JP3519665B2 - Foot switch for game device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foot switch for a game machine provided with a sheet-like switch capable of detecting a stepping motion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mat-shaped foot switch 100 as shown in FIG. 15 is known. The foot switch 100 detects the stepping operation by stepping on the sole of the foot, and is used for various operations such as opening and closing an automatic door, operating various devices, operating a reflex ability inspection device, or operating a game device. 15 is applied in the field of
Of these, those applied to the dance game device are shown as an example.

As shown in FIG. 15A, the foot switch 100 has a lowermost back sheet 101, a lower electrode sheet 102 laminated on the back sheet 101, and a spacer laminated on the lower electrode sheet 102. Sheet 1
03, the upper layer electrode sheet 104 made of an insulating material to be laminated on the spacer sheet 103, the upper layer electrode sheet 10
4. The decorative sheet 105 laminated on the No. 4 and the uppermost transparent anti-slip sheet 10 laminated on the decorative sheet 105.
A mat body 110 formed of a 6-layer structure of 6;
The terminal member 1 attached to one edge of the mat body 110
It consists of 20. The terminal member 120 is for supplying a current from a signal source to each of the electrode sheets 102 and 104.

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

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

On the upper surface of the decorative sheet 105, a symbol indicating the position of the switch is printed, so that the player can recognize the position of the lower layer electrode 102a.

The mat body 110 is formed by laminating or welding the peripheral edges of a plurality of such sheets, and the terminal member 120 is attached to the edge of the mat body 110, as shown in FIG. The foot switch 100 is formed as shown in (b).

According to the foot switch 100 having such a structure, the position of the lower layer electrode 102a (the portion shown by the white arrow in the example shown in FIG. 15) is stepped on from the top of the non-slip sheet 106, thereby The pressing force causes the upper-layer electrode sheet 104 to bend downward and the spacer sheet 103 to be compressed. Therefore, the upper electrode sheet 10
4 is elastically deformed and the lower layer electrode 10 passes through the through hole 103a.
Since the two electrode sheets 102, 104 come into contact with the 2a and become electrically conductive, the mat body 1 is detected by detecting this.
It is recognized that 10 has been trampled.

[0009]

By the way, in the conventional foot switch 100 as described above, in the state where the above-mentioned sheets are laminated, the peripheral portions of the sheets are sewn or welded, and the mat body 110 is formed. Is formed,
Since the thickness of each sheet is 1 mm or less,
The thickness of the finished foot switch 100 is only about several millimeters. Therefore, when the foot switch is stepped on, the feel of a hard floor bounces off as it is, and comfortable operability is not obtained, and a heavy and high-class feeling is obtained. It has the inconvenience of lacking.

In order to eliminate such inconvenience, it is conceivable to interpose a single mat having a predetermined thickness between the lower electrode sheet 102 and the back sheet 101. In this case, this large mat is used. This raises a new problem that the foot switch 100 is bulky and inconvenient during storage.

Therefore, for example, the lower layer electrode sheet 1 is a mat piece made of a foamable synthetic resin, which is divided into a total of 9 vertically and horizontally into 3 sections corresponding to the array shape of the lower electrode 102a.
02 and the back sheet 101 may be interposed. However, in this case, the mat piece becomes too small, and the handling becomes inconvenient, and in particular, it may be lost during storage, which poses a new problem.

Further, if the mat piece is small, the mating portions of the mats become discontinuous, so that a discomfort occurs at the discontinuous boundary portion when the switch is operated by stepping on, and a new problem is that a comfortable switch operation cannot be performed. Points are also raised.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and does not cause any inconvenience in handling.
Even if there is a cable connector, the size in the longitudinal direction when folded and stored can be reduced, and in addition to these, a foot switch for game devices equipped with a foot switch mat that allows comfortable switch operation without discomfort It is intended to be provided.

[0014]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A foot switch for a game device, comprising a foot switch mat laid between predetermined sheets of a foot switch in which a plurality of sheets are stacked while sandwiching a sheet-like switch arranged in a suitable position in a grid, Above foot
Mat switch is dividable formed on a plurality of mats piece column dimensions and the same dimension of the meshes, each mat piece, irregularities that can fitted each other in respective edges of the mat pieces adjacent to each other formed is, I have cutout recesses corresponding terminal member for transmitting a switch signal to the substantially central portion of the mat piece to the column direction of the one end is provided
And the plurality of sheets includes the sheet-like switch.
The upper seat and the foot switch mat are stacked.
It consists of the lower side sheet, and the upper side sheet and the above
The lower side sheet is openably and closably coupled to form a bag body .

According to the present invention, in the foot switch mat, a plurality of mat pieces having the same dimension as the row-direction dimension of the sheet-like switch are fitted to each other with their respective edges facing each other. Since they are combined by combining them, the number of mat pieces can be halved as compared with the conventional one that is divided into a plurality of pieces in the vertical and horizontal directions, which facilitates handling at the time of mounting and storage.

Since the number of mat pieces is small, the inconvenience of being lost during handling can be avoided.

The mating piece at one end (the mating piece in the front row has a cable connector for transmitting a switch signal formed at a substantially central portion in the row direction (longitudinal direction), so that there is a cable connector. Therefore, even if the foot switch has a vertically long rectangular shape, the length of the mat piece is equal to the lateral dimension of the shorter foot switch. By folding in the direction of the connection tool, the foot switch folded with the mat piece as the core has a shorter dimension in the lengthwise direction than when it is wound vertically, and it does not take up that much storage space, which reduces storage costs and transport. Cost is reduced.

In addition, the mat has fewer discontinuous portions than the conventional one divided vertically and horizontally, so that comfortable switch operation can be performed without a feeling of discomfort.

Such a foot switch is preferably used for a game machine (game device) such as a dance game. In the case of a dance game, since the stepping step with the foot is basically front, rear, left and right, the step command from the game device generally indicates any one of the four front, rear, left and right. When the surface of the foot switch is divided into nine vertical and horizontal grids, the effective position of the switch is generally four grid positions in front, rear, left and right in a checkered pattern.

Therefore, if it is assumed that the four checkered grid positions are the effective positions of the switch in the nine grid positions, it is convenient to divide the mat piece into three vertically or horizontally, and therefore, in the present invention. , "A plurality of foot switch mats having the same dimension as the row-direction dimension of the sheet-shaped switches in each row (3 in the following embodiment).
This is the reason why it is defined as "having one matte piece".

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below by taking a foot switch as a controller of a dance game machine, which is a type of gaming machine, as an example. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a foot switch for a game device in which a foot switch mat according to the present invention is used,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembly. In addition, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. In FIG. 1, XX
The direction is called the horizontal direction, and the Y-Y direction is called the vertical direction. In particular, the -X direction is the left side, the + X direction is the right side, the -Y direction is the rear side, and the + Y direction is the front side.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a foot switch 1 includes a mat-shaped switch body 10 formed by laminating a plurality of sheets, and a terminal member (cable connection) attached to an edge of the switch body 10. Tool 11). Then, an electric signal from a signal source is supplied to the inside of the switch body 10 via the terminal member 11, and it is detected whether or not the effective portion of the foot switch 1 is stepped on and off by turning on and off the switch described later. ing.

In the present embodiment, the switch body 10
Is set to have a dimension of about 840 mm × about 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 comprises a lowermost back sheet 2, a cushion sheet (foot switch mat) 3 laminated on the back sheet 2, and an electrode protection sheet 4 laminated on the cushion sheet 3. Lower electrode sheet 5 laminated on this electrode protection sheet 4, spacer sheet 6 laminated on this lower electrode sheet 5, upper electrode sheet 7 laminated on this spacer sheet 6, and laminated on this upper electrode sheet 7. The swelling sheet (plate-like body) 8 is formed into a plurality of sheets, and the decorative sheet 9 laminated on the swelling sheet 8 is formed into an eight-layer structure.

In the present embodiment, the sheet-like structure according to the present invention has a three-layer structure of 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. Although a switch is formed, the sheet-like switch of the present invention is not limited to such a three-layer structure, and may have, for example, a one-layer structure using a piezoelectric element or an air layer interposed. It may have a two-layer structure in which the upper and lower electrode sheets 7, 5 are opposed to each other.

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

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 carbon fine particles into the base material. 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, the static electricity generated by the rubbing between the sheets due to the strong depression of the switch body 10 is grounded, and the accumulation of static electricity in the switch body 10 is prevented. There is.

By the way, carbon black is fine particles of carbon produced by incomplete combustion or thermal decomposition of organic matter, and the particle size is very small, from 10 nm to 500 nm.
It is suitable as a material that is dispersed in a molten synthetic resin to impart conductivity to the synthetic resin. In the present embodiment, such carbon black is dispersed in EVA, but the synthetic resin to be dispersed is not limited to EVA, and an olefinic thermoplastic synthetic resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene is preferable. In addition to the thermosetting synthetic resin, it can be applied to a conductive polymer by kneading and kneading by mixing carbon black in a soft state before curing and subsequently curing by heat treatment. can do.

In this embodiment, the kneading amount of carbon black into the EVA base material is set so that the resistance value of the back sheet 2 per 1 m is 1 × 10 ³ to 1 × 10 ⁴ Ω. There is. Such a resistance value is set when the resistance value per 1 m is less than 1 × 10 ³ Ω,
This is because the amount of carbon black added becomes too large, which reduces the strength of the back sheet 2, and conversely 1 × 1.
This is because if it exceeds 0 ⁴ Ω, the amount of carbon black added is reduced, the conductivity deteriorates, and it becomes impossible to properly ground static electricity. However, the resistance value differs depending on the constitution of the member in which carbon black is kneaded, and the present invention is not limited to the above resistance value.

The kneaded material into the EVA base material 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 given.

In this embodiment, the back sheet 2 has a thickness of 0.
Although the thickness is set to 25 mm, the present invention uses the back sheet 2
The thickness dimension is not limited to 0.25 mm, and the thickness dimension is appropriately set depending on the situation.

The cushion sheet 3 imparts a cushioning property to the switch body 10, whereby the cushion sheet 3 is elastically deformed by the pressing force by the sole of the foot when the foot is stepped on the switch body 10. It is compressed so that it can 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 the horizontal direction and the YY direction is referred to as the vertical direction. In particular, the -X direction is referred to as the left, the + X direction is referred to as the right, the -Y direction is referred to as the rear, and the + Y direction is referred to as the front. As shown in this figure, the cushion sheet 3 is
A front split cushion (mat piece) 31, which is formed in parallel with the edge of the switch body 10 provided with the terminal member 11 in the vertical direction and is provided at the front position, and is provided at an intermediate position. Intermediate split cushion (matte piece)
32 and a rear split cushion (mat piece) 33 arranged at the rear position.

The front split cushion 31 has a notched concave portion 3 cut out corresponding to the terminal member 11 at the front edge thereof.
4 is provided, and an uneven edge portion 35 for fitting is formed at the rear edge portion. The intermediate split cushion 32 has concave and convex edges 35 on the front and rear edges thereof.
And the rear split cushion 33 is formed with an uneven edge portion 35 at the front edge thereof, and these uneven edge portions 35 are formed into the front and intermediate split cushions 31, 32.
The cushion sheets 3 are formed by fitting the split cushions 31, 32, 33 to each other by fitting them together and fitting the intermediate and rear split cushions 32, 33 to each other.

The concave-convex edge portion 35 is adjacent to a plurality of wedge projecting pieces (convex portions in the shape of a dovetail member) 36 each having a wedge shape so that the lateral dimension gradually increases from the base end side toward the tip end side. It is formed by including a plurality of dovetail grooves (dwelling groove-shaped recesses) 37 formed between the wedge protrusions 36. 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 to have the same planar shape by reversing the front and back, and the 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 offset by one pitch.

As a result, the divided cushions 31 and 3 are
By fitting one wedge projecting piece 36 into the other dovetail groove 37 in a state in which the corresponding concave and convex edge portions 35 of 2 and 33 face each other, three divided cushions 31, as shown in FIG. The cushion sheet 3 in which 32 and 33 are integrally joined is obtained.

In this embodiment, the cushion sheet 3 is formed of PE foam (polyethylene foam) having a foaming ratio of 40 times and a thickness of 16 mm.
Is set to. The foaming rate is not limited to 40 times, and various foaming rates may be adopted depending on the situation. Also, the thickness dimension is not limited to 16 mm, and various thickness dimensions can be adopted depending on 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 deformation of the lower electrode sheet 5 on the cushion sheet 3 due to the switch body 10 being stepped on is transmitted to the cushion sheet 3 via the electrode protection sheet 4, so that the lower electrode sheet is formed. The crack damage of No. 5 is effectively prevented.

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

The lower electrode sheet 5 is composed of a lower sheet body 51 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) having the same plane shape as the electrode protection sheet 4, and the lower sheet body 5
Conductive layer 52 integrally formed at a predetermined position on the upper surface of 1
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 pulverized graphite as a main component.

In the present embodiment, the lower electrode sheet 5 is located on both side portions of the terminal member 11 in the lateral direction, and the first switch area 53 (a position shown in FIG. 1) at a position slightly rearward of each side portion. It is divided into 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 that outputs and operates signals such as starting and stopping a game, and the conducting layers 52 are provided in four rows in two rows.

On the other hand, the second switch area 54 is an area in which the player plays the game by stepping on the foot, and here, the left and right positions of the central portion in the vertical direction and the front and rear positions of the central portion in the horizontal direction are respectively provided. A conducting layer 52 is formed (left conducting layer 54
a, the right conducting layer 54b, the front conducting layer 54c, and the rear conducting layer 54d). In addition, a circular central insulating position 54e is formed in the central portion of the second switch area 54, and
Corner insulation positions 54f are formed at both rear corners. Each conductive layer 52 except for these insulating positions 54e and 54f is connected to the signal source via the terminal member 11.

The spacer sheet 6 is made of non-conductive foamable synthetic resin (urethane foam is used in this embodiment), has the same planar shape as the lower electrode sheet 5, and has a thickness of 3.0 mm. . The spacer sheet 6 is interposed between the lower electrode sheet 5 and the upper electrode sheet 7, so that the conductive layer 52 of the lower electrode sheet 5 and the upper electrode sheet 7 are electrically insulated from each other. On the other hand, when the player steps on the position corresponding to the current-carrying layer 52 of the decorative sheet 9, the current-carrying layer 52 and the upper electrode sheet 7 are connected to each other, and thereby the signal current from the signal source is passed through the terminal member 11. Thus, the stepping motion of the player is detected.

In order to obtain the 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 of the spacer sheet 6, as shown in FIG. When the player steps on the surface of the decorative sheet 9 on the current-carrying layer 52 as shown by the white arrow at the right side position of the foot switch 1, the spacer sheet 6
Is compressed and elastically deformed to become thin, and the upper electrode sheet 7 is fitted into the through hole 61 and comes into contact with the current-carrying layer 52, whereby the signal current from the signal source is energized through the current-carrying layer 52. The fact that 52 is stepped on is detected.

The upper electrode sheet 7 has the same planar shape as the lower electrode sheet 5, and has a thickness of 3.0 m.
m PVC sheet. A graphite layer 71 formed by graphite printing on the entire back surface of the upper electrode sheet 7.
Thus, the entire upper surface of the upper electrode sheet 7 can be energized. Therefore, as described above, the graphite layer 71 comes into contact with the current-carrying layer 52 through the through hole 61 due to the compression of the spacer sheet 6 caused by the player's stepping on, so that the signal current from the signal source is transmitted to the graphite layer 71 and the graphite layer 71. The current is conducted between the current-carrying layers 52.

The bulging sheet 8 is the upper electrode sheet 7.
And a decorative sheet 9 interposed between the decorative sheet 9 and the decorative sheet 9 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. And a foaming rate of 15 times is applied. The foaming rate is not limited to 15 times, and various foaming rates may be adopted depending on the situation.

The bulging sheet 8 is set in the same plane 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. The left bulging sheet 8a, the right bulging sheet 8b, the front bulging sheet 8c, and the rear bulging sheet 8d are provided.

These bulging sheets 8 are arc-shaped edge portions 81 formed by cutting out arc-shaped cut-outs of the facing edge portions of the bulging sheets 8 facing each other in the vertical direction and the facing edge portions of the bulging sheet 8 facing each other in the horizontal direction. By stacking the swelling sheets 8 at the set positions of the upper electrode sheet 7, the lower electrode is formed by the four circular arc edges 81 at the center position of the upper surface of the upper electrode sheet 7. 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 formed at both rear corners of the upper electrode sheet 7. Are formed.

Further, the facing corners of the bulging sheets 8 adjacent to each other are cut out to form a gap 82 between the corners. The gap 82 is formed by the adjacent swelling sheet 8
Are dimensioned such that they are vertically spaced apart. Therefore, even if the switch main body 10 is folded in three in the vertical direction, the adjacent swelling sheets 8 do not interfere with each other.

The bulging sheet 8 is attached to the back side of the decorative sheet 9 via a double-sided tape (not shown). Instead, the bulging sheet 8 is attached to the upper electrode sheet 7. May be. The bonding of the swelling sheet 8 to the decorative sheet 9 or the upper electrode sheet 7 is not limited to interposing a double-sided tape, and may be laminated with an adhesive or may be heat-treated after laminating. You may perform by welding by doing.

In the present embodiment, each swelling sheet 8
The a, 8b, 8c, and 8d all have the same compression hardness, but the swelling sheets 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d may have different hardnesses. By doing so, the player feels the hardness of the swelling sheet 8 by the feel of the sole of the foot, and the swelling sheet 8 is one of the swelling sheets 8a, 8b,
It can be recognized whether it is 8c or 8d.

Further, in the present embodiment, the bulging sheets 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d are all set to have the same thickness dimension, but instead of this, the respective bulging sheets 8a, 8b, 8c The thickness dimensions of 8b, 8c, and 8d may be different. By doing so, the player can perceive the thickness of the bulging portion 91, which will be described later, by feeling when stepping on the bulging portion 91, and can know which switch the bulging portion 91 belongs to.

In this embodiment, the decorative sheet 9 is a transparent EMMA (ethane methyl methacrylate copolymer) sheet having a thickness of 0.3 mm. Then, the decorative sheet 9 is laminated in close contact with the upper electrode sheet 7 provided with the swelling sheet 8,
As shown in FIG. 2, a bulge portion 91 is formed on the surface thereof along the shape of the bulging sheet 8. Gravure printing is applied to the back surface of the decorative sheet 9 so that the printed pattern does not disappear even when the surface of the decorative sheet 9 located at 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 the execution of the game. In the present embodiment, as the anti-slip, a plurality of recessed lines 92 recessed in parallel to each other on the surface of the decorative sheet 9 are adopted, but the present invention is limited to the anti-slip recessed lines 92. Instead, it may be a convex strip, or may be provided with a large number of protrusions or concave holes, or may be provided with a large number of recesses such as scratches.

The printed pattern is formed in each of the grids drawn so that nine grids are formed except for the edge portion where the terminal member 11 is located. Specifically, a left arrow is printed at a grid position corresponding to the left bulging sheet 8a, a right arrow is printed at a grid position corresponding to the right bulging sheet 8b, and a front bulging sheet 8c is printed. A forward arrow is printed at the corresponding grid position, and a backward arrow is printed at the grid position corresponding to the rear bulging sheet 8d.

Further, a "x" mark is printed on the grid position on the left side of the front arrow, and a "○" mark is printed on the grid position on the right side of the front arrow. Further, an oval mark is printed in front of each of the “x” mark and the “◯” mark. The arrow indicates the switch position for game execution, and the "x" mark,
The “◯” mark and the oval mark indicate the position of the control switch having a predetermined function in executing the game.

Further, a circle is printed on the central portion of the decorative sheet 9 by a double line corresponding to the circular central insulating position 72. The position within this circle is the player's home position 9
4, the player who is in this position 94 steps on the game execution switch in accordance with the instruction displayed on the display, and the game progresses.
The home position 94 is wider than the surrounding bulging portion 91, so that the player can stand on both legs 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 swelling sheet 8 and the decorative sheet 9 thus constructed are sequentially laminated. The switch main body 10 is formed by joining the edges so that they are not separated from each other, and the terminal member 11 is attached to the front edge of the switch main body 10 to form the foot switch 1 according to the present embodiment. To be done.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the connecting structure of the edges of the switch body 10 in which the respective sheets are laminated will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described in detail based on. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of the edge portion of the switch body 10 for explaining the embodiment of the coupling structure of the edge portion of the switch body 10. Figure 5
In, the XX direction is called the horizontal direction, and the YY direction is called the vertical direction. In particular, the -X direction is called the left, the + X direction is called the right, the -Y direction is called the rear, and the + Y direction is called the front.

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

In this embodiment, the fastener member 14 is used for processing the edge portion, and the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 1 are used for the fastener member 14.
The switch main body 10 having the edge portion processed is formed by mounting the respective switches 3.

The fastener member 14 is formed by so-called extrusion molding in which a thermoplastic synthetic resin heated to a melting temperature is extruded through a mold having a predetermined shape. The lower fastener 141 having a belt shape is disposed so as to face the lower fastener 141. Upper fastener 142 and engaging / disengaging operation member 1 for engaging and disengaging both fasteners 141, 142.
It consists of 43.

The lower fastener 141 has a lower F-shaped member 141a whose longitudinal cross section has an inverted F shape in FIG. 5, and an upper edge portion of the lower F-shaped member 141a extending over the entire length. And a male engaging strip 141b having a daruma shape in a sectional view. The male engaging strip 141b is composed of 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. There is.

Further, the lower F-shaped member 141a has a pair of upper and lower strip-shaped members 141e projecting inward (to the left in FIG. 5) at the lower end edge thereof. Then, with the edge portion (the right edge portion in the example of FIG. 5) of the back sheet 2 fitted between the pair of strips 141e, a welding process is performed using a welding device such as a high-frequency welder, so that the lower side 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 is 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 strip 142b is provided with a press-fitted groove 142c over its entire length, into which the male end 141d of the lower fastener 141 is press-fitted in a disengageable manner.

The upper F-shaped member 142a has a pair of upper and lower strip-shaped members 142d protruding inward (to the left in FIG. 5) at the upper edge thereof. Then, the sheets 4, 5, which are laminated between the pair of strips 141e.
The upper side sheet 13 is attached to the upper fastener 142 by performing the same welding process with the edge portions (right edge portion in the example of FIG. 5) of 6, 7, and 9 fitted, whereby the upper side sheet 13 is attached. The edge processing of the sheet 13 is completed.

In the processing of the edge of the upper sheet 13, the swelling sheet 8 provided between the upper electrode sheet 7 and the decorative sheet 9 is not sandwiched between the strips 142d of the upper fastener 142. However, the other sheets (the electrode protection sheet 4, the lower electrode sheet 5, the spacer sheet 6, the upper electrode sheet 7 and the decorative sheet 9) are welded to the strip 142d, so that the upper electrode sheet 7 and the decorative sheet 9 are formed. In this state, the swelling portion 91 is sealed and the swelling portion 91 is formed on the surface of the decorative sheet 9 due to the deformation of the decorative sheet 9 along the shape of the swelling sheet 8 at this time.

The engagement / disengagement operating member 143 comprises 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 a distal end male thread 1 of the lower fastener 141.
41d and the press-fitted groove 142c of the upper fastener 142 are engaged and disengaged, and the male engaging strip 141b is provided on the left side.
And a pair of upper and lower engaging / disengaging grooves 143c to be fitted into the female engaging strips 142b, respectively.
The left opening is caulked in a state of being externally fitted to the male engaging strip 141b and the female engaging strip 142b, respectively, so that the fastener is mounted on the fastener member 14 so as to be movable back and forth.

Each engaging / disengaging groove 143c is united with one groove at the rear position of the engaging / disengaging member main body 143a, whereby the engaging / disengaging member main body 143a is moved rearward, Lower part fastener 1
The front male thread 141d of 41 is press-fitted into the press-fitted groove 142c of the upper fastener 142, whereby the lower fastener 141 and the upper fastener 142 are coupled to each other, while the engaging / disengaging member main body 143a is moved forward. The lower fasteners 14 that were joined together by
1 and the upper fastener 142 are separated.

The operation piece 143b is the engaging / disengaging member main body 14
It is attached to a connection protrusion 143d provided on the right side of 3a. Due to the existence of the operation piece 143b, opening / closing operation between the lower side seat 12 and the upper side seat 13 by the engagement / disengagement operation member 143 can be easily performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the strip-shaped body 141e above the lower F-shaped member 141a and the male thread 141 on the tip side are formed.
The total dimension of the cushion sheet 3 is equal to the dimension between the top portion of d and the dimension between the lower strip 142d of the upper F-shaped member 142a and the lower end of the female engaging strip 142b. Yes or slightly undersized. A cushion seat storage space 15 for storing the cushion seat 3 is formed between the lower seat 12 and the upper seat 13.

Hereinafter, another embodiment of the connecting structure of the edges of the switch body 10 in which the sheets are laminated 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 the horizontal direction and the YY direction is referred to as the vertical direction. In particular, the -X direction is referred to as the left, the + X direction is referred to as the right, the -Y direction is referred to as the rear, and the + Y direction is referred to as the front.

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

The lower engaging claw piece group 141b 'has a lower portion C
Cloth band-shaped body 141c 'sewn to the U-shaped member 141a'
And a plurality of lower engaging claw pieces 141d 'that are arranged in parallel in series with the base end portion thereof being caulked to the band-like body 141c', and the upper engaging claw piece group 142b 'has an upper part C. Cloth-shaped band 142 to be sewn to the character member 142a '
c ', and a large number of upper engaging claw pieces 142d' arranged in parallel in series, the base end of which is caulked to the band-shaped body 142c '.

The fastener member 14 'according to the second embodiment is formed by the lower fastener 141' and the upper fastener 142 '. The upper fastener 14
The point that the back sheet 2, which 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.

Then, the lower engaging claw piece 141d 'and the upper engaging claw piece 142 are operated by the engagement operation of the engagement / disengagement operation member 143.
The lower fastener 141 'and the upper fastener 142' are coupled with each other by engaging with each other d ', while the lower fastener 141' and the upper fastener 142 'are disengaged by the disengagement operation of the engagement / disengagement operation member 143. The engaged state is released.

According to the connecting structure of the edge portion 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, thereby lowering the lower part. Since the fastener 141 'and the upper fastener 142' can obtain a very strong and stable coupled state, they are suitable as a coupling structure for the edge portion of the foot switch 1 which is the target of a vigorous stepping motion.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the switch body 10 is opened vertically. 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 seat 3 is not housed is And the upper sheet 13 can be divided. In the cushion sheet 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 are integrated by joining the uneven edge portions 35 to each other) is white. The foot switch 1 is completed as shown in FIG. 2 by accommodating as shown by the extraction arrow and connecting the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 to each other by operating the fastener member 14.

Incidentally, a pair of fasteners 141, 142
Is to operate the fastener member 14 from the point M to the point N by making one round around the periphery of the switch body 10 from the point M on the left side of the terminal member 11 in the switch body 10 to the point N on the right side of the terminal member 11. While the switch body 10 is opened by this, it is closed by operating from the N point to the M point. Instead of this, the switch body 10 is closed by the M point.
The switch body 10 may be opened by operating the point.

By opening the switch main body by operating the fastener member 14, the opposing surfaces of the lower seat 12 and the upper seat 13 can be entirely exposed to the outside, and the cushion seat for the cushion seat storage space 15 can be obtained. The attachment / detachment operation of 3 becomes easy.

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 (a) is
The state where the cushion sheet 3 is being taken out from the storage space 15 of the switch body 10, (b) shows the state where the taken out cushion sheet 3 and the switch body 10 after taking it out are folded and loaded into the packaging box B, respectively. ing.

When packing the foot switch 1,
First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the engagement / disengagement operation member 143.
The upper side seat 13 is separated from the lower side seat 12 by operating the operation piece 143b of FIG.
Then, the cushion sheet 3 is taken out and divided into three (front divided cushion 31, intermediate divided cushion 32, and rear divided cushion 33).

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

Then, by inserting the stacked cushion cushions 31, 32, and 33 stacked on the folded lower sheet 12 and upper sheet 13 into the packaging box B, The packaging of the switch 1 is completed.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view for explaining the action of the swelling sheet 8. When playing a game, as shown in this figure, with the foot switch 1 laid on the floor, the swelling sheet 8 is stepped on with the foot through the decorative sheet 9 While the switch formed in the lower part (the conductive layer 52 and the upper electrode sheet 7 shown in FIG. 1) is turned on and detected, the switch is turned off by removing the foot from the bulging sheet 8. Then, a predetermined game proceeds by this on / off operation.

The switch body 10 has a position where the switch is turned on by the presence of the swelling sheet 8, and
Since the position that is not so is divided by the step,
The player can recognize this step by feeling the bottom of the foot, and therefore, the player can recognize the on / off state without turning down one by one while checking the existence position of the switch during execution. Therefore, the player can be absorbed in 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 formed by the decorative sheet 9 is formed between the edge of the swelling sheet 8 and the surface of the upper electrode sheet 7, the operation of sliding the sole on the switch body 10 is performed. Even so, the sole of the foot can be guided by the inclined portion 93 and smoothly moved onto the bulging sheet 8. Therefore, the inconvenience of tripping over the step is surely 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 bottom layer)
The back sheet 2 is laminated on. This back sheet 2
Is formed by mixing conductive carbon black into a base material of synthetic resin raw material made of EVA,
It is in a state of being imparted with conductivity. Therefore, a large number of sheets including a synthetic resin foam are laminated, and the player violently steps on the switch body 10 in which static electricity is very easily generated, which causes the switch body 10 to have a high level. Even if the static electricity of
Since it is grounded to the floor F via the back sheet 2, a high level of static electricity is stored in the switch main body 10, whereby the inconvenience of receiving an electric shock when storing the foot switch 1 after the game is surely avoided. It

Next, a gaming machine using the foot switch 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 14. FIG. 11 shows the foot switch 1 of the above embodiment.
Is an overall external perspective view showing an embodiment of a gaming machine to which is applied. This gaming machine is for a so-called dance game in which the player steps to dance based on the stepping step instruction output to the display in accordance with the music, and of course it is applied for commercial use, It is configured so that it can also be used for home use.

As shown in FIG. 11, the gaming machine 200 is connected to the gaming machine body 201 and the gaming machine body 201.
Also, 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 action of the player in a dance game, and a game main body The television monitor 203 is connected to 100 and displays a screen of a dance game.

The above-mentioned gaming machine main body 201 has a loading section 201a having an opening on the upper surface thereof, and a cassette type recording medium 204 in which program data of a dance game and the like are recorded is removably loaded in this loading section 201a. I'm supposed to get it. In addition, here, in the game machine main body 201, an interface circuit 221 for a controller 202, which will be described later,
Although the foot switch 1 is connected to one side 222 of the 222 (FIG. 12), both interface circuits 221 and 222 can be connected to the controller 202 when two controllers 202 are connected. In that case, the foot switch 1 may be connected to another interface (not shown) of the gaming machine body 201 (FIG. 12).

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

A graphics data generation processor 207 is connected to the CPU 205. Further, 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, a voice processor 217 and a buffer 218, a decoder 219 and a buffer. 220, interface circuits 221 and 22
2 and the memories 223 and 224 are connected.

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

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

When the game system is constructed by using a personal computer or a workstation as a core, the television monitor 203 corresponds to the display for the computer and the drawing processor 21.
4. The audio processor 217 and the expansion circuit 211 correspond to a part of the program data recorded in the recording medium 204 or the hardware on the expansion board installed in the expansion slot of the computer, respectively, and the interface circuit 221 and the parallel circuit The port 212, serial port 213, and interface circuit 221 correspond to the hardware on the expansion board mounted in the expansion slot of the computer. Also, the buffers 216, 21
Reference numerals 8 and 220 respectively correspond to areas of the main memory 209 or an expansion 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, this processor 207
Has a function of performing coordinate conversion and light source calculation, for example, calculation of a fixed-point format matrix or vector by parallel processing, and for each vertex of 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 image to be processed is obtained, and the address data is returned to the CPU 203 again, or a virtual light source is set. It plays the role of performing a process of calculating the brightness of the image according to the distance.

The interface circuit 221 functions as an interface with peripheral devices, for example, pointing devices such as a mouse and a trackball. The ROM 210 stores program data as an operating system of the gaming system. Speaking of a personal computer, BIOS (Ba
sic Input Output System).

The expansion circuit 211 is an MPEG for moving pictures.
(Moving Picture Engineering
ng Group) and JPEG (Joi) for still images.
nt Picture Engineering Gro
Up) is used to decompress a compressed image compressed by intra coding. The decompression process includes a decoding process (VLC: Variable Length).
Decoding of data encoded by Code), inverse quantization processing, IDCT (Inverse Di)
Examples thereof include a screte Cosine Transform) process, an intra image restoration process, and the like.

The drawing processor 214 is the CPU 20.
3 performs drawing processing for the buffer 216 based on the drawing command output by the third embodiment.

The buffer 216 comprises a display area and a non-display area. The display area is an area for data expansion displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 203.

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

Here, the texture data is two-dimensional image data. The color palette data is data for specifying a color such as texture data. These data are recorded in advance in the non-display area of the buffer 216 by the CPU 203 once from the recording medium 204 or 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 polygonal two-dimensional image, and a triangle or a quadrangle is used in the present embodiment.

As a drawing command for drawing a three-dimensional image using polygons, polygon vertex address data in the display area of the buffer 216 and a texture address indicating a storage position in the buffer 216 of texture data to be attached to the polygon. Color palette data buffer 21 showing the colors of data and texture data
The color palette address data indicating the storage position on 6 and the brightness data indicating the brightness of the texture can be given.

Among these data, the polygon vertex address data on the display area is calculated by the graphics data generation processor 207 by converting the polygon vertex coordinate data in the three-dimensional space from the CPU 203 into the movement amount data and rotation amount of the screen itself. The coordinates are converted based on the data and are replaced with the polygon vertex coordinate data in two dimensions.

The brightness 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 virtually arranged light sources. It

The polygon vertex address data indicates an address on the display area of the buffer 216, and the drawing processor 214 indicates the texture corresponding to the range of the display area of the buffer 216 indicated by 3 or 4 polygon vertex address data. It is designed to write data.

One object is composed of many polygons. The CPU 203 stores the coordinate data in the three-dimensional space of each polygon in the buffer 216 in association with the corresponding skeleton vector data. Then, 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 of looking at the character is changed, the following processing is performed.

That is, the CPU 203 instructs the graphics data generation processor 207 to send the buffer 216.
3 of the vertices of each polygon held in the hidden area of
The dimensional coordinate data and the movement amount data and rotation amount data of each polygon obtained from the skeleton coordinates and the rotation amount data thereof 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 the movement and the rotation of each polygon are sequentially obtained.

Of the three-dimensional coordinate data of each polygon thus obtained, the horizontal and vertical coordinate data are the address data on the display area of the buffer 216, that is, the polygon vertex address data.
It is supplied to the drawing processing processor 214.

The drawing processor 214 writes the texture data indicated by the pre-assigned texture address data on the triangular or quadrangle 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 is such that vertex address data, texture address data, color palette address data indicating the storage position of color palette data indicating the color of texture data on the buffer 216, and texture And luminance data indicating the luminance. Of these data, the vertex address data is the graphics data generation processor 207.
Is coordinate data obtained by coordinate conversion of vertex coordinate data on the two-dimensional plane from the CPU 203 based on the movement amount data and the rotation amount data from the CPU 203.

The voice processor 217 is used for the recording medium 2
The buffer 21 stores the ADPCM data read from 04.
8 and the ADPC stored in this buffer 218.
Let M data be the sound source. And the voice processor 2
17 reads ADPCM data with a clock having a frequency of 44.1 KHz, for example.

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

Audio data read from the recording medium 204 is CD-DA (Compact Disk Digit).
In the case of PCM data such as al Audio), the audio data is processed by the audio processor 217 by the ADPC.
Converted to M data.

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

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
Examples include OM, hard disk, optical disk, flexible disk, 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 is a recording medium driver 227.
ECC (Error Cor)
error correction processing by means of a direction code), and the data after this processing 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, holds the state at the end,
It is for holding various parameters of the game.

The controller 202 is provided in parallel with the foot switch 1 as an operating means that can be operated from the outside. The main part of the controller 202 is to start the game program data loaded from the recording medium 204 by the CPU 20.
3 to the CPU 203 and various information relating to the game program data loaded by the player from the recording medium 204 into the main memory 209.
Select button 202b to be input to the CPU 203 and four character direction keys 202 for giving a command to the CPU 203 for the player to move the character up, down, left or right on the screen
c and. In addition, the controller 202 has
Four first operation buttons 202d and four second operation buttons 202e are provided, and a predetermined function is given to the execution of the 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 stepping operation (step operation) performed by the player. Is. Below, regarding the execution of the game using the foot switch 1, FIG.
It will be described based on 3.

FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram of the main part of FIG. From the functional point of view, the control part of this game system is
It is for centrally processing the operation control of the gaming system. The control unit includes a music title selection unit 303, a performance data memory 304, a step position instruction data memory 305, a deviation amount detection / integration unit 306, a rhythm setting unit 307, a dance image memory 308, and a dance setting unit 309. And a scroll display control unit 310, a mark memory 311, and a stepping motion monitoring unit 312, and an external television monitor 203, a speaker 226, and a controller 2.
02 and foot switch 1.

The song title selection section 303 is the controller 20.
2 or receives a command signal from the foot switch 1 and executes a process of selecting a corresponding music title. The performance data memory 304 stores music data for each song name, that is, performance data of each song in association with the song name. When the selection signal from the song name selection unit 303 is received, the performance data of the designated song is stored. The signals are sequentially output to the speaker 226.

The step position instruction data memory 305 stores a large number of step position instruction data corresponding to a rhythm such as the number of beats (for example, 4 or 8 beats) in a table format according to the degree of difficulty. is there. In addition to the number of beats, the table that stores this step position instruction data
Different rhythms of the same number of beats are prepared, for example, the number of music types of songs, or the number corresponding to each song. Four
In the case of a beat, each step position instruction data is composed of four time-series instruction contents, and one set data is constituted by eight beats, each step position instruction data is eight time-series instruction contents. It is configured. One set data is written in each square of the table. In terms of rhythm, in the case of four beats, various things are prepared, for example, all four beats have the same interval, the first two beats are short, and the second two beats are slow. It is preferable that a plurality of types of step position instruction data of the same difficulty level are prepared. Then, the table corresponding to the music designated by the music title selection unit 303 is selected, and in the present embodiment, one set data in the selected table is the speaker 226.
It is designed to be output to.

The deviation amount detecting / accumulating unit 306 measures the deviation amount based on the stepping operation instruction and the result of the actual stepping operation, in the present embodiment, the timing deviation between the two by using an internal timer or the like, and sets one set. The integrated deviation amount for the stepped position instruction data corresponding to the data is calculated. The rhythm setting unit 307 determines, based on the result of integration from the deviation amount detection / integration unit 306 for the first step position instruction data, for one set data set two before the third and subsequent one set data as described later. The evaluation is performed by leveling up or down 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 one dance image displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 203.
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 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 of the same difficulty level are prepared. The dance setting unit 309 is the rhythm setting unit 307.
In response to the setting signal corresponding to the difficulty level from, the dance image for the third and subsequent one set data is read from the selected table.

The scroll display control unit 310 is for making scroll display on the display surface of the television monitor 203. One set of the step position instruction data set by the rhythm setting unit 307 and read from the step position instruction data memory 305 is replaced with image data (hereinafter referred to as a step position instruction mark) and temporarily stored in the mark memory 311. Is taken into. In the mark memory 311, continuous 1 is displayed so that the image of the step position instruction mark can be displayed on the display surface of the television monitor 203 without interruption during scroll display.
Two pieces of set data are written. The scroll display control unit 310 sequentially shifts the read address at predetermined time intervals so that the mark memory 311 can be moved.
The stepping position instruction mark is written in the buffer 216 (FIG. 12) as a scroll image. In this way
In addition to the dance image that is not scrolled, the stepped position indication mark that is scrolled is also sequentially transferred to the buffer 216, and further, the buffer 21 is displayed by the known display scanning means.
The content of 6 is repeatedly read and displayed at a cycle of 1/60 seconds or the like, the step position instruction 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 (a mode of 1 set data in 4 beats). In this figure, when a player plays a game on the foot switch 1, a dance is performed. The background of the image D and the step position instruction marks M1 to M4 that scroll downward from the upper part of the screen at a predetermined speed are M1, M4, M2 and M.
They are displayed in order of 3. The stationary marks S1 to S4 indicating the lower left, upper right, and other marks displayed at the lower end of the display surface are for performing timing instruction, and the state where the scrolled mark M completely overlaps (coincides with) the stationary mark S is a stepping motion. Guiding the timing. At the timing when the mark M completely overlaps the stationary mark S, the display brightness or the display color of the stationary mark S is temporarily changed to clearly indicate the coincidence of the timings.

Regarding the marks M1 to M4, in the present embodiment, the left-pointing arrow mark M1 is the left stepping position 9a, the right-pointing arrow mark M4 is the right stepping position 9b, and the upward arrow mark M3 is the forward stepping position 9c. The arrow marks M2 correspond to the rear stepping positions 9d, respectively. In the figure,
The dance image has a relatively low difficulty level.

The stepping movement 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 motion monitoring unit 312 processes the ON time of the four front stepping positions 9a to 9d that have been turned on first as detection data, and detects the ON state of each foot switch in a distinguishable manner. .

Next, the game operation of this game system will be described. First, when the start button 202a of the controller 202 is detected to be on, a music title selection screen is displayed on the screen of the television monitor 203. On this screen, for example, song titles are displayed vertically and horizontally, and when a desired song is selected by stepping on a predetermined key of the controller 202 or the game selection positions 9e and 9f of the foot switch 1, the song title selection unit 303 selects. 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, the table having the rhythm of the beat number corresponding to the selected song is designated from the stepping position instruction data memory 305, and the first 2
A predetermined position in this table, for example, stepping position instruction data having an intermediate level of difficulty is set as one set data for each piece, and according to this rhythm, and according to the difficulty level of the set stepping position instruction data. The dance setting unit 309 sets a dance image of different difficulty.

When the first two sets of stepping position instruction data are set, one set of data is overlapped on the dance image D of the background, and is displayed as the stepping position instruction mark M on the television. It is scroll-displayed on the display surface 203a of the John monitor 203. When the scroll display of each step position instruction mark is started, the deviation amount detection / accumulation unit 107 performs a monitoring process. The monitoring process is performed in units of one set data, and when the monitoring result for one set data is sent to the rhythm setting unit 307, the rhythm setting unit 307 evaluates based on the monitoring result.

Then, in response to the evaluation result, the next one set data (that is, the third one set data after the evaluation 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 instruction mark for one set of data that has been evaluated is already scrolled out from the display surface 203a, and the step position instruction mark based on the next one set of data is being scroll-displayed on the display surface 203a. Because there is
One set data set based on the evaluation result will be set one by one.

Next, it is judged whether or not the game is over, that is, whether or not a predetermined time has passed since the game started, whether or not the performance of the selected song is over, or whether or not the predetermined dance evaluation is maintained above a certain level. Etc. is judged. If the dance is not completed, the dance image D and the step position instruction mark M are continuously displayed on the display surface 203a, and the same process as above is sequentially repeated for each set data.

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

Next, the "monitoring process" will be described in more detail. First, a variable i indicating the number of beats of one set data is set to 1 as an initial value, and the front stepping positions 9a to 9d (Fig. The ON signal from 12) is detected, and ± time deviation of the actual stepping time with respect to the time when the mark M completely overlaps the stationary mark S is measured as deviation time data. In this measurement, the cycle of one beat is set by dividing the stationary mark S by ± 1/2 cycle in the time direction (stroke direction of the mark M), and the mark M is stationary within the allocated period. This is performed by measuring the time difference between the time when the mark S completely overlaps the mark S and the detected actual stepping time.

Since the point at which the mark M completely coincides with the stationary mark S is calculated from the cycle of one beat, it is input from the stepping movement monitoring section 111 on condition that the corresponding stepped section 13 is stepped on. The deviation time data is obtained from the time when the ON signal is detected. In addition, the wrong front step position 9a-
If 9d is stepped on, it may be treated as if it was not stepped on, or a stricter negative evaluation may be given. Alternatively, the number of erroneous stepping motions may be counted, and when the number of times reaches a predetermined number, the game may be forcibly ended.

The timing between the timing shifted by 1/2 cycle and the timing at which the marks M and S completely overlap each other is expressed by converting it to, for example, 0 to 100 points. For example, when the actual stepping motion is performed at a time point shifted by 1/2 cycle in either of the ± directions, the actual stepping motion is performed at a point 0 when both marks M and S completely overlap. In this case, it will be 100 points.

When the score conversion of the deviation time data for the mark M for one beat is completed, then the variable i is incremented by 1 and it is determined whether or not the variable i is less than a predetermined number K. The predetermined number K is a value of 5 when one set of data is 4 beats, and a value of 9 when one set of data is 8 beats, respectively, as the number of beats held by the table selected in the step position instruction data memory 305. Correspondingly set. Now 4
If the variable i is less than 5 as one set data in beats,
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, the score for 4 beats is obtained. Therefore, each score in the variable i = 1 to 4 is multiplied by the weighting coefficient to obtain the evaluation for one set data. Score processing is performed. For example, 1 beat and 3
Since it is difficult to take rhythms on the 2nd and 4th beats compared to the 2nd beat, the weighting factor is 12.5% for those scores for the 1st beat and the 3rd beat, and for the 2nd beat. Is 25%
For the 4th beat, multiply each by 50% and score the score at 100 points. It should be noted that the weighting factor in the case where one set of data is composed of 8 beats may be appropriately allocated so as to be 100% as a whole. The weighting coefficient can be set to a desired value, or the coefficient can be set to 25% (4
Beat mode) or 12.5% (8 beat mode).

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

If the score is 20 points, one set data to be set next is the one whose difficulty level is one rank lower than the current rank, and
The dance image D to be set next is also set to have the difficulty level reduced by one rank from the current rank. If the score is between 21 and 79, one set data to be set next has the same difficulty level as the current rank, and the dance image D to be set next is also the current rank. The same difficulty is set. Both the step position instruction data table and the dance image D table store a plurality of types for the same difficulty level, and in the data setting of the same rank, different types of data are stored as much as possible. It should be set. For example, it may be changed in the direction of difficulty within the range of data of the same rank, or may be set randomly from within the same rank. On the contrary, if the score is 80 to 100 points, the one set data to be set next is the one whose difficulty level is increased by one rank with respect to the current rank, and the dance image to be set next. As for D, the difficulty level is increased by one rank from the current rank.

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

As described in detail above, the foot switch 1 according to the present invention is suitable for use in the dance game device as described above, and the lower electrode sheet 5 and the upper electrode capable of detecting the stepping motion are detected. A plurality of sheets including the sheet 7 are laminated, and a bulging portion 91 bulging outward is formed at a portion of the uppermost decorative sheet 9 corresponding to the stepping movement detection position. When the swelling portion 91 is stepped on while the switch 1 is laid on a predetermined floor, the switch is turned on and the stepping motion is detected, but even if the portion where the swelling portion 91 is not provided is stepped on. Since the switch is not turned on, no stepping motion is detected.

Therefore, the operator (when the foot switch is for a gaming machine, the player) swells without performing the troublesome stepping on the foot switch while visually checking the effective position. It is possible to confirm the effective position on the foot switch by the feel of the bottom of the foot by stepping on the portion 91. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a troublesome downward motion for operating the switch, and the foot switch can be operated accordingly. The operability of equipment equipped with is improved.

In particular, when the device equipped with the foot switch is a game machine such as a dance game, the player does not look downward one by one according to the instruction from the game machine or by the player's own will. Foot switch on
Since it is possible to perform the off operation, it is possible to be absorbed in the game as much as it is not necessary to face down, and the game becomes more entertaining.

The present invention can also adopt the following modes. That is, a plurality of sheets are laminated so as to sandwich a sheet-like switch, which is arranged in each row of a plurality of rows and capable of detecting a stepping motion, and a switch signal is provided in the substantially central portion of the front row in the row direction. A mat for a foot switch laid between predetermined sheets of a foot switch in which a cable connector for transmission is formed, wherein a plurality of mat pieces having the same dimension as the row direction dimension of the sheet-like switches in each row are formed. In the mat for a foot switch (the form of (1)) in which each mat piece is releasably joined with its edges facing each other, in the mat pieces, the adjacent mat pieces are You may comprise so that it may couple | bond by fitting corresponding unevenness | corrugation formed in each edge part (form of (2)). By doing so, the adjacent mat pieces are joined to each other by fitting the irregularities of these edge portions together.

In the form (2), the unevenness is
If it is composed of a dovetail-shaped concave portion and a dovetail-shaped convex portion corresponding to the dovetail-shaped concave portion (form (3)), the dovetail-shaped convex portions having the respective roots constricted are respectively formed. By fitting the opening of the into a narrow dovetail-shaped recess, adjacent mat pieces are securely joined together in a state that they do not come off, and even though the mat structure is simple, the adjacent mat pieces can be easily and reliably joined together. It is effective in binding.

The present invention also includes a foot switch to which the foot switch mat according to any one of (1) to (3) is attached. The configuration is formed by a bag body in which an upper side sheet including the sheet-like switch and a lower side sheet on which the foot switch mat is laminated are openably and closably coupled ((4)). Form). According to such a mat, the foot switch is easily formed by inserting the foot switch mat into the opened bag body.

In the form (4), the bag body may be configured such that the peripheral edge portion of the upper sheet and the peripheral edge portion of the lower sheet are detachably coupled via the engaging / disengaging means. (Form (5)). By doing so, the bag can be easily opened and closed by operating the engaging / disengaging means.

In the form (5), if the engaging / disengaging means is any one of a group of fasteners, buttons, adhesive tapes, and knots, the bag body is made of these fasteners, buttons, adhesive tapes, or knots. Can be easily and surely closed.

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

(1) In the above embodiment, 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,
EVA for the swelling sheet 8 and the decorative sheet 9 respectively
(Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer), PE (polyethylene) foam, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE
T (polyethylene terephthalate), urethane foam, EVA, PVC and EMMA (ethane methyl methacrylate copolymer) are used, but the present invention is that each of the sheets 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 synthetic resin (for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene, etc.) having a non-slip property can be applied. Is. Furthermore, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is also preferably used as a material for the back sheet 2. Further, in the above embodiment, the thickness dimension of each sheet is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to the exemplified thickness dimension, and various thickness dimensions can be adopted depending on 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. However, in the present invention, the bulging portions 91 are checkered. The shape is not limited to a certain shape, and may be a staggered shape or a cross shape. Further, it may be formed in a donut shape in a ring shape. Further, the bulging portion 91 may be collected at the central position of the switch 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 may be attached to the fastener member 14 by adhesion or sewing instead of welding. You may

(4) In the above embodiment, the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 are connected to each other by the fastener member 1.
Although they are connected to each other via 4, 14 ',
The members for joining the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13 are not limited to the fastener members 14 and 14 ', but they may be joined by button fastening or by using an adhesive tape. Alternatively, binding cords may be provided on the opposite edges of the lower sheet 12 and the upper sheet 13, respectively, and the binding cords may be bound to each other so as to join the two.

(5) In the above embodiment, the back sheet 2 is provided with conductivity by dispersing carbon black in the synthetic resin material.
It is not limited to imparting conductivity to the back sheet 2 by mixing carbon black into the synthetic resin material. As the back sheet 2, a metal foil laminated on the front and back surfaces of the synthetic resin sheet by a conventional method is used. May be. Aluminum foil is preferably used as the metal foil to be laminated, but other than aluminum foil,
For example, gold foil, silver foil, copper foil, etc. can be mentioned. When a metal foil is laminated on the front and back surfaces of the back sheet 2, it is necessary to energize between the front and back laminated layers. For that purpose, another metal foil may be attached at one location on the edge of the back sheet 2 so as to cover 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 a synthetic resin material. Further, a polka dot pattern may be formed on the back sheet 2 to impart conductivity to the background portion of the polka dot pattern, or conductivity may be imparted in a striped pattern. Further, conductivity may be imparted in a grid pattern.

(6) In the above embodiment, the current-carrying layers 54a to 54d are each formed in a substantially rectangular shape having a concave arc edge portion as shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. The conductive layers 54a to 54d are not limited to have a rectangular shape, but may have various shapes such as a cross shape and an annular shape, and the swelling sheet 8 may have a shape corresponding thereto.

(7) In the above embodiment, the cushion sheet 3 is divided into three parts that can be combined and separated, but the present invention is not limited to the cushion sheet 3 being divisible. Alternatively, they may be integrally formed.

(8) In the above embodiment, the cushion sheet 3 is the lower seat 12 and the upper seat 13.
The cushion sheet 3 is attached to or welded to either or both of the lower side seat 12 and the upper side seat 13 or is sewn together instead of this. Alternatively, both may be integrated.

[0165]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a mat for a foot switch, a plurality of mat pieces having the same dimension as the row-direction dimension of the sheet-like switch are made to have their edges opposed to each other. Since the concavities and convexities are joined together in a state, the number of mat pieces can be halved compared to the conventional method in which the mat is divided into a plurality of pieces in the vertical and horizontal directions. The handling at the time of storage can be facilitated accordingly, and the inconvenience of being lost during handling can be avoided because the number of mat pieces is small.

Even if the foot switch has a vertically long rectangular shape due to the presence of the cable connector, the mat piece has the length dimension equal to the shorter lateral dimension of the foot switch. By wrapping the pieces in a stacked state in the sheet and folding in the direction of the cable connector, the foot switch folded with the mat piece as the core has a shorter longitudinal dimension than when it is wound vertically, Therefore, the storage cost can be reduced and the storage cost can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the mat has fewer discontinuous portions than the conventional one divided vertically and horizontally, it is possible to perform comfortable switch operation without feeling uncomfortable.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

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

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

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

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a part of the edge of the switch body with a part of which is cut away for explaining an embodiment of a joining process of the edges of the switch body.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway enlarged perspective view of an edge portion of the switch main body for explaining 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 vertically.

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

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view in cross section for explaining the action of the swelling sheet 8.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Foot switch 10 Switch body 11 Terminal member (cable joint) 12 Lower seat 13 Upper seat 14,14 'Fastener member 141,141 'Lower fastener 141a Lower F-shaped member 141b Male engagement strip 141c Base end male strip 141d Tip side male line 142,142 'Top fastener 142a Upper F-shaped member 142b Female engagement strip 142c Press-fit groove 142d strip 143 engagement / disengagement operation member 143a Engaging member main body 143b Operation piece 143c Engagement groove 143d Connection protrusion 2 Back sheet 3 Cushion sheet (mat for foot switch) 31 Front split cushion (matte piece) 32 Intermediate split cushion (matte piece) 33 Rear split cushion (matte piece) 34 Notched recess 35 Uneven edge 36 Wedge Protrusion 37 Dovetail 4 Electrode protection sheet 5 Lower electrode sheet 51 Lower sheet body 52 Conductive layer 53 first switch area 54 second switch area 54a Left conducting layer 54b Right conducting layer 54c Front conducting layer 54d Rear conducting layer 54e Central insulation position 54f Corner insulation position 6 Spacer sheet 61 Through hole 7 Upper electrode sheet 71 Graphite layer 72 Central insulation position 73 Corner insulation position 8 Swelling sheet (plate) 8a Left bulging sheet 8b Right bulging sheet 8c front swelling sheet 8d rear swelling sheet 81 arc edge 82 gap 9 Decorative sheet 9a Left foot position 9b Right step position 9c Front step position 9d Rear step position 9e, 9f Game selection position 91 bulge 92 concave 93 Inclined part B Packaging box F floor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Tomoya Yamano 4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Konami Co., Ltd. (72) Keisuke Akasaka 4-3-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Konami Within the corporation (56) Reference JP-A-9-326216 (JP, A) JP-A-7-299176 (JP, A) JP-A-10-255588 (JP, A) JP-A-11-4732 (JP, A) Jitsukai Sho 62-53530 (JP, U) “Pop'n Music Dance Dance Revolution”, Dengeki PlayStation, Japan, Mediawork, February 12, 1999, Volume 5, No. 4, Pages 164-165 (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01H 13/00-13/76 H01H 3/14 A63B 23/04 A63B 69/00 A63F 13/06 G10H 1/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A foot for a game device provided with a foot switch mat laid between predetermined sheets of a foot switch formed by stacking a plurality of sheets in a state of sandwiching the sheet switches arranged at appropriate positions in a grid. In the switch, the foot switch mat is formed so that it can be divided into a plurality of mat pieces having the same size as the size of the cells in the column direction.
Mattopi made is, each mat piece, the adjacent
Irregularities in each of the edges of the scan may fitted to each other are formed, will be notched recess corresponding terminal member for transmitting a switch signal to the substantially central portion of the mat piece to the column direction of the one end is provided, the Multiple sheets are
Upper seat including the switch and the foot switch
The upper side consists of the lower side sheet on which the
The seat and the lower seat are openably and closably connected to each other to form a bag.
A foot switch for a game device, which is characterized by forming a body . Wherein said irregularities, a dovetail-shaped recess, game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the this is made of a response to a dovetail groove-like recess dovetail member shaped protrusions Foot switch. 3. The game according to claim 2 , wherein the bag body is configured such that a peripheral edge portion of the upper sheet and a peripheral edge portion of the lower sheet are detachably coupled to each other via an engaging / disengaging means. Foot switch for equipment. 4. The engaging / disengaging means is a fastener, a button,
The foot switch for a game device according to claim 3 , wherein the foot switch is any one of a group of an adhesive tape and a knot.