阅读说明：本技术 操作设备 (Operating device ) 是由 中江正俊 今田好之 泽田拓郎 于 2020-11-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：本文公开了一种操作设备,其连接到信息处理设备,所述操作设备包括：信息发送部分,其被配置为接收用户的操作,并且将指示所述操作的内容的操作信息发送到所述信息处理设备；以及控制处理部分,其被配置为根据所述用户的所述操作执行预先确定的控制处理；所述信息发送部分向所述信息处理设备发送指示所述控制处理的执行状态的状态信息。(Disclosed herein is an operation device connected to an information processing device, the operation device including: an information transmitting section configured to receive an operation by a user and transmit operation information indicating a content of the operation to the information processing apparatus; and a control processing section configured to execute a predetermined control process in accordance with the operation by the user; the information transmitting portion transmits status information indicating an execution status of the control processing to the information processing apparatus.)

1. An operation device connected to an information processing device, the operation device comprising:

an information transmitting section configured to receive an operation by a user and transmit operation information indicating a content of the operation to the information processing apparatus; and

a control processing section configured to execute a predetermined control process in accordance with the operation by the user;

the information transmitting portion transmits status information indicating an execution status of the control processing to the information processing apparatus.

2. Operating device according to claim 1, wherein

The control processing section executes control processing corresponding to a control state determined from a plurality of control states determined in advance according to a change in the content of the operation by the user, and

the information transmitting section transmits status information indicating the control state, the status information corresponding to the control process being executed in the plurality of control states.

3. Operating device according to claim 2, wherein

The control processing section operates in an operation mode designated from the information processing apparatus among a plurality of operation modes determined in advance, and determines the plurality of control states in advance for each of the plurality of operation modes.

4. Operating device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein

The control processing section determines the control state according to an operation amount of an operation performed on an operation member by the user.

5. Operating device according to claim 4, wherein

The control processing section determines a next control state based on the operation amount and a current control state.

6. Operating device according to claim 5, wherein

The operation member is a button capable of measuring the amount of pressing of the button by the user, and

the control processing section determines the next control state based on a current pressed amount of the button and the current control state.

7. Operating device according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein

The control processing is processing for presenting a sense of force to the user.

8. The operating device of claim 7, further comprising:

the operation member has a movable portion that moves in accordance with the operation by the user; and

a force sense presentation member configured to present a force sense to the user operating the operation member, the force sense presentation member changing its position according to a position of the moving portion;

the control processing part changes the content of the force sense presented by the force sense presenting part according to the position of the force sense presenting part;

the status information includes position information indicative of the position of the force-sensing presentation component.

Technical Field

The present technology relates to an operation device that operates according to an instruction received from an information processing device.

Background

An operation device for operating an input to an information processing device can perform various operation controls for force sense presentation, vibration presentation, and the like in accordance with an operation by a user, with the purpose of providing feedback to the operation by the user and generating a scene.

In the technique of the above-described example in the past, when it was difficult for the information processing apparatus to recognize the timing at which the operation control was performed by the operation apparatus in accordance with the operation of the user, it was difficult for the information processing apparatus to perform the processing linked with the control content of the operation apparatus. Incidentally, operation information indicating the operation content of the user is transmitted to the information processing apparatus. However, due to problems of the resolution of data and the like, it may be difficult to recognize only from the operation information the timing at which the operation device performs control according to the operation of the user. In this case, for example, even in a case where the information processing apparatus issues an instruction for reproducing sound, at the time of receiving the operation information to be subjected to the force sensation presentation from the operation apparatus, it may occur that the reproduction of sound is delayed with respect to the force sensation presentation or otherwise performed prematurely.

Disclosure of Invention

The present technology has been made in view of the above-described actual situation. It is desirable to provide an operation apparatus such that an information processing apparatus can easily grasp a timing at which the operation apparatus performs operation control according to an operation by a user.

An operation device according to an embodiment of the present technology is an operation device connected to an information processing device, the operation device including: an information transmitting section configured to receive an operation by a user and transmit operation information indicating a content of the operation to the information processing apparatus; and a control processing section configured to execute control processing determined in advance according to an operation by a user, the information transmitting section transmitting status information indicating an execution status of the control processing to the information processing apparatus.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a general configuration diagram of an information handling system;

fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an external appearance of an operation device;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions implemented by an information handling system;

fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of state transition in the operation mode;

fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow in the case of executing one process;

fig. 6A is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow in the case where a plurality of processes are executed in parallel with each other; and

fig. 6B is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow in the case where a plurality of processes are executed in parallel with each other.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present technology will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a general configuration diagram of an information processing system 1 in one embodiment of the present technology. In addition, fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external appearance of the operation device 10. As shown in these figures, the information processing system 1 includes an operation device 10 and an information processing device 50. It is assumed that the operation device 10 and the information processing device 50 in the present embodiment transmit and receive data by wireless communication based on the bluetooth (registered trademark) standard or the like. Incidentally, although data transmission and reception are performed by wireless communication in this case, this is not restrictive. The operation device 10 and the information processing device 50 may be connected to each other for communication in a wired manner by using a standard such as Universal Serial Bus (USB), for example.

The operation device 10 is, for example, a controller of a home game machine or the like. The operation device 10 includes a control circuit 11, an audio signal processing circuit 12, a speaker 13, an earphone terminal 14, a microphone 15, a plurality of operation members 16, a vibration mechanism 17, and a force sense presentation mechanism 18.

The control circuit 11 is a microprocessor or the like. The control circuit 11 performs processing for controlling each part of the operation device 10. Specifically, the control circuit 11 outputs a control signal for operating the vibration mechanism 17, the force sense presentation mechanism 18, and the like, in accordance with a control instruction received from the information processing apparatus 50. In addition, the control circuit 11 periodically scans the state of each operating member 16, identifies the content of the operation performed by the user, and transmits operation information indicating the content of the operation to the information processing apparatus 50.

In addition, the control circuit 11 receives an audio signal for reproduction from the information processing apparatus 50, and transmits the audio signal for reproduction to the audio signal processing circuit 12. In addition, the control circuit 11 receives the collected sound audio signal from the audio signal processing circuit 12, and transmits the collected sound audio signal to the information processing apparatus 50. In order to transmit and receive such various audio signals, the control circuit 11 and the audio signal processing circuit 12 are connected to each other so as to be capable of mutual data communication through an interface standard such as an inter-chip (IC) interconnection sound bus (I2).

The audio signal processing circuit 12 is a digital signal processor or the like. The audio signal processing circuit 12 performs various signal processing on the digital audio signal. Specifically, the audio signal processing circuit 12 sounds an audio signal for reproduction received from the control circuit 11 from the headphone connected to the headphone terminal 14 or the speaker 13. In addition, the audio signal processing circuit 12 performs audio signal processing such as noise removal processing on the sound audio signal collected by the microphone 15, and sends the resulting audio signal to the control circuit 11.

The speaker 13 reproduces sound based on the audio signal for reproduction output by the audio signal processing circuit 12. The earphone is connectable to the earphone terminal 14. In the case where the headphone is connected to the headphone terminal 14, the audio signal processing circuit 12 may also reproduce sound based on an audio signal for reproduction from the headphone in place of the speaker 13.

The microphone 15 collects sounds around the operation device 10, such as sounds emitted by a user using the operation device 10. Incidentally, the microphone 15 may be a microphone array including a plurality of microphone elements.

The plurality of operation members 16 are members for which operation input by the user is performed. The plurality of operating members 16 may include various types of members. It is assumed that in the present embodiment, the operation member 16 includes at least one trigger button 16 a.

The trigger button 16a is a member that is pressed and operated by the user. The trigger button 16a includes a movable portion that moves according to an operation by the user, and is capable of measuring a pressed amount (operation amount) of the movable portion as a numerical value. Therefore, the content of the pressing operation, such as a state in which the user always keeps slightly pressing the trigger button 16a or quickly presses the trigger button 16a, can be recognized in more detail.

The vibration mechanism 17 is a device that generates vibration, and may be various devices such as a voice coil motor. When the vibration mechanism 17 generates vibration according to an instruction of the control circuit 11, the vibration is transmitted to the hand of the user holding the operation device 10. Incidentally, the operation device 10 may include a plurality of vibration mechanisms 17. In this case, the plurality of vibration mechanisms 17 may be different kinds of vibration mechanisms from each other.

The force sense presenting mechanism 18 is a device that presents a force sense to the user when the user performs an operation on the operation member 16 or the like. In the present embodiment, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 has an arm (force sense presentation member) that is in contact with a movable portion of the trigger button 16a, and applies a force to the movable portion. Therefore, when the user performs an operation of pressing the trigger button 16a, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 presents a force sense to the finger performing the operation.

Further, it is assumed that in the present embodiment, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 is capable of controlling the content of the force sense to be presented by changing the target position of the arm in accordance with the position of the movable portion of the trigger button 16a in accordance with an instruction from the control circuit 11. Specifically, the position of the arm changes according to the contents of the instruction from the control circuit 11 and the force with which the user's finger presses the movable portion of the trigger button 16 a. It is assumed that the control circuit 11 changes the control content of the arm in accordance with the change in the position of the arm. Therefore, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 can change the content of the force sense to be presented to the user's finger operating the trigger button 16a according to the degree of the operation amount of the trigger button 16a (i.e., the pressing amount of the movable portion of the trigger button 16 a). For example, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 may effect control such that the force sense is presented to the user only when the operation amount of the trigger button 16a is included within a given value range, or the force sense presentation performed so far is ended when the operation amount of the trigger button 16a exceeds a given threshold value.

In the following, it is assumed that the control circuit 11 divides the control target range of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 (i.e., the range in which the position of the arm can be shifted so as to be interlocked with the movable portion of the trigger button 16 a) into 10 ranges of P0 to P9, and the control circuit 11 performs operation control of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 according to which of these ranges the position of the arm is included. Therefore, the control circuit 11 can change the operation contents of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 to these 10 levels according to the degree to which the trigger button 16a is pressed by the user. Incidentally, the range P0 here corresponds to a state in which the trigger button 16a is hardly pressed, and the range P9 corresponds to a state in which the trigger button 16a is pressed almost to the maximum. Here, when the control target range of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 corresponds to the movement range of the movable portion of the trigger button 16a, the correspondence relationship between the control target ranges P0 to P9 of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 and the numerical values of the operation amounts of the trigger button 16a is not necessarily fixed, because of individual differences in the positional relationship between the arm of each operation device 10 and the movable portion of the trigger button 16a and the like. For example, when it is measured that the operation amount (pressing amount) of the trigger button 16a is on the 256 level of 0 to 255, there may be a case where, for example, in a certain operation device 10, the operation amount 30 smaller than the trigger button 16a corresponds to the control target range P0 of the force sensing presentation mechanism 18, and the operation amount 32 smaller than the other operation device 10 corresponds to the range P0.

The information processing apparatus 50 is, for example, a home game machine, a personal computer, or the like. The information processing apparatus 50 includes a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, and an interface unit 53. In addition, the information processing apparatus 50 is connected to the operation apparatus 10 and the display apparatus 54.

The control unit 51 comprises at least one processor. The control unit 51 performs various information processes according to programs stored in the storage unit 52. The memory cell 52 includes at least one memory element. The storage unit 52 stores a program executed by the control unit 51 and data to be processed by the program. The interface unit 53 includes a communication interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from the operation device 10 and the display device 54. The information processing apparatus 50 receives various information such as operation information from the operation apparatus 10 via the interface unit 53, and transmits various control instructions to the operation apparatus 10 via the interface unit 53. In addition, the interface unit 53 outputs a video signal to be displayed by the display device 54.

Functions realized by the operation device 10 and the information processing device 50 in the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the functional block diagram of fig. 3. As shown in fig. 3, the operation device 10 functionally includes a control instruction receiving section 61, a control processing section 62, and an information transmitting section 63. These functions are realized by the control circuit 11 by executing a built-in program. The information processing apparatus 50 functionally includes a first process executing section 64, a second process executing section 65, and an apparatus control section 66. These functions are realized by the control unit 51 executing a program stored in the storage unit 52.

The control instruction receiving portion 61 receives a control instruction related to the operation content of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 from the apparatus control portion 66 of the information processing apparatus 50. Here, it is assumed that the control instruction received from the information processing apparatus 50 specifies the operation condition and the operation content of the force sense presentation mechanism 18. Further, it is assumed that the operation condition includes a condition related to the timing at which the force sense presentation mechanism 18 is operated. That is, when receiving a control instruction from the information processing apparatus 50, the control circuit 11 does not immediately cause the force sense presentation mechanism 18 to perform an actual operation corresponding to the content of the control instruction, but causes the force sense presentation mechanism 18 to perform an operation of specifying content at a timing when the operation content of the user satisfies a specified operation condition, as will be described later. Incidentally, it is assumed that in a case where the operation device 10 has a plurality of trigger buttons 16a and the force sense presentation mechanisms 18 are connected to the respective trigger buttons 16a, the control instruction receiving section 61 receives a control instruction for each force sense presentation mechanism 18.

The control processing section 62 performs processing corresponding to the control instruction received by the control instruction receiving section 61. Specifically, the control processing section 62 monitors the operation content of the operation member 16 by the user, and when it is determined that the operation content satisfies the specified operation condition, the control processing section 62 executes the control processing of the operation force sense presentation mechanism 18 based on the specified operation content.

Specifically, it is assumed that in the present embodiment, the control instruction specifies one of a plurality of operation modes determined in advance. When receiving the control instruction, the control processing section 62 switches to the operation mode specified by the control instruction. Thereafter, the control processing section 62 performs control based on the operation mode until an instruction for switching to another operation mode is given. The operation mode defines the content of the operation performed by the force sense presentation mechanism 18. That is, it is assumed that, for each of the plurality of operation modes, the operation content to be executed by the force sense presentation mechanism 18 in the operation mode is defined in advance and recorded in the control circuit 11.

Further, it is assumed that the control processing section 62 causes the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 to operate in one operation state determined according to a change in the operation content of the user among a plurality of operation states determined in advance so as to correspond to each operation mode. That is, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 operates in one of a plurality of operation states in each operation mode, and the control processing portion 62 performs control of causing the force sense presentation mechanism 18 to switch between the plurality of operation states. The control processing section 62 changes at least the operation state of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 in accordance with the operation amount performed by the user on the trigger button 16 a. That is, the timing at which the operation state is to be changed is determined by the content of the operation of the trigger button 16a by the user.

Specific examples of the operation mode will be described below. As an example, the control processing portion 62 causes the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 to operate in a feedback mode. In this operation mode, when the position of the movable part of the trigger button 16a is included in the predetermined region (i.e., the position of the arm is included in the range specified in advance in the control target ranges P0 to P9), the control processing part 62 presents a force feeling that repels the pressing operation by the user. On the other hand, when the position of the trigger button 16a is not included in the predetermined area, the control processing section 62 does not present the sense of force. That is, in this operation mode, the control processing section 62 makes a state transition between a state where repulsive force is present and a state where repulsive force is not present, in accordance with the pressed amount of the trigger button 16 a.

Incidentally, although it is assumed here that the transition is made only between the two states, the control processing section 62 may change the operation state of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 to a state in which a strong force sense is presented, a state in which a weak force sense is presented, or the like, in accordance with the control target range of the force sense presentation mechanism 18, for example. Therefore, the control can be performed in such a manner that, for example, there is no sense of force at the moment when the user starts operating the trigger button 16a, but gradually increasing repulsive force is presented with continued pressing operation. In this case, the control processing portion 62 changes the operation state of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 among three or more states.

As another example, the control processing section 62 may cause the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 to operate in a vibration mode. In this mode of operation, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 presents vibrations to the finger of the operating user by vibrating the arm and transmitting the vibrations to the movable portion of the trigger button 16a that is in contact with the arm. Also in the present example, as in the feedback mode, the state transition is made between the state where vibration is present and the state where vibration is not present according to the amount of pressing of the trigger button 16 a. In addition, in the present example, as in the feedback mode as well, in addition to the state in which no vibration is present, it is possible to switch between three or more states, for example, a state in which strong vibration is present and a state in which weak vibration is present.

In addition, the control processing section 62 may cause the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 to operate in the trigger mode. The trigger mode is a mode for simulating the operation of a trigger for a gun or the like, and is an operation mode for switching between three states (i.e., a standby state, a cocked state, and a fired state), as shown in fig. 4. In the trigger mode, the next operation state is determined not only based on the degree of the current operation amount on the trigger button 16a but also according to the current operation state.

Specifically, when the trigger button 16a is not operated, or when a small pressing amount is maintained after the start of operation (for example, when the position of the arm is in the control target range P0), then the standby state is set, and the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 is not operated in this state. This state corresponds to the state of the trigger allowing portion.

When the operation amount of the trigger button 16a in the standby state exceeds a certain threshold value, the control processing section 62 shifts to the snap state. This state corresponds to a state in which the trigger of the gun is gradually pulled. For example, when the position of the arm is in the control target ranges P1 to P5, the control processing section 62 shifts to the snap state. In the snap state, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 presents a force sense in a direction opposite to the pressing operation by the user. Thus, the user may have a heavy feeling as if the user were pulling the real trigger.

When the pressing operation of the trigger button 16a by the user is further continued from the snap state and the position of the movable portion exceeds a certain threshold value, the control processing portion 62 shifts to the firing state. This state corresponds to a state in which the trigger of the gun is fully drawn out and the cartridge is fired. For example, when the position of the arm is moved to a position included in the control target ranges P6 to P9 in the buckled state, the control processing section 62 shifts to the fired state. Also in this state, as in the standby state, the force sense presentation mechanism 18 does not present a force sense, and therefore the user can operate the trigger button 16a without feeling a resistance. Incidentally, upon transition to the firing state, even when the user eases the pressing operation and the arm moves to the position included in the control target ranges P0 to P5, the firing state remains. Therefore, it is possible to reproduce a state in which the resistance of the trigger disappears after the bullet is fired. Incidentally, it is assumed that the control processing section 62 shifts from the firing state to the standby state when a given condition is satisfied in the firing state, for example, when the user takes the finger off the trigger button 16a and reaches a state where the operation amount is zero. This allows the user to perform the operation of pulling the gun trigger again.

In this trigger mode, the control content of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 changes not only according to the current position of the movable portion of the trigger button 16a, but also according to which state to make a transition from. For example, even if the position of the arm is in the control target range P4, the feeling of force is exhibited in the buckled state, but once the arm is shifted to the fired state, the feeling of force is not exhibited in the state. Therefore, when the operation amount (pressed amount) of the trigger button 16a is simply notified from the operation device 10 to the information processing device 50, the information processing device 50 may have difficulty in grasping the state in which the operation control is currently being performed.

In addition, while the operation control of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 is performed so as to be interlocked with the position of the movable portion of the trigger button 16a, as described previously, the correspondence relationship between the detected value of the operation amount of the trigger button 16a and the control target range of the arm position of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 varies depending on the individual difference of the operation device 10. Based on such factors, it may be difficult to accurately recognize when the state transition is made based only on the value of the operation amount of the trigger button 16a (which is notified to the information processing apparatus 50). Therefore, it is assumed that the information transmission section 63 of the operation device 10 in the present embodiment periodically transmits the state information indicating the current operation mode and the current operation state of the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 to the information processing device 50.

Specifically, the information transmitting section 63 transmits operation information indicating the contents of operations of the plurality of operation members 16 by the user (for example, which operation button is pressed and the degree of the current pressing amount of the trigger button 16 a) at predetermined time intervals. Together with the operation information, the state information indicating in which of the plurality of operation states the control of the force sensation presentation mechanism 18 is currently being performed is transmitted to the information processing apparatus 50. Incidentally, in the case where the operation device 10 includes a plurality of force sensation presentation mechanisms 18, state information indicating the current operation state of each force sensation presentation mechanism 18 is transmitted. Therefore, the information processing apparatus 50 can be clearly notified of the operation state of the force sense presentation mechanism 18, which operation state is difficult to recognize based only on the measured value of the operation amount of the trigger button 16 a.

Incidentally, although it is assumed here that the information transmitting section 63 transmits the status information together with the operation information, this is not limitative. The information transmitting section 63 may transmit the status information at a timing different from the timing of transmitting the operation information. In addition, the information transmitting section 63 may transmit the status information at a frequency different from the transmission frequency of the transmission operation information. Further, the information transmitting portion 63 may also transmit control position information indicating not only the current operation state but also the position of the arm (for example, the position of which range the arm appears in among a plurality of control target ranges) as the state information of the force sensation presentation mechanism 18. The control position information indicates the current position at which the control processing portion 62 is performing the force sense presentation control.

As described later, an application program executed in the information processing apparatus 50 obtains the operation information, and executes various processes according to the content of the operation information. The processing may include processing of outputting a control instruction for operating the vibration mechanism 17, processing of outputting an audio signal for reproduction, and the like. Therefore, it is possible to realize control interlocked with the operation state of the force sense presentation mechanism 18, for example, by reproducing sound from the speaker 13 and causing the vibration mechanism 17 to present vibration at the timing of switching from the buckled state to the fired state in the trigger mode.

The first process executing section 64 and the second process executing section 65 of the information processing apparatus 50 execute various information processes by executing respective independent processes in accordance with the contents of operation input from the user and the like. In the following, as a specific example, it is assumed that the first processing execution section 64 is realized by executing an application program such as a game, and the second processing execution section 65 is realized by executing a system program. In the following, the processing realized by the first processing execution section 64 will be described as first processing, and the processing realized by the second processing execution section 65 will be described as second processing.

These processes are performed independently of each other. That is, the first process and the second process can be executed in parallel with each other at the same timing, and a state in which both processes are executed is allowed. In addition, one of the processes is selectively selected as a focusing process on the basis of a given condition. Here, it is assumed that the focusing process is a process operated by the user, and the operation information transmitted from the operation device 10 is obtained and processed by the focusing process.

Switching of the focusing process is performed under various conditions. As one example, when the user operates a system button provided to the operation device 10 while the first process execution section 64 is executing a game program, the second process execution section 65 starts the system program and displays a system screen for presenting a processing result of the system program on the display device 54, and the focus process is changed from the first process to the second process. When an instruction to end the system screen is subsequently given, the focusing process is changed from the second process to the first process. Incidentally, when the second process is selected as the focusing process, the first process operates in the background and continues to execute various processes related to the game.

In this case, the device control section 66 transmits a control instruction for operating the operation device 10 according to a request from each process, and makes an appropriate adjustment according to a change in the focusing process. The contents of the control performed by the apparatus control section 66 will be described in detail below.

First, an example of a processing flow in the case where only the first processing is executed will be described with reference to the flowchart of fig. 5. As described previously, the information transmission section 63 of the operation device 10 periodically transmits the operation information and the status information to the information processing device 50. In this figure, transmission of the operation information and the status information at a specific timing is indicated by S1.

After that, the first processing execution portion 64 outputs a request for setting the operation mode of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 to the device control portion 66 (S2). Here, as an example, it is assumed that the first process execution section 64 requests a change of the operation mode to the trigger mode because the user is already able to perform the operation of shooting the gun in the game. In response to the request, the device control section 66 transmits a control instruction for setting the operation mode to the trigger mode to the operation device 10 (S3). Upon receiving the control instruction, the control processing section 62 of the operation device 10 changes the operation mode to the trigger mode. However, as described previously, the transmission of information from the operation device 10 to the information processing device 50 is performed periodically. Therefore, the status information in the new operation mode is not transmitted to the information processing apparatus 50 immediately after the operation mode is changed. In this example, before the state information in the new operation mode is transmitted from the operation device 10, the first processing execution section 64 issues an operation state acquisition request to the device control section 66 (S4). At this stage, the device control section 66 has not obtained the state information in the new operation mode. Therefore, as a response to the acquisition request in S4, the device control portion 66 returns the latest status information transmitted in S1 (S5).

The information transmitting section 63 of the operating device 10 then transmits the new operation information and the new state information in S6 (S6). Here, the state information in the new operation mode (for example, information indicating the standby state in the trigger mode) designated in S3 is transmitted. When the first process execution part 64 subsequently issues the operation state acquisition request again (S7), the device control part 66 returns the state information in the trigger mode in which the state information is transmitted in S6 (S8).

Therefore, the first process execution section 64 outputs the operation mode setting request to the device control section 66 in conjunction with the progress of the process, and thereafter can grasp the transition of the operation state performed by the operation device 10 by obtaining the state information periodically transmitted from the operation device 10. Incidentally, it is assumed that when audio reproduction or the like is to be controlled so as to interlock with state transition, the first processing execution section 64 repeatedly makes an inquiry in such a short cycle as to enable such control.

Next, an example of a flow of processing in the case where the first processing and the second processing are executed in parallel with each other will be described with reference to flowcharts of fig. 6A and 6B. In the present example, it is assumed that the second process is the focus process first. Incidentally, in fig. 6A and 6B, of the first processing executing section 64 and the second processing executing section 65, the executing section that is executing the focusing processing is indicated by a solid line, and the executing section that is executing the other processing is indicated by a broken line.

In the present example, first, the first process execution section 64 outputs an operation mode setting request (S11). As described previously, processing other than the focusing processing (the first processing in this example) is also being executed. Therefore, the operation mode setting request can be output according to the progress of processing of another process. However, at this time, the second processing is focus processing, and therefore, when the operation device 10 performs an operation according to the processing content of the first processing, there is a fear of causing confusion to the user. Therefore, the apparatus control section 66 ignores the operation mode setting request from the processing other than the focusing processing, and restricts the operation mode change control instruction to the operation apparatus 10 at this stage. However, assuming preparation for a case where the first process later becomes the focusing process, the device control section 66 temporarily retains the contents of the setting request output by the first process executing section 64 (S12).

It is assumed this time that the second process executing section 65 subsequently outputs an operation mode setting request (S13). At this time, the second processing is the focusing processing, and therefore, the device control section 66 transmits a control instruction for changing the operation mode to the operation device 10 in response to the setting request (S14). At a subsequent timing, the periodic information transmission from the operation device 10 is performed (S15).

It is assumed that the first process executing section 64 further outputs a state information acquiring request after the setting request in S11 (S16). At this time, the operation mode is not changed according to the setting request in S11, and the first processing is not the focusing processing. Therefore, the device control section 66 makes a response of the limited effect to the acquisition request from the first process (S17).

On the other hand, when the second process executing section 65 outputs the state information acquiring request (S18), the second process is the focusing process, and therefore the device controlling section 66 returns the state information transmitted in S15 to the second process executing section 65 in response to the acquiring request (S19).

For example, it is assumed that the user subsequently performs an operation of ending the system screen, and the focus processing is thus changed from the second processing to the first processing. In response to the change of the focusing process, the device control section 66 transmits a control instruction corresponding to the setting request received from the focusing process most recently after the change and retained (in this case, the setting request whose content is retained in S12) to the operation device 10 (S20). Such control can change the operation mode according to the request of the first process without requiring the first process execution part 64 to output the operation mode setting request again. Incidentally, at the time of the change of the focusing process, in the case where there is no operation mode setting request received from the focusing process in the past after the change, the device control section 66 may transmit a control instruction for resetting the current operation mode to the operation device 10.

In the present example, information is transmitted from the operation device 10 immediately after the transmission of the control instruction in S20 (S21). At this time, the change of the operation mode according to the control instruction in S20 is not completed, and the status information corresponding to the operation mode so far is transmitted.

When the first process executing section 64 outputs the state information acquiring request in this state (S22), the first process is selected as the focusing process this time, and therefore, the state information transmitted in S21 is supplied to the first process (S23). Further, the operation mode is changed in accordance with the control instruction transmitted in S20, and the state information in the changed operation mode is transmitted to the device control section 66 (S24). Thereafter, in response to the request for the state information from the first process executing section 64 (S25), the state information in the operation mode requested by the first process executing section 64 in S11 is returned (S26).

As described above, in the case where the information processing apparatus 50 executes a plurality of processes and selectively selects one of the plurality of processes as the focusing process, the apparatus control section 66 outputs a control instruction for changing the operation mode in response to a request received from the focusing process. Therefore, it is possible to avoid performing the operation control of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 based on a request from a process other than the focusing process in which the user is currently about to perform the operation input. Further, the device control section 66 temporarily retains in advance the content of the operation mode setting request received from the processing other than the focusing processing when the processing is selected as the focusing processing, and transmits a control instruction corresponding to the retained content of the setting request. Therefore, each process can issue an operation mode setting request regardless of whether the process itself is currently a focusing process.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus 50 can appropriately perform control according to the execution state of the operation apparatus 10 or the like.

It should be noted that embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, in the above description, the operation device 10 is assumed to be a controller of a home game machine. However, this is not restrictive. The operation device 10 may be various devices that receive user operations.

Further, in the above description, it is assumed that the control processing section 62 changes the operation state of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 in accordance with the operation amount of the trigger button 16a by the user. However, this is not restrictive. The control processing portion 62 may control the operation contents of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 in accordance with the operation contents of the respective operation members by the user. Further, for example, the control processing section 62 may not only perform operation control of the force sense presentation mechanism 18 in accordance with the user's operation of the operation member provided to the operation device 10, but also control the operation contents of various mechanisms such as the vibration mechanism 17. In either case, when the information transmission portion 63 periodically transmits status information indicating the control currently performed on each mechanism to the information processing apparatus 50, the information processing apparatus 50 may perform processing corresponding to the control status of the operation apparatus 10 at an appropriate timing.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.