JP2000207990A - Foot switch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To properly and surely perform switch operation by the stepping of a foot, without confirming the operation by looking down every time. SOLUTION: This switch 1 is a foot switch composed by laminating multiple sheets including multiple switch sheets (a lower electrode sheet 5 and an upper electrode sheet 7) capable of detecting a stepping action. In this case, swollen parts which swell toward the outside are formed at positions on an ornamental sheet 9 of the uppermost layer, corresponding to stepping action detecting positions (positions where current carrying layers 54a, 54b, 54c, 54d are formed) of the switch sheets.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mat-shaped foot switch configured to detect a stepping operation caused by stepping on a sole.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mat-shaped foot switch 100 as shown in FIG. 15 has been known. The foot switch 100 detects the stepping operation by stepping on the sole of the foot, and is used for various purposes such as opening and closing an automatic door, operating a device, operating a reflection capability inspection device, and operating a game device. In the field of FIG. 15, FIG.
Among these, an example applied to a dance game device is shown.

As shown in FIG. 15A, the foot switch 100 has a lowermost back sheet 101, a lower electrode sheet 102 laminated on the lower sheet 101, and a spacer laminated on the lower electrode sheet 102. Sheet 1
03, an upper electrode sheet 104 made of an insulating material laminated on the spacer sheet 103, and an upper electrode sheet 10
4 and the uppermost transparent non-slip sheet 10 laminated on the decorative sheet 105
A mat body 110 formed of a six-layer structure comprising
Terminal member 1 mounted on one edge of mat body 110
It consists of 20. The terminal member 120 is for supplying a current from a signal transmission source to each of the electrode sheets 102 and 104.

The lower electrode sheet 102 has a sheet body formed of a non-conductive material such as a synthetic resin, and has a plurality of lower electrodes 102a made of a conductive material at predetermined positions on the upper surface. 104 is
A conductive material is laminated on the entire lower surface.

The spacer sheet 103 is formed of a foamable synthetic resin so as to be elastically compressible, and has a large number of through holes 103a at positions corresponding to the lower electrodes 102a. Then, the spacer sheet 103 is used as the two electrode sheets 102 and 104.
By being sandwiched between the two electrode sheets 10
Between 2 and 104 is insulated.

[0006] The decorative sheet 105 has a symbol indicating the position of the switch printed on its upper surface, so that a player can recognize the position of the lower electrode 102a.

[0007] The mat body 110 is formed by laminating a plurality of such sheets and sewing or welding the peripheral portion thereof, and the terminal member 120 is attached to the edge portion of the mat body 110, thereby forming a sheet. A foot switch 100 as shown in FIG.

According to the foot switch 100 having such a configuration, the position of the lower layer electrode 102a (the portion indicated by a white arrow in the example shown in FIG. 15) is trampled from above the non-slip sheet 106, thereby The pressing force causes the upper electrode sheet 104 to flex downwardly and the spacer sheet 103 to be compressed. Therefore, the upper electrode sheet 10
4 is elastically deformed and the lower electrode 10 is inserted through the through hole 103a.
2a, and the two electrode sheets 102, 104 are energized. By detecting this, the mat body 1
It is recognized that 10 has been trampled.

[0009]

By the way, in the conventional foot switch 100 described above, the lower electrode 1
Since the position of 02a cannot be confirmed without visually recognizing the symbol shown on the decorative sheet 105, the mat body 110 must be turned downward to confirm the position of the symbol when performing the stepping operation. When the foot switch 100 is for a gaming machine, it is very troublesome to turn down, such as when the player cannot step on the player and must perform a stepping operation together with other operations. As a result, there was a problem that the interest of the game was killed. Further, even if the foot switch 100 is not for a game machine, there is a problem that the switch operation cannot be efficiently performed by the downward operation.

Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-74178 discloses a mat switch for a video game in which a switch element is embedded in a buffer member. At the buried position of the switch element in this buffer member and around it,
It is described that a step portion protruding outward from the front and back surfaces of the cushioning member is provided, and the position of the switch element can be grasped with the sense of a foot by the presence of this step portion. However, in such a mat switch, since the switch element itself has a thick three-dimensional shape, when the step portion is formed in a state where it is embedded in the cushioning material, the step portion is formed on the surface of the cushioning material. Therefore, even if the edge of the step portion is stepped on, the pressure is not transmitted to the switch element.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a foot switch capable of performing a switch operation properly and reliably without being visually recognized. Is what you do.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foot switch provided with a switch seat having a sheet-like switch for detecting a stepping operation formed in at least one area. A plate-like body having substantially the same shape as that of the above-mentioned area is provided on one surface of any of the sheet bodies so as to face the above-mentioned area.

According to the present invention, in a state where the foot switch is mounted on the predetermined floor, the position (effective position) where the sheet-like switch, which is a portion having the switch function of the switch sheet, is provided is provided. As a result, while the switch is turned on and the stepping operation is detected, the switch is not turned on even if a part other than the effective position is stepped on, so that the stepping operation is not detected.

The uppermost layer of the sheet forming the foot switch has a bulged portion whose effective position is bulged upward by a plate-like body interposed between the sheet bodies. Therefore, the operator (the player if the foot switch is for a gaming machine) does not need to perform the trouble of stepping on the foot switch while visually recognizing the effective position. It is possible to check the effective position by touching the sole by stepping on the protrusion,
The operability of the device provided with the foot switch is accordingly improved.

In particular, when the device provided with the foot switch is a game machine such as a dance game, the player does not face down one by one in accordance with an instruction from the game machine or by his / her own will. Turn on the foot switch
Since the off operation can be performed, it is possible to concentrate on the game without having to go down, and the game becomes more interesting.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail by taking a foot switch as a controller of a dance game machine or the like, which is a kind of gaming machine, as an example. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a foot switch according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view thereof. Also, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2. In FIG. 1, X
-X direction is called horizontal direction, YY direction is called vertical direction, especially-
X direction left, + X direction right, -Y direction backward, + Y
The direction is called forward.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the foot switch 1 includes a mat-shaped switch body 10 formed by laminating a plurality of sheets, and a terminal member 11 attached to an edge of the switch body 10. It is provided with. And
An electric signal from a signal source is supplied into the switch body 10 via the terminal member 11, and it is detected whether or not an effective portion of the foot switch 1 is depressed by turning on / off a switch described later. .

In this embodiment, the switch body 10
Is set to approximately 840 mm × approximately 940 mm in a plan view, so that the player can freely step on the switch body 10 and freely turn on / off the switch of the foot switch 1. Has become.

The switch body 10 includes a lowermost back sheet 2, a cushion sheet 3 laminated on the back sheet 2, an electrode protection sheet 4 laminated on the cushion sheet 3, and an electrode protection sheet 4. A lower electrode sheet 5 to be laminated, a spacer sheet 6 to be laminated to the lower electrode sheet 5, an upper electrode sheet 7 to be laminated to the spacer sheet 6, and a plurality of expansion layers to be laminated to the upper electrode sheet 7. It is formed in an eight-layer structure composed of an outgoing sheet (plate-like body) 8 and a decorative sheet 9 laminated on the bulging sheet 8.

In the present embodiment, the lower electrode sheet 5, the upper electrode sheet 7, and the spacer sheet 6 sandwiched between the upper and lower electrode sheets 7, 5 have a three-layer structure according to the present invention. Although a switch is formed, the sheet-like switch of the present invention is not limited to such a three-layer structure, and may be, for example, a one-layer structure using a piezoelectric element or an air layer. A two-layer structure in which the upper and lower electrode sheets 7 and 5 face each other may be used.

The sheet member of the present invention is a sheet other than the lower electrode sheet 5 and the upper electrode sheet 7, and in the present embodiment, the back sheet 2, the cushion sheet 3, the electrode protection sheet 4 , Spacer sheet 6,
Although the swelling sheet 8 and the decorative sheet 9 correspond to the sheet body, the present invention is not limited to the sheet body, and other sheet bodies may be added or conversely reduced. You may.

In the present embodiment, the back sheet 2 is formed by using EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer) as a base material and kneading carbon black composed of fine carbon particles. The back sheet 2 is a so-called conductive polymer to which conductivity is imparted by kneading the carbon black. By imparting conductivity to the back sheet 2, static electricity generated by friction between the sheets caused by strongly stepping on the switch body 10 is grounded, and the accumulation of static electricity in the switch body 10 is prevented. I have.

Incidentally, carbon black is fine particles of carbon produced by incomplete combustion or thermal decomposition of organic substances, and has a very small particle diameter of 10 nm to 500 nm.
It is suitable as a material that is dispersed inside a synthetic resin in a molten state and imparts conductivity to the synthetic resin. In this embodiment, such carbon black is dispersed in EVA. However, the synthetic resin to be dispersed is not limited to EVA, and an olefin-based thermoplastic synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene is preferably used. In addition to being applicable to thermosetting synthetic resins, carbon black is mixed and kneaded and kneaded when it is in a soft state before curing, and then cured by heat treatment to form a conductive polymer. can do.

In this embodiment, the amount of carbon black kneaded into the EVA base material is set so that the resistance value per meter of the back sheet 2 is 1 × 10 ³ -1 × 10 ⁴ Ω. I have. Such a resistance value is set when the resistance value per meter is less than 1 × 10 ³ Ω.
This is because the amount of carbon black added becomes too large, and this causes the strength of the back sheet 2 to decrease.
0 exceeds ⁴ Omega the conductivity becomes worse amount of carbon black is low, it becomes impossible to properly grounding the static electricity. However, the above-mentioned resistance value differs depending on the member configuration into which carbon black is kneaded, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described resistance value.

The material to be kneaded into the EVA substrate is not limited to carbon black, and metal powder such as iron powder or aluminum powder may be kneaded, or carbon printing may be performed on the front and back surfaces of the sheet. May be applied.

In this embodiment, the back sheet 2 has a thickness of 0.1 mm.
Although the thickness is set to 25 mm, the present invention
Is not limited to 0.25 mm, and the thickness is appropriately set according to the situation.

The cushion sheet 3 imparts cushioning properties to the switch body 10. When the cushion sheet 3 is stepped on the switch body 10, the cushion sheet 3 is elastically deformed by the pressing force of the sole at that time. It is compressed to give the player a sense of dynamism.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cushion sheet 3 shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the XX direction is referred to as a horizontal direction, the YY direction is referred to as a vertical direction, and in particular, the −X direction is referred to as left, the + X direction is referred to as right, the −Y direction is referred to as back, and the + Y direction is referred to as front. As shown in this figure, the cushion sheet 3
A front split cushion 31 disposed at a front position and an intermediate split cushion 32 disposed at a front position and formed so as to be able to be divided into three in a vertical direction in parallel with an edge of the switch body 10 provided with the terminal member 11. And a rear split cushion 33 disposed at a rear position.

The front split cushion 31 has a notch recess 3 cut out at its front edge corresponding to the terminal member 11.
4 are provided, and a concave / convex edge portion 35 for fitting is formed on the rear edge portion. In addition, the intermediate divided cushion 32 has uneven edge portions 35 at its front and rear edges, respectively.
Are formed at the front edge of the rear split cushion 33, and these uneven edges 35 are connected to the front and intermediate split cushion seats 3.
The split cushions 31, 32, 33 are connected to each other by fitting each other between the middle and rear split cushions 32, 33 while fitting each other between the first and second split cushions 32, 33 to form the cushion sheet 3.

The concave / convex edge portion 35 is adjacent to a plurality of wedge projecting pieces (projections in the form of dovetail members) 36 which are set in a wedge shape so that the lateral dimension gradually increases from the base end side to the distal end side. A plurality of dovetail grooves (dovetail-shaped concave portions) 37 formed between the wedge protrusions 36 are formed. The plurality of wedge protrusions 36 are provided at the same pitch on each edge. The plurality of wedge protrusions 36 and the plurality of dovetail grooves 37 are set so as to have the same planar shape by being turned upside down, and wedge protrusions are provided between the divided cushions 31, 32, 33. The piece 36 and the dovetail groove 37 are provided so as to be shifted by one pitch.

Thus, each of the divided cushions 31, 3
By fitting one wedge protruding piece 36 into the other dovetail groove 37 in a state in which the corresponding concave and convex edges 35 are opposed to each other, as shown in FIG. The cushion seat 3 in which 32 and 33 are integrally joined is obtained.

In the present embodiment, the cushion sheet 3 is made of PE foam (polyethylene foam) having a foaming ratio of 40 times, and has a thickness of 16 mm.
Is set to The foaming ratio is not limited to 40 times, and various foaming ratios are adopted according to the situation. Also, the thickness is not limited to 16 mm, and various thicknesses can be adopted according to the situation.

The electrode protection sheet 4 protects the lower electrode sheet 5 laminated thereon. In the presence of the electrode protection sheet 4, the depression / depression deformation of the lower electrode sheet 5 on the cushion sheet 3 caused by stepping on the switch body 10 is transmitted to the cushion sheet 3 via the electrode protection sheet 4, so that the lower electrode sheet 5 is effectively prevented from cracking.

In this embodiment, the electrode protection sheet 4 is formed of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) having a thickness of about 0.1 mm.

The lower electrode sheet 5 includes a lower sheet body 51 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) having the same planar shape as the electrode protection sheet 4 and a lower sheet body 5.
Conductive layer 52 integrally formed at a predetermined position on the upper surface of
It consists of In the present embodiment, the conductive layer 52 is formed by so-called graphite printing in which printing is performed using a printing ink containing finely ground graphite as a main component.

In the present embodiment, the lower electrode sheet 5 has a first switch area 53 (see FIG. 1) which is located at both lateral sides of the terminal member 11 and at a position slightly behind each of the both sides. (In front of the one-dot chain line) and a second switch area 54 which is a range excluding the first switch area 53. The first switch area 53 is a so-called control switch area for outputting a signal for starting or stopping a game, for example, and has two rows of conductive layers 52 at four locations.

On the other hand, the second switch area 54 is an area in which the player plays a game by stepping, and includes a left and right position at a vertical center and a front and rear position at a horizontal center. An energization layer 52 is formed (left energization layer 54
a, right conduction layer 54b, front conduction layer 54c, and rear conduction layer 54d). In addition, a circular center insulating position 54e is formed at the center of the second switch area 54,
A corner insulating position 54f is formed at both rear corners. Each of the conductive layers 52 except for the insulating positions 54e and 54f is connected to a signal source via the terminal member 11.

The spacer sheet 6 is made of a non-conductive foaming synthetic resin (urethane foam is used in the present embodiment) and has the same planar shape as the lower electrode sheet 5 and a thickness of 3.0 mm. . The spacer sheet 6 is interposed between the lower electrode sheet 5 and the upper electrode sheet 7, and thereby normally electrically insulates between the conductive layer 52 of the lower electrode sheet 5 and the upper electrode sheet 7. On the other hand, when the player steps on the position corresponding to the energizing layer 52 of the decorative sheet 9, the energizing layer 52 and the upper electrode sheet 7 are connected to each other, and thereby, a signal current is supplied from the signal source via the terminal member 11. To detect the stepping action of the player.

In order to obtain a current-carrying state between the current-carrying layer 52 and the upper electrode sheet 7, a large number of through-holes 61 are formed vertically and horizontally at positions corresponding to the current-carrying layer 52 on the spacer sheet 6, as shown in FIG. When the player steps on the surface of the decorative sheet 9 on the conductive layer 52 as shown by a white arrow at the right position of the foot switch 1, the spacer sheet 6
Is compressed and elastically deformed and becomes thinner, and the upper electrode sheet 7 fits into the through hole 61 and comes into contact with the conductive layer 52, whereby the current flowing from the signal source through the conductive layer 52 is applied to the conductive layer 52. The step 52 is detected as being depressed.

The upper electrode sheet 7 has the same planar shape as the lower electrode sheet 5 and a thickness of 3.0 m.
m of PVC sheets. The entire back surface of the upper electrode sheet 7 is covered with a graphite layer 71 by graphite printing.
Is formed, so that the entire surface of the upper electrode sheet 7 on the back side can be energized. Therefore, as described above, the graphite layer 71 comes into contact with the conductive layer 52 through the through hole 61 by the compression of the spacer sheet 6 due to the stepping on of the player, so that the signal current from the signal source is reduced to the graphite layer 71 and Electricity is applied between the electric conduction layers 52.

The swelling sheet 8 is formed of the upper electrode sheet 7.
And a decorative sheet 9 interposed therebetween to form a bulging portion 91 on the surface of the decorative sheet 9. In the present embodiment, the EVA foamable synthetic resin having a thickness of 5.0 mm is used. And a foaming ratio of 15 times is applied. The foaming ratio is not limited to 15 times, and various foaming ratios are adopted according to the situation.

The swelling sheet 8 is set to have the same planar shape as the left conducting layer 54a, the right conducting layer 54b, the front conducting layer 54c, and the rear conducting layer 54d, and is arranged to face each other. Four sheets are provided: a left swelling sheet 8a, a right swelling sheet 8b, a front swelling sheet 8c, and a rear swelling sheet 8d.

The swelling sheets 8 are formed by arcuate edges 81 which are formed by notching the respective opposing edges in the vertical direction and the respective opposing edges in the horizontal direction. By stacking the swelling sheets 8 at the set positions of the upper electrode sheet 7, the lower electrode is positioned at the center of the upper surface of the upper electrode sheet 7 by the four arc edges 81. A central insulating position 72 corresponding to the central insulating position 54e of the sheet 5 is formed, and a corner insulating position 73 corresponding to the corner insulating position 54f of the lower electrode sheet 5 is provided at both rear corners of the upper electrode sheet 7. Is formed.

The opposing corners of the swelling sheet 8 adjacent to each other are cut out to form gaps 82 between the corners. The gap 82 is formed between the adjacent swelling sheets 8.
The dimensions are set so as to be separated in the vertical direction between them. Therefore, even if the switch body 10 is folded in three in the vertical direction, the adjacent bulging sheets 8 do not interfere with each other.

The swelling sheet 8 is attached to the back side of the decorative sheet 9 via a double-sided tape (not shown). Instead, the swelling sheet 8 is attached to the upper electrode sheet 7. You may. The bonding of the swelling sheet 8 to the decorative sheet 9 or the upper electrode sheet 7 is not limited to the use of a double-sided tape, but may be performed by an adhesive. Alternatively, it may be performed by welding.

In the present embodiment, each swelling sheet 8
Although a, 8b, 8c, and 8d all have the same compression hardness, the swelling sheets 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d may have different hardnesses. By doing so, the player senses the hardness of the swelling sheet 8 by feeling the sole of the foot, and the swelling sheet 8 is assigned to any of the swelling sheets 8a, 8b, 8b.
8c and 8d.

In the present embodiment, the swelling sheets 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d are all set to the same thickness, but instead of the swelling sheets 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d. The thickness dimensions of 8b, 8c and 8d may be made different. By doing so, the player can sense the thickness of the swollen portion 91 by touching the swollen portion 91, which will be described later, and know which switch the swollen portion 91 belongs to.

In the present embodiment, as the decorative sheet 9, a transparent EMMA (methyl methacrylate methacrylate) sheet having a thickness of 0.3 mm is applied. Then, the decorative sheet 9 is laminated on the upper electrode sheet 7 provided with the swelling sheet 8 in a close contact state,
As shown in FIG. 2, a bulging portion 91 is formed on the surface of the bulging sheet 8 along the shape of the bulging sheet 8. Gravure printing is performed on the rear surface side of the decorative sheet 9 so that the printed pattern is not erased even when the surface of the decorative sheet 9 located on the top of the switch body 10 is severely stepped on.

Further, a slip stopper is formed on the surface of the decorative sheet 9 so as not to slip during execution of the game. In the present embodiment, as the non-slip, a plurality of concave streaks 92 that are recessed in parallel with each other on the surface of the decorative sheet 9 are employed, but the present invention is limited to the case where the non-slip is the concave streak 92. However, the protrusion may be a ridge, a large number of protrusions or concave holes may be provided, or a large number of concave portions such as scratches may be provided.

The printed pattern is formed in each of the cells drawn so that nine cells are formed except for the edge where the terminal member 11 is located. Specifically, a left-pointing arrow is printed at the cell position corresponding to the left bulging sheet 8a, and a right-pointing arrow is printed at the cell position corresponding to the right bulging sheet 8b. A forward arrow is printed at the corresponding cell position, and a rearward arrow is printed at the cell position corresponding to the rear bulging sheet 8d.

Further, a mark “x” is printed at a cell position adjacent to the left of the forward arrow, and a mark “○” is printed at a cell position adjacent to the right. Further, elliptical marks are printed in front of the “x” mark and the “o” mark, respectively. The arrow indicates the switch position for executing the game,
The “」 ”mark and the oval mark indicate the position of a control switch having a predetermined function in executing the game.

A circle is printed on the center of the decorative sheet 9 with a double line corresponding to the circular center insulating position 72. The position within this circle is the player's home position 9
The game progresses when the player located at the position 94 steps on the game execution switch in accordance with the instruction displayed on the display.
The home position 94 is wider than the surrounding bulging portion 91, so that the player can stand on both feet in a stable state at the home position 94.

Then, the back sheet 2, the cushion sheet 3, the electrode protection sheet 4, the lower electrode sheet 5, the spacer sheet 6, the upper electrode sheet 7, the bulging sheet 8 and the decorative sheet 9 thus configured are sequentially laminated. The switch body 10 is formed by joining the edges so as not to be separated from each other, and the terminal member 11 is attached to the front edge of the switch body 10 to form the foot switch 1 according to the present embodiment. Is done.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the connection structure of the edges of the switch body 10 in which the respective sheets are stacked.
This will be described in detail based on FIG. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of the edge portion of the switch body 10 for explaining an embodiment of the coupling structure of the edge portion of the switch body 10. FIG.
, The XX direction is referred to as a horizontal direction, the YY direction is referred to as a vertical direction, and in particular, the −X direction is referred to as left, the + X direction is referred to as right, the −Y direction is referred to as back, and the + Y direction is referred to as front.

As shown in FIG. 5, each sheet is first divided into a lower sheet 12 and an upper sheet 13. Only the back sheet 2 is adopted as the lower sheet 12, and the remaining sheets (electrode protection sheet 4, except the cushion sheet 3) are adopted as the upper sheet 13.
A lower electrode sheet 5, a spacer sheet 6, an upper electrode sheet 7, a swelling sheet 8 and a decorative sheet 9). The cushion sheet 3 is detachably stored between the lower seat 12 and the upper seat 13.

In this embodiment, a fastener member 14 is used for edge processing, and the lower member 12 and the upper sheet 1 are attached to the fastener member 14.
Each of the switches 3 is mounted to form a switch body 10 on which edge processing has been performed.

The fastener member 14 is formed by so-called extrusion molding for extruding a thermoplastic synthetic resin heated to a melting temperature through a mold having a predetermined shape, and is disposed in a belt-shaped lower fastener 141 and opposed to the lower fastener 141. Upper fastener 142, and a disengagement operating member 1 for engaging and disengaging the two fasteners 141, 142
43.

The lower fastener 141 includes a lower F-shaped member 141a which is elongated in the longitudinal direction in FIG. 5 and has an inverted F-shape in cross section, and an upper edge portion of the lower F-shaped member 141a extending over the entire length thereof. And a male engaging strip 141b having a daring shape in cross section attached thereto. The male engaging strip 141b includes a proximal male strip 141c directly attached to the lower F-shaped member 141a, and a distal male strip 141d formed at the upper edge of the proximal male strip 141c. I have.

The lower F-shaped member 141a has a pair of upper and lower strips 141e projecting inward (to the left in FIG. 5) at the lower edge thereof. Then, a welding process is performed using a welding device such as a high-frequency welder in a state where the edge (the right edge in the example of FIG. 5) of the back sheet 2 is fitted between the pair of strips 141e, so that the lower side is formed. The sheet 12 (back sheet 2) is attached to the lower fastener 141 so that the edge processing of the lower sheet 12 is completed.

On the other hand, the upper fastener 142 has a long upper F-shaped member 142 facing the lower F-shaped member 141a.
a, and a female engaging strip 142b attached to the lower edge of the upper F-shaped member 142a over the entire length thereof. The female engagement ridge 142b has a press-fit groove 142c into which the distal male ridge 141d of the lower fastener 141 is removably press-fitted over its entire length.

The upper F-shaped member 142a has a pair of upper and lower belts 142d projecting inward (to the left in FIG. 5) at the upper edge thereof. Then, each of the sheets 4, 5, stacked between the pair of band members 141e
The upper sheet 13 is attached to the upper fastener 142 by performing the same welding treatment as described above with the edges 6, 7, and 9 (the right edge in the example of FIG. 5) fitted. The edge processing of the sheet 13 is completed.

In the processing of the edge of the upper sheet 13, the swelling sheet 8 interposed between the upper electrode sheet 7 and the decorative sheet 9 is not sandwiched between the strips 142 d of the upper fastener 142. However, the other sheets (electrode protection sheet 4, lower electrode sheet 5, spacer sheet 6, upper electrode sheet 7, and decorative sheet 9) are subjected to a welding process on band 142d, so that upper electrode sheet 7, decorative sheet 9 The decorative sheet 9 is deformed along the shape of the swelling sheet 8 at this time, and the swelling portion 91 is formed on the surface of the decorative sheet 9.

The engagement / disengagement operation member 143 includes an engagement / disengagement member main body 143a and an operation piece 143b attached to the engagement / disengagement member main body 143a. The engagement / disengagement member main body 143a is provided on the distal end side male strip 1 of the lower fastener 141.
41d and the press-fit groove 142c of the upper fastener 142 are engaged and disengaged.
And a pair of upper and lower engaging / disengaging grooves 143c respectively fitted into the female engaging strips 142b.
Are respectively fitted to the fastener member 14 so as to be able to move back and forth by caulking each of the left side openings in a state where they are fitted to the male engaging strips 141b and the female engaging strips 142b, respectively.

Each of the engagement / disengagement grooves 143c is united with one groove at the rear position of the engagement / disengagement member main body 143a. Lower fastener 1 in part
The tip male side 141d of 41 is press-fitted into the press-fit groove 142c of the upper fastener 142, whereby the lower fastener 141 and the upper fastener 142 are connected to each other, while moving the engaging / disengaging member main body 143a forward. The lower fasteners 14 that are connected to each other.
1 and the upper fastener 142 are separated from each other.

The operation piece 143 b is
It is attached to a connection projection 143d protruding from the right side of 3a. With the presence of the operation piece 143b, the opening / closing operation between the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 by the engagement / disengagement operation member 143 can be easily performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the strip 141e above the lower F-shaped member 141a and the male strip 141 at the tip end are formed.
d, and the total dimension between the lower end of the female engagement strip 142b and the band 142d below the upper F-shaped member 142a is the same as the thickness of the cushion sheet 3. Yes or slightly smaller dimensions. A cushion seat storage space 15 for storing the cushion sheet 3 is formed between the lower seat 12 and the upper seat 13.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the connection structure of the edge of the switch body 10 in which the respective sheets are stacked will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of the edge portion of the switch body 10 for explaining another embodiment of the coupling structure of the edge portion of the switch body 10. In FIG. 6, the XX direction is referred to as a horizontal direction, the YY direction is referred to as a vertical direction, and in particular, the −X direction is referred to as left, the + X direction is referred to as right, the −Y direction is referred to as back, and the + Y direction is referred to as front.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the connecting structure of this embodiment, the engaging strips 141b, 142 of the previous embodiment are used.
Instead of b, an engagement claw piece is employed. In particular,
The lower fastener 141 'is composed of a lower C-shaped member 141a' having a C-shaped cross section and a lower engaging claw piece group 141b 'sewn to the lower C-shaped member 141a', and an upper fastener 142 '. Is formed of an upper C-shaped member 142a 'having a C-shape in cross section and an upper engaging claw piece group 142b' sewn to the upper C-shaped member 142a '.

The lower engaging claw piece group 141b '
Strip 141c 'sewn to the character member 141a'
And a plurality of lower engaging claw pieces 141d 'whose base ends are caulked to the band-shaped body 141c' and arranged in series, and the upper engaging claw piece group 142b ' Cloth band 142 sewn to the character member 142a '
c 'and a plurality of upper engaging claws 142d' whose base ends are crimped to the band 142c 'and arranged in series.

The lower fastener 141 'and the upper fastener 142' form a fastener member 14 'according to the second embodiment. The upper fastener 14
The point that the back sheet 2 that is the lower sheet 12 is attached to 2 ′ and the point that the upper sheet 13 is attached to the upper fastener 142 ′ are the same as in the previous embodiment.

The lower engaging claw 141d 'and the upper engaging claw 142 are operated by the engaging operation of the engaging / disengaging operation member 143.
The lower fastener 141 ′ and the upper fastener 142 ′ are connected to each other by the engagement of d ′ with each other, and the lower fastener 141 ′ and the upper fastener 142 ′ are connected by the disengagement operation of the engagement / disengagement operation member 143. The engaged state is released.

According to the coupling structure of the edge of the switch body 10 of this embodiment, the lower engaging claw pieces 141d 'and the corresponding upper engaging claw pieces 142d are engaged with each other so that the lower Since a very strong and stable connection state between the fastener 141 'and the upper fastener 142' can be obtained, it is suitable as a connection structure for an edge portion of the foot switch 1 which is a target of a severe stepping action.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where the switch body 10 is opened up and down. As shown in this figure, by operating the fastener member 14 to release the engagement between the lower fastener 141 and the upper fastener 142, the switch body 10 in a state where the cushion sheet 3 is not housed is moved to the lower seat 12 And the upper sheet 13 can be divided. In the cushion seat storage space 15 in this state, the cushion sheet 3 (the front divided cushion 31, the intermediate divided cushion 32, and the rear divided cushion 33, which are integrated by joining the concave and convex edges 35 to each other), is white. The foot switch 1 is housed as shown by the drawing arrow, and the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 are connected to each other by operating the fastener member 14, thereby completing the foot switch 1 as shown in FIG.

Incidentally, a pair of fasteners 141 and 142
Means that the peripheral portion of the switch body 10 is rotated substantially once from the point M on the left side of the terminal member 11 of the switch body 10 to the point N on the right side thereof, and the fastener member 14 is operated from the point M to the point N. While the switch body 10 is opened, the switch body 10 is closed by operating from the point N to the point M.
The switch body 10 may be opened by operating a point.

By opening the switch body by operating the fastener member 14, the entire opposing surfaces of the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 can be exposed to the outside. 3 can be easily attached and detached.

Next, the packaging of the foot switch 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining the packaging of the foot switch 1, and FIG.
(B) shows a state in which the cushion sheet 3 is being taken out from the storage space 15 of the switch body 10, and (b) shows a state in which the taken out cushion sheet 3 and the switch body 10 after taking out the cushion sheet 3 are folded and loaded into the packaging box B, respectively. ing.

When packing the foot switch 1,
First, as shown in FIG.
The upper side seat 13 is separated from the lower side seat 12 by operating the operation piece 143b of the cushion seat storage space 15.
The cushion sheet 3 is taken out from the above and divided into three (a front divided cushion 31, an intermediate divided cushion 32, and a rear divided cushion 33).

Next, each of the divided cushions 31,
As shown in FIG. 8B, the switches 32 and 33 are overlapped, and the switch body 10 from which the cushion sheet 3 has been removed is folded in three in the vertical direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, a gap 82 that is vertically separated from each other is formed between the rear swelling sheet 8d and the left swelling sheet 8a and the right swelling sheet 8b. Since a similar gap 82 is formed between the front swelling sheet 8c and the left swelling sheet 8a and the right swelling sheet 8b, even if the upper electrode sheet 7 is folded in three in the vertical direction. The adjacent swelling sheets 8 do not interfere with each other, whereby the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 can be folded without any trouble.

Then, the divided cushions 31, 32, and 33 stacked on the folded lower sheet 12 and upper sheet 13 are inserted into the packaging box B in a state where the divided cushions 31, 32, and 33 are stacked. The packing of the switch 1 is completed.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the swelling sheet 8. When executing the game, as shown in this figure, the foot switch 1 is laid on the floor, and the swelling sheet 8 is stepped on with the feet via the decorative sheet 9 so that the swelling sheet 8 is The switches (the conductive layer 52 and the upper electrode sheet 7 shown in FIG. 1) formed at the lower part are turned on and detected, while the switch is turned off by removing the foot from the bulging sheet 8. The predetermined game proceeds by the on / off operation.

The switch body 10 is set at a position where the switch is turned on by the presence of the swelling sheet 8,
Since the position that is not so is divided by the step,
The player can recognize this step with the feeling of the sole of the foot, so that the player can turn on and off without confirming the position of the switch while running, one by one. Therefore, it is possible to concentrate on the original game operation such as the dance operation, and the game can be made more interesting.

When the swelling sheet 8 laminated on the upper electrode sheet 7 is covered with the decorative sheet 9,
Since the inclined portion 93 is formed by the decorative sheet 9 between the edge of the swelling sheet 8 and the surface of the upper electrode sheet 7, an operation of sliding the sole on the switch body 10 is performed. Even so, the sole can be guided by the inclined portion 93 and smoothly moved onto the swelling sheet 8. Therefore, the inconvenience of tripping over a step is reliably avoided.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before the foot switch 1 is laid on the floor F. As shown in FIG. 10, the back surface of the foot switch 1 (that is, the lowermost layer)
, A back sheet 2 is laminated. This back sheet 2
Is formed by mixing carbon black having conductivity into a base material of a synthetic resin material made of EVA,
It is in a state provided with conductivity. Accordingly, a large number of sheets including a synthetic resin foam are laminated, and thereby a player steps on the switch body 10 in a state where static electricity is extremely likely to be generated, thereby causing the switch body 10 to have a high level. Of static electricity,
Since the ground is grounded to the floor F via the back sheet 2, a high level of static electricity is stored in the switch body 10, whereby the inconvenience of receiving an electric shock when trying to store the foot switch 1 after the game is over is reliably avoided. You.

Next, a gaming machine using the foot switch 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 shows the foot switch 1 of the above embodiment.
1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of a gaming machine to which the present invention is applied. This gaming machine is for a so-called dance game, in which a player steps and dances based on an instruction of a stepping step output on a display according to music. It is configured so that it can be used for home use.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gaming machine 200 is connected to the gaming machine main body 201 and the gaming machine main body 201.
A controller 202 used for inputting various instructions of the player; a foot switch 1 connected to the game machine main body 201 and used for detecting a step operation of the player in a dance game; 100 and a television monitor 203 for displaying a screen of a dance game.

The gaming machine body 201 has a loading section 201a having an opening on the upper surface, and a cassette-type recording medium 204 on which program data of a dance game is recorded is detachably loaded into the loading section 201a. I am getting it. Here, an interface circuit 221, for the controller 202, which will be described later, is provided in the gaming machine main body 201.
Although the foot switch 1 is connected to one of the 222 (FIG. 12), when two controllers 202 are connected, both of the interface circuits 221 and 222 can be connected to the controller 202. In that case, the foot switch 1 may be connected to another interface (not shown) of the gaming machine main body 201 (FIG. 12).

FIG. 12 is an internal block diagram showing an example of a game system using the present game machine. As shown in this figure, the gaming machine main body 201 includes a CPU 205 and this CPU
A bus 206 comprising an address bus, a data bus and a control bus connected to the bus 205;
And has a basic configuration including various components described in detail below.

The CPU 205 is connected to a graphics data generation processor 207. The bus 206 includes an interface circuit 221, a main memory 209, a ROM 210, a decompression circuit 211, a parallel port 212, a serial port 213, a drawing processor 214 and a buffer 216, an audio processor 217 and a buffer 218, a decoder 219 and a buffer. 220, interface circuits 221, 22
2 and the memories 223 and 224 are connected.

The television processor 203 is connected to the drawing processor 214, and the speaker 226 is connected to the audio processor 217 via an amplifier circuit 225. Further, a recording medium driver 227 is connected to the decoder 219. The memory 223 and the controller 202 are connected to one interface circuit 221, and the memory 224 and the foot switch 1 are connected to the other interface circuit 221a.

The game system having the above-described configuration is configured to change its form depending on the use. That is, when the gaming machine body 201 is configured for home use, the television monitor 203 and the speaker 226 are used.
Is separate from the main body of the game machine, but when the gaming system is configured for business use, all the components shown in FIG. 12 are housed in one housing to be integrated.

When the above-mentioned gaming system is constituted by using a personal computer or a workstation as a nucleus, the television monitor 203 corresponds to a display for a computer.
4. The audio processor 217 and the expansion circuit 211 correspond to a part of the program data recorded on the recording medium 204 or hardware on an expansion board mounted on an expansion slot of the computer, respectively. The port 212, the serial port 213, and the interface circuit 221 correspond to hardware on an expansion board mounted on an expansion slot of the computer. Also, buffers 216 and 21
Reference numerals 8 and 220 correspond to respective areas of the main memory 209 or the extension memory (not shown).

Next, each component shown in FIG. 12 will be described. Graphics data generation processor 20
Reference numeral 7 serves as a so-called coprocessor of the CPU 203. That is, the processor 207
Has a function of performing coordinate conversion and light source calculation, for example, calculation of a matrix or a vector in a fixed-point format by parallel processing, and performs the calculation of each vertex in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional plane of image data supplied from the CPU 203. Based on the coordinate data, the movement amount data, and the rotation amount data, an address in the display area of the processing target image is obtained, and the address data is returned to the CPU 203 again, or a virtual light source is used. It plays the role of performing processing for calculating the luminance of the image according to the distance.

The interface circuit 221 functions as an interface for a peripheral device, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball. The ROM 210 stores program data as an operating system of the gaming system. Speaking of personal computers, BIOS (Ba
sic Input Output System). The decompression circuit 211 performs MPEG
(Moving Picture Engineeri
NG Group) and JPEG (Joi) for still images
ntPicture Engineering Gro
(up) to expand a compressed image compressed by intra coding. Decompression processing (VLC: Variable Length)
Code encoded data), inverse quantization, IDCT (InverseDis
(Crete Cosine Transform) processing, intra-image restoration processing, and the like.

[0094] The drawing processor 214
3 performs drawing processing on the buffer 216 based on the drawing command output from the buffer 3.

The buffer 216 has a display area and a non-display area. The display area is an area for data development to be displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 203.

In the present embodiment, the non-display area is
In addition to data for defining a skeleton, model data for defining a polygon, animation data for giving a motion to a model, and pattern data indicating the contents of each animation, texture data, color palette data, and the like are stored.

Here, the texture data is two-dimensional image data. The color pallet data is data for specifying a color such as texture data. These data are recorded in the non-display area of the buffer 216 in advance by the CPU 203 once from the recording medium 204 or divided into a plurality of times according to the progress of the game.

The drawing commands include a drawing command for drawing a three-dimensional image using polygons and a drawing command for drawing a normal two-dimensional image. Here, the polygon is a two-dimensional image of a polygon, and in the present embodiment, a triangle or a quadrangle is used.

A drawing command for drawing a three-dimensional image using polygons includes polygon vertex address data on the display area of the buffer 216 and texture address indicating the storage position on the buffer 216 of the texture data to be attached to the polygon. Buffer 21 for color palette data indicating colors of data and texture data
6, color pallet address data indicating a storage position and luminance data indicating a luminance of a texture.

Among these data, the polygon vertex address data on the display area is determined by the graphics data generation processor 207 by the polygon vertex coordinate data in the three-dimensional space from the CPU 203, by the movement amount data and the rotation amount of the screen itself. The data is replaced by two-dimensional polygon vertex coordinate data by performing coordinate conversion based on the data.

The luminance data is determined by the graphics data generation processor 207 from the position indicated by the polygon vertex coordinate data after the coordinate conversion from the CPU 203 based on the distance between the light sources virtually arranged. You.

The polygon vertex address data indicates an address on the display area of the buffer 216, and the drawing processor 214 determines the texture corresponding to the range of the display area of the buffer 216 indicated by three or four polygon vertex address data. It is designed to write data.

One object is composed of many polygons. The CPU 203 stores the coordinate data of each polygon in the three-dimensional space in the buffer 216 in association with the corresponding skeleton vector data. When the character is moved on the display surface by the operation of the controller 202, in other words, when the movement of the character itself is expressed or when the viewpoint position at which the character is viewed is changed, the following processing is performed.

That is, the CPU 203 sends the buffer 216 to the graphics data generation processor 207.
3 of the vertices of each polygon held in the non-display area of
The dimensional coordinate data and the movement amount data and the rotation amount data of each polygon obtained from the skeleton coordinates and the rotation amount data are given.

Graphics data generation processor 20
7 is based on the three-dimensional coordinate data of the vertices of each polygon, and the movement amount data and rotation amount data of each polygon.
The three-dimensional coordinate data after movement and rotation of each polygon is sequentially obtained.

The horizontal and vertical coordinate data of the three-dimensional coordinate data of each polygon obtained in this manner is used as address data on the display area of the buffer 216, that is, polygon vertex address data.
It is supplied to the drawing processor 214.

The drawing processor 214 writes the texture data indicated by the previously assigned texture address data on the triangular or quadrangular display area of the buffer 216 indicated by the three or four polygon vertex address data. Has become.
As a result, on the display surface of the television monitor 203, an object in which texture data is pasted on a large number of polygons is displayed.

A drawing command for drawing a normal two-dimensional image includes vertex address data, texture address data, color palette address data indicating the storage position of the color palette data indicating the color of the texture data on the buffer 216, and texture data. And luminance data indicating luminance. Among these data, the vertex address data is stored in the graphics data generation processor 207.
Are coordinate data obtained by performing coordinate conversion of vertex coordinate data on a two-dimensional plane from the CPU 203 based on movement amount data and rotation amount data from the CPU 203.

[0109] The sound processor 217 has a recording medium 2
Buffer ADPCM data read from buffer 21
8 and the ADPC stored in the buffer 218.
The M data is used as a sound source. And the voice processor 2
Reference numeral 17 reads the ADPCM data with a clock having a frequency of, for example, 44.1 KHz.

Then, the audio processor 217 applies the ADPCM data read from the buffer 218 to the
Processing such as pitch conversion, noise addition, envelope setting, level setting, and reverb addition are performed.

The audio data read from the recording medium 204 is a CD-DA (Compact Disk Digit).
al. Audio), the audio data is converted to ADPC data by the audio processor 217.
Converted to M data.

The processing of the PCM data by the program data is performed directly on the main memory 209. PC processed on main memory 209
The M data is supplied to the audio processor 217 and
After being converted into DPCM data, the above-described various processes are performed, and then output from the speaker 226 as audio.

Examples of the recording medium driver 227 include a CD-ROM drive, a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, a flexible disk drive, a silicon disk drive, and a cassette medium reader.

As the recording medium 204, for example, a CD-R
OM, a hard disk, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like.

The recording medium driver 227 reads out images, sounds, and program data from the recording medium 204,
The read data is supplied to the decoder 219. The decoder 219 includes a recording medium driver 227
ECC (Error Cor)
The data is subjected to error correction processing by means of a correction code, and the processed data is supplied to the main memory 209 or the audio processor 217.

The memories 223 and 224 are constituted by, for example, a holder and a card type memory. Card type memory, for example, to retain the state at the time of termination,
This is for holding various game parameters.

The controller 202 is provided in parallel with the foot switch 1 as externally operable operating means. The main function of the controller 202 is to allow the player to start game program data loaded from the recording medium 204.
3 and the CPU 203 transmits various information relating to game program data loaded from the recording medium 204 to the main memory 209 by the player.
And four character direction keys 202 for giving a command to the CPU 203 for the player to move the character on the screen, for example, up, down, left, and right.
c. In addition, the controller 202 includes
Four first operation buttons 202d and four second operation buttons 202e are provided, and a predetermined function is provided for executing a game.

The foot switch 1 according to the present invention, like the controller 202, is an operation means that can be operated from the outside, and is operated by a player performing a step operation (step operation) thereon. It is. Hereinafter, the execution of the game using the foot switch 1 is shown in FIG.
3 will be described.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of the main part of FIG. The control unit of this gaming system from the functional aspect
The operation control of the game system is generally processed. The control unit includes a song name selection unit 303, a performance data memory 304, a step position instruction data memory 305, a deviation detection / integration unit 306, a rhythm setting unit 307, a dance image memory 308, and a dance setting unit 309. , A scroll display control unit 310, a mark memory 311, and a stepping operation monitoring unit 312, and an external television monitor 203, a speaker 226, and a controller 2.
02 and the foot switch 1.

The song name selection unit 303 is provided by the controller 20
2 or receives an instruction signal from the foot switch 1 and executes a process of selecting a corresponding music title. The music data memory 304 stores music data for each music title, that is, music data for each music in association with the music title, and receives the selection signal from the music title selection unit 303 to store the music data for the specified music. The signals are sequentially output to the speaker 226.

The step position indicating data memory 305 stores a large number of step position indicating data corresponding to a rhythm such as the number of beats (for example, 4 beats or 8 beats) in a table format according to the difficulty level. is there. The table that stores the stepping position indicating data includes, in addition to the number of beat types,
Different rhythms are prepared for the same number of beats, for example, the number of songs corresponding to the type of music, or the number corresponding to each song. 4
In the case of a beat, each step position instruction data is composed of one set of four time-series instruction contents, and in the case of eight beats, each step position instruction data is composed of eight time-series instruction contents of one set data. It is configured. One set of data is written in each cell of the table. In terms of rhythm, in the case of four beats, for example, various ones are prepared such that all four beats have the same interval, the first two beats are short, and the last two beats are late. It is preferable that a plurality of types of step position instruction data having the same difficulty level is prepared. Then, a table corresponding to the song specified by the song name selection unit 303 is selected. In the present embodiment, one set of data in the selected table is stored in the speaker 226.
Is output to

The deviation amount detection / integration unit 306 measures the deviation amount from the instruction of the stepping operation and the result of the actual stepping operation. This is for calculating an integrated deviation amount with respect to the step position instruction data for the data. The rhythm setting unit 307 determines, based on the integration result from the deviation amount detection / integration unit 306 with respect to the first tread position instruction data, the first set data set two times before the third set data as described later. Is evaluated by raising or lowering the rank by one rank, and the result is output as a setting signal. The setting signal from the rhythm setting section 307 is also output to the dance setting section 309.

The dance image memory 308 stores the dance image displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 203 as one.
It is stored for each minute corresponding to the set data, and has a table for storing a dance image corresponding to a song title or a rhythm. A plurality of dance images of each table are stored according to the degree of difficulty. Further, it is preferable that a plurality of types of dance images having the same difficulty level are prepared. The dance setting section 309 includes a rhythm setting section 307.
In response to the setting signal corresponding to the degree of difficulty, the dance images for the third and subsequent set data are read out from the selected table.

The scroll display control section 310 is for making a scroll display on the display surface of the television monitor 203. The step position indicating data set by the rhythm setting unit 307 and read from the step position indicating data memory 305 for one set data is replaced with image data (hereinafter referred to as a step position indicating mark) and temporarily stored in the mark memory 311. It is taken in. In the mark memory 311, a continuous one is displayed so that the image of the step position indication mark can always be displayed without interruption on the display surface of the television monitor 203 in the scroll display.
Two pieces of set data are written. The scroll display controller 310 sequentially shifts the read address at predetermined time intervals so as to shift the mark memory 311.
Then, the step position indication mark is written into the buffer 216 (FIG. 12) as a scroll image. In this way,
In addition to the dance image which is not scrolled, the stepped position indicating mark which is scrolled is sequentially transferred to the buffer 216, and is further transferred to the buffer 21 by known display scanning means.
6 is repeatedly read and displayed at a cycle of 1/60 second or the like, a step position indication mark is scroll-displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 203, and a dance image is displayed as a background image. It is displayed like a movie.

FIG. 14 shows an example of the display screen of the television monitor 203 (in the form of one set of data for four beats). In this figure, a case where the player plays a game on the foot switch 1 is shown in FIG. The background of the image D and the tread position indicating marks M1 to M4 sequentially scrolling downward from the upper part of the screen at a predetermined speed are indicated by M1, M4, M2, M
3 are displayed in order. Still marks S1 to S4 indicating lower left, upper right and right marks displayed at the lower end of the display surface are used to give a timing instruction, and a state in which the scrolled mark M completely overlaps (coincides with) the still mark S is a stepping operation. Guide the timing. At the timing when the mark M completely overlaps the still mark S, the display brightness or the display color of the still mark S is temporarily changed to clearly indicate the coincidence of the timing.

In this embodiment, the marks M1 to M4 are the left arrow mark M1 at the left step position 9a, the right arrow mark M4 is the right step position 9b, the upward arrow mark M3 is the front step position 9c, and the downward arrow mark M3. Arrow marks M2 respectively correspond to the rear stepping positions 9d. In the figure,
The difficulty level of the dance image indicates a relatively low level.

The stepping motion monitoring section 312 detects whether or not the four front stepping positions 9a to 9d arranged on the foot switch 1 have changed from off to on. The stepping action monitoring unit 312 processes the ON points of the four front stepping positions 9a to 9d which are initially turned on as detection data, and detects the ON state of each foot switch in an identifiable manner. .

Next, the game operation of the game system will be described. First, when the start button 202a of the controller 202 is detected to be on, a song name selection screen is displayed on the screen of the television monitor 203. On this screen, for example, song names are displayed vertically and horizontally in a list, and when a desired song is selected by stepping on a predetermined key of the controller 202 or the game selection position 9e, 9f of the foot switch 1, the song name selection unit 303 selects the song. The performance data corresponding to the selected music title is read from the performance data memory 304, temporarily stored in the buffer 218 (FIG. 12), and output to the speaker 226.

When the intro performance is started, a table having a rhythm of the number of beats corresponding to the selected music is designated from the step position indication data memory 305, and the first 2
A predetermined position of this table, for example, step position instruction data having an intermediate level of difficulty is set as one set of data, and according to the rhythm and the degree of difficulty of the set step position instruction data. The dance image of the difficulty level is set by the dance setting unit 309.

When the first two sets of tread position instruction data are set, one of the set data is superimposed on the background dance image D, and is set as the tread position instruction mark M on the television. The display is scroll-displayed on the display surface 203a of the John monitor 203. When the scroll display of each step position indication mark starts, a monitoring process by the shift amount detection / integration unit 107 is performed. The monitoring process is performed in units of one set of data. When a monitoring result for one set of data is transmitted to the rhythm setting unit 307, the rhythm setting unit 307 performs an evaluation based on the monitoring result.

Then, in response to the evaluation result, the next one set data (ie, the third one set data evaluated based on the monitoring result for the first one set data)
Is set, and the dance image D corresponding to the set one set data is set. That is, the step position indicating mark for one set of data to be evaluated has already been scrolled out of the display surface 203a, and the step position indicating mark based on the next one set of data is being scrolled on the display surface 203a. Because of that,
One set data set based on the evaluation result is set one delay later.

Next, it is determined whether or not the game has ended, that is, whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the game, whether or not the performance of the selected music has ended, or whether or not a predetermined dance evaluation has been maintained at a certain level or higher. Is determined. If the dance is not completed, the display of the dance image D and the step position indicating mark M on the display surface 203a is continued, and the same processing as described above is sequentially repeated for each set data.

When it is determined that the game is over, the final result of the player's dance, which is the final content of the rhythm setting section 307, is displayed on the display surface 203a and is notified to the player.

Next, the "monitoring process" will be described in more detail. First, a variable i indicating the number of beats of one set of data is set to 1 as an initial value, and front stepping positions 9a to 9d (FIG. 12) is detected, and ± time deviation from the actual stepping time with respect to the time when the mark M completely overlaps the still mark S is measured as the deviation time data. In this measurement, the cycle of one beat is set by dividing the cycle by ± １ ／ cycle in the time direction (stroke direction of the mark M) with respect to the stationary mark S, and the mark M is stationary during the divided period. This is performed by measuring a time difference between the time point when the mark completely overlaps the mark S and the detected actual stepping time point.

The time when the mark M completely coincides with the stationary mark S can be calculated from the period of one beat, so that the input from the stepping motion monitoring unit 111 is performed on condition that the corresponding stepping unit 13 is stepped on. Time data is obtained from the detection time of the ON signal to be detected. In addition, the wrong front stepping position 9a ~
If step 9d is stepped on, it may be treated as not being stepped on, or may be given a more severe, for example, negative evaluation. Alternatively, the number of erroneous steps may be counted, and the game may be forcibly terminated when the number of steps reaches a predetermined number.

The timing between the timing shifted by １ ／ cycle and the timing at which both marks M and S completely overlap is represented by, for example, being converted into 0 to 100 points. For example, if the actual stepping operation is performed at a time point shifted by 周期 cycle in any of the ± directions, the zero point is performed when the marks M and S completely overlap each other. In that case, 100 points are given.

When the conversion of the score of the shift time data to the mark M for one beat is completed, the variable i is incremented by one, and it is determined whether or not the variable i is less than a predetermined number K. The predetermined number K is a value 5 when one set data consists of four beats, and a value 9 when one set data consists of eight beats, respectively. Set accordingly. Now 4
If the variable i is less than 5 as one set of data per beat,
Returning to step ST33, a score is obtained for the next mark M in the same manner as described above.

When the variable i becomes 5, points for four beats are obtained. Therefore, each score in the variables i = 1 to 4 is multiplied by a weighting coefficient to obtain an evaluation for one set of data. A scoring process is performed. For example, 1 beat and 3
Since it is difficult to take a rhythm on the second and fourth beats compared to the beat, the weighting factor is 12.5% for those scores on the first and third beats, and Is 25%,
For the fourth beat, each is multiplied by 50%, and a score out of 100 is scored. The weighting coefficient when one set of data is composed of eight beats may be appropriately allocated so as to be 100% as a whole. A desired value can be set as the weighting coefficient, or the weighting coefficient can be uniformly set to 25% (4%).
Beat mode) or 12.5% (8 beat mode).

Next, the “evaluation process” will be described in detail. For the score obtained as a result of the monitoring process,
It is determined whether it is medium or small. Large, score 8
When the score is from 0 to 100, the score is 21 to 79 in the middle,
This is when the score is from 0 to 20.

If the score is 20 points, the next set of data to be set is the one whose difficulty level is reduced by one rank with respect to the current rank.
The dance image D to be set next is set to be one rank lower in difficulty than the current rank. If the score is between 21 and 79, the next set of data having the same difficulty level as the current rank is set as one set data, and the dance image D to be set next is also set as the current set. The same difficulty level is set. In both the step position instruction data table and the dance image D table, a plurality of types of data are stored for the same difficulty level. In the same rank data setting, different types of data are used. What is necessary is just to set it. For example, it may be changed in the direction of difficulty within the range of data of the same rank, or may be set at random from within the same rank. Conversely, if the score is 80 to 100 points, the next set of data to be set is the one with the difficulty level increased by one rank with respect to the current rank, and the dance image to be set next D is also set to be one rank higher in difficulty than the current rank.

When the setting process of the next step position instruction data and the dance image is completed, the current score is converted into an evaluation point, and is added to the evaluation points up to immediately before.

As described in detail above, the foot switch 1 according to the present invention is suitably used for the above-described dance game apparatus, and includes a lower electrode sheet 5 and an upper electrode which can detect a stepping action. A plurality of sheets including the sheet 7 are laminated, and a bulging portion 91 bulging outward is formed in a portion corresponding to the stepping detection position of the uppermost decorative sheet 9. When the switch 1 is laid on a predetermined floor and the swelling portion 91 is stepped on, the switch is turned on and the stepping operation is detected, while the portion where the swelling portion 91 is not provided can be stepped on. Since the switch is not turned on, the stepping operation is not detected.

Accordingly, the operator (the player when the foot switch is for a gaming machine) does not have to perform the trouble of stepping on the foot switch while visually recognizing the effective position. It is possible to confirm the effective position on the foot switch by touching the sole of the foot by stepping on the portion 91, so that it is not necessary to perform a troublesome downward operation for the switch operation. The operability of the device provided with is improved.

In particular, when the device provided with the foot switch is a game machine such as a dance game, the player does not need to turn down one by one in accordance with an instruction from the game machine or by his / her own will. Turn on the foot switch
Since the off operation can be performed, it is possible to concentrate on the game without having to go down, and the game becomes more interesting.

The present invention also includes the following modes. That is, a foot switch provided with a switch sheet in which a sheet-like switch for detecting a stepping operation is formed in at least one area, wherein a plate-like body having substantially the same shape as the above-mentioned area is provided. In the form of a foot switch provided on one surface of any of the sheet members in a facing relationship with the switch member, the switch sheet has a plurality of sheet-like switches formed annularly around a central portion, The plate-like body may have substantially the same shape as the area where the switch sheets are formed, and may be disposed so as to face each other (form). According to this configuration, the center position of the foot switch becomes the non-detection position of the stepping operation,
The switch operator can operate the sheet-like switches arranged around by extending his or her feet in the front, rear, left and right positions in the center position, which is effective in performing the switch operation promptly. .

Further, in the above mode, the central portion of the switch sheet may be formed in a circular shape, and the center side of each sheet-shaped switch may be formed in an inverted arc shape interrupted by the circular shape. ). By doing so, the position where the operator of the switch seat stands is widened,
Switch operation becomes easy.

Further, in any one of the following,
If the plurality of sheet-like switches are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the center portion (form), the distance for extending the foot for switch operation by stepping is equal at the point-symmetric position, and the switch operation is easy. become.

Further, in the embodiment, if the plurality of sheet-like switches are formed at a predetermined distance from each other in a direction orthogonal to the vertical and horizontal directions of the switch sheet, the switch can be operated by stepping on the foot. The distance to extend the foot is uniform in front, rear, left and right, and the switch operation is further facilitated.

Further, in any one of the following,
If the plate-like bodies are attached to one surface of the same sheet body (the form), the state of bulging of the uppermost sheet body by the plate-like bodies becomes uniform, and the state of bulging is uneven. This makes it possible to eliminate discomfort caused by this.

Further, in any one of the following,
By providing the plate-like body above the switch sheet (in the form of), the sheet-like switch is protected by the plate-like body, and the impact due to stepping is reduced, so that the sheet-like switch can be prevented from being damaged and made to last longer. it can.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the above-mentioned plate-like body is formed of a foam made of a foamable synthetic resin (form), so that when the switch is stepped on, the foam is dented by elastic deformation. The touch of the switch operation is softened, which is convenient.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiments, if the thickness of the plate-like body is set to 3 mm to 8 mm (the form), the bulging amount of the portion corresponding to the sheet-like plate-like body of the uppermost sheet body Is suitable for performing a switch operation. That is, if the thickness is less than 3 mm, it becomes difficult to recognize the position of the switch by touching the sole of the foot.
When the thickness exceeds mm, when the switch operation is performed, the foot stumbles on the bulging portion, and the switch operation becomes difficult.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but includes the following contents.

(1) In the above embodiment, the back sheet 2, cushion sheet 3, electrode protection sheet 4, lower electrode sheet 5, spacer sheet 6, upper electrode sheet 7,
EVA is applied to the swelling sheet 8 and the decorative sheet 9 respectively.
(Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer), PE (polyethylene) foam, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE
Although T (polyethylene terephthalate), urethane foam, EVA, PVC, and EMMA (ethane methacrylate methyl copolymer) are used, the present invention is based on the fact that each sheet is formed of the above synthetic resin material. The material is not limited, and an appropriate material can be adopted depending on the situation. The back sheet 2 and the decorative sheet 9 are not limited to EVA and EMMA, and any olefin-based synthetic resin (eg, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, etc.) having a non-slip property can be applied. It is. Further, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is also suitably used as a material of the back sheet 2. Further, in the above embodiment, the thickness dimension of each sheet is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated thickness dimension, and various thickness dimensions can be adopted according to the situation. .

(2) In the above embodiment, four bulging portions 91 are formed in a checkered pattern on the surface of the switch body 10, but in the present invention, the bulging portions 91 are formed in a checkered pattern. It is not limited to a certain shape, and may be a staggered shape or a cross shape. Further, it may be formed in a ring shape like a donut. Further, the bulging portion 91 may be gathered at the center position of the switch main body 10 contrary to the above embodiment.

(3) In the above embodiment, each sheet is attached to the fastener members 14 and 14 'by welding, but each sheet is attached to the fastener member 14 by adhesion or sewing instead of welding. It may be.

(4) In the above embodiment, the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 are connected to the fastener member 1.
Although they are joined to each other via 4, 14 ',
The member for joining the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 is not limited to the fastener members 14 and 14 ′, but may be joined with a button or with an adhesive tape. Alternatively, a binding string may be provided at the opposing edges of the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13, respectively, and the binding strings may be bound to each other to connect the two.

(5) In the above embodiment, the back sheet 2 is provided with conductivity by dispersing carbon black in a synthetic resin material.
The back sheet 2 is not limited to imparting conductivity to the back sheet 2 by mixing carbon black into the synthetic resin material, and a back sheet 2 obtained by laminating a metal foil on the front and back surfaces of the synthetic resin sheet by a conventional method is used. You may. As the metal foil to be laminated, aluminum foil is preferably used, but other than aluminum foil,
For example, gold foil, silver foil, copper foil and the like can be mentioned. When the metal foil is laminated on the front and back surfaces of the back sheet 2, it is necessary to make the lamination layers on the front and back conductive. For this purpose, another metal foil may be attached to one of the edges of the back sheet 2 so as to extend over the front and back surfaces. Further, for imparting conductivity, carbon printing may be performed on the front and back surfaces of the back sheet 2, or metal powder such as iron powder or aluminum powder may be kneaded into the synthetic resin material. Further, a polka dot pattern may be formed on the back sheet 2 and conductivity may be imparted to the ground portion of the polka dot pattern, or conductivity may be imparted in a striped pattern. Further, conductivity may be provided in a grid pattern.

(6) In the above embodiment, the conductive layers 54a to 54d are each formed in a substantially rectangular shape having a partially concave arc edge as shown in FIG. The shape of the conductive layers 54a to 54d is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be set to various shapes such as a cross shape or an annular shape, and the bulging sheet 8 may be shaped to match the shape.

(7) In the above embodiment, the cushion sheet 3 is divided into three parts so that the cushion sheet 3 can be combined and separated. However, the present invention is not limited to the case where the cushion sheet 3 can be divided. , May be formed integrally.

(8) In the above embodiment, the cushion sheet 3 is formed of the lower seat 12 and the upper seat 13.
Instead, the cushion sheet 3 is bonded or welded to one or both of the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 or stitched. Or both may be integrated.

[0162]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a foot switch provided with a switch seat in which a sheet-like switch for detecting a stepping action is formed in at least one area. Is provided on one surface of any of the sheet members in a facing relationship with the above-mentioned area, so that the switch function of the switch sheet is provided while the foot switch is mounted on a predetermined floor. By stepping on the portion corresponding to the sheet-shaped switch, which is the portion where the switch is turned on, the switch is turned on and the stepping operation can be detected.

In the uppermost layer of the sheet member forming the foot switch, a swelling portion in which the switch position is swelled upward by a plate-like member sandwiched between the sheet members is formed. Therefore, the operator (the player when the foot switch is for a gaming machine) steps on the bulging portion without having to perform the troublesome step of stepping on the foot switch while visually recognizing the effective position. It is possible to confirm the effective position by touching the sole of the foot, so that it is not necessary to perform a troublesome downward operation for the switch operation. Performance can be improved.

In particular, when the device provided with the foot switch is a game machine such as a dance game, the player does not turn down the foot switch in accordance with an instruction from the game machine or at will of the player himself. Can be turned on / off, so that the player does not have to go down and can concentrate on the game, thereby making the game more interesting.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a foot switch according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the foot switch shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cushion sheet 3 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of the edge portion of the switch body for explaining an embodiment of the joining process of the edge portion of the switch body.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of an edge portion of the switch main body for describing another embodiment of the coupling structure of the edge portion of the switch main body.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state where the switch body is opened up and down.

FIG. 8 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining the packaging of the foot switch. FIG. 8A is a state in which a cushion sheet is being taken out of the storage space of the switch body, and FIG.
Shows a state in which the taken out cushion sheet and the switch body after the taken out cushion sheet are folded and loaded into the packaging box, respectively.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view in a sectional view for explaining the operation of the swelling sheet 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state immediately before the foot switch 1 is laid on the floor F.

FIG. 11 is an overall external perspective view showing one embodiment of a gaming machine to which the foot switch of the above embodiment is applied.

FIG. 12 is an internal block diagram illustrating an example of a gaming system using a game machine.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a monitor display surface.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a conventional foot switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Foot switch 10 Switch body 11 Terminal member 12 Lower seat 13 Upper seat 14, 14 'Fastener 141, 141' Lower fastener 141a Lower F-shaped member 141b Male engaging strip 141c Base side male strip 141d Tip side male strip 142, 142 'Upper fastener 142a Upper F-shaped member 142b Female engaging strip 142c Press-fit groove 142d Belt 143 Disengagement operating member 143a Disengaging member main body 143b Operation piece 143c Disengagement groove 143d Connection projection 2 Back sheet 3 Cushion sheet 31 Front split cushion 32 Intermediate split cushion 33 Rear split cushion 34 Notch recess 35 Uneven edge 36 Wedge projection 37 Dovetail 4 Electrode protection sheet 5 Lower electrode sheet 51 Lower seat body 52 Conductive layer 53 First switch area 54 Second switch Area 5 a left conducting layer 54b right conducting layer 54c forward conducting layer 54d rear conducting layer 54e central insulating position 54f corner insulating position 6 spacer sheet 61 through hole 7 upper electrode sheet 71 graphite layer 72 central insulating position 73 corner insulating position 8 Swelling sheet (plate-like body) 8a Left swelling sheet 8b Right swelling sheet 8c Front swelling sheet 8d Back swelling sheet 81 Arc edge 82 Gap 9 Makeup sheet 9a Left stepping position 9b Right stepping position 9c Front stepping position 9d Rear stepping position 9e, 9f Game selection position 91 Swelling portion 92 Concave stripe 93 Inclined portion B Packaging box F Floor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenichi Yada 4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Konami Corporation (72) Inventor Tomoya Yamano 4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Konami Corporation (72) Inventor Keisuke Akasaka 4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Konami Corporation

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A foot switch provided with a switch sheet in which a sheet-like switch for detecting a stepping action is formed in at least one area, wherein a plate-like body having substantially the same shape as the area is provided. A foot switch, wherein the foot switch is provided on one surface of any of the sheet members so as to face the area. 2. The switch sheet has a plurality of sheet-like switches formed annularly around a central portion,
2. The foot switch according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like members have substantially the same shape as the area in which the respective switch sheets are formed, and are disposed so as to face each other. . 3. The switch sheet according to claim 2, wherein a center portion of the switch sheet has a circular shape, and each of the sheet-like switches is formed in an inverted arc shape interrupted by the circular shape on the center side. Foot switch. 4. The foot switch according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of sheet-like switches are arranged point-symmetrically with respect to the central portion. 5. The foot switch according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of sheet switches are formed so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined size in a direction perpendicular to the length and width of the switch sheet. 6. The foot switch according to claim 2, wherein the plate-like members are attached to one surface of the same sheet member. 7. The foot switch according to claim 2, wherein the plate-shaped member is provided above a switch sheet. 8. The foot switch according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like body is formed of a foam made of a foamable synthetic resin. 9. The plate-like body has a thickness of 3 mm to 8 mm.
The foot switch according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the distance is in mm.