Touch Panel Game Controller for Precise Steering and Gear Shifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing game devices face operability issues when performing complex operations like steering, acceleration, deceleration, and gear shifting, due to inaccurate tilt detection and the need for multi-finger input methods, which impairs user experience and control precision.
Innovation Solution
A game image generation device and method that utilizes a touch operation to determine screen states and update operation data, allowing for precise control of moving objects in a game space by changing touch positions, enabling separate areas for increasing or decreasing movement parameters, and displaying distinct images for touch states to enhance user interaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If tilt detection method is used for steering control, then the device can detect housing tilt operations, but accurate reaction cannot be obtained due to hardware limitations and difficulty in maintaining horizontal state
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical tilt detection system with a touch panel-based input system. Instead of relying on hardware tilt sensors that detect housing orientation, the system uses software-based touch position detection where users directly indicate steering direction by touching screen positions, eliminating hardware measurement errors and the need to maintain horizontal device orientation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If gear shift operation button is fixed at given position, then gear shift function is available, but three fingers must be used simultaneously for steering, acceleration, and gear shift operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the touch panel universally functional by allowing different game operations to be performed at the same screen location at different times. The first area serves multiple purposes: steering control when touched, and gear shift operation when touched during movement, eliminating the need for separate dedicated buttons and reducing the number of fingers required simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic operation modes where the function of touch input changes based on the current game state. When the moving object is stationary, touch in the first area controls steering; when the object is moving, touch in the same area controls gear shifting. This dynamic switching allows one-finger operation for both functions without requiring fixed separate buttons.
3Measurement precision
If touch position is used for steering control, then operation precision can be improved, but the system must determine screen states and update operation data dynamically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent establishes predetermined rules for state determination based on simple conditions: whether the object is moving or stationary, and whether the first area is touched. These pre-defined state transition rules simplify the complexity by providing clear, if-then logic for switching between steering and gear shift modes, making the system easier to implement and predict despite the dynamic functionality.
Data Source
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AI summary
A portable information terminal includes a state determination section that determines whether a current state of a screen is in a first state in which a first area in the screen is not touched, or in a second state in which the first area is touched, based on a touch operation and a touch position on the screen, an image generation section that generates an image in which a current touch position image is returned to an initial position when the second state changes to the first state, an update section that updates operation data based on the touch operation and the touch position in the first area when the screen is in the second state, the operation data indicating an operation direction and an operation amount of a moving object in a game space, and a calculation section that performs calculations for moving the moving object based on the operation data.