JP2003323246A - Operational information input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an operational information input device which inputs appropriate operational information to a VR device by a user's natural operation. <P>SOLUTION: The operational information input device 1 for input of the user's operational information is provided with a base case 2 which has an input face 2a that a user can operate on an upper surface, a plurality of spheres 6 which are supported so as to be rotatable in the base case 2 and allocated so that a part of that sticks out via an opening part 4 formed in matrix on the input face 2a, and a rotation detecting means 20 which detects state of rotation of the spheres and outputs them individually. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a motion information input device for inputting motion information of a user into a virtual reality device (hereinafter referred to as "VR device") or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, VR devices have been developed which realize a highly realistic virtual world by three-dimensional graphics or the like. As an interface device of VR device,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-70473 discloses a running machine connected to a workstation that displays a CG image.

In this running machine, an endless belt is wound around a pair of rollers arranged at the front and rear, and a rotation speed detecting device is attached to one of the rollers. Then, when the user walks on the endless belt, the CG image changes based on the detection of the rotation number detection device, and experiences the same situation as actually walking in a remote town. be able to.

A handle is provided at the front of the running machine, and a touch panel arranged on the handle is provided with left and right direction change buttons. When the user wants to change the direction, the line of sight on the CG image is changed by pressing one of the left and right direction change buttons.

[0005]

In such a running machine, the movement information such as walking in the virtual space is VR.
It can be used as a motion information input device for inputting into the device. However, the direction of walking motion is limited to one direction along the longitudinal direction of the endless belt, and the direction change button must be pressed every time the direction is changed,
There was a problem that it was difficult to obtain a feeling of immersion in the virtual space because of lack of reality.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a motion information input device capable of inputting accurate motion information to a VR device or the like by a natural motion of a user. And

[0007]

The above object of the present invention is a motion information input device for inputting motion information of a user, and a base case having an input surface on which a user can operate as an upper surface, A plurality of spherical bodies rotatably supported in the base case and arranged so as to partially project through the openings formed in the input surface in a matrix form, and the rotating state of the spherical bodies are individually It is achieved by a motion information input device that includes a rotation detection unit that detects and outputs the above.

In this operation information input device, the rotation detecting means has a pair of rotation shafts which are arranged so that their axes are at a predetermined angle and rotate by contact with the rolling spherical body. This makes it possible to detect and output the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the pair of rotation shafts.

Further, it is preferable that each of the spherical bodies is supported by an elastic body so as to be movable up and down, and a pressing detecting means for individually detecting and outputting a downward pressing state of each of the spherical bodies is provided. Is preferred.

More preferably, the pressure detecting means individually detects and outputs the pressing force acting on each of the spherical bodies.

Further, it is preferable to further include rotation suppressing means capable of controlling a braking force by applying a frictional force to each of the spherical bodies.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The actual mode of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a motion information input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the motion information input device 1 includes a housing-shaped base case 2 having an input surface 2a on which a user can ride and operate. A plurality of openings 4 are formed in a matrix on the input surface 2a.
A plurality of spherical trackballs 6 are arranged so that a part thereof protrudes from the trackball 6. The diameter of the trackball 6 is 1 to 5
The range of about 10 cm is preferable, and 10 to 10 on one foot with the user standing on the upper surface of the base case 2.
It is preferable to arrange so that about 0 pieces are covered. Handrails 8 are attached to the front and side edges of the base case 2.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a main part of the motion information input device 1. The inner space of the base case 2 is partitioned by the partition wall 12, and FIG. 2 shows one of the partitioned spaces. As shown in the figure, the trackball 6 is accommodated in the bowl-shaped member 14 via a bearing (not shown) in a rotatable state in any direction,
The bowl-shaped member 14 is supported by a spring member 16 as an elastic body interposed between the bowl-shaped member 14 and the bottom surface 2a of the base case 2. A pressing rod 17 extending downward is attached to the lower portion of the bowl-shaped member 14, and a load sensor 18 as a pressure detecting means is arranged below the pressing rod 17.

The motion information input device 1 also includes a rotation detection device 20 for detecting the rotation state of each trackball 6. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main part of FIG. 2 and 3
As shown in FIG. 3, the rotation detecting device 20 includes a pair of rotary shafts 22, 22 arranged such that their axes are substantially perpendicular to each other.
And a pair of rotary encoders 26, 26 for detecting the rotation of the pair of rotary shafts 22, 22. Friction rollers 24, 2 are provided on the pair of rotary shafts 22, 22, respectively.
4 is attached to the friction rollers 24, 24 by pressing the trackball 6 by the pressing roller 28.
And the trackball 6 are in contact with each other.

The rotary encoder 26 may have a known structure that outputs a digital signal based on the rotation of the rotating body. In the present embodiment, the rotary slit and the fixed slit are arranged between the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and the light of the light emitting element is intermittently detected and converted by the rotation of the rotary slit in the light receiving element. Based on the pulse signal, it is possible to detect the rotation direction and the rotation speed of the rotary shafts 22, 22.

The operation information input device 1 configured as described above
Can be used, for example, by connecting to a VR device.
As shown in a plan view in FIG. 4, the VR device 51 includes a front display unit 52, left and right side surface display units 53 and 54, and a virtual space display unit 56 including a floor surface display unit 55, A predetermined screen is displayed on the virtual space display unit 56 under the display control by the display control unit 57 to provide the user with the virtual space. The display controller 57 can be, for example, a personal computer (PC).

The operation information input device 1 is arranged on the floor surface display section 55, and the operation information is input to the display control section 57 by the user performing a walking operation or the like on the input surface 2a of the base case 2. . That is, when the user performs a walking motion or a running motion, the trackball 6 located on the sole of the user rotates in accordance with the motion. As a result, the pair of friction rollers 24 in the rotation detection device 20 rotate, and the pair of rotary encoders 26 detect the rotation in the front-rear direction and the rotation in the left-right direction, and the pulse signals indicating the respective rotation directions and the number of rotations are VR devices. 51 is input.
The display control unit 57 of the VR device 51 calculates the moving direction and the moving amount of the user in the virtual space based on the input signal, and switches the display of the virtual space display unit 56 accordingly.

As described above, since the motion information input device 1 can detect the user's movement not only in the front-back direction but also in any direction such as the left-right direction or the diagonal direction, the motion information can be input to the VR device 51. The control unit 57 can control the display of the VR device 51 according to the natural movement of the user, and can further enhance the feeling of immersion in the virtual space.

There are a plurality of trackballs 6 that rotate due to a user's walking motion or the like, and information about the rotation direction and the number of rotations can be obtained from a pair of rotary encoders 26 corresponding to each trackball 6. Therefore, for example, by calculating the moving direction and the moving amount of the user based on these average values, it is possible to input accurate motion information that more accurately reflects the walking motion of the user and the like to the VR device 51.

In the state where no load acts on the trackball 6, a gap is formed between the lower end of the pressing rod 18 and the load sensor 18 by the action of the spring member 16 as shown in FIG. When a load acts on the trackball 6 by, for example, stepping on it, as shown in FIG.
Is pressed by the pressing rod 18 to detect the compression load, and VR
Input to the device 51. The display control unit 57 can grasp the position and posture of the user based on the loads on the plurality of trackballs 6.

For example, the trackballs 6 are arranged in a matrix of 8 × 8, and in order to facilitate understanding of the compressive load acting on each load sensor 18, a relative evaluation value of 0 to 3 (0 is no load). 6A, it is possible to determine that the portion displayed with an evaluation value other than 0 is the sole position of the user. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6B, if the evaluation value of the front part is larger than that of the rear part of the sole, it can be determined that the user is in the forward leaning state, and as shown in FIG. If so, it can be determined that the user is tilted backward. Further, the time-series changes in these evaluation values make it possible to discriminate a bending-in motion, an expanding motion, and the like. Display control unit 5
7 causes various events to occur in the virtual space displayed on the virtual space display unit 56, evaluates the user's behavior, reflexes, and the like based on the load detection result at that time, and what is next in the virtual space. You can decide whether to raise an event.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the spring member 1
Although the track ball 6 accommodated in the bowl-shaped member 14 is supported by 6, the track ball 6 can be directly supported by the spring member 16 as shown in FIG. 7. Further, various springs such as a coil spring and a leaf spring can be used as the spring member 16, and an elastic body such as rubber or plastic can be used.

Further, in the present embodiment, each trackball 6 is provided by the load sensor 18 as the pressure detecting means.
Although the pressing force acting on is converted into a numerical value and is output, it is also possible to use a push button switch or the like that detects only on / off. With such a configuration,
Based on the input from the motion information input device 1, the display control unit 57 can determine the sole position and posture of the user to some extent.

Further, by providing a rotation suppressing device for braking the rotation of each trackball 6 and making it possible to adjust the braking force based on an input from an external device such as the display control unit 57, for example, on a rough road or the like. It becomes possible to give a sense of presence in a virtual space in a situation where walking is difficult as described above. FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of such a rotation suppressing device.

As shown in FIG. 8, the rotation suppressing device 60 is
The electromagnetic coil 61, the braking rod 62, and the cylinder 63 are provided. The braking rod 62 has a permanent magnet 62a on one end side facing the electromagnetic coil 61 and a friction pad 62b on the other end side facing the trackball 6.
It is accommodated in the cylinder 63 so as to be able to move forward and backward. When the electromagnetic coil 61 is energized, the electromagnetic coil 61 and the permanent magnet 62a
A repulsive force is generated between and, and the other end side of the braking rod 62 projects from the cylinder 63, as shown by the broken line in the figure, and the friction pad 62b presses the trackball 6 for braking. The braking force acting on the trackball 6 can be controlled by adjusting the current value of the electromagnetic coil 61. When the energization of the electromagnetic coil 61 is stopped, the repulsive force between the electromagnetic coil 61 and the permanent magnet 62a disappears, and the spring member 6
By the action of 4, the pressed state of the trackball 6 is released.

The arrangement of the trackballs 6 is not limited to the matrix shape as in the present embodiment as long as the trackballs 6 are substantially evenly dispersed, and for example, a regular hexagonal shape combined in a honeycomb shape. The arrangement may be such that the trackball is located at each vertex of the polygon.

[0027]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the motion information input device of the present invention, a user's natural motion, such as walking, inputs accurate motion information corresponding to this motion into the VR device or the like. It is possible to increase the sense of presence and immersion in the virtual space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a motion information input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of a main part of the operation information input device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an essential part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the motion information input device is connected to a VR device.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of essential parts showing a state where a load is applied to the trackball in the motion information input device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a detection state of each load sensor.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged side view of a main part of a motion information input device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part of a motion information input device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Motion information input device 2 base case 2a Input surface 4 openings 6 trackball 16 Spring member 20 Rotation detection device 22 rotation axis 26 rotary encoder 60 rotation suppressing means

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A motion information input device for inputting motion information of a user, comprising: a base case having an input surface on which a user can operate, and a rotatably supported inside the base case. A plurality of spherical bodies arranged so that a part thereof protrudes through the openings formed in a matrix on the input surface; and a rotation detecting means for individually detecting and outputting the rotational state of the spherical bodies. An operation information input device provided. 2. The rotation detecting means has a pair of rotation shafts that are rotated by contact with the spherical bodies that are arranged such that the axes thereof form a predetermined angle and roll, and the pair of rotations are provided. The operation information input device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation direction and the rotation number of the shaft are detected and output. 3. The spherical body is supported by an elastic body so as to be movable up and down, and further comprises a pressure detecting means for individually detecting and outputting a downward pressing state of each spherical body. Or the operation information input device described in 2. 4. The operation information input device according to claim 3, wherein the pressing detection unit individually detects and outputs a pressing force acting on each of the spherical bodies. 5. The motion information input device according to claim 1, further comprising a rotation suppressing unit that can control a braking force by applying a frictional force to each of the spherical bodies.