U.S. Patent No. 7,027,034: Method of moving objects on TV monitor, the computer and recording medium for executing the method
Issued April 11, 2006, to Sony
Summary:
The ‘034 patent describes a process whereby a control (having one or more pressure-sensitive means) moves an object determined by an output value of the controller which indicated a pressure exerted on the button by the player. The player presses one of the pressure-sensitive buttons on the controller and depending on how hard or how long the button is pressed, a certain action is performed by the animated character.
Abstract:
The movement of an object due to the continuous pushing of a simple ON/OFF switch is made an easier-to-use interface for users by a method of moving an object displayed on a screen of a TV monitor of a computer having a controller which has a pressure-sensitive unit. In the method, the pushing by a user on the controller is sensed by the pressure-sensitive unit, a pressure-sensing output signal is determined depending on the pushing pressure, and the object is moved within the screen of the TV monitor depending on the magnitude of the pressure-sensing output signal of the controller.
Illustrative Claim:
1. A recording medium on which is recorded a computer-readable and executable software program that performs processing by taking as instructions an output from a controller of a computer, said controller having one or more pressure-sensitive means, wherein said software program comprises a processing program that moves an object within a screen of a monitor of the computer depending on the output of said controller, wherein a distance moved by the object is determined by an output value of said controller indicative of a highest pushing pressure exerted on at least one of said one or more pressure-sensitive means during a current operating cycle of said one or more pressure-sensitive means, wherein the movement of the object within the screen of the monitor represents an action executed in a three-dimensional space; and wherein a distance of the movement of said object on the screen of the monitor is determined depending on a rate of change per unit time of the output value of said controller.
