WO2019220758A1 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

This information processing device receives a vibration instruction for instructing the content of a vibration to be generated by a plurality of vibration mechanisms, and causes the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate the vibration which is in accordance with the received vibration instruction, wherein the information processing device causes the plurality of vibration mechanisms to vibrate in a mode determined in accordance with the type of the vibration instructed by the vibration instruction.

Description

Information processing device

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program for presenting voice and vibration to a user.

Generally, an information processing apparatus such as a home game machine is connected to an audio reproduction apparatus, and is presented to the user by reproducing audio such as various BGMs and sound effects from the audio reproduction apparatus. In addition, vibration may be presented to the user by operating a vibrating device that is used by being worn on or held by the user's body.

These sounds and vibrations may be difficult to detect by humans. On the other hand, depending on the type of voice or vibration, such as voice or vibration intended to notify the user of the occurrence of some event, it is desirable to make the user reliably sense the voice or vibration. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of its purposes is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program capable of making a person easily sense voice and vibration. There is to do.

An information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that controls a plurality of vibration mechanisms, and a vibration instruction reception unit that receives a vibration instruction that specifies the content of vibrations that should be generated by the plurality of vibration mechanisms; A vibration control unit that causes the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate vibration according to the vibration instruction, wherein the vibration control unit causes the plurality of vibration mechanisms to vibrate in a manner determined according to a type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction. And an information processing apparatus characterized by including:

An information processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus that controls a plurality of vibration mechanisms, and receives setting information that specifies whether to synthesize vibrations for the plurality of vibration mechanisms from a user. A combination of a plurality of vibrations included in the vibration instruction according to the setting information when a setting reception unit that receives in advance and a vibration instruction that generates different vibrations for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms are received. And a vibration control unit that generates vibration in each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms.

An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms, the step of receiving a vibration instruction that specifies the content of vibration to be generated by the plurality of vibration mechanisms, and the vibration Generating a vibration corresponding to the instruction in the plurality of vibration mechanisms, and oscillating the plurality of vibration mechanisms in a manner determined according to the type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction. Is an information processing method.

An information method according to another aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms, wherein setting information for specifying whether to synthesize vibrations for the plurality of vibration mechanisms is received from a user in advance. When receiving a vibration instruction for generating different vibrations for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms, a combined vibration obtained by combining a plurality of vibrations included in the vibration instruction is received according to the setting information. An information processing method comprising causing a computer to execute a step generated in each of a plurality of vibration mechanisms.

A program according to an aspect of the present invention is a program for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms, the step of receiving a vibration instruction that specifies the contents of vibrations to be generated by the plurality of vibration mechanisms, and a response to the vibration instruction A program for causing a computer to generate vibrations in the plurality of vibration mechanisms, and causing the plurality of vibration mechanisms to vibrate in a manner determined according to a type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction. is there. This program may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable non-transitory information storage medium.

A program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms, and receives in advance setting information for designating whether to synthesize vibrations for the plurality of vibration mechanisms from a user. And when receiving a vibration instruction for generating different vibrations for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms, the plurality of combined vibrations obtained by combining the plurality of vibrations included in the vibration instruction according to the setting information And a step for causing each of the vibration mechanisms to be executed. This program may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable non-transitory information storage medium.

It is a block diagram showing the example of a structure of the information processing system containing the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram showing the function of the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the flow of the process which the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the left vibration and right vibration before a synthesis | combination. It is a figure which shows an example of the vibration waveform of the synthetic | combination vibration which synthesize | combined the vibration shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows another example of the vibration waveform of the synthetic | combination vibration which synthesize | combined the vibration shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting screen which the information processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention displays.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The information processing system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an information processing device 10, a display device 21, a sound reproduction device 22, and a vibration device 23.

The information processing apparatus 10 is a home game machine, a portable game machine, a personal computer, or the like, and includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and an interface unit 13, as shown in FIG. ing.

The control unit 11 includes a program control device such as a CPU, and executes various types of information processing according to programs stored in the storage unit 12. A specific example of processing executed by the control unit 11 will be described in detail later.

The storage unit 12 is a memory device or the like and holds a program executed by the control unit 11. This program may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium and copied to the storage unit 12. The storage unit 12 also operates as a work memory for the control unit 11.

The interface unit 13 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the display device 21, the sound reproduction device 22, and the vibration device 23. The interface unit 13 may include a wired communication interface such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) or a wireless communication interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The display device 21 is a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like, and displays an image based on the video signal received from the information processing device 10 via the interface unit 13 on the screen. The display device 21 may be a head-mounted display device that is used by the user wearing the head. The audio reproduction device 22 is a speaker, headphones, or the like, and sounds a sound based on the audio signal received from the information processing device 10.

The vibration device 23 is a device that is used by being held by the user's hand or worn on the user's body. In the present embodiment, the vibration device 23 includes two vibration mechanisms 24. Specifically, the housing of the vibration device 23 includes a grip portion 25L for a user to hold with a left hand and a grip portion 25R for a user to hold with a right hand. Each of the vibration mechanisms 24R is built in the grip portion 25R. The vibration device 23 operates the vibration mechanism 24 based on the control signal received from the information processing apparatus 10, thereby presenting vibration to the left and right hands of the user. The vibration mechanism 24 may be various types of vibration generating elements such as a linear resonance actuator, a voice coil motor, and an eccentric motor. Further, the vibration device 23 may include various operation members such as operation buttons and levers to be operated by the user.

Hereinafter, functions realized by the information processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The information processing apparatus 10 is functionally configured to include a voice / vibration instruction unit 31, a voice reproduction unit 32, a vibration control unit 33, and a setting reception unit 34. These functions are realized by the control unit 11 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. This program may be provided to the information processing apparatus 10 via a communication network such as the Internet, or may be provided by being stored in a computer-readable non-transitory information storage medium such as an optical disk.

The voice / vibration instruction unit 31 may be realized, for example, when the control unit 11 executes an application program such as a game. Further, the present invention may be realized by a system program that performs various notifications to the user. The voice / vibration instruction unit 31 executes various processes according to user operation inputs and the like, and displays the processing results on the screen of the display device 21.

Further, the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 outputs a voice reproduction instruction for causing the voice reproduction device 22 to reproduce the voice according to the processing content. This audio reproduction instruction includes data for specifying the content of the reproduced audio (for example, data obtained by encoding an audio waveform of music, etc., data indicating the type of sound effect prepared in advance).

Further, the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 may output a vibration instruction for causing the vibration device 23 to generate vibration according to the processing content. This vibration instruction includes contents for designating what kind of waveform vibration is generated. The vibration instruction may be an instruction for generating vibrations having different contents for each of the two vibration mechanisms 24 included in the vibration device 23.

The voice reproduction unit 32 receives a voice reproduction instruction output from the voice / vibration instruction unit 31. Then, an audio signal for reproducing the audio corresponding to the content of the received audio reproduction instruction from the audio reproduction device 22 is generated and output to the audio reproduction device 22. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the sound reproducing unit 32 may output a vibration instruction for causing the vibration device 23 to generate vibrations according to the content of the sound reproduction instruction. A specific example of the process in which the sound reproduction unit 32 outputs a vibration instruction will be described later.

The vibration control unit 33 outputs a control signal for operating each vibration mechanism 24 built in the vibration device 23 according to the contents of the vibration instruction output from the sound / vibration instruction unit 31 and the sound reproduction unit 32. Output to 23. The vibration control unit 33 may output a sound reproduction instruction for causing the sound reproduction device 22 to reproduce sound according to the content of the vibration instruction. A specific example of the process in which the vibration control unit 33 outputs an audio reproduction instruction will be described later.

The setting receiving unit 34 receives setting information for designating operation contents of the sound reproducing unit 32 and the vibration control unit 33 from the user. The setting reception unit 34 stores the specified setting information in the storage unit 12 and holds it. The sound reproduction unit 32 and the vibration control unit 33 refer to the setting information held in the storage unit 12 and determine the operation content of itself.

Hereinafter, a specific example of the control content realized by the sound reproduction unit 32 and the vibration control unit 33 according to the setting information received by the setting receiving unit 34 will be described.

First, the control for generating the vibration corresponding to the content of the voice reproduction instruction when the voice reproduction unit 32 receives the voice reproduction instruction will be described.

When a user who is difficult to hear sound uses the information processing apparatus 10 or does not want to generate sound such as at night, the user can input a setting for generating vibration corresponding to sound. When the setting accepting unit 34 accepts such a setting, the audio reproducing unit 32 sends a vibration instruction for generating vibration corresponding to the audio reproducing instruction received from the audio / vibration instructing unit 31 to the vibration control unit 33. Output. Hereinafter, the vibration corresponding to the voice reproduction instruction is referred to as notification vibration. When the vibration control unit 33 generates the notification vibration, the information processing apparatus 10 can present vibration corresponding to the sound to the user instead of the sound reproduced from the sound reproducing device 22.

Note that, here, when the notification vibration is generated, the audio reproduction unit 32 does not perform audio reproduction control according to the audio reproduction instruction. As a result, when a sound reproduction instruction is accepted, only the notification vibration is generated without reproducing the sound. However, the sound reproducing unit 32 may output a vibration instruction for generating a notification vibration at the same time as performing sound reproduction control according to the sound reproduction instruction. In this case, when the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 outputs a voice reproduction instruction, in addition to the reproduction of the voice according to the instruction content, a notification vibration is also generated at the same time.

The sound reproducing unit 32 determines whether to generate the notification vibration according to the type of sound instructed by the sound reproduction instruction, instead of generating the notification vibration for all the sound reproduction instructions. . In order to make such a determination, tag information indicating the type of the sound is added to the sound reproduction instruction. When receiving the sound reproduction instruction, the sound reproduction unit 32 refers to the tag information added to the sound reproduction instruction and reproduces the instructed sound as it is from the sound reproduction device 22 or generates vibration to generate notification vibration. Determine whether to output instructions.

As a specific example, the tag information indicates whether the sound instructed by the sound reproduction instruction is a music such as BGM, a sound effect generated according to the content of the game, or a notification sound that notifies the occurrence of some event. It may be a thing. The setting reception unit 34 receives in advance setting information for designating which type of sound is targeted for notification vibration, and holds the setting information. In response to this setting information, for example, when the tag information indicates that the tag information is a piece of music, the sound reproducing unit 32 does not generate a notification vibration, and in response to the sound reproduction instruction of the sound effect or the notification sound, A notification vibration corresponding to the instruction is generated. In this way, it is possible to exclude the sound of music or the like that continues to ring continuously from the target of notification vibration, and set only the sound that is reproduced in a short time as the target of notification vibration.

The voice reproduction unit 32 may determine the content of the notification vibration (vibration waveform amplitude, waveform shape, etc.) based on the voice waveform included in the voice reproduction instruction. Specifically, the voice reproduction unit 32 generates vibration waveform data by using the voice waveform data indicating the contents of the voice as it is or by performing given conversion on the voice waveform data. In this case, given conversion of the audio waveform data is a process that shifts or compresses the frequency so that the waveform has a frequency that is easy to detect as vibration, and a band-pass filter that cuts a frequency that is difficult to detect as vibration. Etc. may be included. Thus, by determining the vibration waveform of the notification vibration based on the voice waveform data, it is possible to present to the user vibration similar to the voice that would have been played in response to the voice playback instruction.

Alternatively, the voice reproducing unit 32 may generate a vibration instruction for notification vibration using a vibration waveform prepared in advance according to the type of voice. As an example, it is assumed that tag information indicating what the notification sound indicates (notification sound type) is added to the sound reproduction instruction of the notification sound. Examples of the type of notification sound include the arrival of an email, the login of a friend, the achievement of a predetermined target by the progress of a game, and the like. A vibration pattern may be determined in advance for each type of notification sound. In this way, the user can grasp what event has occurred according to the vibration pattern.

Further, when the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 generates a notification sound, the notification content may be displayed on the screen of the display device 21 at the same time. When the voice reproduction unit 32 generates a notification vibration in response to the voice reproduction instruction instead of the voice reproduction, the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 may suppress the screen display of such notification contents. In particular, when a plurality of users each have the vibration device 23 and use the information processing apparatus 10 at the same time, when trying to notify the occurrence of an event relating to only a specific user by screen display and notification sound reproduction, Instead of reproducing the screen display and the notification sound, vibration control for generating a notification vibration for the vibration device 23 possessed by the specific user may be performed. In this way, only the user related to the event can be notified of the occurrence of the event.

When the vibration control unit 33 receives the vibration instruction of the notification vibration from the sound reproduction unit 32, the vibration control unit 33 transmits the vibration corresponding to the vibration instruction to the vibration device in the same manner as when the vibration instruction of the direct vibration is received from the sound / vibration instruction unit 31. A control signal to be generated by the control device 23 is generated and output to the vibration device 23.

Note that when a vibration instruction for notification vibration is received from the voice reproduction unit 32, a vibration instruction from the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 may be received at the same time. In such a case, the vibration control unit 33 generates a control signal for the vibration device 23 by synthesizing both vibration contents. Specifically, the vibration control unit 33 combines the vibration waveforms of both at a given ratio and determines the vibration waveform to be generated. In this case, the composition ratio may be 1: 1, or may be determined according to the user's designation. Further, in order to make it easier for the user to notice the notification vibration, processing such as ducking may be performed when the notification vibration is presented.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the information processing apparatus 10 when the voice playback unit 32 receives a voice playback instruction. When receiving the voice reproduction instruction output from the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 (S1), the voice reproduction unit 32 first acquires tag information added to the received voice reproduction instruction (S2).

Next, the audio reproduction unit 32 refers to the acquired tag information and determines whether or not the audio reproduction instruction is a target for generating notification vibration (S3). If it is determined not to be the target of the notification vibration, the audio reproduction unit 32 executes audio reproduction control for reproducing audio from the audio reproduction device 22 in accordance with the audio reproduction instruction received in S1 (S4), and ends the process. .

On the other hand, if it is determined in S3 that it is a target of the notification vibration, the sound reproducing unit 32 generates vibration waveform data of the notification vibration based on the sound waveform data included in the sound reproduction instruction received in S1 (S5). . And the vibration instruction | indication of the notification vibration containing the produced | generated vibration waveform data is output with respect to the vibration control part 33 (S6).

The vibration control unit 33 that has received the vibration instruction in S6 synthesizes the vibration instruction output in S6 and the vibration instruction that has been separately received if there is a vibration instruction that has been separately received from the voice / vibration instruction unit 31. Then, vibration waveform data of vibration to be actually generated in the vibration mechanism 24 is generated (S7). Then, vibration control for causing the vibration device 23 to generate vibration according to the generated waveform data is executed (S8). Thereby, the vibration device 23 can generate both the notification vibration corresponding to the voice and the vibration based on the direct vibration instruction from the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 at the same time.

Next, when the vibration control unit 33 receives a vibration instruction, the content of the vibration instruction is converted according to the setting information received by the setting reception unit 34, and the vibration of the converted content is generated. ,explain.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the vibration device 23 includes the two vibration mechanisms 24, each of which independently generates vibration. For this reason, the vibration instruction also includes information specifying the content of vibration to be generated by each of the left and right vibration mechanisms 24. As a result, vibration can be transmitted only to one of the user's hands. However, a user who has difficulty in grasping the vibration device 23 with one of the left and right hands or hardly feels vibration may use the information processing apparatus 10. In such a case, even if the left and right vibration mechanisms 24 present different vibrations, it is difficult to transmit to the user. Therefore, the vibration control unit 33 may synthesize the left and right vibration contents according to setting information designated in advance, and output control signals for causing the two vibration mechanisms 24 to generate the same vibrations. .

Specifically, the vibration control unit 33 includes the content of the vibration to be generated by the vibration mechanism 24L (hereinafter referred to as left vibration) and the content of the vibration to be generated by the vibration mechanism 24R (hereinafter referred to as right vibration). Accept vibration instructions. Then, a combined vibration obtained by combining the left vibration and the right vibration according to the setting information is generated, and a control signal for generating the combined vibration in both the vibration mechanisms 24L and 24R is output to the vibration device 23. As a result, the user can sense both left and right vibration contents with only one hand.

The combined vibration in this example may be a combination of left vibration and right vibration 1: 1. 4 and 5 are diagrams for explaining the vibration waveform of the combined vibration in this case. FIG. 4 shows an example of left vibration and right vibration before synthesis. FIG. 5 shows a vibration waveform of a combined vibration obtained by combining the left vibration and the right vibration shown in FIG. In this example, the vibration waveform data of the combined vibration generated by adding each of the left vibration and the right vibration after being halved is output to both the vibration mechanisms 24L and 24R.

Alternatively, the vibration control unit 33 may output control signals for generating different vibrations to the vibration mechanisms 24L and 24R. Also in this case, both the vibration mechanisms 24L and 24R can output the control signals generated based on both the left vibration and the right vibration included in the vibration instruction to the vibration mechanisms 24L and 24R, respectively. Left vibration and right vibration can be presented. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the vibration waveform of the combined vibration in this case. The vibration waveform for the vibration mechanism 24L in FIG. 6 represents a combined vibration generated by adding the left vibration shown in FIG. The vibration waveform for the vibration mechanism 24R represents a combined vibration generated by adding the left vibration shown in FIG. By generating a composite vibration based on such a vibration waveform, the contents of the original vibration instruction are not greatly changed, and each vibration mechanism 24 independently presents vibration including left vibration component and right vibration component. Can do.

Further, the vibration control unit 33 is not limited to such a vibration synthesis process, and may perform various correction processes for the received vibration instruction. As an example, the vibration control unit 33 may correct the vibration waveform so as to increase the vibration of a frequency with good sensitivity of a human hand. Or you may correct | amend so that the amplitude of such a frequency may become large by a pitch shift process.

Further, the vibration control unit 33 may perform correction to change the vibration pattern. As an example, the vibration control unit 33 may perform a correction for increasing a waveform having a large amplitude or a correction for extending the duration of vibration in order to sharpen the vibration. Alternatively, an envelope of a vibration waveform may be specified, and a simple waveform such as a sine wave whose amplitude changes according to the envelope may be generated as a corrected vibration waveform.

Also, the vibration control unit 33 may output a sound reproduction instruction for reproducing the vibration content corresponding to the received vibration instruction as a notification sound, contrary to the above-described notification vibration example. The audio reproduction unit 32 that has received the audio reproduction instruction causes the audio reproduction device 22 to reproduce the audio corresponding to the accepted audio reproduction instruction, as in the case where the normal audio reproduction instruction is accepted. As a result, it is possible to hear the vibration content as a sound instead of feeling it by hand.

When the notification sound is reproduced in this way, correction processing that makes it easy to hear as sound, such as shift pitch processing for shifting to a frequency in the audible range, may be executed on the vibration waveform representing the vibration content.

Further, the vibration control unit 33 may display an effect having a content corresponding to the vibration instruction on the screen of the display device 21. Specifically, when a vibration instruction is received, the vibration control unit 33 performs an effect of shaking the image displayed on the screen instead of generating vibration according to the vibration instruction or in addition to generating vibration. Add effects or display effects that change the color of the screen at the timing of vibration. Thereby, the user can visually sense that vibration is presented.

The audio reproduction unit 32 and the vibration control unit 33 may execute various controls for the audio reproduction instruction and the vibration instruction as described above in an arbitrary combination according to the setting information. FIG. 7 shows an example of a setting screen for receiving setting information for designating various control contents described so far from the user.

The first input item “vibration emphasis output setting” is setting information for selecting the correction contents to be performed for the vibration instruction. “Off”, “Mono”, “Longer output”, “Easy to understand” The value such as can be entered. When “OFF” is designated for this item, the vibration control unit 33 does not correct the vibration instruction, and operates the vibration mechanism 24 according to the instructed contents. When “monaural” is specified, as described above, control is performed to synthesize left and right vibrations and convert them to monaural vibration (vibration common to both left and right). When “output longer” is designated, correction is performed to increase the duration of the instructed vibration. When “easy to understand” is designated, a correction is made to make it easier for the user to feel the vibration by increasing a predetermined frequency of the vibration waveform or changing the vibration pattern.

The second input item “notify vibration with sound or video” is setting information for executing control to reproduce sound or add an effect to the video in response to the vibration instruction. Values such as “sound”, “video”, “sound and video” can be input. When “sound” is designated for this item, the vibration control unit 33 generates and outputs a sound reproduction instruction for reproducing the notification sound in response to the vibration instruction. When “video” is designated, an effect indicating that there has been a vibration instruction is displayed on the screen of the display device 21. When “sound and video” is designated, both notification sound reproduction and effect display are executed.

The third input item “output sound by vibration” is setting information for generating a notification vibration in response to the voice playback instruction, and is “off”, “all”, “notification only”, “sound effect and Values such as “notification” and “other than music” can be input. The audio reproduction unit 32 compares the value specified as the setting information with the tag information added to the audio reproduction instruction, and determines whether to generate a notification vibration corresponding to each audio reproduction instruction. Specifically, when “off” is designated, notification vibration is not generated for all audio playback instructions, and when “all” is specified, notification vibration is generated for all audio playback instructions. generate. When “notification only” is specified, a notification vibration is generated in response to an audio playback instruction with a “notification sound” tag, and when “sound effect and notification” is specified, “notification sound” Alternatively, a notification vibration is generated in response to an audio reproduction instruction to which a tag indicating “sound effect” is added. When “other than music” is designated, a notification vibration is generated in response to an audio reproduction instruction other than the audio reproduction instruction to which a tag indicating “music” is added.

The fourth input item “priority when sound is output by vibration” is setting information for designating the control content when the vibration instruction of the notification vibration and the vibration instruction from the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 are combined. , “Default”, “Notification priority”, and other values can be entered. When the vibration control unit 33 synthesizes the vibration instruction of the notification vibration received from the sound reproduction unit 32 and the vibration instruction received from the sound / vibration instruction unit 31, the vibration control unit 33 refers to the value of the setting information and sets the composition ratio. decide. Specifically, when notification priority is designated, the proportion of notification vibration is made larger than when default is designated. Instead of this input item, setting information that specifies the value of the composition ratio as a numerical value may be received.

The fifth input item “vibration intensity” is setting information for designating the vibration intensity itself generated according to the vibration instruction. The input items and their setting values shown here are only examples, and other various items may be specified independently, or an input item that specifies a plurality of setting values collectively. There may be. For example, instead of the third input item, the setting reception unit 34 may receive designation of whether to generate notification vibration individually for each of “sound effect”, “notification sound”, and the like. You may receive designation | designated of whether a notification vibration is generated for every kind of sound effect or a notification sound (for example, the content of the event to notify).

Not limited to the control described above, the vibration control unit 33 performs various controls when vibrating the vibration device 23 according to the types of vibration instructions received from the sound / vibration instruction unit 31 and the sound reproduction unit 32. It's okay. A specific example of such control will be described below.

As described above, the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 directly outputs an instruction to generate vibration according to the processing content to the vibration control unit 33 separately from the vibration instruction of the notification vibration output by the voice reproduction unit 32. There is a case. Hereinafter, the vibration different from the notification vibration in which the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 directly instructs the vibration control unit 33 to output is referred to as normal vibration. The normal vibration may be a vibration presented to the user in order to enhance the sense of reality in accordance with the game situation or action in the game program, for example. As described above, in the vibration instruction of the normal vibration in the present embodiment, the data specifying the waveform of the vibration to be generated by the vibration mechanism 24L (left vibration) and the vibration to be generated by the vibration mechanism 24R (right vibration). ) May be included.

When a vibration instruction for generating a normal vibration is received at a time that overlaps with a time when the notification vibration should be presented, as described above, the vibration control unit 33 synthesizes both vibration contents and generates a vibration waveform to be generated. It is possible to do. However, simply synthesizing and presenting different types of vibrations may make it difficult to sense the type of vibrations that the user wants to sense due to the different types of vibrations. Therefore, when the normal vibration and the notification vibration are combined, the vibration control unit 33 may change the method of combining the normal vibration and the notification vibration according to the content of the normal vibration.

As an example, when a vibration instruction for generating normal vibrations with different magnitudes (amplitudes) is received for the two left and right vibration mechanisms 24, the vibration control unit 33 synthesizes according to the magnitude of the normal vibrations. The magnitude of the notification vibration to be changed is changed. If there is a difference between the left and right normal vibrations, the notification vibration combined with the left and right normal vibrations will have the same magnitude as the notification vibrations that have a smaller amplitude than the notification vibrations combined with each other. By synthesizing the vibration, the user can easily detect the notification vibration. As an example, the size of the notification vibration to be combined with the normal vibrations on the left and right sides may be determined so that the maximum amplitude of the combined vibration becomes a given target value. Furthermore, when the magnitude of the notification vibration to be combined is sufficiently large relative to the magnitude of the normal vibration, processing such as ducking may not be performed.

Further, the vibration control unit 33 may generate each vibration from different vibration mechanisms 24 without synthesizing the normal vibration and the notification vibration. In this case, the vibration control unit 33 generates a monaural composite vibration by combining the left vibration and the right vibration included in the vibration instruction of the normal vibration, and issues a control command for generating the monaural composite vibration to the vibration mechanism 24L and Output to either one of 24R. On the other hand, for the notice vibration, a control command generated from a vibration mechanism 24 different from the side that generates normal vibration is output. As a result, the user can easily notice the notice vibration.

In this example, of the plurality of vibration mechanisms 24, which vibration mechanism 24 is assigned to normal vibration and which vibration mechanism 24 is assigned to notification vibration may be set by the user. In this case, the setting receiving unit 34 receives from the user the selection of the vibration mechanism 24 that is assigned to each of the normal vibration and the notification vibration in advance. The user generates notification vibration even when holding the vibration device 23 with one hand, for example, by setting the vibration mechanism 24 built in the grip portion 25 held by his / her dominant hand to notification vibration. You can notice.

Further, the vibration control unit 33 may change the content of vibration generation according to the state of the vibration device 23. Specifically, the vibration control unit 33 may determine which type of vibration is generated from which vibration mechanism 24 according to the gripping state of the vibration device 23 by the user. For example, as described above, in the case where the allocation setting is performed in which the combined vibration is generated by combining the left and right normal vibrations from one vibration mechanism 24 and the notification vibration is generated from the other vibration mechanism 24, the user is either When holding the vibration device 23 with only one hand, the vibration control unit 33 may generate vibration in a manner different from the content of the assignment setting. Specifically, when it is determined that the user is holding the vibration device 23 with one hand, the combined vibration formed by combining the normal vibration and the notification vibration is included in the holding portion 25 on the side where the user is holding. A control command generated from the vibration mechanism 24 may be output. As a result, when the user holds the vibration device 23 with one hand, the combined vibration formed by combining all the specified vibrations can be generated from the vibration mechanism 24 that the user is supposed to feel. it can. In this case, the combined vibration may be generated only from the vibration mechanism 24 on the side where the user is holding the grip portion 25, or a control command for generating the same vibration to the two vibration mechanisms 24 is output. May be.

In this example, the vibration control unit 33 obtains whether or not the user is holding the vibration device 23 with one hand and which hand is holding the vibration device 23 by, for example, imaging the user's figure with a camera. This can be determined by analyzing the captured image and specifying the position of the vibration device 23 and the user's hand included in the image. Alternatively, the vibration control unit 33 may specify a hand that the user holds the vibration device 23 using, for example, a detection result of a sensor arranged on the surface of the vibration device 23.

Further, the vibration control unit 33 may change the type of vibration to be generated depending on whether or not the user is holding the vibration device 23. For example, when it is determined that the user is not holding the vibration device 23 (such as being placed on a desk), the vibration control unit 33 limits the output of a control command that generates a normal vibration. On the other hand, the notification vibration is generated as it is. In this way, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of vibration that cannot be transmitted to the user when the user is not gripping the vibration device 23, while making the user aware of the presence of the notification vibration.

Also in this case, the vibration control unit 33 determines whether or not the user is holding the vibration device 23 by using a captured image of the camera, a detection result of a sensor included in the vibration device 23, or the like.

Furthermore, the vibration control unit 33 may change the type of vibration to be generated or the type of vibration to limit the generation according to various states of the vibration device 23 as well as the gripping state of the vibration device 23 by the user. Good. Further, which vibration mechanism 24 among the plurality of vibration mechanisms 24 is to generate vibration may be determined according to the combination of the state of the vibration device 23 and the type of vibration. Here, the types of vibration are not limited to the normal vibration and the notification vibration described so far, and may be various types. In this case, the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 that outputs a vibration instruction for normal vibration adds tag information indicating the type of vibration to the vibration instruction. The vibration control unit 33 determines whether or not to generate the instructed vibration according to the type of vibration specified by the tag information added to the vibration instruction and the state of the vibration device 23, and which vibration mechanism 24. To determine whether to generate vibration.

As an example, the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 outputs a vibration instruction to which tag information indicating “emergency” is added when an event requiring a user operation occurs during the game. To do. Even when the user is not holding the vibration device 23, the vibration control unit 33 receives a vibration instruction to which the tag information “urgent” is added, and generates a vibration control command. Is output. On the other hand, when receiving a vibration instruction without the tag information “emergency” or a vibration instruction with the tag information “no urgency”, the vibration control unit 33 allows the user to hold the vibration device 23. If the user does not hold the vibration device 23, the control command for generating the vibration to which such tag information is added is output. Discontinue.

In the above description, the vibration in which the sound reproduction unit 32 outputs an instruction in response to the sound reproduction instruction such as a sound effect or a notification sound is notified vibration, and the other sound / vibration instruction unit 31 directly outputs the instruction. The vibration to be performed is normal vibration, and the vibration control unit 33 vibrates each vibration mechanism 24 in a manner determined according to the type of vibration. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the notification vibration may be vibration that the voice / vibration instruction unit 31 directly instructs the vibration control unit 33 to generate. The notification vibration in this case is vibration for the purpose of notifying the user that some event has occurred, and is vibration for a relatively short time. The voice / vibration instruction unit 31 adds tag information for identifying the type of vibration to the vibration instruction of at least one of the notification vibration and the normal vibration so that the notification vibration and the normal vibration can be identified. Output. The vibration control unit 33 can identify the notification vibration and the normal vibration by referring to the tag information and perform different control on each.

According to the information processing system 1 according to the present embodiment described above, the user can perceive the reproduction of the sound by the vibration by generating the notification vibration corresponding to the sound reproduction instruction. Further, by correcting the vibration instruction, it is possible to present vibration that is easily perceived by a user who does not feel vibration.

Note that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to those described above. For example, in the above description, the vibration device 23 is an operation device that receives a user's operation input. However, the vibration device 23 is not limited to such a device, and is used only to present a tactile sensation to the user. It may be a device used for other purposes.

In the above description, the audio reproduction device 22 is a separate device from the vibration device 23, but the audio reproduction device 22 may be incorporated in the vibration device 23.

In the above description, two vibration mechanisms 24 are built in one vibration device 23, but the number of vibration mechanisms 24 built in the vibration device 23 may be other than this. Further, the plurality of vibration mechanisms 24 may be distributed and incorporated in the plurality of vibration devices 23. As an example, two vibration devices 23 may be connected to the information processing apparatus 10, and one vibration mechanism 24 may be built in each vibration device 23. In this example, the user grips and uses the two vibrating devices 23 one by one with his left and right hands. The vibration control unit 33 determines whether or not the user is holding each vibration device 23 by hand, for example, by tracking the position of each vibration device 23, and is generated in each vibration mechanism 24 according to the determination result. It is possible to control the content of vibration to be caused.

1 Information processing system, 10 Information processing device, 11 Control unit, 12 Storage unit, 13 Interface unit, 21 Display device, 22 Audio playback device, 23 Vibration device, 24L, 24R vibration mechanism, 25L, 25R gripping unit, 31 Audio / Vibration instruction unit, 32 voice playback unit, 33 vibration control unit, 34 setting reception unit.

Claims (21)

An information processing apparatus that controls a plurality of vibration mechanisms,
A vibration instruction receiving unit that receives a vibration instruction that specifies a content of vibration to be generated by the plurality of vibration mechanisms;
A vibration control unit that causes the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate vibrations according to the vibration instruction, the vibration control unit configured to vibrate the plurality of vibration mechanisms in a manner determined according to a type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction; ,
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The vibration control unit generates vibration according to the vibration instruction in some vibration mechanisms determined according to the type of vibration instructed by the vibration instruction among the plurality of vibration mechanisms. Processing equipment. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The vibration control unit synthesizes the plurality of vibrations different from each other when the vibration instruction specifying the contents of the plurality of different vibrations to be generated by each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms is received as the vibration instruction. An information processing apparatus characterized by causing the partial vibration mechanism to generate the combined vibration. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The vibration control unit is configured such that the vibration instruction receiving unit receives a notification vibration instruction for generating a notification vibration for notification to a user and a timing overlapping with the timing for generating the notification vibration. On the other hand, when a normal vibration instruction for generating a vibration different from the notification vibration is received, the notification vibration is applied to vibrations to be generated in each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms specified by the normal vibration instruction. An information processing apparatus characterized by generating a synthetic vibration formed by synthesis. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4,
The vibration control unit changes the magnitude of the notification vibration to be combined with the vibration according to the magnitude of vibration to be generated in each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms specified by the normal vibration instruction. Information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The vibration control unit vibrates the plurality of vibration mechanisms in a manner determined according to the type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction and the state of one or a plurality of vibration devices incorporating the plurality of vibration mechanisms. An information processing apparatus characterized by the above. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,
The vibration control unit, according to a type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction and a gripping state of the vibration device by a user, to which vibration mechanism among the plurality of vibration mechanisms the vibration according to the vibration instruction. An information processing apparatus characterized by determining whether to generate the information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7,
The vibration control unit determines which vibration mechanism generates vibration according to the vibration instruction according to which hand the user is holding the vibration device with. . The information processing apparatus according to claim 6,
The vibration control unit determines whether to generate vibration according to the vibration instruction according to a type of vibration indicated by the vibration instruction and a gripping state of the vibration device by a user. Information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The information processing apparatus is connected to an audio reproduction apparatus,
The information processing apparatus further includes a voice receiving unit that receives a voice playback instruction that specifies the content of the voice to be played back from the voice playback device;
When the sound reproduction instruction is received, the vibration control unit causes the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate a notification vibration corresponding to the sound instead of the sound reproduction or in addition to the sound reproduction. ,
The information processing apparatus further includes a setting reception unit that receives in advance setting information for specifying whether to generate a notification vibration corresponding to the sound for each type of sound, from a user,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sound reception unit determines whether to generate a notification vibration corresponding to the sound according to the setting information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10,
The voice receiving unit receives tag information indicating a type of voice specified by the voice playback instruction together with the voice playback instruction, and generates the notification vibration according to the tag information and the setting information. An information processing apparatus characterized by determining whether or not. The information processing apparatus according to claim 10 or 11,
The vibration control unit receives a vibration instruction of a notification vibration corresponding to the voice and a normal vibration instruction that generates a vibration different from the notification vibration at a time overlapping with the time of generating the notification vibration. In this case, the information processing apparatus is characterized in that the plurality of vibration mechanisms generate a combined vibration obtained by combining the notification vibration and the another vibration. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12,
The setting accepting unit accepts setting information related to a composition ratio when generating the composite vibration from the user,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the vibration control unit synthesizes the notification vibration corresponding to the voice and the another vibration in accordance with setting information related to the combination ratio. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The information processing apparatus is connected to an audio reproduction apparatus,
The information processing apparatus further includes a setting reception unit that receives in advance setting information for designating whether or not notification sound corresponding to the vibration instructed by the vibration instruction is to be reproduced from the sound reproducing apparatus,
The said vibration control part determines whether the said notification sound is reproduced | regenerated according to the said setting information, when the said vibration instruction | indication is received. The information processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. An information processing apparatus that controls a plurality of vibration mechanisms,
A setting reception unit that receives in advance setting information from a user that specifies whether to synthesize vibrations for the plurality of vibration mechanisms;
When a vibration instruction for generating different vibrations is received for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms, a combined vibration obtained by combining a plurality of vibrations included in the vibration instruction is generated according to the setting information. Vibration control unit to be generated in each of
An information processing apparatus comprising: The information processing apparatus according to claim 15,
The vibration control unit causes each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate the same combined vibration obtained by synthesizing vibrations included in vibration instructions for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms at the same ratio. Information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 15,
The vibration control unit generates different combined vibrations obtained by partially combining vibrations included in vibration instructions for other vibration mechanisms with vibrations included in vibration instructions for the plurality of vibration mechanisms. An information processing apparatus characterized by being generated in each of the vibration mechanisms. An information processing method for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms,
Receiving a vibration instruction that specifies the content of vibration to be generated by the plurality of vibration mechanisms;
Causing the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate vibrations according to the vibration instructions, the step of vibrating the plurality of vibration mechanisms in a manner determined according to the type of vibration indicated by the vibration instructions;
An information processing method comprising: An information processing method for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms,
Receiving in advance from the user setting information for designating whether to synthesize vibrations for the plurality of vibration mechanisms;
When a vibration instruction for generating different vibrations is received for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms, a combined vibration obtained by combining a plurality of vibrations included in the vibration instruction is generated according to the setting information. The steps to be generated for each of the
Information processing method characterized by causing a computer to execute. A program for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms,
Receiving a vibration instruction that specifies the content of vibration to be generated by the plurality of vibration mechanisms;
Causing the plurality of vibration mechanisms to generate vibrations according to the vibration instructions, the step of vibrating the plurality of vibration mechanisms in a manner determined according to the type of vibration indicated by the vibration instructions;
A program that causes a computer to execute. A program for controlling a plurality of vibration mechanisms,
Receiving in advance from the user setting information for designating whether to synthesize vibrations for the plurality of vibration mechanisms;
When a vibration instruction for generating different vibrations is received for each of the plurality of vibration mechanisms, a combined vibration obtained by combining a plurality of vibrations included in the vibration instruction is generated according to the setting information. The steps to be generated for each of the
A program for running

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