{1 to} 67G _n ,
Further, data and the like used in those programs are recorded. Movement detection program 67A, rotation detection program 67B, jog dial state monitoring program 67C, jog dial driver 67 recorded on HDD 67
D, OS67E, the display control program 67F, and the application program 67G ₁ to 67G _n, etc., starting (boot-up) in the process of the process, are sequentially supplied to the RAM 54, is loaded.

The USB interface 68 is connected to the USB port 1
07, a pseudo noise code is received from the connected GPS antenna 106, and the received pseudo noise code is
The data is transmitted to the RAM 54 via the PCI bus 56.

The timer circuit 60 controls the display control program 6
In response to the request of 7F, data indicating the current time is supplied to the CPU 51 via the PCI bus 56.

The ISA / EIO bus 63 is further connected to an I / O interface 69. The I / O interface 69 is composed of an embedded controller, in which a ROM 70, a RAM 71, and a CPU
72 are connected to each other.

The ROM 70 stores an IEEE 1394 interface program 70A, an LED control program 70B, a touch pad input monitoring program 70C, a key input monitoring program 70D, a wake-up program 70E, a jog dial state monitoring program 70F, and the like in advance.

The IEEE1394 interface program 70
A transmits and receives data (data stored in a packet) conforming to the standard defined by IEEE1394 via the IEEE1394 port 101. The LED control program 70B controls lighting of the power lamp PL, the battery lamp BL, the message lamp ML as required, or other lamps including LEDs. The touchpad input monitoring program 70C is a program for monitoring an input from the touchpad 6 corresponding to a user operation.

The key input monitoring program 70D is a program for monitoring inputs from the keyboard 5 or other key switches. Wake-up program 70E
Checks whether or not a preset time has been reached based on data indicating the current time supplied from the timer circuit 60 of the bridge 58. When the preset time has come, a predetermined process (or program ) Is a program for managing the power supply of each chip constituting the personal computer 1 in order to activate the above. The jog dial state monitoring program 70F determines whether or not the rotary encoder of the jog dial 4 has been rotated or not.
Is a program for constantly monitoring whether or not is pressed.

The ROM 70 further contains a BIOS (Basic Input / O
utput System (basic input / output system) 70G is written. The BIOS 70G controls data transfer (input / output) between the OS or application programs and peripheral devices (such as the touch pad 6, the keyboard 5, and the HDD 67).

The RAM 71 includes registers for LED control, touch pad input status, key input status, or set time, an I / O register for monitoring the jog dial status, an IEEE1394 I / F register, and the like.
To 71F. The key input status register stores a predetermined operation key flag when the jog dial 4 is pressed. In the set time register, a predetermined time is set according to the operation of the keyboard 5 or the like by the user.

The I / O interface 69
Via a connector not shown, the jog dial 4,
Touchpad 6, keyboard 5, IEEE1394 port 10
1, the shutter button 105 and the like are connected, and a signal corresponding to the operation of each of the jog dial 4, the keyboard 5, the touch pad 6, and the shutter button 105 is output to the ISA / EIO bus 63. Further, the I / O interface 69 controls transmission and reception of data to and from a connected device via the IEEE1394 port 101. further,
The I / O interface 69 is connected to a power lamp PL, a battery lamp BL, a message lamp ML, a power control circuit 73, and other LEDs.

The power supply control circuit 73 is connected to the built-in battery 74 or an AC power supply, supplies necessary power to each block, and controls the charging of the built-in battery 74 and a second battery of a peripheral device. Do. Also,
The I / O interface 69 monitors the power switch 8 operated when turning the power on or off.

The I / O interface 69 can execute the IEEE 1394 interface programs 70A to 70G by a power supply provided internally even when the power is off. That is, the IEEE1394 interface program 70A to the BIOS 70G are
Even if no window is open on the window 7, it is always operating.

Therefore, when the power switch 8 is off,
Even when the U51 is not executing the OS 54E, the I / O interface 69 executes the jog dial state monitoring program 70F. For example, when the jog dial 4 is pressed in the power saving state or the power off state,
The personal computer 1 starts processing of a predetermined software or script file set in advance.

As described above, in the personal computer 1, since the jog dial 4 has a programmable power key (PPK) function, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated key.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are views showing examples of the internal configuration of the spherical input device 141. FIG. 6 is a perspective view, FIG. 7 is a plan view, and FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the spherical input device 141 taken along line AA (FIG. 6).

The substrate 150 includes rotary encoders 151-1 and 151-2 for measuring the rotation of the y-axis, and x
Rotary encoder 152-1,1 for measuring shaft rotation
52-2 is attached, and is rotatable in the main body of the spherical input device 141 made of synthetic resin or the like.

An acceleration sensor 153 for detecting movement and acceleration in the Z-axis direction and an acceleration sensor 154 for detecting movement and acceleration in the X-axis and Y-axis directions are provided above the substrate 150. Acceleration sensor 15
As 3,154, it is desirable to provide sensors corresponding to the respective directions of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis.
Practically, it may be one that can detect acceleration in one direction or two directions. In the case of the present invention, the acceleration sensor 154 includes a sensor capable of detecting acceleration in two directions.

Furthermore, the rotary encoders 151-1 and 151-2 are provided substantially at the center of the upper portion of the substrate 150.
An antenna 155 for transmitting data measured by 152-1 and 152-2 and data measured by the acceleration sensors 154 and 155 to the personal computer 1 is provided.

A chassis 159-is provided below the substrate 150.
A CPU board 156, a wireless unit transmission board 157, a battery 158, and a power switch 158a are provided via 1 to 159-4.

The user can correctly turn the rotary encoders 151-1 and 151-2 for measuring the rotation of the y-axis in the y-axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 7) and measure the rotation of the x-axis. Rotary encoder 152
On the outside of the main body of the spherical input device 141, a line or an arrow as a mark indicating the direction is engraved in advance so that 1,152-2 can be correctly oriented in the x-axis direction (lateral direction in FIG. 7). (Not shown). Accordingly, the user can perform an input operation by accurately grasping the spherical input device 141 according to the mark.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of the spherical input device 141.

The rotary encoder (x) 161 outputs a rectangular wave as shown in FIG. 10 according to the rotation. When the directions of rotation are different, the rotary encoder (x) 161 can obtain a rectangular wave in which the rectangular wave shown in FIG. The rotary encoder (y) 162 includes a rotary encoder (x) 161
Similarly, a rectangular wave as shown in FIG. 10 is output according to the rotation. In FIG. 10, the horizontal axis represents time t.
(Ms).

The acceleration sensor (x) 163 outputs a waveform as shown in FIG. That is, the acceleration sensor (x) 163 changes the ratio of the high voltage period to the low voltage period during the cycle T according to the magnitude of the acceleration.

The acceleration sensor (y) 164 and the acceleration sensor (z) 165 output waveforms as shown in FIG. 11, similarly to the acceleration sensor (x). In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents time t (ms), and the vertical axis represents voltage v
(Mv).

The CPU 166 includes a rotary encoder 161
162 are monitored, and their rotation angles and directions are calculated. Further, the CPU 166 includes the acceleration sensor 1
The outputs 63 to 165 are monitored, and the ratio of the high voltage period to the low voltage period at the output is calculated. The calculated values (rotation angle, rotation angle, and voltage ratio) are
It is stored in a register or memory (both not shown) in 66. When the CPU 166 acquires (stores) data for a predetermined time, the rotary encoders 161 and 162 stored in the register or the memory,
In addition, the data of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165 are output to the wireless communication unit 167. CPU 166 further
The wireless communication unit 167 is controlled.

The radio communication unit 167 controls the rotary encoders 161 and 162 based on the control of the CPU 166.
In addition, it modulates data (measurement results) measured by the acceleration sensors 163 to 165 and wirelessly transmits the data to the personal computer 1 via the antenna 155.

Next, referring to FIG. 12, the spherical input device 1
The transmission process executed by the communication unit 41 will be described.

In step S1, the spherical input device 14
The first CPU 166 has a power switch 158a
Is turned on (power on), and waits until the power switch 158a is turned on. When the power switch 158a is turned on, the process proceeds to step S2,
The CPU 166 controls the rotary encoder (x) 161 and the rotary encoder (y) 162, respectively, to execute a rotary encoder measurement process.

Here, the rotary encoder measurement processing will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. Since the rotary encoders 161 and 162 perform the same processing, the following description will be made by taking the rotary encoder 161 as an example.

In step S11, the rotary encoder 161 determines whether or not the state has changed, that is, whether or not the rotary encoder 161 has operated. If it is determined that the state has not changed, no processing is performed. No, the process returns to step S2 in FIG. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the state of the rotary encoder 161 has changed, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the CPU 166
The state of the rotary encoder 161 stored immediately before is compared with the current state, and a different current state is newly stored in a register or a memory (not shown). That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the CPU 166 stores the change in the output of the two rectangular waves of the A phase and the B phase having a phase difference of 90 degrees per unit time that transits from the time α to the time β. .

In step S13, the rotary encoder 161 determines whether or not it is rotating in the positive direction from the last four output values (changes in output) stored in the processing in step S12. That is, based on the output of the A phase,
The rotation direction can be determined by checking whether the output of the phase is a leading phase or a lagging phase. FIG.
In the case of the example, since the output of the B phase leads the output of the A phase, the phase is determined to be rotating in the opposite direction.

In step S13, the CPU 166
When it is determined that the rotary encoder 161 is rotating in the positive direction, the process proceeds to step S14, and the rotary encoder 161 counts the unit rotation number in the positive rotation direction.
On the other hand, in step S13, the rotary encoder 1
If it is determined that 61 has not rotated in the positive direction, the process proceeds to step S15, and the CPU 166 determines whether the rotary encoder 161 has rotated in the negative direction.

In step S15, the CPU 166
When it is determined that the rotary encoder 161 is rotating in the negative direction, the process proceeds to step S16, and the rotary encoder 161 counts the unit rotation number in the negative rotation direction.
On the other hand, in step S15, the rotary encoder 1
If it is determined that 61 has not rotated in the negative direction, the rotary encoder 161 is regarded as not rotating, and the process ends.

After the processing in step S14 or S16,
In step S17, the CPU 166 initializes (resets) the displacement of the output stored in the register or the memory, and returns to step S2 in FIG.

As described above, in step S2, the CPU
166 can acquire information on the rotary encoders 161 and 162 measured by the above-described rotary encoder measurement process.

In step S3, the CPU 166 controls each of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165 to execute an acceleration sensor measurement process.

Here, the acceleration sensor measurement processing will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. Since all of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165 perform the same processing, the acceleration sensor 163 will be described below as an example.

In step S21, the CPU 166
It is determined whether the output voltage of the acceleration sensor 163 is high,
If it is determined that the output voltage is high, the process proceeds to step S22, and a period during which the output voltage is high is measured. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S21 that the output voltage is not high, that is, low, the process proceeds to step S23, and the acceleration sensor 163 measures a period during which the output voltage is low.

After the processing in step S22 or S23,
In step S24, the CPU 166 determines whether or not the unit time has elapsed. If it is determined that the unit time has not yet elapsed, the process returns to step S21, and the above-described processing is repeated. Then, when it is determined in step S24 that the unit time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S25, in which the CPU 166 calculates the ratio of the high voltage period to the low voltage period per unit time, and acquires the acceleration information. That is, the CPU 166 obtains acceleration information by measuring the high and low periods of the output voltage of the acceleration sensor 163 per unit time T (ms) using the output as shown in FIG. be able to.

Then, after the processing of step S25, FIG.
It returns to step S3 of No. 2.

As described above, in step S3, the CPU
166 can acquire information of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165 measured by the acceleration sensor measurement processing described above.

In step S4, CPU 166 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed, and if it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed, returns to step S2 and repeats the above-described processing.

If it is determined in step S4 that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S5, where the CPU 16
6 outputs the information (rotation speed and acceleration) stored so far to the wireless communication unit 167. The wireless communication unit 167 modulates information (rotational speed and acceleration) input from the CPU 166 and wirelessly transmits the information to the personal computer 1 via the antenna 155.

In step S6, the CPU 166 determines whether or not the power switch 158a has been turned off (powered off) by the user. If it is determined that the power switch 158a has not been turned off, the process returns to step S2, and the above-described processing is performed. repeat. If it is determined in step S6 that the power switch 158a has been turned off (the power has been turned off), the process ends.

As described above, the user operates the spherical input device 1
When a predetermined input operation is performed while holding the terminal 41, the rotation speed and the acceleration are measured inside the spherical input device 141, and the measurement result is wirelessly transmitted to the personal computer 1. In the personal computer 1, the spherical input device 1
The movement of the mouse pointer displayed on the LCD 7 can be controlled based on the data (measurement result) transmitted from the terminal 41.

Next, the display processing executed by the personal computer 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S31, the display control program 54F determines whether or not data transmitted from the spherical input device 141 has been received, and waits until it is determined that data has been received. A signal indicating an operation input by the user using the spherical input device 141 is transmitted to the antenna 131, the IEEE1394 cable 132, the IEEE1394 by the processing of one or both of the movement detection program 54A and the rotation detection program 54B. The data is input to the CPU 51 via the port 101, the I / O interface 69, the ISA / EIO bus 63, the bridge 58, the PCI bus 56, the bridge 53, and the host bus 52.

When the data transmitted from the spherical input device 141 is received in step S31, the flow advances to step S32 to display the display control program 54F.
Of the data received in the process of step S31
It is determined whether there is output data of the rotary encoder 161 or 162.

If it is determined in step S32 that there is output data from the rotary encoder 161 or 162, the flow advances to step S33 to execute the rotation detection program 5
4B detects the rotation direction of the spherical input device 141 from the output data of the rotary encoder 161 or 162.

For example, when a positive rotation speed related to the rotary encoder 161 is transmitted from the spherical input device 141, the rotation detection program 54 B
It can be detected that 1 has rotated by a predetermined angle in the positive z-axis direction with respect to the positive x-axis direction. That is, the user has rotated the spherical input device 141 in the counterclockwise direction.

Further, for example, when a positive rotational speed related to the rotary encoder 162 is transmitted from the spherical input device 141, the rotation detecting program 54B determines that the spherical input device 141 has a positive z-axis direction with respect to the positive y-axis direction. It can be detected that the camera has rotated in the direction by a predetermined angle. That is, the user inputs the spherical input device 14 from the near side to the back direction.
1 has been rotated.

In step S33, the display control program 54F reads the detected rotary encoder 1
From the rotation direction of 61 or 162, the processing of scrolling the screen displayed on the LCD 7 is controlled.

In step S32, the spherical input device 1
Of the data received from the rotary encoder 1
If it is determined that there is no output data of 61 or 162, the process of step S33 is skipped.

After the processing in step S32 or S33,
In step S34, the display control program 54F
Of the data received in the process of step S31
It is determined whether there is output data of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165.

In step S34, the acceleration sensor 1
When it is determined that there is output data of 63 to 165,
Proceeding to step S35, the movement detection program 54A
The moving direction and acceleration of the spherical input device 141 are detected from the output data of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165.

For example, the acceleration sensors 163 and 164
When the information on the acceleration having a positive value is transmitted from
In the axial direction and the positive y-axis direction, at a predetermined speed, respectively,
In addition, it can be detected that it has moved by a predetermined distance. In other words, the user has moved the spherical input device 141 diagonally right forward at a predetermined speed and a predetermined distance. The speed can be calculated by integrating the acceleration, and the distance can be calculated by integrating the speed.

Further, for example, when acceleration information having a positive value is transmitted from the acceleration sensor 165, the movement detection program 54A determines that the spherical input device 141 has a predetermined speed in the positive z-axis direction and It can be detected that it has moved by a predetermined distance. That is, the user has moved the spherical input device 141 upward by a predetermined distance.

In step S35, the display control program 54F controls the display of the mouse pointer 171 (FIG. 16) displayed on the LCD 7 based on the detected moving directions and accelerations of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165.

In step S34, the spherical input device 1
If it is determined that there is no output data of the acceleration sensors 163 to 165 among the data received from the data 41, the processing is terminated.

Next, referring to FIG. 16, spherical input device 1
The movement of the mouse pointer 171 using the mouse 41 will be described.

First, consider an operation in which the user selects a folder 172 when the mouse pointer 171 is located at a position as shown in FIG.

The user moves the spherical input device 141 in the same direction in which the mouse pointer 171 is to be moved. In this case, based on the mouse pointer 171, the user moves the mouse pointer 171 in the direction of the folder 172, that is, in the diagonally forward left direction of the spherical input device 141.
To move.

With this operation, the acceleration sensor (x) 163 and the acceleration sensor (y) 16 of the spherical input device 141 are
At 4, the acceleration is measured. Then, information on acceleration per unit time is acquired by the CPU 166,
When a predetermined time elapses (when information for a preset time is accumulated), the data is modulated by the wireless communication unit 167 and wirelessly transmitted to the personal computer 1 via the antenna 155.

The movement detection program 54A of the personal computer 1 detects the movement direction and acceleration of the spherical input device 141 from the transmitted data. In this case, the acceleration sensor (x) 163 transmits information of negative value acceleration, and the acceleration sensor (y) 164 transmits information of positive value acceleration. It can be detected that the device 141 has moved in the negative x-axis direction and the positive y-axis direction at a predetermined speed and a predetermined distance, respectively. That is,
It is detected that it has moved at a predetermined speed and a predetermined distance in a diagonally forward left direction.

The display control program 54F calculates the moving direction and the speed detected by the moving detecting program 54A.
The display of the mouse pointer 171 displayed on the LCD 7 is controlled. As a result, the mouse pointer 171 moves to the position shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6B, the folder 172 is moved to a position where the folder 172 is displayed.

When the mouse pointer 171 is moved over the folder 172 to be selected (FIG. 16).
(B)), the user performs an operation of selecting the folder 172. That is, the user moves the spherical input device 141 in the vertical direction.

By this operation, the acceleration is measured by the acceleration sensor (z) 165 of the spherical input device 141. Then, the acceleration information per unit time is
When a predetermined time elapses (when information for a preset time is accumulated), the data is modulated by the wireless communication unit 167 and transmitted wirelessly to the personal computer 1 via the antenna 155. .

The movement detection program 54A of the personal computer 1 detects the movement direction and acceleration of the spherical input device 141 from the transmitted data. In this case, since the acceleration sensor (z) 165 transmits information of negative or positive value acceleration, the movement detection program 54A determines that the spherical input device 141 has a predetermined speed in the negative or positive z-axis direction. In addition, it can be detected that the user has moved by a predetermined distance. That is, it is detected that the robot has moved in the vertical direction at a predetermined speed and a predetermined distance.

The display control program 54F calculates the moving direction and the speed detected by the moving detecting program 54A.
The display of the mouse pointer 171 displayed on the LCD 7 is controlled. As a result, the folder 172 is selected, and a window 173 is displayed to present the hierarchy below the folder 172 as shown in FIG.

That is, the operation of the spherical input device 141 in the vertical direction (z-axis direction) is treated as a selection operation.

As described above, the user can move the mouse pointer 171 with an intuitive operation, and can also select a desired file.

Next, referring to FIG. 17, spherical input device 1
The screen scrolling process using 41 will be described.

First, consider an operation in which the user performs a screen scrolling process when the cursor is located at a position as shown in FIG.

The user rotates the spherical input device 141 in the same direction in which the cursor is to be moved. In this case, since the cursor is at the top, the spherical input device 141 is rotated clockwise so as to move it downward.

With this operation, the rotary encoder (x) 161 of the spherical input device 141 measures the rotation direction and the rotation speed. Then, the number of rotations per unit time is acquired by the CPU 166, and when a predetermined time has elapsed (when information for a preset time is accumulated), the data is modulated by the wireless communication unit 167, and the data is modulated via the antenna 155. Wirelessly transmitted to the personal computer 1.

The rotation detection program 54B of the personal computer 1 detects the rotation direction and angle of the spherical input device 141 from the transmitted data. In this case, since the number of rotations in the negative rotation direction is transmitted from the acceleration sensor (x) 161, the rotation detection program 54B
Indicates that the spherical input device 141 has a negative z value with respect to the positive x-axis direction.
It can be detected that the shaft has been rotated by a predetermined angle in the axial direction. That is, it is detected that it has rotated clockwise by a predetermined angle.

The display control program 54F calculates the rotation direction and the angle detected by the rotation detection program 54B.
The scroll processing of the cursor displayed in the window 173 is controlled. Thus, as shown in FIG. 17B, the cursor is moved downward (scrolled).

When the user rotates the spherical input device 141 in a counterclockwise direction so as to move the cursor upward, as shown in FIG.
The cursor scrolls up.

As described above, the user can use the spherical input device 141 instead of the jog dial 4 to perform the screen scroll processing.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a bowling game system according to the second embodiment to which the present invention is applied. In the drawing, the same reference numerals are given to portions corresponding to the case in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

When the user activates, for example, a bowling game application, the display control program 54F of the personal computer 1 transmits the bowling game display screen data via the host bus 52, the bridge 53 and the AGP 50. And outputs it to the video controller 57. The video controller 57 displays the display screen for the bowling game on the LCD 7 based on the input display screen data, and outputs the display screen to the video screen 181 to display the display screen for the bowling game there (FIG. 19). ). The screen for video 1
When a display screen for a bowling game is displayed on 81, a similar screen need not be displayed on the LCD 7.

The user performs an operation of rolling the spherical input device 141 in place of the ball for the bowling game, aiming at the virtual pin displayed on the video screen 181 as shown in FIG.

By this operation, the acceleration sensor (x) 163 to the acceleration sensor (z) 165 of the spherical input device 141
In, the acceleration is measured. Then, information on the acceleration per unit time is acquired by the CPU 166, and when a predetermined time has elapsed (when information for a preset time is accumulated), the data is modulated by the wireless communication unit 167, and the antenna 155 is turned on. Wirelessly transmitted to the personal computer 1 via the personal computer.

The movement detecting program 54A of the personal computer 1 detects the moving direction and the acceleration of the spherical input device 141 from the transmitted data. In this case, since acceleration information of a positive value is transmitted from the acceleration sensor (y) 164, the movement detection program 54A
Can detect that the spherical input device 141 has moved in the positive y-axis direction at a predetermined speed and a predetermined distance.

The display control program 54F calculates the moving direction and the speed detected by the moving detecting program 54A from
The virtual ball 191 as shown in FIG. 20 is displayed, and the movement of the virtual ball 191 is controlled in accordance with the sequentially detected moving direction and speed.

Then, the display control program 54F determines how many virtual pins are to be defeated from the sequentially detected moving direction and speed according to a preset rule, and controls the display of the virtual pins.

That is, when the virtual ball 191 at the position shown in FIG. 20 is moved to the position where the virtual pin is displayed, the virtual pin is defeated according to a predetermined rule. Thereby, for example, as shown in FIG. 21, the display of the virtual pin is controlled.

In the case of the example of FIG. 21, in order to indicate that seven virtual pins have been defeated, a display is provided in the display area 192 so that it is possible to know which position of the virtual pin has been defeated. In the score area 193, a score table of the bowling game is displayed.

With the bowling game system described above, the user can feel as if he or she is actually playing a bowling game. Further, when a virtual pin falls, a sound effect (sound of falling the pin) is output from the speaker 65 of the personal computer 1 to give a more realistic feeling.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining the process of calculating the throwing (moving) direction and spin amount of the ball executed by the personal computer 1 in the bowling game system as described above. It is assumed that a display screen for a bowling game as shown in FIG. 19 is already displayed on the video screen 181.

In step S41, the display control program 54F determines whether the acceleration in the y-axis direction has exceeded a predetermined threshold value in the data received from the spherical input device 141, and determines whether the acceleration in the y-axis direction It waits until it is determined that the threshold value has been exceeded. If it is determined in step S41 that the acceleration in the y-axis direction has exceeded the predetermined threshold, the process proceeds to step S42, where the display control program 54
F repeats the following processing until the acceleration becomes the opposite direction to the predetermined direction (that is, the direction opposite to the direction in which the ball is thrown).

In step S42, the rotation detection program 54B determines whether the rotary encoders 161 and 162
Is counted. The data obtained by this processing is used when calculating a spin amount described later.

In step S43, the movement detection program 54A counts the output data of the acceleration sensors 163 and 164. The data obtained in this process is used when calculating the moving direction and strength of the ball described later.

In step S44, the display control program 54F determines whether or not the received acceleration in the y-axis direction has become the opposite direction to the predetermined direction. Returning to S42, the above processing is repeated.

If it is determined in step S44 that the received acceleration in the y-axis direction has become opposite to the predetermined direction, the flow advances to step S45, and the display control program 54F is obtained in the processing in step S43. The moving direction and strength of the ball are calculated from the data of the acceleration sensors 163 and 164. In step S46, the display control program 54F calculates the spin amount of the ball from the data of the rotary encoders 161 and 162 obtained in the processing in step S43.

Next, the display processing of the bowling game system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S51, the display control program 54F calculates speeds in the respective directions (x-axis and y-axis directions) from the moving direction and strength of the ball calculated using the flowchart of FIG. The display control program 54F updates the positions (displays) of the virtual ball 191 and the virtual pin according to the calculated speeds.

In step S52, the display control program 54F calculates the moving direction and strength (ie, acceleration) of the ball calculated using the flowchart of FIG.
, The speed (movement) of the virtual ball 191 and the virtual pin is updated.

In step S53, the display control program 54F calculates the ball spin amount and acceleration (moving direction and strength) calculated using the flowchart of FIG. 22, and the speed calculated in step S51. Then, the collision between the virtual ball 191 and the virtual pin and the collision between the virtual pins are determined (determined), and the speed and acceleration of each are updated.

In step S54, the display control program 54F determines whether or not the virtual ball 191 is within the display range of the video screen 181. The virtual ball 191 is still within the display range of the video screen 181. When the determination is made, the process returns to step S51, and the above-described processing is repeated. Then, in step S54, when it is determined that there is no virtual ball 191 within the display range of the video screen 181, the process ends.

As described above, using the spherical input device 141, the mouse pointer is moved, the scroll process is performed,
Alternatively, the case where a bowling game is performed has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other games using a ball.

The shape of the spherical input device 141 may be freely designed according to the user's preference.

The above-described series of processing can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software can execute various functions by installing a computer built into dedicated hardware or installing various programs. It is installed from a program storage medium to a possible general-purpose personal computer or the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, a program storage medium for storing a program installed in a computer and made executable by the computer includes a magnetic disk 121 (including a floppy disk) and an optical disk 122 (CD-ROM ( Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), D
Package media including a VD (Digital Versatile Disc), a magneto-optical disc 123 (including an MD (Mini-Disc)), a semiconductor memory 124, or a ROM in which a program is temporarily or permanently stored; , H
It is composed of DD67 and the like. The storage of the program in the program storage medium may be performed by a router or a modem 75 if necessary.
The communication is performed using a wired or wireless communication medium, such as a local area network, the Internet 80, or digital satellite broadcasting, via an interface such as this.

In this specification, the step of describing a program stored in the program storage medium is not limited to processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but is not necessarily performed in chronological order. , And also includes processes executed in parallel or individually.

In this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device composed of a plurality of devices.

[0154]

As described above, according to the transmitting apparatus of the present invention, the rotation direction of a sphere is detected, and when the sphere is moved,
Since accelerations in three directions are detected and the detection results are wirelessly transmitted to other devices, the user's gestures and hand gestures can be easily recognized.

Also, the information processing apparatus and method of the present invention,
According to the program stored in the program storage medium, the rotation information and the acceleration information transmitted wirelessly are received, the first data is calculated based on the received rotation information, and the received acceleration is calculated. Since the second data is calculated based on the information and the screen display is controlled based on the calculated first data and the second data, it is easy to recognize the gesture and hand gesture of the user. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a personal computer and a spherical input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main body of the personal computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view near a jog dial of the personal computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a right side view showing a configuration of a right side of the personal computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the personal computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the inside of the spherical input device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the inside of the spherical input device of FIG. 1;

8 is a sectional view of the spherical input device taken along line AA of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the spherical input device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an output rectangular wave of a rotary encoder.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an output voltage of an acceleration sensor.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission process.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for further explaining a rotary encoder measurement process in step S2 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart for further explaining the acceleration sensor measurement processing in step S3 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a display process.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining movement of a mouse pointer.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating scroll processing.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a bowling game system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a display screen for a bowling game.

FIG. 20 is a display screen for another example of a bowling game.

FIG. 21 is a display screen for still another example of a bowling game.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a process of calculating a throwing direction and a spin amount of a ball.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a display process.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 personal computer, 7 LCD, 51 CP
U, 54A movement detection program, 54B rotation detection program, 54F display control program, 131
Antenna, 141 spherical input device, 155 antenna, 161, 162 rotary encoder, 163
To 165 acceleration sensor, 166 CPU, 167
Wireless unit, 171 mouse pointer, 173
Window, 181 video screen, 191
Virtual ball

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) // G06F 3/00 680 G06F 3/00 680C

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transmitting device comprising a sphere, a rotation detecting means for detecting a rotation direction of the sphere, an acceleration detecting means for detecting acceleration in three directions when the sphere is moved; And a transmitting means for wirelessly transmitting a detection result detected by the acceleration detecting means to another apparatus. 2. Receiving means for receiving rotation information and acceleration information transmitted by radio, and first calculating means for calculating first data based on the rotation information received by the receiving means. A second calculator that calculates second data based on the acceleration information received by the receiver, the first data calculated by the first calculator, and the second data. An information processing apparatus, comprising: display control means for controlling screen display based on the second data calculated by the calculation means. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first data is data on a rotation direction and an angle, and the second data is data on a movement direction and a speed. . 4. A receiving step of receiving rotation information and acceleration information transmitted wirelessly, and a first calculation for calculating first data based on the rotation information received by the processing of the receiving step. A second calculating step of calculating second data based on the acceleration information received by the processing of the receiving step; and the first data calculated by the processing of the first calculating step And a display control step of controlling screen display based on the second data calculated by the processing of the second calculation step. 5. A receiving step of receiving rotation information and acceleration information transmitted wirelessly, and a first calculation for calculating first data based on the rotation information received by the processing of the receiving step. A second calculating step of calculating second data based on the acceleration information received by the processing of the receiving step; and the first data calculated by the processing of the first calculating step And a display control step of controlling a screen display based on the second data calculated by the processing of the second calculation step. Program storage medium.