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US 2015/0147729 A1Published application
Pile Manipulation Game
OwnerMarius Gerardus Jacobus Versteegeninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method is provided that enables children to learn and practice number sense and basic numerical operations. In one embodiment, children are invited to move objects that represent units, as well as objects that represent tens, in order to visualize the process of solving basic numerical operations. The movements that are allowed are subject to restrictions and other special behavior, which help children to gain insight in the numerical processes of these basic numerical operations in such a way that a solid foundation is created that prepares them to solve these operations on a purely formal level in a later stage.
Claims20
A computer implemented method for providing pile manipulation functionality, the method comprising:
- providing, via a display device, to a player a view of one or more piles of stacked, approximately rectangular objects;
- determining, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, for a predetermined group size, per pile, a grouping of said approximately rectangular objects from bottom up into consecutive groups with said predetermined group size, allowing only the top group to contain less of said approximately rectangular objects than said predetermined group size;
- displaying, via said display device, said groupings to said player, by representing each of these groupings by a container, each of them having a shape that delimits a space in which approximately fits an amount of said approximately rectangular objects that is equal to said predetermined group size;
- determining, processing input from an input device by executing instructions stored in a memory device, whether said player initiates a drag and drop transfer of one or more selected objects, being either an instance of one of said containers, selected from one of said piles, or a subgroup of one or more of said approximately rectangular objects, selected from the top container of one of said piles;
- determining, processing input from an input device by executing instructions stored in a memory device, whether said player that initiated said drag and drop transfer ends his drag and drop action;
- stacking, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, said selected container on the top of the pile said selected container is hovering over, for the case that said player ends the drag and drop action for said selected container while said selected container is hovering over another pile than the pile that it was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation, and said other pile is not comprising any partly empty containers, which are containers that have empty slots for one or more of said approximately rectangular objects;
- inserting, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, said selected container below the partly empty container at the top of the pile which said selected container is hovering over, for the case that said selected container is completely filled with said approximately rectangular objects and that said player ends the drag and drop action for said selected container while said selected container is hovering over another pile than the pile that it was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation, and said other pile has a partly empty container at its top;
- by executing instructions stored in a memory device, to accommodate for the space required for said insertion, said partly filled container is moved up;
- stacking, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, said approximately rectangular objects from said selected container, into the top container at the top of a drop off pile, and stacking any surplus that does not fit into that top container into a newly created container that is stacked on top of said drop off pile, provided that the selected container is partly empty, and said drop off pile is valid, whereby a valid drop off pile is a pile that said selected container is hovering over when said player ends his drag and drop action, while at the same time that pile is another pile than the pile said selected container was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation;
- stacking, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, the approximately rectangular objects from said selected subgroup, into the top container at the top of said drop off pile, and stacking any surplus that does not fit into that top container into a newly created container that is stacked on top of said drop off pile, provided that said drop off pile is valid, whereby a valid drop off pile is a pile that said selected subgroup is hovering over when said player ends his drag and drop action, while at the same time that pile is another pile than the pile said selected subgroup was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation.
7 more elements
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable signals stored thereon that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, instruct the computer to perform a method providing pile manipulation functionality, the method comprising:
- providing, via a display device, to a player a view of one or more piles of stacked, approximately rectangular objects;
- determining, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, for a predetermined group size, per pile, a grouping of said approximately rectangular objects from bottom up into consecutive groups with said predetermined group size, allowing only the top group to contain less of said approximately rectangular objects than said predetermined group size;
- displaying, via said display device, said groupings to said player, by representing each of these groupings by a container, each of them having a shape that delimits a space in which approximately fits an amount of said approximately rectangular objects that is equal to said predetermined group size;
- determining, processing input from an input device by executing instructions stored in a memory device, whether said player initiates a drag and drop transfer of one or more selected objects, being either an instance of one of said containers, selected from one of said piles, or a subgroup of one or more of said approximately rectangular objects, selected from the top container of one of said piles;
- determining, processing input from an input device by executing instructions stored in a memory device, whether said player that initiated said drag and drop transfer ends his drag and drop action;
- stacking, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, said selected container on the top of the pile said selected container is hovering over, for the case that said player ends the drag and drop action for said selected container while said selected container is hovering over another pile than the pile that it was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation, and said other pile is not comprising any partly empty containers, which are containers that have empty slots for one or more of said approximately rectangular objects;
- inserting, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, said selected container below the partly empty container at the top of the pile which said selected container is hovering over, for the case that said selected container is completely filled with said approximately rectangular objects and that said player ends the drag and drop action for said selected container while said selected container is hovering over another pile than the pile that it was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation, and said other pile has a partly empty container at its top;
- by executing instructions stored in a memory device, to accommodate for the space required for said insertion, said partly filled container is moved up;
- stacking, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, said approximately rectangular objects from said selected container, into the top container at the top of a drop off pile, and stacking any surplus that does not fit into that top container into a newly created container that is stacked on top of said drop off pile, provided that the selected container is partly empty, and said drop off pile is valid, whereby a valid drop off pile is a pile that said selected container is hovering over when said player ends his drag and drop action, while at the same time that pile is another pile than the pile said selected container was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation;
- stacking, by executing instructions stored in a memory device, the approximately rectangular objects from said selected subgroup, into the top container at the top of said drop off pile, and stacking any surplus that does not fit into that top container into a newly created container that is stacked on top of said drop off pile, provided that said drop off pile is valid, whereby a valid drop off pile is a pile that said selected subgroup is hovering over when said player ends his drag and drop action, while at the same time that pile is another pile than the pile said selected subgroup was selected from during said drag and drop transfer initiation.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.