JP3356336B2 - Video game console with timer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video game machine provided with a timer for limiting a play time to a certain time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Video game machines are very fun, but if they continue to play for a long time, fatigue and other physical problems accumulate, and the time required for study and exercise is reduced. Lifestyle habits may be disrupted. One way to solve this problem is to set a timer in advance so that when the play time reaches a certain amount, the power of the video game machine is cut off to interrupt the game, or the power of the video game machine is turned off. There have been proposals in which the game is locked so that the game can no longer be continued. For example, Japanese Utility Model Application
This is the invention described in JP-A-89-89 and JP-A-63-41794.

[0003]

However, each of the prior arts described above has a dedicated timer and a power cutoff device formed separately from the main body of the video game machine. It was complicated and cumbersome to handle. In particular, in the prior art, the game is the same as the reset state because the power is shut off regardless of the playing state of the video game machine. Therefore, even if the player has accumulated points of the game with difficulty, the next game must be restarted from the beginning, which has a disadvantage that the enjoyment of the game is impaired. Also, with a timer unrelated to the content of the game, if you are absorbed in the game, you can not know how much time is remaining, there is no time to consider the game strategy, etc., and the game may be suddenly terminated. Was not good for the player.

[0004] In addition, since the setting of the timer only sets the play time for each time, it is not possible to manage the total play time over a long period such as one week or one month. Further, a video game machine may be used alternately by a plurality of people, such as brothers and friends, but the conventional device is not intended for such use by a plurality of people.

[0005] The present invention has been proposed to solve the problems of the prior art as described above.
Even if the time limit is reached and the game is interrupted,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a video game machine provided with a timer capable of continuing the game from the point of interruption in the next play.

A second object is to provide a video game machine provided with a timer capable of displaying the play status over a certain period in a list or a graph.

A third object is to provide a video game machine having a timer capable of displaying the elapsed time of play or the remaining time of the timer on a display.

A fourth object is to use a plurality of persons,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a video game machine equipped with a timer capable of identifying individual players and limiting and managing the play time of each individual player.

[0009]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game machine having a timer according to the present invention.
A timer, a timer management unit that sets a play time by the timer, and a video game machine that includes a play control unit that disables use of the video game machine when the timer reaches a set time limit . A timer registration unit that registers a player to be managed, a play time setting unit that sets a play time for each registered player, and a player selection unit that inputs a password at the start of the game. A player identification unit that enables the player to play when the player input in the selection unit is a player registered in the player registration unit and the remaining time has not reached the play time. Features.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the time limit set by the play time setting section is reached, the video game machine provided with the timer stores the timer in the memory in response to a command from the timer.
Save the contents of the game and restart the game
A play storage control unit that controls reading of the stored game content from the memory stores the content of the game being played in the memory and then interrupts the game of the player who has reached the time limit. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention , in the video game machine provided with the timer, the timer management unit further includes
After a certain time has elapsed, the timer
The play resumption instruction unit issues a play resumption command
It has a play restart instruction section
Sign.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a video game machine provided with a timer , wherein the timer set by the timer management unit is set.
Record and accumulate the value and the play time from the timer
Record management unit and output data stored in this record management unit
A display control unit for outputting to the device.
You.

A video game provided with a timer according to claim 5.
Machine, after the display control unit starts counting the timer
The remaining time of the timer or the count time of the timer
A timer display section for displaying
You.

The present invention also provides a control method for a video game machine. The control method of a video game machine according to claim 6, wherein a step of setting a play time by a timer, a step of registering a player to be managed in a player registration unit, and a time limit for play for each of the registered individual players. and setting the timer manager, and identifying the steps of: inputting a personal identification number of the player at the start of the gate arm, whether the inputted player or playable person based on the personal identification number, A step in which the play control unit controls the game so that the player plays the game under the time limit, and determines whether or not the play time of the player has reached the time limit; Stopping the game of a player who has reached the time limit, And butterflies.

[0015]

[Action] In the invention of claim 1 having the structure described above, to the player registration unit and-play time setting unit
Multiple players use one video game console
And registered for each registered player.
Immersion time can be set. Also, player identification
Players other than those identified by the
Play outside of your set time
It is not possible.

[0016] In the invention of claim 2 and 3, Thailand
If the game is interrupted by a
Since the contents of the game are stored in the memory,
Game from where the game was interrupted
Can resume.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the record management unit
The display control unit converts the stored data into a CRT in various forms.
You can output to any output device, so the play status within a certain period
The situation can be easily identified.

In the invention of claim 5 , the player
By sending an instruction to the timer display, a part of the CRT
Displays the remaining time or play time.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

[0020] (1) Configuration of the Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a typical video game machine. The video game machine includes a video game machine main body including a CPU 1, an input device 2 such as a controller, a mouse, a joystick or a keyboard, an output device such as a speaker 4 and a CRT 5, and the CPU 1 and the input device provided in the video game machine main body. And an input interface 6 and an output interface 7 for connecting output devices. Also, inside the video game console,
A RAM 8 storing a program for controlling the input device and the output device or controlling game software is provided and connected to the CPU 1. On the other hand, programs and data constituting the game software are stored in a cartridge, a CD-RO, which is detachably connected to the main body of the video game machine.
It is stored in external storage means such as an M or a bird disk, or in a memory provided in the game machine body. In this embodiment, the ROM which is detachable from the main body of the video game machine is used.
Store in cartridge 9.

The present embodiment is constructed by incorporating means as shown in FIG. 2 into the above-described video game machine. First, the main controller 10 of the video game machine provided in the CPU 1 or the RAM 8 includes:
A timer 11 for detecting a game start time and counting a play time is connected. Although this timer 11 may be built in each cartridge 9, in this embodiment, the RAM 8 provided in the main body of the video game machine is used.
Use the internal clock above. In addition, main controller 10 includes:
The timer management unit 12 is connected. The timer management unit 12 includes a player registration unit 12a for registering a player managed by the timer, and a play time per day, a play time per week, and a play time per month for each registered player. And a play time setting unit 12b for setting.
Further, at the start of the game, a player selection unit 12c for inputting a player and a player identification unit 12d (for example, a password identification unit or a keyword identification unit) for determining whether the selected player is a playable person are provided. ing. The timer management unit 12 includes a timer 1
A play restart instructing unit 12e is provided to enable the video game machine to be used again when a certain period of time has elapsed after the play time is restricted by 1 and the date or week changes, for example.

The main controller 10 is connected to a play controller 13 for shutting off the power of the video game machine when the timer 11 set as described above reaches the set time. The play control unit 13 may be a unit that shuts off the power supply of the video game machine from the beginning, or if the cartridge 9 is inserted into the video game machine, the play cannot be started, or a message indicating that the play cannot be started. Output.

When the timer reaches a set time, a memory 14 for storing the contents of the game being played and a play storage control unit 15 are connected to the main controller 10 before the operation of the play control unit 13. Have been. Although the memory 14 is provided in the cartridge 9 in this embodiment, it can be built in the main body of the video game machine. In the case of a game cartridge that has been conventionally used and has a play storage function, the storage memory can be used as it is as a memory for storing play contents when the timer is interrupted. In this case, the play saving control unit 15 uses a game for forcibly generating a save command for the game being played.

A record management unit 16 is connected to the main control unit 10. The recording management unit 16 records the value of the timer and the play time set by the play time setting unit 12b for each player selected by the player selection unit 12c, and stores the data in units of one day, one week, and one month. with aggregate in, and outputs to the output equipment based on an instruction from the display control unit 17 that data. The display control unit 17
Player selection unit 17a for selecting a player for displaying a record, period selection unit 17 for selecting a period for displaying a record
b, a display mode selection unit 17c for selecting whether to display a list or a graph, and a timer display unit 17d for displaying the remaining time of the timer or the elapsed time of the play during the play. These parts constituting the display control unit 17 are selected by the input device 2 connected to the video game machine main body. On the other hand, the CRT 5 of the output device
A player, a graph, a period, a remaining time, and the like are displayed corresponding to each unit of the display control unit 17. Note that a speaker may be used as the output device, and the remaining time may be notified by voice or a warning sound.

(2) Operation of the Embodiment In the embodiment having the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 3, a player is first registered by the player registration section 12a. Then, the play time setting unit 12b
1 per day for each player registered using
Set the play time per week, per month . Work such as this <br/> may be performed by the players themselves, but if the player is a small child is carried out and parents is an administrator of the video game machine. In this case, the play time is set to be appropriately different depending on the state of each player.

In order to use the video game machine of the present embodiment in which the play time is set as described above, after turning on the power of the video game machine, a player who will play a game is input to the player selection section 12c. In this case, a password or the like is input in response to a request from the player identification unit 12d . At the same time, player identification unit 12d is input
The entered player plays based on the
Identifying whether or not possible prevents one player from playing for the game time allotted to another player. When the selection of the player is completed, the game is started and the timer 11 starts counting. At the same time, the name of the player and the game start time are sent to the record management unit 16. Also,
When the player sends an instruction to the timer display unit 17d of the display control unit 17, the remaining time or the play time is displayed on a part of the CRT 5. It should be noted that it is also possible to warn by a sound or display that the timer 11 is approaching the set time.

[0027] As a result of continuing the game, when the timer 11 reaches the set time, play storage control unit 15 acts in response to a command from the timer 11, and writes the game of the contents of the currently playing in the memory 14. At the same time, the record management unit 16 records the player and its play time. After the data of the game content and the play time is recorded, the play control unit 13 operates to turn off the power of the video game machine or to send a message to the effect that no further play can be performed on the CRT.
5 is displayed and the player's game is interrupted.

[0028] On the other hand, if the limit by the timer is released to resume the game, when the power supply is introduced into the video game machine, whether or not the play resumption instruction section 12e has passed a certain amount of time after the limit of the timer 11 When it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed, a play restart instruction is issued, and the video game machine becomes usable.

When the administrator or player of the video game machine wants to view the record of the play state, the display control section 1 is operated by the input device 2 while the video game machine is powered on.
7, a player selection unit 17a and a period selection unit 1
An instruction on desired display contents is given to 7b and the display mode selection unit 17c. Then, the data recorded in the recording management unit 16 is read out by the signal from the display control unit 17, and the recording of the play is output on the CRT 5 in accordance with a specified fixed format.

[0030] (3) Other embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, it may be omitted any means described in the Examples. Further, the following other embodiments are also included. A device that uses a printer as an output device in the play state. As a means of identifying players,
A device that uses mechanical means such as an ID card or lock key instead of software means such as a password.

[0031]

As described above, in the video game machine of the present invention, the play time of the game is limited by the timer. In particular, the game interrupted by the timer can be continued when the play is resumed. it can. As a result, even if the play is forcibly interrupted, the play performed up to the interruption is not wasted, so that it is possible to protect the health and correct lifestyle without impairing the enjoyment of the play .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a general video game machine.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a video game machine provided with the timer of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation order of each unit in the embodiment of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Main control device 11 ... Timer 12 ... Timer management part 13 ... Play control part 14 ... Interrupted game storage memory 15 ... Play storage control part 16 ... Record management part 17 ... Display control part

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A timer, a timer management unit for setting a play time by the timer, and a play control unit for disabling use of the video game machine when the timer reaches a set time limit . In the video game machine, the timer management unit registers a player to be managed, a play time setting unit that sets a play time for each registered player, and inputs a password at the start of the game. A player selecting unit, and a player identifying unit that enables the player to play when the player input in the selecting unit is a player registered in the player registration unit and the remaining time has not reached the play time. A video game device comprising: 2. When the time limit set by the play time setting section has been reached, a command is issued from the timer.
Saving game contents to memory and restarting the game
Control of reading saved game contents from memory
2. The video game machine according to claim 1, wherein the play saving control unit saves the content of the game being played in the memory and then interrupts the game of the player who has reached the time limit. 3. The timer management unit further, after a lapse of a predetermined time from the time limit, the play resumption instruction unit issues a play resumption command in response to a command from the timer, and resumes the play in a playable state. A video game machine having a timer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an instruction unit. 4. A recording management unit for accumulating and accumulating a timer setting value set by the timer management unit and a play time from the timer, and outputting data accumulated in the recording management unit to an output device. The video game machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising a display control unit. 5. The video game machine according to claim 4, wherein the display control unit includes a timer display unit that displays a remaining time of the timer or a counting time of the timer after the counting of the timer is started. 6. A step of setting a play time by a timer, a step of registering a player to be managed in a player registration unit, and a step of setting a playable time limit for each of the registered players in the timer management unit. If, inputting a personal identification number of the player at the start of the gate arm, identifying whether the input player or playable person based on the personal identification number, the under the time limit A step in which the play control unit controls the game so that the player plays the game, and determines whether or not the play time of the player has reached the time limit, and when it is determined that the time limit has been reached, the play control unit, Interrupting the game of the player who has reached the time limit. Control method of.