JP2000334164A - Controller for game - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To especially really simulate the dribbling action of basketball. SOLUTION: This controller is provided with an operating arm 6 movable from a neural position to any arbitrary direction by forming at least an operating plane spherical, a spring 7 for elastically holding the operating arm 6 at the neutral position and a sensor 5 for detecting the movement of the operating arm 6 and the direction thereof when the operating arm 6 is moved from the neutral position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game controller most suitable for an operation system such as a video game with a basketball motif.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the contents of a video game for home use and a game using a display for business use have been diversified. There are many games with ball games as motifs,
In this type of game, a controller combining a trackball is known as an operation system for moving a character or a ball on a screen. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2
As seen in the 07624 publication, a controller combining a joystick and a trackball is also known.

[0003] By the way, a game using a basketball motif in ball games is also known. In a basketball game, a general push-button controller and a controller having the above-described trackball have been used.

[0004]

However, in the case of a game in which a basketball motif is used, the above-described conventional controller realistically simulates the dribbling operation in spite of the fact that dribbling occupies a considerable proportion of the game elements. There was a problem that you can not.

[0005] The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems,
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a game controller capable of realistically simulating a basketball dribbling operation.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a game controller for controlling a character projected on a display, wherein at least an operation surface is formed in a spherical shape, and the game controller is arbitrarily set from a neutral position. A spherical operating body movable in the direction of, a resilient member for elastically holding the spherical operating body at the neutral position, and, when the spherical operating body is moved from the neutral position, the movement and the direction of the spherical operating body. And a detecting means for detecting.

The present invention is effective when the spherical operation body is an operation bowl supported by the spherical body via the elastic member, and the detecting means is provided on the surface of the spherical body. is there.

Further, the present invention is effective when the spherical operation body is an operation ball supported by a support plate via a string-like elastic member. Furthermore, the present invention is effective when the support plate is formed with a concave portion into which the operation ball is fitted at a predetermined interval, and the detecting means is provided on a surface of the concave portion.

Still further, according to the present invention, there is provided an operation ball on which the spherical operation body is rotatably mounted, wherein the operation ball is movable in each of X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and It is effective if the means detects movement in each of the X, Y and Z directions.

Still further, according to the present invention, another detecting means for detecting a rotation direction of the spherical operation body is provided.
It is effective.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of a controller according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the controller is provided with an upper plate 1 and a lower plate 2, and a fixed sphere 3 obtained by cutting a sphere in one plane is fixed to the lower plate 2 so that the spherical surface faces upward. Further, a circular opening 4 is formed in the upper plate 1, from which the fixed spherical body 3 protrudes above the surface of the upper plate 1. in this case,
The opening 4 is set so that the axis thereof passes through the spherical center of the fixed spherical body 3 when viewed from above, and a ring-shaped space having a fixed width is formed between the opening 4 and the fixed spherical body 3.

A large number of piezoelectric sensors 5 as detecting means are regularly arranged on the spherical surface of the fixed spherical body 3 so as to protrude slightly from the spherical surface, for example, as shown in FIG. On the spherical surface side of the fixed spherical body 3, an operation bowl 6 as a spherical operation body is covered with a gap.
Are supported by the fixed spherical body 3 via a number of springs 7 as elastic members. All of the springs 7 are compression coil springs having substantially the same spring length, and are arranged regularly like the piezoelectric sensor 5. With this configuration, the operation bowl 6 is provided with the spring 7
Is supported by the fixed spherical body 3 with a gap 8 corresponding to the length. The lower part of the operation bowl 6 enters the opening 4, and a gap 9 having a predetermined width is formed between the operation bowl 6 and the opening 4.

The controller configured as described above is suitable for a game based on a basketball motif using a display (not shown), and the operation bowl 6 is usually moved to the neutral position shown in FIG. Is held. Here, when the player strikes the operation bowl 6 as a ball in order to cause a game character (not shown) to dribble, as shown in FIG. 2, the spring 7 facing in the hitting direction is compressed,
The back side of the operation bowl 6 is pressed against one or more of the piezoelectric sensors 5 to turn on the sensors 5. When the operation bowl 6 is released after being hit, the operation bowl 6 returns instantaneously to the neutral position due to the elastic force of the spring 7.
It can be hit continuously, like when dribbling. Then, a game character or the like on the display can be moved from the ON signal of the sensor 5 obtained by such a continuous beating operation.

The relationship between the operation on the controller and the movement of the game character can be arbitrarily set on the game program. FIG. 4 shows an example of an optimum setting for the controller according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), when the player is hitting directly above the operation bowl 6, the game character C stops and dribble on the spot. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the player hits the upper right of the operation bowl 6 diagonally, the game character C advances to the left at a normal speed while dribbling. Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), when the player hits right beside the operation bowl 6, the game character C is advanced to the left at the highest speed while dribbling.

As described above, the controller can dribble the game character C by hitting the operation bowl 6, and can also control the direction and speed of advance of the character C, thereby realizing a realistic simulation of the dribbling operation of the basketball. Can be.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory sectional view showing another embodiment of the game controller according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, a hemispherical hole 12 is formed in an upper plate 11 as a support plate of the controller, and a large number of piezoelectric sensors 13 are regularly arranged on the surface of the hole 12. The hole 12 is provided with an operation ball 14 configured as a spherical operation body. The operation ball 14 is held with a predetermined gap from the surface of the hole 12 by a rubber string 15 as an elastic member. The rubber string 15 of this example is provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the operation ball 14 in FIG. 4, and holds the operation ball 14 at a neutral position substantially concentric with the hole 12. Of course, any number of rubber cords 15 can hold the operation ball 14 as long as it is two or more. Preferably, they are spaced.

When the controller configured as described above hits the operation ball 14 held at the neutral position by the rubber cord 15, the ball
And the sensor is turned on. Therefore, the game character can be moved in an arbitrary direction while dribbling, as in the above embodiment. In addition, in this embodiment, since a ball is used as the spherical operation body, the operation bowl 6 has a feeling of mass more than that of the operation bowl 6 of the above-described embodiment, and can be closer to an actual one. In addition, it is also possible to use a real basketball as the operation ball 14.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. In this example, in this example, the operation ball 21 is a three-roller 2 as a spherical operation body.
2, 23, and 24 support it so that it can rotate in any direction. The roller 22 is rotatably mounted on the first frame 27, while the rollers 23 and 24 are
It is attached to the first frame 27 via the first and second frames 5 and 26. The first frame 27 is formed in a square shape, and a shaft 28 extending downward is fixed to the bottom of the first frame 27. Also, the first
The frame 27 is fitted to the second frame 29 so as to be vertically movable, and the second frame 29 is also formed in a square shape. A hole 30 through which the shaft 28 passes is formed in the second frame 29, and a spring 31 is arranged between the first frame 27 and the second frame 29 so as to wind the shaft 28. Is provided. The spring 31 is a coil spring, and the diameter of the hole 30 is set smaller than the diameter of the spring 31. The first frame 27 is pressed upward by the elastic force of the spring 31, but is held at the neutral position by a stopper (not shown) provided on the second frame 29. A bottom plate (not shown) is provided below the shaft 28. When the first frame 27 is pushed down to the maximum through the operation ball 21, the shaft 28 collides with the bottom plate, so that the impact is reduced. As described above, a damper (not shown) is provided at a lower portion or a bottom plate of the shaft 28. Also,
Reference numeral 32 denotes an encoder, which detects the amount of movement in the Z-axis direction via the shaft 28 when the operation ball 20 is pressed or hit.

The second frame 29 is, as shown in FIG.
A frame 33 is fitted so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the figure.
The third frame 33 is formed in a rectangular shape whose width in the left-right direction in the drawing is larger than the width in the up-down direction, and a relatively large space is formed between the third frame 33 on the left and right of the second frame 29. You.
This space, that is, the second frame 2 in the horizontal direction of the drawing
9 and the third frame 33 are provided with springs 34, 3 respectively.
The third frame 33 is provided with dampers 36 and 37 on the respective surfaces facing the second frame 29. Note that the second frame 29 is positioned at X
When moving in the left-right direction, which is the axial direction, the amount of movement in the X-axis direction is detected by an encoder (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the third frame 33 is fitted to the fourth frame 38 so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the figure. The fourth frame 38 is formed in a substantially square shape, so that a relatively large space is formed between the fourth frame 38 and the third frame 33 which is rectangular. In this space, that is, the third frame body 33 and the fourth frame body 38 in the vertical direction in the drawing.
The springs 39 and 40 are fitted between them, and the fourth frame 38 is provided with dampers 41 and 42 on the respective surfaces facing the third frame 33. When the third frame 33 moves up and down with respect to the fourth frame 38 in the Y-axis direction, the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction is detected by an encoder (not shown).

The controller configured as described above is also suitable for a game using a display as a basketball motif.
7 by the springs 31, 34, 35, 39 and 40.
In the uppermost neutral position at the center of the
Here, the player is a game character (not shown)
When the operating ball 20 is struck as if it were a ball in order to dribble, the springs 31, 34, 35, 39, and 40 facing in the striking direction are compressed, and the striking force is reduced in the X, Y, and Z axes It operates by being divided into components in each direction. That is, in the X-axis direction, the second frame 29 moves with respect to the third frame 33 in accordance with its size, in the Y-axis direction, the third frame 33 moves with respect to the fourth frame 38, In the Z-axis direction, the first frame 27 operates so as to move with respect to the second frame 29. When the operation ball 20 is released after being hit, the operation ball 20 instantly returns to the neutral position due to the elastic force of the springs 31, 34, 35, 39, and 40. It is possible to hit. Then, by detecting the movement in each direction of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis operated by the hitting operation with the encoder, it is possible to determine the position and the direction of the operation ball 20 hit by the player.
For this reason, in the present embodiment as well, the movement of the game character can be set as shown in FIG. It is determined.

In this embodiment, the operation ball 20 can be rotated in an arbitrary direction, and the direction can be detected by the encoders 25 and 26.
Therefore, in a game in which a basketball motif is used, it can be used to move a player of his own who does not have a ball in the rotation direction of the operation ball, or to move a player of his own when an enemy arm has a ball.

Although the present invention is most suitable as a controller for a game with a basketball motif, the present invention can also be applied to a controller for another game, for example, a fighting game.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the operation signal of the game is obtained by hitting the spherical operation body, it is possible to realistically simulate the dribbling operation of the game with a basketball motif.

According to the second to fourth aspects, the above-described effects can be obtained with a simple configuration. According to the configuration of claims 5 and 6, the spherical operation body can also be used as a trackball, so that a variety of variations can be input to the game, and the game characteristics can be enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a game controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing one mode of operation of the controller.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of arrangement of detection means of the game controller shown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are explanatory diagrams showing the relationship between the operation on the game controller of the present invention and the movement of the game character.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the game controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the game controller according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory plan view of the controller of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 5, 13 Piezoelectric sensor 6 Operation bowl 7, 31, 34, 35, 39, 40 Spring 14, 20 Operation ball 15 Rubber string 25, 26, 32 Encoder

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A game controller for controlling a character projected on a display, comprising: a spherical operation body having at least an operation surface formed in a spherical shape and movable from a neutral position in an arbitrary direction; When the elastic member elastically holding the neutral position and the spherical operating body are moved from the neutral position,
A game controller comprising: a detecting means for detecting the movement and the direction of the spherical operation body. 2. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein the spherical operation body is an operation bowl supported on the spherical body via the elastic member, and the detecting means is provided on a surface of the spherical body. A game controller. 3. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein the spherical operation body is an operation ball supported on a support plate via a string-shaped elastic member. 4. The game controller according to claim 3, wherein the support plate has a recess in which the operation ball fits at a predetermined interval, and the detecting means is provided on a surface of the recess. A game controller. 5. The game controller according to claim 1, wherein the spherical operation body is an operation ball rotatably mounted, and the operation ball is movable in each of X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions. And the detecting means is X-axis, Y-axis.
A game controller for detecting movement in each of an axis and a Z-axis. 6. The game controller according to claim 5, further comprising another detecting means for detecting a rotation direction of the spherical operation body.