JP2000237459A - Position control method of operation piece - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable analog operation of an operation piece to be performed according to the game content, and to provide a game feeling excellent in presence on an image screen of a game apparatus using a computer by changing the home position of the operation piece when a game player analogously operates the operation piece such as an operation lever. SOLUTION: An analog stick being a bar-shaped operation piece is formed by arranging a spherical stick rotating part 3 in the inner end part of a stick 2 having a disk-shaped knob part in an outward projecting one end part. In this analog stick 1, the home position (the operational origin) can be changed according to the game content displayed on a display of a computer game apparatus by a control part 27. That is, the control part 27 controls the rotational direction and a turning angle of bevel gears 6, 7 by motors 14, 15 on the basis of an output signal of position detecting elements 25, 26, and rotates the analog stick 1 with the rotational fulcrum as the center to be inclined to an optional angle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an analog operation of an operator according to the game content by changing the home position of the operator when the player performs an analog operation of an operator such as an operation lever. As a result, the present invention relates to a method of controlling the position of an operation device that enables a user to enjoy a game full of a sense of real-time on a screen of a game device using a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in response to game software pre-stored in a computer device or input every time a game is played, a gamer operates various operators such as operation keys, operation buttons, and operation levers to display a display screen. Game devices using a computer (hereinafter simply abbreviated as game devices) that allow the user to enjoy a game are rapidly spreading. Various software such as a role play format, a speed competition format, a fighting / interactive format, and a creation / training format have been devised as software used in the game device.

[0003] When a general-purpose computer stores game software in advance or inputs each time a game is used as a game device, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like is used as an input device. In many cases, a game device dedicated to a game is used. Therefore, as the input device operated by the gamer, an input device dedicated to the game separated from the game device is mainly used.

As one example of the input device, there is a so-called game stick device which performs analog operation of a stick in accordance with a game content. This stick device is provided with various keys such as an operation key, a selection key, and an operation lever in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped (or its deformation) case, and the operation lever is continuously rotated around its rotation fulcrum. By moving the operation lever, the operation lever is continuously moved in any direction of front, rear, left and right, and the motion of the person, the operation state of the vehicle, and the like are continuously changed according to the game on the screen. The gamer can enjoy the game projected on the display screen by appropriately operating these various keys with his / her finger in accordance with the progress of the game.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned stick device, there is provided a mechanism for returning the operating lever to the neutral point as the origin when the operating lever is released from the hand. Since the point is always fixed at a preset position, it cannot be changed to another position. As a result, if the operating lever is moved to a position deviated from the neutral point, even if the position after this movement is newly set as the neutral point and is used as the origin for subsequent operations, the operating lever is initially set in principle. There is a problem that, since the operation returns to the neutral point, the operation based on the neutral point after the movement, that is, the operation that is more realistic, cannot be performed.

For example, when climbing a mountain road or the like in an actual car rally or the like, the magnitude of the load applied to the car is much larger than when traveling on flat ground because the car runs against the gravitational force. Become. However, in a conventional game device, these points were not considered at all, and the game player did not realize the difference between climbing and running on flat ground, and the climbing in the game actually experienced climbing. It is far from real, and it lacks realism. Therefore, there is an increasing demand from users for a game that can be enjoyed with a more realistic feeling.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when a gamer performs an analog operation of an operation element such as an operation lever, the home position of the operation element is changed to provide a game content. The object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling the position of an operator, which enables analog operation of the operator according to the user, and as a result, allows the user to enjoy a real-life game in real time on the screen of a game device using a computer. And

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides the following method of controlling the position of an operator. That is, the position control method of the control device according to claim 1 is a position control method of the control device provided in the input device that inputs a signal to a game device using a computer,
The current position of a rod-shaped operation element having a pivot point at one end is detected, and it is determined whether or not the current position of the operation element matches a predetermined position, and the current position of the operation element is specified. When the current position of the operator is different from the designated position, the operator is rotated around its rotation fulcrum when the current position is different from the designated position. The present invention is characterized in that the current position of the operation element is made to coincide with a specified position, and the specified position is set as the operation origin of the operation element.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a position of an operator,
2. The method for controlling the position of an operator according to claim 1, wherein when the current position of the operator is different from a designated position, the current position of the operator is detected, and the current position of the operator and a position designated in advance are determined. Are repeatedly determined to determine whether or not the two operators coincide with each other, and the operation element is rotated around a rotation fulcrum, so that the current position of the operation element coincides with a designated position.

In the method of controlling the position of an operator according to the present invention, the current position of a rod-shaped operator having a pivot point at one end is detected, and whether or not the current position of the operator matches a predetermined position is determined. Is determined. Here, when the current position of the operation element matches the specified position, the current position is set as the operation origin, and when the current position of the operation element is different from the specified position, The operator is rotated around its pivot point to make the current position of the operator coincide with the designated position, and the designated position is set as the operation origin of the operator. This makes it possible to change the operating origin of the operating element to a position (designated position) shifted from the neutral point.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a method for controlling the position of an operator according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a stick device for a computer game machine to which a position control method of an operator according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the device, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the device. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes an analog stick (a stick-like operation element). And a substantially disk-shaped stick knob 4 coaxially provided at the other end of the stick 2.

A stick gear 5 having a gear surface facing the stick 2 is fixed to one side of the stick rotating portion 3 and orthogonal to the axis of the stick 2. 6 and 7 are arranged opposite to each other with the stick rotating portion 3 interposed therebetween, and the teeth of the bevel gears 6 and 7 mesh with the stick gear 5. here,
There is a difference between the number of teeth of the stick gear 5 and the number of teeth of the bevel gears 6 and 7, that is, the ratio between the number of teeth of the stick gear 5 and the number of teeth of the bevel gears 6 and 7 is different from 1. The number of each tooth is set so as to be a numerical value.

The bevel gear 6 has a plurality of stages (in this case, three stages).
Drive motor 1 via reduction gears 11a to 13a
4 is connected, and similarly, the reduction gear 11
The drive motor 15 is connected via b to 13b. These drive motors 14 and 15 are provided with bevel gears 6 and
7 are controlled individually so as to rotate independently of each other.

The stick rotating portion 3 and the stick gear 5 are provided with shafts 21 penetrating them and having both ends protruding outward.
Blocks 22 and 23 are arranged so as to sandwich 1, and on the surfaces facing each other of these blocks 22 and 23,
Concave surface 22 for slidably supporting both ends of shaft 21
a and 23a are respectively formed. Further, the stick rotating section 3 is slidably supported by a concave surface 24a of a block 24 provided between the blocks 22 and 23.

The bevel gear 6 is provided with a position detecting element (volume (VR)) 25 for detecting the direction and angle of rotation of the bevel gear 6. A position detection element (volume (VR)) 26 for detecting the rotation direction and the rotation angle is provided. Then, the rotation direction and the rotation angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 are detected by the position detection elements 25 and 26, and the information is output as a signal and input to the control unit 27.
These reduction gears 11a to 13a and 11b to 13b, drive motors 14 and 15, blocks 22 to 24, and position detecting elements 25 and 26 are fixed on a rectangular plate-like plate 28 by fasteners such as screws, and are further illustrated. The analog stick 1 is stored in a case where the analog stick 1 does not protrude outward from the case.

The control section 27 changes the home position (operation origin) of the analog stick 1 in accordance with the contents of the game displayed on the display of the computer game machine. As shown in FIG. Is mounted on the controller PAD32 connected to the. The controller PAD 32 includes the control unit 27 described above.
In addition, the drive motors 14 and 15 and the position detection element (V
R) 25, 26, and A / D converters 33, 34 for A / D converting signals from the position detection elements 25, 26, respectively.

The control unit 27 includes position detecting elements 25, 2
The turning direction and the turning angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 are controlled based on the output signal from 6, and the analog stick 1 is turned around its turning fulcrum to be tilted to an arbitrary angle. More specifically, while inputting information about a predetermined position output from the game machine main body 31, the rotation direction and rotation of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 output from the position detection elements 25 and 26 are provided. By inputting information about the angle, the current position of the analog stick 1 is recognized as an X coordinate and a Y coordinate. Then, by driving each of the drive motors 14 and 15 to control the rotation direction and the rotation angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7, the current position of the analog stick 1 is matched with a position designated in advance, The designated position is set as the home position of the analog stick 1.

In this stick device, the driving motor 1
4 is applied to the bevel gear 6 via the reduction gears 11a to 13a, and the driving force of the drive motor 15 is applied to the reduction gear 11
b to 13b are transmitted to the bevel gears 7, respectively, and the bevel gears 6 and 7 are rotated by the set rotation angle in the respective set rotation directions, and a predetermined amount of load is applied. Can be Then, the bevel gear 6 is moved by the position detecting element 25.
The rotation direction and the rotation angle of the bevel gear 7 are detected by the position detection element 26, respectively.

These detected signals are input to the control unit 27, and the current position of the analog stick 1 is recognized based on the turning direction and the turning angle of the bevel gears 6 and 7.
By driving each of the drive motors 14 and 15, the turning direction and the turning angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 are controlled, and the home position of the analog stick 1 is individually set on the X axis or the Y axis, or At the same time, it is moved from the neutral point to a position specified in advance. After the movement of the home position of the analog stick 1 is completed, the driving motors 14 and 15 are stopped by a signal from the control unit 27. For example,
In order to move the tip of the analog stick 1, that is, the stick knob 4 along the X-axis direction in FIG. 1, a driving motor is used so that the bevel gears 6 and 7 are both in phase and rotated by the same rotation angle. 14 and 15 are driven.

Further, in order to move the stick knob 4 along the Y-axis direction in FIG. 1, the drive motor 1 is rotated so that the bevel gears 6 and 7 rotate in the opposite phases and by the same rotation angle.
4 and 15 are driven. Further, in order to move the stick knob 4 in the direction of 45 ° with respect to the X axis and the Y axis in FIG. 1 (the S direction in the figure), the drive motor 15 is stopped and the rotation of the bevel gear 7 is performed. Is stopped, and the drive motor 14 is driven to rotate the bevel gear 6 by a predetermined rotation angle in a predetermined rotation direction.

Further, the stick knob 4 is set to S in FIG.
In order to move in the direction of 90 ° with respect to the direction (the direction S ′ in the figure), the driving motor 14 is stopped to stop the rotation of the bevel gear 6 and the driving motor 15 is driven. The bevel gear 7 is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle in a predetermined rotation direction. Here, a load having a magnitude corresponding to the rotation angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 is applied to the analog stick 1.

As described above, by separately driving the driving motors 14 and 15, the bevel gears 6 and 7 can be individually rotated or stopped. By combining these, it is possible to move the stick knob 4 in any direction of 360 ° in FIG. At this time, a load having a magnitude corresponding to the rotation angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 is applied to the analog stick 1.

The number of teeth of the stick gear 5 and the bevel gear 6,
When the ratio of the number of teeth 7 (the number of teeth of the stick gear 5 / the number of teeth of the bevel gears 6 and 7) is set to 1.00, the tooth is shifted from the 45 ° axis. By shifting the ratio of the number of teeth of the tooth gears 6 and 7 from 1.00, 4
The deviation from the 5 ° axis is reduced. It is desirable that the number of teeth of the stick gear 5 is smaller than the number of teeth of the bevel gears 6 and 7.

Next, a position control method when receiving a request to change the home position of the analog stick 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described based on. First, it is determined whether a command has been issued from the game machine main body 31 (step A1). When the command is issued, the “movement position” and the “load amount” of the analog stick 1 are received (step A2). If no command has been issued, it is determined again whether a command has been issued from the game machine main body 31 (step A1).

After the reception of the "moving position" and "load amount" is completed in step A2, the output signals from the position detecting elements 25 and 26 are A / D converted by the A / D converters 33 and 34, and the analog stick 1 is calculated (step A3). Here, the current position of the analog stick 1 can be known based on the rotation direction and the rotation angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 output from the position detection elements 25 and 26.

Next, it is determined whether or not the current position of the analog stick 1 has exceeded the designated position (step A4). If the current position has exceeded the designated position, the drive motors 14, 15 are reversed individually or simultaneously according to the designated load amount and the difference between the positions, and the position of the analog stick 1 is moved toward the designated position. (Step A5), and the current position of the analog stick 1 is calculated again (step A3).

On the other hand, if the current position does not exceed the specified position, it is determined whether or not the current position of the analog stick 1 is before the specified position (step A6). When the current position is before the designated position, the drive motors 14 and 15 are individually or simultaneously rotated forward according to the designated load amount and the difference between the positions, and the position of the analog stick 1 is moved toward the designated position. Move (step A7) and again
The current position of the analog stick 1 is calculated (step A3). On the other hand, if the current position is not before the specified position, it is determined that the current position matches the specified position and the movement of the home position is completed (step A8), and the drive motors 14 and 15 are stopped (step A9). The control ends.

Next, a method of controlling the position of the analog stick 1 during normal operation will be described with reference to FIG. First, the output signals from the position detection elements 25 and 26 are A / D converted by the A / D converters 33 and 34, and the current position of the analog stick 1 is calculated (step B1). Here, the current position of the analog stick 1 can be known based on the rotation direction and the rotation angle of each of the bevel gears 6 and 7 output from the position detection elements 25 and 26.

Next, it is determined whether or not the current position of the analog stick 1 has exceeded the home position (home position) (step B2). If the current position has exceeded the home position, the drive motors 14, 15 are reversed individually or simultaneously with a load corresponding to the position difference, and the position of the analog stick 1 is moved toward the home position. (Step B3) The current position of the analog stick 1 is calculated again (Step B).
1).

On the other hand, if the current position does not exceed the home position, it is determined whether or not the current position of the analog stick 1 is before the home position (step B4). When the current position is before the home position, the drive motors 14 and 15 are individually or simultaneously rotated forward with a load corresponding to the difference in position, and the position of the analog stick 1 is moved toward the home position ( (Step B5) The current position of the analog stick 1 is calculated again (Step B).
1). On the other hand, if the current position is not before the home position, it is determined that the current position matches the home position and the return to the home position is completed (step B6), and the drive motors 14, 15 are stopped (step B7). Then, the control ends.

As described above, by moving the home position of the analog stick 1 to an arbitrary position and setting the moved position as a new home position, the home position after the movement of the analog stick 1 is newly set as a neutral point.
The operation can be performed using the neutral point as a reference point, and the operation can be performed with more realism.

As described above, according to the position control method of the home position of the analog stick 1 of the present embodiment, the current position of the analog stick 1 is detected, and whether the current position of the analog stick 1 matches the designated position is determined. It is determined whether or not the current position of the analog stick 1 matches the designated position. If the current position of the analog stick 1 is different from the designated position, the analog stick 1 is moved. To make the current position of the analog stick 1 match the specified position,
Since the designated position is the home position of the analog stick 1, the home position of the analog stick 1 can be easily changed to an arbitrary position deviated from the initial home position.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a stick device for a computer game machine to which a method for controlling a position of an operator according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.
The stick device of the second embodiment is the same as the first device described above.
The difference from the stick device of the embodiment is that the stick device of the first embodiment described above is different from the stick device of the first embodiment in that
7 are opposed to each other, and the reduction gears 11a to 13
In contrast to the configuration in which the driving motor 14 is connected to the driving motor 15 through the a and the driving motor 15 is connected to the bevel gear 7 through the reduction gears 11b to 13b, the stick device of the second embodiment is A box 41 is provided so as to surround a stick rotating unit (not shown) of the analog stick 1, and a driving motor 42 directly connected to two adjacent side surfaces of the box 41 from two directions orthogonal to the stick rotating unit. , 43 are fixed, and a position detection sensor 44 for detecting the position of the stick rotating portion on the side of the box 41 facing the drive motor 42 is rotated by a stick on the side of the box 41 facing the drive motor 43. The point is that the position detection sensors 45 for detecting the positions of the parts are fixed.

The position control method at the time of receiving the request for changing the home position of the analog stick 1 of this stick device is exactly the same as the position control method at the time of receiving the request for changing the home position of the stick device according to the first embodiment. is there. The position control method of the analog stick 1 during normal operation is exactly the same as the above-described position control method during normal operation of the stick device of the first embodiment.

In the stick device of the present embodiment,
Similarly to the stick device of the first embodiment described above, the position of the home position of the analog stick 1 can be easily changed to an arbitrary position shifted from the initial home position. In addition, since the drive motors 42 and 43 are directly connected to the stick rotating unit of the analog stick 1 from two orthogonal directions, the configuration is simplified, so that when the home position change request of the analog stick 1 is received. And the position control during normal operation can be performed with high accuracy.

The embodiments of the method for controlling the position of the operator according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment and does not depart from the gist of the present invention. The design can be changed within the range.
For example, after determining whether or not the current position of the analog stick 1 has exceeded the specified position, it is determined whether or not the current position is before the specified position. It may be reversed. Alternatively, the determination may be made at the same time, and thereafter, the current position of the analog stick 1 may be made to coincide with the designated position. Further, the form, the number of teeth, the ratio of the number of teeth, and the like of the stick gear 5 and the bevel gears 6 and 7 can be appropriately changed.

[0037]

As described above, according to the method for controlling the position of an operating element of the present invention, the current position of a rod-shaped operating element having a rotation fulcrum at one end is detected, and the current position of the operating element is detected. It is determined whether or not the position specified in advance matches.If the current position of the operation element matches the specified position, the current position is set as the operation origin, and the current position of the operation element is specified. If it is different from the position, the operator is rotated around its rotation fulcrum so that the current position of the operator matches the designated position, and the designated position is set to the operating origin of the operator. Therefore, the operation origin of the operation element can be easily changed to a position shifted from the neutral point. Therefore, it is possible to perform an analog operation of the operating element according to the game content, and to enjoy a game full of a sense of reality in real time on a screen of a game device using a computer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing a stick device for a computer game device to which a method for controlling a position of an operator according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing the stick device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing the stick device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the stick device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the stick device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a position control method of the stick device according to the embodiment of the present invention when receiving a home position change request.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a position control method during a normal operation of the stick device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a stick device for a computer game device to which a method for controlling a position of an operator according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 analog stick (stick-like operation element) 2 stick 3 stick rotating part 4 stick knob part 5 stick gear 6, 7 bevel gear 11a to 13a reduction gear 11b to 13b reduction gear 14, 15 drive motor 21 shaft 22 to 24 block 22a to 24a Concave surface 25, 26 Position detecting element 27 Control unit 28 Plate 31 Game machine main body 32 Controller PAD 33, 34 A / D converter 41 Box 42, 43 Driving motor 44, 45 Position detecting sensor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C001 BD00 BD07 CA00 CA06 3J070 AA13 AA14 CC42 CC71 DA61 5B087 AA09 AB02 AD02 AE00 BC02 BC12 BC19 BC26 DD03 DD07 9A001 JJ76 KZ60

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling the position of an operator provided in an input device for inputting a signal to a game machine using a computer, comprising detecting a current position of a rod-shaped operator having a pivot point at one end. Determining whether the current position of the operation element matches a predetermined position, and if the current position of the operation element matches the specified position, the current position is set as an operation origin; If the current position of the operation element is different from the specified position, the operation element is rotated around its rotation fulcrum to make the current position of the operation element coincide with the specified position, and A position control method for an operator, wherein the position is used as an operation origin of the operator. 2. When the current position of the operation device is different from a specified position, the current position of the operation device is detected, and it is determined whether the current position of the operation device matches a predetermined position. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: repeating the rotation of the operation element around a rotation fulcrum to match the current position of the operation element with a designated position.