JPH07219704A - Virtual world expression device and game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To more realistically realize the virtual world in a virtual world expression device such as a television game machine and a virtual reality device. CONSTITUTION:A player grasps a handle part 4 in a state where the respective fingers of one hand are placed on respective displacement parts 6 formed by the elastic bodies of rubber. When various phenomena occur in the virtual world, when a deformed object is grasped in the virtual world, for example, respective solenoids 7 suitably operate and reciprocate the displacement parts 6 in and out, and transmit the movement of the virtual object to the hand, especially, the fingers. Visual display displayed on CRT and tactual display from the handle part 4 are given to the player, and the virtual world can be expressed more realistically.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to a CRT for a virtual world such as a video game machine and a virtual reality device.
The present invention relates to a virtual world expression device that is displayed on a display device such as a visual confirmation form.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a video game machine, a game world as a virtual world is displayed as an image on a display device such as a CRT, and a lever is displayed while a player watches the image.
The game progresses by operating the operation body such as buttons.
In addition, as a virtual reality device, there is a device that displays a virtual world such as an outside scenery or an indoor scenery on a display device and operates an operating body to perform a virtual human action in the virtual world.

However, in the above virtual world representation device, the phenomenon or information in the virtual world is exclusively given from the display device such as a CRT, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to realistically represent the virtual world. .

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and makes a virtual world more realistic in a virtual world expression device such as a video game machine or a virtual reality device. The purpose is to be able to express.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a virtual world expression device according to the present invention is provided with a grip part which is gripped by an operator, and which is provided in the grip part and moves inward and outward. A plurality of possible displacement portions, displacement portion driving means for driving the displacement portions so as to move inward and outward, and drive control means for operating the displacement portion driving means according to a phenomenon in the virtual world. It is characterized by having and.

The number of displacement portions and the arrangement position thereof are not limited to a specific number and position, but it is desirable to arrange the grip portion at a number and position corresponding to the fingers of the hand holding the grip portion. Further, the displacement part driving means is not limited to a specific structure, and for example, an electromagnetic solenoid, a hydraulic mechanism, a pneumatic mechanism or the like can be used. Particularly when an electromagnetic solenoid is used, it is effective to use a multistage solenoid of a type that can adjust the movement stroke of the output actuator rod in multiple stages.

Further, an input means, for example, a pressure sensor can be provided in each displacement section. By doing this, by appropriately displacing each displacement portion by a pressing operation or the like,
You can work in the virtual world. In particular, if each displacement portion is moved in response to this action, a more realistic movement can be brought to each displacement portion.

Further, the game machine according to the present invention is a game machine in which the virtual game world is visually confirmed by a display device and the virtual game world is operated by moving a game operation lever. This game machine is provided with a grip portion that is provided integrally with a game operation lever and that is gripped by an operator, a plurality of displacement portions that are provided on the grip portion and that are movable inward and outward, and their displacements. Displacement portion driving means for driving the portion to move inward and outward, and drive control means for operating the displacement portion driving means in accordance with a phenomenon in the virtual game world.

[0009]

The operator experiences the virtual world by seeing the image displayed on the display device. The displacement portion provided on the grip portion is driven by displacement portion driving means such as an electromagnetic solenoid and reciprocates inward and outward in response to a phenomenon in the virtual world. When the operator grips the grip, the phenomenon in the virtual world is transmitted to the operator as the movement of the displacement part. As described above, the operator can experience the phenomenon in the virtual world by the feel transmitted from the grip in addition to the information from the display device, and thus can experience the virtual world extremely realistically.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a game machine as an embodiment of a virtual world expression device according to the present invention. This game machine has a housing 1, a CRT 2 as a display device housed inside the housing 1, and a lever 3 provided at a front position of the housing 1. A hollow grip 4 is provided on the upper end of the lever 3. The lever 3 is connected to the fulcrum P by a ball joint, and freely tilts in the inverted conical region Q about the fulcrum P.

As shown in FIG. 2, a grip pad 5 formed of a displaceable material, for example, an elastic body such as rubber is fixed to the surface of the grip portion 4. The pad 5 is formed with a concave portion 6 at a position corresponding to each of the five fingers of a human hand so as to accommodate those fingers.
In this embodiment, these five concave portions 6 act as displacement portions.

As shown in FIG. 3, five electromagnetic solenoids 7 acting as displacement portion driving means are fixedly arranged in the hollow portion of the grip portion 4 corresponding to each displacement portion 6. The actuator rod 7a of each electromagnetic solenoid 7 draws in or moves outward of the grip portion 4 by energizing or interrupting energization. Further, when the actuator rod 7a is forcibly pushed inward from the initial position by a finger or the like, the rod 7a is detected by the pressure sensor 8 as an input means.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of an electric control circuit used in the above game machine. This control circuit
A game calculation unit 9 composed of a computer, and C
Display circuit 10 for driving RT2 and various input devices 11
And have. The output signal of the pressure sensor 8 is sent to the game calculation section 9. The game calculation section 9 controls the operation of the solenoid 7 via the solenoid drive control section 12.

Since the game machine of this embodiment is configured as described above, in FIG. 4, the game contents stored in the memory of the game calculation section 9, that is, the virtual world is CR.
It is displayed as an image on the screen of T2. This game content includes various phenomena such as what choices appear for the main character of the game and what enemies appear.

The operator (not shown), that is, the game player, grips the gripping portion 4 with one hand while placing the finger on each displacement portion 6 in FIG. , Move the game protagonist displayed on the CRT 2 to appropriately act on the game world. In addition, the player can select some or all of the displacement portions 6 and push them inward with a finger. When this pushing operation is performed, an output signal is generated in the corresponding pressure sensor 8, and based on this signal, the player can perform some action on the game world.

The game calculation section 9 sends a control signal to the solenoid drive control section 12 (FIG. 4) at an appropriate timing according to the content of the game to extend the actuator rod 7a (FIG. 3) of the solenoid 7. When the actuator rod 7a extends, the corresponding displacement portion 6 moves to the outside of the grip portion 4, and this movement is transmitted to the hand of the player holding the grip portion 4, especially the finger. Since the movement of each displacement section 6 corresponds to various phenomena included in the game content,
The player who feels the movement by tactually is given tactile information in the virtual game world, and as a result, the game world is more visible than when the virtual game world is visually displayed only by the CRT 2. You can feel it more realistically. For example, when considering the case where the game protagonist grasps an object whose shape, state, or motion changes in the game world, it is possible to display the feeling of grasping by the movement of each displacement unit 6 by displaying the virtual feeling. The game world can be expressed even more realistically.

As the solenoid that can be used as the electromagnetic solenoid 7, the actuator rod 7
a single-stage solenoid with one extension stroke of a,
It is possible to use a multistage solenoid or the like of a type capable of adjusting the extension stroke of the actuator rod 7a in multiple stages. In particular, if a multi-stage solenoid is used, the movement of the displacement section 6 can be diversified, so that the virtual game world can be expressed in more variety.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show some specific examples in which various phenomena occurring in the virtual game world are displayed on the CRT 2.

In the scene shown in FIG. 5, a snake 15 is thrown toward the enemy character 14 by the hand 13 of the game hero. In this case, first, each displacement part 6 (Fig. 3)
The player is given a feeling of gripping the snake 15 by repeatedly reciprocating inward and outward with the timings mutually shifted, and all the displacement parts 6 are moved inward at the timing when the snake 15 is thrown. It gives a feeling of loosening the power of the hand. Further, in accordance with the image of the snake 15 coming out of the hand 13, the forces applied to the player's hand, especially the fingers, from the respective displacement portions 6 are released in order from the bottom.

In the scene shown in FIG. 6, the game protagonist 16 throws a sword 18 toward the enemy character 17. In this case, each pressure sensor 8 detects the pressure change of the finger of the player holding the grip portion 4 (see FIG. 3), and the operation of each solenoid 7 is controlled based on the pressure change. The force applied from the displacement section 6 to the player's finger is sequentially released according to the image of the sword 18 coming out of the hand.

In the scene shown in FIG. 7, the game protagonist's hand 1
The snake 15 is grasped by 3. In this case, the pulsation of the snake 15 is transmitted to the player's hand by reciprocating the respective displacement parts 6 (see FIG. 3) synchronously and periodically inward and outward. In addition, by sequentially reciprocating the displacement portions 6 inward and outward in a wavy manner, the snake 1
5 gives a moving feel. Further, the pressure sensor 8 detects a pressure change of the player's finger holding the grip 4, and the operation of each solenoid 7 is controlled based on the pressure change, thereby responding to the player's finger movement. Snake 1
It can express the state that 5 moves.

In addition to the above-mentioned cases, the eels are grabbed by reciprocating the displacement parts 6 in an appropriate order,
It is possible to realistically simulate the situation where water is discharged from the water discharge hose. Further, when considering a game world that includes raising and lowering the game protagonist as one of the game factors, the rise and fall of the game protagonist can be tactilely expressed by the movement of each displacement unit 6.

FIG. 8 shows a modification of the displacement portion driving means for reciprocating the displacement portion 6. The displacement portion driving means shown here is a bellows member arranged inside the grip portion 4,
That is, it has a bellows 19 and an air pump 20 for supplying air into the bellows 19. Code 2
Reference numeral 1 denotes a control unit, that is, a valve that is turned on / off in accordance with a command from the game calculation unit 9 (FIG. 4) to allow and block the flow of air. The valve 21 and the air pump 20 are housed outside the grip portion 4, particularly inside the game machine housing 1. The air pipe 22 that connects the bellows 19 and the air pump 20 may pass through the inside of the lever 3 or may pass through the outside of the lever 3.

In this embodiment, the valve 21 is turned on and off at an appropriate timing to supply air into the bellows 19 or shut off the supply. As a result, the bellows 19 reciprocates inward and outward due to the air pressure, causing the displacement portion 6 to reciprocate.
In this embodiment, a bellows 19 is used as a displacement portion pressing member that can reciprocate while being in contact with the displacement portion 6, and an air pump 20 and a valve 21 are used as drive sources for reciprocating the displacement portion pressing member. By arranging the lightweight bellows 19 inside the grip 4, and arranging the relatively heavy air pump 20 and the valve 21 inside the housing 1, the operability of the lever 3 can be ensured. Moreover, since the structure of the bellows 19 is extremely simple and the size thereof is very small, the grip portion 4 can be formed in a small shape.

FIG. 9 shows another modification of the displacement portion driving means for reciprocating the displacement portion 6. The displacement section driving means shown here reciprocates the displacement elements 6 inward and outward by reciprocating the pusher 24 inward and outward by the push-pull cable 23. The push-pull cable 23 is configured by passing a wire cable through a flexible tube. A pusher 24 is fixed to one end of the wire cable and an output rod of an electromagnetic solenoid 27 is connected to the other end. Has been done. When the solenoid 27 is turned on / off, the wire cable in the push-pull cable 23 moves in the tube to reciprocate the pusher 24, whereby the displacement portion 6
Reciprocates.

Also in this embodiment, the pusher 24 acting as the displacing portion pushing member and the upper portion of the push-pull cable 23 are disposed inside the grip portion 4, and the electromagnetic solenoid 27 acting as the driving source is the game machine housing. 1 is disposed inside.

The present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and can be variously modified within the technical scope described in the claims.

For example, the device to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to a game machine, but an external landscape, an indoor landscape, etc. are displayed on a display device to give the player a feeling as if they were present in those landscapes. It can be applied to a so-called virtual reality device for the purpose. In this case, the outside scenery, the indoor scenery, etc. are assumed to be the virtual world.

Regarding the display device, in addition to the CRT display placed at a position away from the player as shown in FIG. 1, a small display device is built in a helmet that the player can wear. A structure can be adopted in which the display device is set immediately before the player's eyes when the player wears the helmet.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, since it is assumed that the lever 3 is used as an input device for a game machine, the lever 3 can be freely tilted within the inverted conical region Q. However, when such tilting operation of the lever 3 is not necessary in relation to the image displayed on the CRT 2, the lever 3 may be simply fixed to the housing 1 so as not to tilt.

The number and arrangement position of the displacement portions 6 are not limited to those shown in FIG. For example, the number may be one, or may be six or more. In addition, in the case shown in FIG. 2, the displacement portion 6 is provided at a position where each finger hits when the grip portion 4 is gripped from the side direction. The displacing portion 6 can be provided at a position where the contact is made.

In the case shown in FIG. 3, an electromagnetic solenoid is used as the displacement portion driving means, but other arbitrary means, for example, a pneumatic cylinder operated by air pressure, a hydraulic cylinder operated by hydraulic pressure, or the like is used. be able to.

[0033]

According to the virtual world expression device according to the first aspect and the game machine according to the sixth aspect, the phenomenon in the virtual world is known by the feel transmitted from the grip portion in the natural state of grasping the hand. Since it is possible to provide a lot of information in the virtual world, the expression of the virtual world is enriched. In addition, the virtual world can be represented more realistically by displaying the state of gripping an object whose shape, state, and movement change in the virtual world by the movement of the displacement portion.

According to the virtual world representation device of the second aspect, since the phenomenon occurring in the virtual world can be transmitted to each finger of the hand, the virtual world can be more realistically represented.

According to the virtual world representation device of the third aspect, since the movement stroke of the displacement portion can be changed, the virtual world can be represented more realistically.

According to the virtual world representation device of the fourth aspect, it is not necessary to provide a drive source inside the grip portion, so that the grip portion can be formed in a small shape.

According to the virtual world expression device of the fifth aspect and the game machine of the ninth aspect, the movement of the displacement portion transmitted to the palm can be controlled in response to the change in the force of grasping the grip portion, so that the virtual world is generated. It can be expressed more realistically.

According to the seventh and eighth aspects of the game machine, the grip portion can be formed in a small shape and the game operation lever can be operated lightly.

[0039]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a virtual world expression device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a main part of FIG. 1, particularly a grip part.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the grip shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of an electric control system used in the virtual world expression device shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which an example of a virtual world is displayed as an image on a CRT.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which another example of the virtual world is displayed as an image on a CRT.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state where still another example of the virtual world is displayed as an image on a CRT.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing another embodiment of the displacement unit driving means.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing still another embodiment of the displacement unit driving means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Housing 2 CRT (display device) 3 Lever 4 Grip part 5 Gripping pad 6 Displacement part 7 Electromagnetic solenoid (displacement part drive means) 7a Actuator rod 8 Pressure sensor (input means) 19 Bellows (displacement part drive means) 20 Air pump (Displacement part driving means) 23 Push-pull cable (displacement part driving means) 24 Pusher (displacement part driving means) 27 Electromagnetic solenoid (displacement part driving means)

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A virtual world expression device for visually confirming a virtual world by a display device, and a grip part gripped by an operator, and a plurality of grip parts provided on the grip part and movable inward and outward. Displacement parts, displacement part driving means for driving the displacement parts to move inward and outward, and drive control means for operating the displacement part driving means in accordance with a phenomenon in the virtual world. A virtual world expression device characterized by that. 2. The virtual world expression device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of displacement parts are arranged at positions corresponding to fingers of a hand holding the grip part. 3. The virtual world expression device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the displacement part driving means has a multi-stage electromagnetic solenoid in which the movement stroke of the actuator rod can be adjusted in multiple stages. Expression device. 4. The virtual world expression device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement portion driving means is disposed inside the grip portion and is capable of reciprocating in a state of being in contact with the displacement portion. And a drive source that is disposed outside the grip and that reciprocally moves the displacement portion pressing member. 5. The virtual world representation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein input means for acting on the virtual world is provided in at least one of the displacement parts. A virtual world expression device. 6. A game machine in which a virtual game world is visually confirmed by a display device and the virtual game world is operated by moving the game operation lever, the game machine being provided integrally with the game operation lever. A grip portion to be gripped by an operator, a plurality of displacement portions provided on the grip portion and movable inward and outward, and displacement portions for driving the displacement portions to move inward and outward. A game machine comprising: drive means and drive control means for operating the displacement part drive means in accordance with a phenomenon in the virtual game world. 7. The game machine according to claim 6, wherein the displacement portion driving means is disposed inside the grip portion, and is capable of reciprocating while being in contact with the displacement portion, and the outside of the grip portion. And a drive source for reciprocally moving the displacement portion pressing member. 8. The game machine according to claim 7, wherein the displacement portion pressing member is composed of an elastic member which expands and contracts by air pressure, and the drive source is composed of an air supply source for supplying air into the elastic member. A game machine characterized by that. 9. The game machine according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the displacement parts is provided with an input means for acting on the virtual game world.