JPH0156791B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an input device used in a personal computer or the like, and particularly to a device for inputting a predetermined direction.

[Background Art] Conventionally, there are many devices that play video games using personal computers, television-type game machines, or the like. The content of these video games is determined by the software, and the degree of interest in the game is also determined by the software.

By the way, when playing these video games, the operator (player) gets excited by the content of the game, and if this level of excitement can be reflected in the game content, the player will become more interested in the game. It increases. As a prerequisite for this, there is a need for a device that can detect how excited the operator is, and the advent of this detection device has been requested. Furthermore, in order to detect the operator's excitement, it is necessary to be able to detect the degree of excitement both in simulations for training airplane pilots and in driving a car.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a direction input device that can detect the degree of excitement of an operator while operating a video game or the like. This is the purpose.

[Summary of the Invention] The present invention provides a humidity sensor on a predetermined surface of a gripping member such as a joystick, and outputs an amount corresponding to the level of humidity detected by the humidity sensor.

[Embodiment of the Invention] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a bottom view of FIG. 1.

In the figure, a gripping member (stacks) 10 is a base 3.
0, and has a trigger button 11, a window 12, and a humidity sensor 20. The gripping member 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is called a joystick, and this joystick generally allows input of eight directions and two trigger button states.

The humidity sensor 20 is composed of a semiconductor humidity sensor or the like, and may be provided on any surface of the gripping member 10 as long as it is at a position that is touched by the operator's hand. It is desirable to provide a

Further, on the top of the base 30 there is another trigger button 11.
A is provided at the bottom of the base 30, and a suction plate 31,
An output changeover switch 32, a sensor output changeover switch 33, and an output cord 34 are provided, and a 9-pin connector 35 is provided at the end of the output cord 34. A signal processing circuit 40, which will be described later, is built into the base 30.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a signal processing circuit 40 that outputs an analog signal or a digital signal according to the humidity detected by the humidity sensor 20, and FIG. 5 shows the circuit in FIG. 4 more specifically. However, in this embodiment, the bridge circuit 41 is omitted.

The signal processing circuit 40 includes a signal carrier wave oscillation circuit 4
1a, a bridge circuit 41, an amplifier 42, a rectifier circuit 42a, an A/D converter 43, a clock oscillation circuit 44, and a NAND circuit 45. The output signal of the A/D converter 43 is
This pulse width corresponds to the detected humidity, and a personal computer or the like having a sampling function detects the width of the output signal. On the other hand, the output signal of the NAND circuit 45 is
It is a digital type, the number of pulses corresponds to the detected humidity, and is sent to a personal computer or the like that does not have a sampling function.

In Fig. 5, switch SW1 is an initial reset switch, and when it is turned on, an initial signal (OV) is generated, allowing even so-called sweaty people to get excited just like other people. This is so that the degree can be measured. Further, the resistor Rx and the capacitor Cx determine the width of the output pulse of the A/D converter 43, and the width is determined depending on the personal computer etc. to be connected. clock oscillator 44
outputs a pulse having a width of several tens of ms. In addition, in FIG. 5, the bridge circuit 4
1 is omitted, but this can be omitted if the impedance of the humidity sensor 20 is low. If the impedance of the humidity sensor 20 is higher than a predetermined value, a bridge circuit is needed to match it. 41 is required.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

First, the output changeover switch 32 shown in FIG. 3 determines whether the output is analog or digital, and the sensor changeover switch is set to the humidity sensor side. Then, the connector 35 is connected to a connector of a personal computer or the like. While playing a predetermined game, the operator grasps the grip member 10 with his/her hand.

As the game progresses, the operator's level of excitement gradually increases, and his hands become sweaty as the game progresses. This increase in sweat increases the humidity in the closed space created between the hand and the gripping member 10. Since the humidity sensor 20 is installed in this closed space, the humidity sensor 20 sensitively detects the humidity and sends a signal depending on the level of humidity to a personal computer or the like.

Next, an application example of the present invention using the above embodiment will be described.

A personal computer or the like that receives the above-mentioned humidity-related signal displays the humidity level on an analog display section 61 provided below the game execution screen 51 shown in FIG. Alternatively, in the game execution screen 52 shown in FIG. 7, the humidity level is displayed on the digital display portion 62 overlapping with the game. This increases the sense of realism in the game.

Further, when the operator becomes excited as the game progresses, the content of the game progress may change depending on the degree of excitement. For this purpose, it is first necessary to provide means for executing the game software and a game progress control means for changing the progress of the game according to the level of humidity detected by the humidity sensor 20. As an example of the game progress contents changing, it is possible to change the complexion of the characters appearing in the game depending on the level of excitement of the operator. Of course, other examples may also be used.

Note that FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the above application example, and FIG. 9 shows an example of a block diagram necessary for realizing the application example.
In other words, the input from the joystick and the input from the humidity sensor 20 are transmitted via the general-purpose port 71.
is sent to the computer 70, while the keyboard 7
The signal from 2 is also sent to the computer main body 70,
After the predetermined calculation is executed, the monitors 51 and 52
will be displayed. Note that FIG. 10 shows an example of the computer main body 70.

Although the above embodiment has been explained using a personal computer as an example, the present invention may also be applied to a dedicated game machine called a so-called television game machine. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied not only to simple games but also to so-called adventure games that are analyzed using a computer. In other words, it can be applied to situations in which the operator becomes mentally excited, such as confusion or impatience, in a dialog format.

Furthermore, the present invention is applicable not only to entertainment, but also in simulations used to train airplane pilots, where a humidity sensor is attached to the control stick to determine the suitability of the pilot. Can be done.

It is also suitable for testing not only airplanes but also car drivers, and is especially suitable for highway driving. In other words, a steering wheel may be used instead of the gripping member 10, and since drivers rarely take their hands off the steering wheel on expressways, the driver's degree of excitement can be detected relatively accurately.

Note that the sensor changeover switch 33 in FIG. 3 may be configured to be able to select one or both of a trigger switch and a humidity sensor.
Initial reset switch SW shown in Figure 5
1 may also be used as the conventional trigger button 11a. The humidity sensor 20 includes a dew condensation sensor or a dew condensation prediction sensor in addition to a normal humidity sensor.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention provides the following effects when performing a directional input operation in a video game or the like.
This has the effect that the degree of excitement of the operator can be detected accurately.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a front view showing one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a left side view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a bottom view of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the signal processing circuit, Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram showing Fig. 4 in more detail, 6th
Figure 7 shows a game execution screen, Figure 7 shows another game execution screen, Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the above application example, Figure 9 is a block diagram of the application example, and Figure 10. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a computer main body. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Gripping member, 12... Window, 20... Humidity sensor, 30... Base, 40... Signal processing circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A gripping member that specifies a direction when driving a predetermined device; A humidity sensor provided on a predetermined surface of this gripping member; An analog signal or A direction input device comprising: a signal processing means for outputting a digital signal; 2. The directional input device according to claim 1, wherein the gripping member is a joy stick in a personal computer or a television game machine, a control stick in an airplane simulation, or a steering wheel of an automobile. 3. The direction input device according to claim 1, wherein the humidity sensor includes a dew condensation sensor or a dew condensation prediction sensor. 4. The direction input device according to claim 1, wherein the humidity sensor is provided at a position where the gripping member is covered by an operator's hand.