JPH08821A - Game control device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In a game device, freely controlling the movement of a model imitating an animal such as a horse or a model such as a car, a ship or an airplane. An XY optical axis drive unit 28 for controlling the spot light 26 and a two-dimensional position detecting element 24 for detecting the spot light 26.
The guide vehicle 6 is guided by the vehicle and moves on the translucent guide path 14, and the traveling body 4 guided by the magnet attached to the upper portion of the guide vehicle 6. Based on a predetermined traveling program, the XY optical axis drive unit 28 drives the X axis and the Y axis simultaneously to control the spot light 26 in a predetermined direction. The spot light 26 is received by the two-dimensional position detection element 24 provided on the bottom surface of the guided vehicle 6 to detect the deviation of the spot light 26, and the steering operation is performed by the rotation difference between the left and right driving wheels, so that the spot light 26 is detected while the position is corrected. To follow. By performing the position correction in the guided vehicle 6, it becomes unnecessary to detect the position of the guide path.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game control device, and more particularly to a game control device suitable for a competitive game simulating a horse or a car running on the field.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a control device for driving a traveling body such as a horse or a car in a game, there are two methods of performing drive control. One is a method of driving and controlling a traveling body such as an automobile or a horse by directly towing the traveling body with a wire or a chain or indirectly with a magnet or the like.

The other method is to freely run the traveling body without restraining it. A traveling vehicle is arranged below the field where the traveling body travels, and the traveling of the traveling vehicle is controlled by optical communication. The position deviation of the carriage from the traveling course is corrected by a coordinate reading device (digitizer) or the like that detects the position of the carriage on the two-dimensional coordinate set on the traveling surface on which the vehicle travels (for example, JP-A-1-94884).
(See the official gazette).

[0004]

In a control device for a traveling body of this type, for example, a derby game machine in which a plurality of traveling bodies are simultaneously driven to compete for the order of arrival, the first method described as the prior art is used. Then, it only orbits on a certain circulation orbit, which is far from the actual race development and lacks a sense of realism and lacks power.

According to the method in which the other traveling body is freely traveled, this drawback is solved, but when the vehicle to be freely traveled is controlled by optical communication, the other traveling vehicle is operated by the light beam. In practice, a plurality of running bodies are independently driven in the field where they travel, and they can be freely moved on the course to provide a movement similar to that of actual race development. It was difficult to do. Further, there is a drawback in that a coordinate reading device (digitizer) used for correcting the position of the trolley becomes a large-scale device.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to drive a plurality of traveling bodies in a field independently of each other, and further to freely drive the traveling paths of the traveling bodies. It is to provide a game control device that can be controlled.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a light receiving portion on an induction vehicle for guiding a model of a horse, an automobile or the like on the field by magnetic force, and projects spot light to the light receiving portion. Then, the traveling of the guided vehicle is controlled so that the predetermined portion of the light receiving portion is aligned with the position where the spot light is projected.

Further, the two-dimensional position detecting element is installed at a position in front of a moving wheel of the guided vehicle, and a position on the two-dimensional position detecting element where the spot light is projected. A position deviation from a predetermined position, a speed and a steering amount for correcting the position deviation, and a computer for calculating the position deviation and the speed and the steering amount are mounted on the induction vehicle. To do.

When the irradiation of the spot light for controlling the traveling of the guided vehicle deviates from the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional position detecting element, the guided vehicle transmits an alarm signal to the control device,
Upon receipt of this, the control device drives and controls the spotlight projector so that the projected spotlight returns to the light receiving surface.

The guide wheel is composed of four drive wheels, the left and right front and rear wheels, the mounting shafts of the front and rear wheels on one side are fixed to the guide wheel, and the mounting shafts of the front and rear wheels on the other side are the guide wheels. It can be attached to a frame that is swingable in the vertical direction of the vehicle, or it can be fixed to the guided vehicle. In addition, 3 consisting of the left and right drive wheels and one idler wheel
It can also have a ring configuration.

[0011]

According to the above structure, since the traveling of the guided vehicle is controlled by the projection position of the spot light on the light receiving portion of the guided vehicle, it is not necessary to set the two-dimensional coordinates on a large scale, and the apparatus structure is compact. Become. Further, by projecting the spot light from below onto the guided vehicle on the light-transmitting plate, it is possible to project each spot light onto the plurality of guided vehicles without being obstructed by other guided vehicles.

Further, a two-dimensional position detecting element is used in the light receiving section, and the guide vehicle itself calculates the speed and the turning amount by a computer from the detection signal of the positional deviation of the spot light to control the driving wheels, thereby making it complicated. No controller required,
Maintenance is also advantageous. Further, by making the light receiving position of the spot light ahead of the drive wheels, and performing the traveling control in which the trajectory to be traveled is predicted, smooth traveling can be realized. In addition, the control method is simple by controlling the X and Y coordinates of the spot light independently,
Therefore, there are few failures.

Further, even if the spot light deviates from the light receiving portion of the guided vehicle, an alarm signal is generated and the light receiving portion can be immediately returned to a certain range, and the game can be continued without interruption. . Also, by fixing the drive wheel on one side of the guided vehicle to the body of the guided vehicle and the other side to a frame that can swing in the vertical direction, even if a difference in rotation occurs between the left and right driving wheels, The drive wheels can be brought into close contact with each other for turning, and if the three-wheel configuration is adopted, steering performance is improved.

Therefore, a two-dimensional position detecting element, which controls the spot light simultaneously on the X-axis and the Y-axis on the basis of a predetermined traveling program, and provides the spot light on the bottom of the guided vehicle through a light-transmissive traveling path. In response to this, the deviation between the current position of the guided vehicle and the position where the spotlight is projected is detected, and from the calculation result based on this detection signal and a predetermined running program, steering operation is performed by the difference in rotation between the left and right drive wheels, It is possible to drive the vehicle on a predetermined traveling course while correcting the position of the guided vehicle and causing the guided vehicle to follow the spotlight.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The control device of this embodiment relates to a horse racing game, and FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram configured as a horse racing game device. In the game of this embodiment, a horse is used as a model of a running body, but any animal that moves, such as other animals, ships, automobiles, trains, planes, etc., can be configured as a model.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of model horses (hereinafter referred to as running bodies) are arranged on a field 2 where a horse racing game is performed, and the running body 4 is guided from below the field 2 by a guide vehicle. Drive on the field surface with the guidance of 6. The running body 4 is a model simulating the actual running of a horse, and is mounted on a trolley 10 having wheels 8 in front and rear thereof,
A magnet for traveling guide (not shown) is provided in front of the lower portion of the carriage 10.
Has been placed.

In the field 2 on which the traveling body 4 travels, an appropriate power supply line (not shown) is stretched through an insulating layer, and from the power supply surface 12 on the side opposite to the field surface, an electric induction vehicle 6 is provided. Is supplying power to. Taxiway 1 on which an induction vehicle 6 travels
Reference numeral 4 is made of a material such as thick transparent or translucent glass or a translucent synthetic resin plate, and is placed below the field 2 at a constant distance. The induction vehicle 6
The front and rear wheels are driven to run, and a pantograph 20 that receives electric power from the power feeding surface 12 and a magnet 22 that guides the traveling body 4 are provided on the upper portion, and a two-dimensional position detection element 24 is provided on the lower portion. .

Below the guideway 14, spot light 26 is projected onto the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 to drive the guide wheel 6 on the guideway 14 surface in the XY two-dimensional directions. The shaft drive units 28 are arranged on the base 30 by the number of the guided vehicles 6. The XY optical axis drive unit 28 projects the spot light 26 while swinging in the XY directions.
2 and an X-axis motor 34 and a Y-axis motor 36 that swing the spot light projector 32 in the XY direction.
The head spot light 26 is projected to drive the vehicle.

Next, the guided vehicle 6 for guiding the traveling body 4 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, the guided vehicle 6 has a frame structure, and has a four-wheel configuration in which front and rear wheels are attached to the left and right of the frame structure.
The driving pulse motor 42 for driving 8 via the drive gear and the driving pulse motor for driving the right front wheel and the rear wheel via the drive gear are separately mounted, and the left and right front and rear wheels 16, Left drive wheel 44 consisting of 18
And the right drive wheel, which is composed of the front and rear wheels on the right side, are controlled independently on the left and right sides.

The two-dimensional position detecting element 24 shown in FIG.
It is provided at the bottom of the frame structure in front of the center position of the front wheels and the rear wheels by a predetermined distance. A circuit board 46 on which a CPU for controlling the induction vehicle 6 and various ICs and other circuit elements are mounted is arranged on the front and rear surfaces and the lower surface of the induction vehicle 6, and thereby the structural strength of the frame structure is maintained. It is like this.

The two-dimensional position detecting element is generally called PSD and is a light spot position sensor utilizing the surface resistance of the photodiode. Unlike a so-called CCD or the like, since it is a non-divided element, continuous XY coordinate signals can be obtained with excellent position resolution and responsiveness. When a light spot is incident on this PSD, a charge proportional to the light energy is generated at the incident position, and when the photocurrent is output from the electrode through the uniform resistance layer, the photocurrent is separated from the distance (resistance By dividing in inverse proportion to (value), the position of the light spot from the center position of the PSD is obtained as the output voltage, and the value of the output voltage directly displays the position information.

Here, the structure of the guided vehicle 6 will be described in more detail. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the drive wheel on the right side in the traveling direction of the guided vehicle. For the frame structure on one side (the left side in the traveling direction shown by the arrow) shown in FIG.
The rear wheel 18 and the rear wheel 18 are connected to the drive pulse motor 42 via the drive gear as described above. However, regarding the other (right side in the traveling direction) frame structure, the power from the drive pulse motor (not shown) is applied. As shown in FIG. 3, a right front wheel 17 and a right rear wheel 19 mounted on a mounting plate 15 which can be vertically swung about an axis Q of a motor shaft or a transmission shaft as shown by an arrow in the figure. Is transmitted to the right drive wheel 45 composed of Thus, the left front wheel 16 and the rear wheel 18 are fixed to the frame structure, and the right front wheel 17 and the rear wheel 19 are fixed to the frame structure via the swingable mounting plate 15. The guided vehicle 6 can run with all the wheels in close contact with the guideway 14 at all times.

When the steering operation of the guided vehicle 6 is performed,
Control may be uncertain if the wheels being controlled are not in close contact with the taxiway 16, even temporarily. In the present invention, two moving wheels on one side are allowed to swing in the vertical direction so as not to cause such a problem, so that the guide wheel 6 has a four-wheel configuration but maintains a stable close contact state with the guideway 14. The driver ensures that the steering operation is reliable while driving. It should be noted that such a swingable moving wheel mounting structure may be provided on either the left or right side of the guided vehicle 6. Further, although the guided vehicle of the present embodiment is a four-wheel drive, it may be a two-wheel drive system that drives only the left and right front wheels or rear wheels. In that case,
One idle wheel to which driving force is not transmitted
A ring configuration is also possible.

As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of XY optical axis drives are provided on the base 30 arranged below the guideway 14 corresponding to the individual guide wheels 6 for guiding the individual traveling bodies 4. Part 28
Is arranged. The X-Y optical axis drive unit 28 is for controlling the spot light 26 in a predetermined direction in the X-Y two-dimensional direction. Since the X-Y optical axis drive unit 28 controls the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction at the same time, the X-axis and the Y-axis are controlled. It has an X-axis pulse motor 34 and a Y-axis pulse motor 36 that drive and control each of them independently. A spot light projector 32 is attached to the drive unit whose posture is controlled by these two pulse motors.

In this embodiment, infrared light from a semiconductor laser is projected as spot light, but the spot light may be visible light or infrared light not by laser. Such spot light 26 is configured to be projected from below through the guide path 14 made of transparent or translucent glass or the like toward the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 provided at the bottom of the frame structure of the guide vehicle 6. ing.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a drive circuit of the XY optical axis drive unit 28. In the X-Y optical axis drive unit of the present embodiment, the traveling mode is set in the CPU according to the traveling program of the traveling body, and the X-axis drive unit and Y are set based on the traveling mode.
The axis drive units are individually controlled to individually drive the X-axis motor and the Y-axis motor of the spot light projector.

The spot light 26 from the spot light projector 32 attached to the XY optical axis drive unit 28 is fed to the guide vehicle 6.
The two-dimensional position detecting element 24 provided on the bottom surface of the vehicle detects the positional deviation of the spot light 26 from a predetermined position and corrects the position by steering due to the rotation difference between the left and right drive wheels 44 and 45, and always detects the two-dimensional position. The traveling of the guided vehicle 6 is controlled so that the spotlight 26 is projected onto a predetermined position of the detection element 24.

The predetermined position on which the spot light 26 is projected is set to be the center of the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 in this embodiment. During normal traveling, the guided vehicle 6 moves so that the spot light 26 is projected on the center of the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 and moves at a constant speed. In this case, if a distance difference occurs between the position where the spotlight 26 is projected and the center position on the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 due to friction or the like of the guided vehicle 6, the distance difference is reduced to 0. The induction vehicle 6 is controlled so as to perform an acceleration motion as described above.

For some reason while the guided vehicle 6 is running,
When the spotlight 26 projected on the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 provided on the bottom surface of the guided vehicle 6 deviates from the light receiving surface, the guided vehicle 6 stops at that position, and the electronic circuit in the guided vehicle 6 feeds the power feeding surface. Via 12 or by light or wirelessly
An alarm signal is sent to the control side together with the code number of the guided vehicle 6. The control device that receives this alarm signal determines the guided vehicle 6 that has sent the alarm signal, and
The spot light projector 32 that has guided the vehicle is controlled so as to catch the guided vehicle 6 by following the previous guiding trajectory in reverse. Then, when the spot light 26 from the spot light projector 32 comes to be projected at a predetermined position of the two-dimensional position detecting element 24, the guided vehicle 6 informs the control side that the spot light 26 has returned to the light receiving surface. , It is controlled to return to the normal control operation so far.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the position correction amount is obtained from the result of calculating the position deviation from the track to be traveled in the guided vehicle 6 whose travel is controlled, and the drive control of the guided vehicle 6 is thereby performed. This is done, and the need to detect the coordinate position of the guided vehicle 6 on the guideway side of the guided vehicle 6 as in the prior art is eliminated. As a result, the configuration of the entire device can be simplified and the reliability can be improved.

As many XY optical axis drive units 28 as described above are prepared for each of the traveling bodies 4 participating in the game, and the field 2 is used.
It is placed on the base 30 approximately below the center of the. In the present embodiment, in the case of six traveling bodies, they are arranged in 2 rows and 3 columns, but the arrangement is not restricted to this, and any pattern can be arranged.

In the present embodiment, the XY optical axis drive unit 28 is arranged on the base 30 substantially below the center of the field 2 as described above. However, when the field area for playing the game is larger, , A plurality of X-Y optical axis drive units corresponding to the field area are arranged, and the field area to be covered by each X-Y optical axis drive unit is configured to be divided so as to correspond to the progress of the game. It is also possible to easily transfer control from one XY optical axis drive unit to the next XY optical axis drive unit.

The field 2 is provided above the guided vehicle 6 provided with the driving means as described above, the traveling body 4 is arranged on the field 2, and the magnet 22 of the guided vehicle 6 and the magnet of the traveling body 4 (not shown) are arranged. (Fig.), The traveling body 4 follows the movement of the guided vehicle 6 due to the magnetic force between the two magnets. The guided vehicle 6 is mounted on the pantograph 20 in the field 2
A guide wheel 38 that is constantly in contact with the lower power supply surface 12 is provided, and electric power for traveling from the power supply surface 12 is obtained via the current collecting unit 40, and according to a traveling program set based on predetermined game development, XY
The spot light 26 from the optical axis drive unit 28 is received by the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 on the bottom surface of the guided vehicle 6. The guided vehicle 6 that has received the spotlight 26 calculates the deviation between the predetermined traveling path and the current position by the CPU, and controls the left and right driving wheels independently based on the calculation result to perform the position correction. Will drive according to the course set in the program.

According to the present invention, the two-dimensional position detecting element 24 of the guided vehicle 6 is arranged in front of the drive wheels 44 and 45 at a predetermined distance, so that the positional deviation of the guided vehicle 6 is corrected. It is possible to reduce the steering amount for performing the correction, and to perform the correction control when the positional deviation occurs more quickly than when the two-dimensional position detecting element is arranged at the center of the guided vehicle 6. You can

Now, with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the predictive control of the guided vehicle traveling in the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the two-dimensional position detection element is installed in a position in front of the drive wheels of the guided vehicle, the projected spot light precedes the drive wheels, and based on the detection signal from the two-dimensional position detection element, The orbit that the guided vehicle should travel is predicted and travel control is performed.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the center of the spot light is displaced to the left by x from the center of the two-dimensional position detecting element which is the sensor, the steering amount (curve amount) Calculate the radius of gyration). It is assumed that the distance between the left and right drive wheels (steering) of the guided vehicle 6 is 40 mm and the sensor center is located 20 mm ahead of the center of the guided vehicle 6.

The symbols in the drawing are as follows: P: center of the guided vehicle 6 (driving wheel) S: center of sensor SP: position of spot light in the left direction (-SP in the right direction) b: between P and SP Distance c: Radius of rotation of P (hereinafter steering radius) CT: Steering radius center α: Deviation angle between S and SP β: Angle formed by the rotation direction from P to SP and the steering radius center (CT) θ : Use the center angle of the steering radius.

Here, β = 90 ° -α ... (1) θ = 180 °-(180 ° -2α) = 2α (2)

Further, isosceles triangles SP, P, -SP,
SP, P, and CT are similar to the equation (2), and therefore b / (2x) = c / b ‥‥‥‥‥‥ (3), from which c = b ² / (2x) ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ (4).

Here, according to the Pythagorean theorem, b = √ (x ² +20 ² ) ... (5) Therefore, c = (X ² +400) / (2x) = (X / 2) + ( 200 / x) (6) Thereby, the steering radius c can be calculated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the rotation ratios of the left and right drive wheels are calculated using c in the above equation (6).
The steering radius is generated by the difference in the rotational speeds of the left and right drive wheels. Now, it is assumed that the guided vehicle is guided to the left in the traveling direction. Assuming that the steering radius of the left driving wheel is r, the traveling distance is m ₁ , the steering radius of the right driving wheel is r + 40, and the traveling distance is m ₂ , m ₁ = r × θ ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ (7) m ₂ ＝ (R + 40) × θ ‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥‥ (8).

Therefore, m ₂ / m ₁ = (r + 40) / r ‥‥‥‥‥‥ (9) r = c-20 ‥‥‥‥‥‥ (10) Here, m ₁ and m ₂ are left and right. Therefore, the rotation ratio is (c + 20) :( c-20) ... (11).

Therefore, when the positional deviation of the spot light 26 is x with respect to the predetermined position of the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional position detecting element 24, the rotation ratio of the left and right driving wheels of the guided vehicle 6 is (c + 2).
0): If the rotational speeds of the guide wheels 6 are controlled so as to be different from each other so as to be (c-20), the center P of the guide wheels is set to the original spot when the drive wheels of the guide wheel 6 advance by b. The position of the light SP is reached.

According to the embodiment of the present invention described above,
The following effects are achieved. (1) Since the control of the individual running bodies in the derby of a game machine, an automobile race, etc. is controlled from below the controlled object by the spot light that does not rely on mechanical parts such as chains, crossing of the control spot light This makes it possible to freely drive the traveling body on the field and further enhance the interest as a competitive game.

(2) Since the position is detected in the guide-controlled traveling body and the deviation from the predetermined traveling course is corrected, the position of the traveling body with respect to the guideway is detected as in the past. It is not necessary to perform this on the taxiway side that is outside the vehicle, and the configuration of the entire system can be simplified.

(3) The traveling program for controlling the traveling body is only required for the XY optical axis drive section for controlling the light spot, and the traveling program can be made simple and easy to understand.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a control device for a game machine using a model traveling body such as a horse racing game or an automobile race, a plurality of traveling bodies are driven independently, and each traveling body is driven. Since it is possible to freely control the traveling path of, it is possible to produce a realistic game similar to the actual race development.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of an induction vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a swingable drive wheel of an induction vehicle according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a driving unit of the spot light projector according to the present invention.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are explanatory views for calculating a steering radius of a guided vehicle and a rotation ratio of driving wheels in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 field 4 traveling body 6 guided vehicle 8 traveling body wheel 10 bogie 12 feeding surface 14 taxiway 15 mounting plate 16 left front wheel 17 right front wheel 18 left rear wheel 19 right rear wheel 20 pantograph 22 magnet 24 two-dimensional position detecting element 26 spot light 28 XY optical axis drive unit 30 Base 32 Spot light projector 34 X axis motor 36 Y axis motor 38 Guide wheel 40 Current collecting unit 42 Pulse motor 44 Left drive wheel 45 Right drive wheel 46 Circuit board

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G05D 1/02 D G08G 9/00

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A light receiving portion is provided in an induction vehicle for guiding a model of a horse, an automobile or the like on a field by magnetic force, and spot light is projected to the light receiving portion, and the spot light is projected to a position where the spot light is projected.
A game control device that controls the traveling of the guided vehicle so that a predetermined part of the light receiving part is matched. 2. The game control device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving unit is installed at a position in front of a driving wheel of the guided vehicle. 3. The light receiving section is composed of a two-dimensional position detecting element, and a position deviation of a position where the spot light is projected from a predetermined position on the two-dimensional position detecting element and a speed for correcting the position deviation. The game control device according to claim 1, wherein the left and right driving wheels of the guided vehicle are drive-controlled based on a result of calculating a steering amount and a steering amount. 4. The game control device according to claim 1, wherein a computer for calculating the positional deviation, the speed and the steering amount is mounted on the induction vehicle. 5. When the irradiation of the spot light deviates from the light receiving surface of the two-dimensional position detecting element of the guided vehicle for controlling the traveling, an alarm signal is transmitted from the guided vehicle to the control device and received. The spotlight projected by the controller is
The game control device according to claim 1, wherein the projector for driving the spot light is driven and controlled so as to return to the light receiving surface. 6. The guide wheel is composed of four drive wheels, which are left and right front and rear wheels, one side front and rear wheel mounting shaft is fixed to the guide wheel, and the other side front and rear wheel mounting shaft is the guide wheel. The game control device according to claim 1, wherein the game control device is mounted on a frame that is swingable in a vertical direction of the vehicle. 7. The induction vehicle is composed of four drive wheels, namely, left and right front and rear wheels, and a mounting shaft of each drive wheel is fixed to the induction vehicle. The game control device described. 8. The game control device according to claim 1, wherein the induction vehicle has a three-wheel configuration including left and right drive wheels and one idler wheel.