JPH0215230B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a powerful sense of realism to passengers through audiovisual effects that synchronize with curves, acceleration/deceleration parts, etc. provided on the track inside a capsule-type vehicle running on a specific track. This invention relates to a simulated experience vehicle device that provides a simulated experience.

Amusement park jet coasters are popular rides for their thrills and speed, but they only provide the rider with a sense of the ups and downs of the track and curves to the left and right, and do not appeal to the visual or auditory sense. .

In other words, by engaging all of the senses in the acceleration, deceleration, and violent side-to-side swaying movements, sight and hearing are temporarily paralyzed, increasing the thrill and sense of speed, and bringing satisfaction and euphoria to the passengers.

However, the thrill of speed can be dangerous in a sense and is aimed at young people, so it may not necessarily hold everyone's interest for a long time.

On the other hand, there is a sightseeing vehicle that creates a simulated rural landscape or coastal landscape along the vehicle's travel trajectory, and although it does not give a sense of speed, it allows you to enjoy the scenery that changes dramatically in a short period of time. In this case, in order to bring about a change to the otherwise monotonous landscape, we made this even more advanced by running part of the vehicle inside a tunnel, and installing various tricks and devices inside the tunnel. Some of them allow passengers to experience not only a change of scenery, but also thrills, mystical or artificial beauty.

However, with such devices, the more elaborate the design is to keep the passengers occupied, the larger the device becomes, and the cost becomes enormous.Also, it is not possible to use the same device for a long period of time, so it is difficult to replace it. This is also a big deal.

Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 50-54435, a traveling body that supports a chair so as to be able to rise and fall is run on a monorail, and when it reaches a semi-transparent dome installed at an appropriate location above the monorail, the traveling body is An entertainment device is disclosed in which a chair is stopped and pushed up into a dome, allowing passengers sitting on the chair to have a simulated experience as if they were in an infinite space inside the dome.

However, in the case of creating a simulated space by stopping the moving body on the dome part, it is not possible to give the passengers sitting in the chairs an actual sense of speed and acceleration, so the simulated experience cannot be improved. Naturally, his interest becomes limited. In addition,
In order to compensate for these shortcomings, the publication discloses the idea of installing a blower fan made of a transparent material inside the dome to blow strong wind, or tilting the chair back to give a sense of acceleration. Even if it were created, it would be impossible to completely prevent passengers from knowing its existence inside a dome illuminated by semi-transparent light, and the actual acceleration would be applied to the passenger when the chair was tilted while stopped. Since it is not something that you can do, this type of innovation is unlikely to provide the same level of interest as actual driving.

In addition, if we try to provide a variety of simulated experiences using this entertainment device, it will be necessary to install various domes on the monorail, resulting in high costs. Each time a passenger is moved, the chair on which the passenger is seated has to be taken down and moved through an empty space, which causes the passenger to lose interest and poses a safety problem.

The present invention has been devised by focusing on the problems of the conventional technology, and allows passengers to amplify and experience not only visual and auditory sensations but also physical sensations such as the sensation of acceleration that corresponds to the actual running of the vehicle. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a simulated experience vehicle device that allows an extremely high sense of reality to be obtained from various scenes that are rich in variety and can be freely increased as needed.

To this end, the present invention provides an orbital track consisting of curves, linear acceleration sections, etc., a capsule-type vehicle that runs on this orbital track, a video and audio device provided inside this vehicle, and a track that includes these video and audio devices. A means for transmitting video and audio that develops on a free theme while synchronizing with the curves and linear acceleration parts of A control means for correcting the deviation from the sound is provided.

According to the configuration of the present invention, inside a capsule-type vehicle traveling on a track, the vehicle is synchronized with the actual vertical and horizontal movement along the track and the sense of acceleration, as well as the current running state. The audio and video provided by the system continuously provide passengers with an extremely realistic and varied simulated experience.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the arrangement of tracks on which a capsule vehicle travels.

The track 1 is, in principle, a circular track, branching off in parallel to each other only at points where the starting and ending platforms 2A, 2B, 2C are located.

In reality, switching points for controlling branching and merging are formed at each of the branching points and merging points 3A and 3B according to instructions from a computer, as will be described later.

Trajectory 1 has many curves (bending portions) 4
A linear vehicle acceleration section 5 or deceleration section 6 is further provided between the curve 4 and the curve 4.

The acceleration section 5 is for making the rear of the vehicle sink (squat) so as to give the occupants the sensation of acceleration or climbing a hill.For example, the acceleration section 5 is designed to squat a part of the track 1 without actually changing the running speed of the vehicle. Or, even if the track 1 is horizontal, it may be configured with a lift that lifts the nose of the vehicle over a certain section, or hydraulic means that tilts the seat of the vehicle backwards, or the actual running speed may be increased. A towing means (as will be described later, a method is adopted in which the vehicle is frictionally towed along the track 1 using a chain or the like) is provided.

The deceleration part 6 is configured to make the front of the vehicle sink (nose dive) so as to give a sense of deceleration or a feeling of running downhill, and may have a configuration opposite to that of the acceleration part 5.

Along the track 1, there are the aforementioned starting and ending platforms 2A to 2C, numerous curves 4,
The acceleration/deceleration parts 5, 6, etc. are each provided with a sensor 8 (for example, a reflective optical sensor) for checking a vehicle passing through this part.

Based on the outputs of these sensors 8, as will be described later, a computer performs correction control (actually, the acceleration unit 5 to skip the video or synchronize it).

The capsule-type vehicle 10 running on this track 1 is
It is constructed as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

Although this embodiment shows an example of a two-person vehicle, it is possible to appropriately increase the passenger capacity to four or six people.

At the bottom of the vehicle body frame 11, left and right front wheels 12 are mounted.
A rear wheel 13 is also attached and rides on a horizontal portion 14A of two rails 14, 14 of the track 1.

The rail 14 is formed to have an L-shaped cross section, and the vertical portion 14B of the rail is held between a pair of auxiliary wheels 15A and 15B rotating on a horizontal plane to prevent the capsule vehicle 10 from derailing from the rail 14.

At the center of the bottom of the vehicle body frame 11, a driven band 16 like a sliding surface of a "sled" extending in the running direction is attached. The bottom surface of the driven band 16 is made of a material having a large friction coefficient, and its front and rear ends are slightly inclined.

Drive wheels 17 are arranged between the rails 14 and at appropriate intervals on the track 1 side.

The drive wheel 17 is attached to a rotating shaft 19 supported by a bracket 18 on the road surface, and the rotating shaft 19 is simultaneously driven by the rotational force received by the chain wheel 20.

Between the chain wheels 20, the drive chain 2
1 is multiplied, and although it is not shown in the figure,
Motors that provide driving force to this chain 21 are arranged here and there, and this drives the drive wheels 17.
are rotated synchronously at a predetermined rotational speed.

The interlocking by the chain does not cover the entire circumference of the track 1, but rather divides the track 1 into appropriate sections and interlocks with the motor for each section.

Therefore, for example, in the section corresponding to the aforementioned acceleration section 5, the rotational speed of the drive wheels 17 can be freely set higher than in other sections. Similarly, the speed reduction section 6 can also reduce the speed.
The driven band 16 of the capsule vehicle 10, while riding on the drive wheels 17, receives forward thrust due to rotational friction.

This thrust becomes the forward force of the vehicle 10, and the traveling speed is preferably 2 to 5 m/sec, for example.
It is controlled so that

Of course, you are free to set the speed higher than this, but as will be explained later, there is no need to increase the speed in relation to the video, rather it is possible to increase the speed to the passengers with the video and sound effects even though the vehicle speed is low. Although the total length of the track 1 is short, the passengers can enjoy various simulated experiences for a relatively long period of time, which also leads to a reduction in the cost of the equipment system.

A passenger enters and exits the capsule vehicle 10 through a flip-type door 25 provided at the top that opens upward.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, two seats 27 are provided in parallel in a sealed cabin 28 inside the vehicle body 26, and these seats 27 are not shown in the figures. However, the passenger seated on the seat 27 is supported by the vehicle body 26 by a soft suspension spring, and therefore, the passenger seated on the seat 27 easily leans over due to the longitudinal and lateral acceleration that the vehicle 10 receives.

This has the effect of amplifying the sensations of acceleration, deceleration, and lateral vibration to the occupants.

The inside of the cabin 28 is shielded to block light from the outside, and on the front part,
A cinemascope type screen 30 is provided which is horizontally elongated and curved inward on both sides.

The screen 30 is preferably set to a size large enough to completely cover the visual field of the passenger.

For example, a video projector 31 is used as a video device that projects images onto this screen 30.
Provide.

The video projector 31 is disposed between both seats 27, receives radio waves transmitted from a video disk controlled by an external computer, which will be described later, via a leaky cable, and displays the screen 30.
Project images on the screen.

By the way, in the seat 27 described above, speakers 33A are arranged as a so-called body sonic on the left and right sides of the headrest as shown in FIG. It generates a sound that wraps around the body of the person.

Therefore, the received video signal and audio signal are completely synchronized, and the synchronization between the actual driving and the screen is determined by the vehicle position confirmation signal from the sensor 8 explained in FIG. 1. managed by a computer, such as

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of the control circuit.

The platforms 2A to 2C are equipped with an operating unit 40 for instructing selection of images, and command values are input to a computer central processing unit (CPU) 42 via an input interface 41.

The CPU 42 selects the video on the video disc 44 via the video disc interface 43 and starts its operation, and sends video and audio signals to the video projector 31 and speakers 33A, 33B of each vehicle 10 via the leaky cable 50. Send.

At this time, since a vehicle position signal is input via the sensor 8 and the sensor scanner 45, the CPU 42 controls the start of operation based on the position of the vehicle 10.

For example, in Figure 1, platform 2A
After confirming which vehicle has departed from ~2C, transmission of the video theme selected by that vehicle will begin when the vehicle moves to junction 3B.

On the other hand, the CPU 42 simultaneously controls the drive wheel 17 mentioned above.
The motor drive circuit 47 that rotates the motor is also controlled via the output interface 46.
In this case, basically, the rotation of each drive motor 48A may be continued at a predetermined speed in the section of the main line from the confluence point 3B to the branch point 3A.

At this time, the drive section from the platforms 2A to 2C to the confluence point 3B constitutes a separate drive section, and therefore the drive motor 48B is also controlled at the same time.

The CPU 42 appropriately controls the switching of points at the merging point 3B while detecting the vehicle position so that vehicles starting from each of the platforms 2A to 2C do not collide.

By the way, a suitable number of video themes are recorded on the video disk 44, and these are pre-recorded in Orbit 1.
A video story is created corresponding to the curve 4, acceleration/deceleration parts 5, 6, etc., and the passenger can freely select one of the platforms 2A to 2C from which the vehicle starts.

As mentioned before, in the acceleration section 5, when the vehicle 10 experiences a feeling of acceleration due to the rise of its nose, for example, the image changes to an acceleration state screen, and the sound further strengthens the feeling of acceleration. When the vehicle moves, the screen changes so that the vehicle curves to the right or left depending on the direction, and at the same time, the loud squeaking sound of the tires is generated from the speakers 33A and 33B.

As a video story, it can be developed completely freely, with a sense of acceleration from front to back and from side to side. For example, it could be a movie running through a space colony in a futuristic city, or an ancient Jianguru exploration vehicle or a lunar exploration vehicle. It gets hot.

Each vehicle 10 travels on the track 1 while displaying such an image, but due to slips in the drive of the vehicle 10, there is a slight discrepancy between the actual running state and the image.

The CPU 42 corrects the deviation by advancing (or delaying) the image based on the position signals sent from each sensor 8.

If this is done in the acceleration section 5 where the vehicle 10 travels in a straight line, it can be corrected without causing any discomfort due to the high-speed flow of the screen.

The video story is set to end when the vehicle 10 goes around the track 1 and returns to the branch point 3A, and the simulated experience of the world created by the video theme ends when the vehicle 10 reaches the platforms 2A to 2C from a darkened state. It is.

In order to further enhance the experience of this capsule-type vehicle 10, in addition to video and audio, it may be possible to detect the temperature, for example, or to take in the wind from the front of the vehicle with a fan or the like. .

As described above, according to the present invention, a video and audio device is installed inside a capsule vehicle running on a specific track, and the video and audio are developed on an arbitrary theme while synchronizing with the curves and acceleration/deceleration parts of the track. In addition, we have provided a means to correct the discrepancy between the actual driving, video, and sound while detecting the position of the vehicle, so that you can sense the sense of acceleration in the front, back, left, and right directions at the same time as the audio and visual sense. You can enjoy a high sense of realism.

In addition, the present invention provides a simulated experience by running a capsule vehicle on a circular orbit, so it is easy to realize a realistic and varied driving sensation depending on the direction of the orbit (up, down, left, right). Therefore, it is possible to obtain a high degree of realism at a lower cost than the conventional method, which is equipped with a lifting means for raising and lowering the seat on which the passenger is sitting, and also improves mechanical reliability and safety. It is also significantly superior in terms of

In addition, by changing the video theme, you can freely create completely different video worlds, so you can create a completely different video world by changing the video theme.
Compared to gimmicks, they offer an extremely rich variety of content and can be operated and maintained at a low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the track system of the present invention. FIGS. 2 to 4 are a side view, a top view, and a front view of the capsule vehicle, respectively. Figure 5,
FIG. 6 is a side view and a plan view schematically showing the interior of the vehicle. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the seat, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the control circuit. 1...Trajectory, 2A-2C...Platform, 4...
Curve, 5...Acceleration part, 6...Deceleration part, 8...Sensor,
10... Capsule type vehicle, 12, 13... Wheels, 14
...Rail, 17...Drive wheel, 27...Seat, 30...Screen, 31...Video projector, 33A,
33B...Speaker, 42...Computer (CPU), 44...Video disk.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A circular orbit consisting of curves and linear acceleration sections, a capsule-shaped vehicle that runs on this orbit, video and audio equipment installed inside this vehicle, and these devices can freely move in synchronization with the curves and linear acceleration sections of the track. A sensor for detecting the position of a vehicle running on a track, and a control means for correcting a discrepancy between the actual running of the vehicle and the audio and video based on the detected value. A simulated experience vehicle device characterized by: