JPH0744292A - Man-machine interface device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a man-machine interface device by which it is possible to cope with plural electronic equipment main bodies. CONSTITUTION:A man-machine interface device 1 which inputs instruction information to the plural kinds of electronic equipment whose operation specifications/formats are different, is equipped with an identification information obtaining circuit which obtains identification information indicating the kind of the preset electronic equipment, and plural kinds of access circuits 11A, 11B, and 11C which read key information from key switch circuits 10A-10N which output the instruction information as the key information based on a reference signal from the electronic equipment. At that time, the key information is obtained by selecting the access circuit corresponding to the identification information among those plural kinds of access circuits.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a man-machine interface device, and more particularly to a man-machine interface device capable of inputting information to a plurality of types of electronic devices having different operation standards / formats with a single man-machine interface device. Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a game machine widely used in the home as a video game, a plurality of kinds of game machines having different operation standards / formats are commercially available depending on manufacturers. At the time of game operation, a control signal for instructing the game machine main body, game progress, etc. is sent from the user side through a controller such as a joystick. The controller is provided with various key switches for instructing the above-mentioned game progress state (movement instruction of a specific portion on the monitor, operation mode designation, etc.), and reads out the ON / OFF state of these key switches and sends them to the main body side. is doing.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional game machine, the instruction control signal from the user side is sent from the controller. However, the key switch status provided on the controller is read based on the read reference signal from each game console, so the controller is also manufactured exclusively for the game console and compatible with other game consoles. There is no sex. For example, in a controller for a certain game machine, an access is read as parallel information in a shift register, key information is stored, and the key information is read out from this shift register as serial information according to a shift clock supplied from the game machine body. A circuit is provided. On the other hand, controllers for other game machines are provided with an access circuit for reading out key information as parallel information via a data selector in response to a select signal from the main body. Further, the arrangement and the number of the pins of the cable terminals connecting the game machine main body and the controller are different for each game machine. Therefore, when the user has a plurality of game machines, he or she has to purchase a plurality of controllers, which is inconvenient and causes a problem in terms of storage location. The above problems occur not only in the game machine but also in other man-machine interface devices such as a mouse, a track board and a keyboard.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a man-machine interface device which can handle a plurality of electronic equipment bodies.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a man-machine interface device according to the present invention comprises:
An identification information acquisition circuit that receives instruction information and operates, and acquires identification information indicating the types of electronic devices of different types having different operation standards / formats, and the instruction that is operated by the user and is supplied to the electronic device. A key switch circuit for outputting information as key information, and a plurality of types of access circuits for reading the key information from the key switch circuit in a standard / format corresponding to the plurality of types of electronic devices based on a reference signal from the electronic device And a selector circuit that selects an access circuit corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of types of access circuits and outputs the key information. The identification information can be obtained by determining the type of the cable connected to the electronic device, and for example, the identification information can be obtained from the structure of the terminal portion of the cable and the potential level.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an identification information acquisition circuit for obtaining identification information indicating the type of an active electronic device in a man-machine interface device for inputting instruction information to a plurality of types of electronic devices having different operating standards / formats. And a plurality of types of access circuits for reading the key information from the key switch circuit that outputs the instruction information as key information based on the reference signal from the electronic device. Select the circuit and get the key information.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of a man-machine interface device according to the present invention, which is a configuration example of a controller for a game machine. Also,
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram when the present invention is applied to three types of game machine main bodies. In this embodiment, a key switch group 1 including N key switches 10A to 10N in a controller 1 is provided.
0 is provided, and an access circuit for reading the state of each key switch is adapted to each of the three types of game consoles.
Two access circuits 11A, 11B and 11C are provided.

The controller 1 and the game machine main body 2 are connected via a cable connector 3, and a read signal for the access circuits 11A to 11C built in the controller 1 is supplied from the game machine main body 2 to the controller 1, while the controller 1 The key information from is supplied to the game machine body 2. One terminal portion 32 of the cable connector 3
Has a shape and structure adapted to each of the above three types of game machine main bodies, and the other terminal portion 31 is the controller 1
It has a shape and structure that conforms to.

In this embodiment, the type of the game machine main body 2 connected to the controller 1 via the connector 3 is identified by identifying the cable connector 3 used for the connection, and the identification information is the controller 1 Sent to.

This identification information is supplied to the data selector 12A, key information from the access circuit for the game machine main body corresponding to the identification information is selected and sent to the game machine main body 2 via the connector 3. At this time, the read signal to the access circuit corresponding to the identification information is
Is sent to the data selector 12B via the connector 3 and supplied as a read signal for reading the key information of the key switch group 10 to the access circuit corresponding to the identification information.

Referring to FIG. 2, the above-mentioned cable connectors 3A, 3B and 3C suitable for the three types of game machine main bodies 2A, 2B and 2C are prepared, and the terminal portions 31A to 31C of each cable connector are the controller 1. It is compatible with the terminal portion 13 of.

The controller 1 includes an access circuit 11 corresponding to each of the game machine bodies 2A to 2C shown in FIG.
A to 11C are provided, the access circuit is operated based on the identification information indicating the type of the game machine body, and the key information is fetched. Various keys 10 such as an up / down / left / right movement instruction key and a mode setting key are installed on the front surface of the controller 1.

The type of the game console body connected as described above can be identified by determining the type of the cable connector used for the connection. For example, connection cable 3
This pin information may be discriminated on the controller 1 side based on the pin configuration such as the connection configuration, pin arrangement, presence / absence of pins given to the specific pin on the terminal section 31 side.

The above-described embodiment is not limited to the field of game machines, but it is needless to say that it can be applied to any man-machine interface device such as a mouse, a trackball and a keyboard.

[0015]

As described above, according to the man-machine interface device of the present invention, one electronic device can be used for all electronic devices regardless of the type of the electronic device main body that operates by receiving information from the controller. Since it can be applied to the main body, not only the usability is significantly improved, but also the cost is advantageous.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram showing an embodiment of a man-machine interface device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram when the present invention is applied to three types of game machine main bodies.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 controller 2, 2A-2C game machine main body 3, 3A-3C game connector 10 key switch group 10A-10N, 15, 16 key switch 11A-11C access circuit 12A, 12B data selector 13, 31, 32 terminal section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An identification information acquisition circuit which operates by receiving instruction information and acquires identification information indicating types of a plurality of types of electronic devices each having a different operation standard / format; A key switch circuit that outputs the supplied instruction information as key information, and reads the key information from the key switch circuit in a standard / format compatible with the plurality of types of electronic devices based on a reference signal from the electronic device. A man-machine interface, comprising: a plurality of types of access circuits; and a selector circuit that selects an access circuit corresponding to the identification information from the plurality of types of access circuits and outputs the key information. apparatus. 2. The man-machine interface device according to claim 1, wherein the identification information acquisition circuit is a circuit that acquires the identification information by determining a type of a cable connected to the electronic device. 3. The man-machine interface device according to claim 2, wherein the identification information is defined by a structure of a terminal portion of the cable and a potential level.