JPH11216266A - Amusement device with energy saving function and game place arranging same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an amusement device with an energy saving function, by which energy saving is attained while keeping the roll of a display in the amusement device. SOLUTION: The amusement device 1 is provided with a display 5 for displaying game information on the front surface of a casing. In this case, a sensor 10 for detecting a person in front of the display part of the display 5 is provided in the casing and the device is constituted so that by detecting the person by the sensor 10, electric power for displaying game information on the display is supplied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the problem of energy saving has been raised worldwide due to environmental problems and the like. However, there is no commercially available amusement device to which energy saving measures have been applied as far as it is known.

[0002]

As described above, energy saving measures have not been considered so far in the amusement industry, for example, because the glare is reduced when the lighting of the amusement facility is darkened. It is also believed that the inherent nature of the amusement industry was a major factor.

When energy saving in an amusement device is considered, it is considered efficient to turn off the power of a display that consumes the most power when the device is not in use. However, there is a problem in the nature of the amusement device. Not so easy. In other words, the display of the amusement device often has a role of advertising the game player what kind of game can be played with the amusement device, and therefore,
The display of a typical amusement device is usually located on the front of the housing. Therefore, for example, if the display is turned on after the money for playing the game is input to the game, the game player cannot know what amusement device can play the game without inputting the money. Inconvenience will occur.

As another method, when a game player touches an operation button or an operation lever of an amusement device, the display may be turned on. A very troublesome operation is required such that the user must touch a plurality of operation buttons and operation levers of the amusement device and check a game that can be performed by each amusement device, and cannot be practically adopted.

On the other hand, in another field other than the amusement device, a cash dispenser installed in a bank or the like is provided with a human body detection sensor, and when the device is not used for a certain period of time, the device enters a power saving mode, and the human body detection device is used. Some already come into use by switching on when sensors approach a person. In the above-described power saving mode, the use instruction screen (usually a touch panel is added) is powered off, and is in a state where it is considered that the switch is not turned on when viewed from the outside. Various such power saving control methods have been proposed, and one of them is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-119090. Line 41 of page 17, column 17 of JP-A-6-119090 describes that the power-saving method can be applied to a game machine, but the problem specific to the amusement device as described above. No specific proposal has been made in consideration of the above.

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to propose energy saving measures suitable for an amusement apparatus.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the amusement apparatus having a display for displaying game information on a front surface of a housing, the housing has a sensor for detecting a person at least in front of a display portion of the display. And the sensor is configured to supply power for displaying game information to the display by detecting a person.

When power for displaying game information is supplied to the display by detecting a person by the sensor, if a CRT display is used for the display, whether the display is started up from a standby mode or no standby power is supplied. The present invention is not limited to whether or not to start up from a state where it is not performed. The standby mode refers to a state in which electrons are emitted from the electron gun of the CRT display at any time, and a preliminary power is supplied for standby. When the display is started from the standby mode, it is of course more convenient because the time until the display is displayed can be extremely short. In the invention of claim 5, the CRT display is normally in a standby mode so as to start up in such an extremely short time, and is switched to a display mode in which game information is displayed on a display section when a sensor detects a person. Transition.

When such a standby mode is considered on a liquid crystal display, game information is usually expressed on a liquid crystal panel. When a person is detected by a sensor, backlight power is supplied and the game information expressed on the liquid crystal display panel is displayed. It is conceivable that the information is configured to be clearly visible from the outside. The game information display power in the case of this liquid crystal display corresponds to the backlight lighting power. In the amusement apparatus, the display is a CRT display, and the CRT is
The display is usually in a standby mode of a power saving mode in which no display is performed, and by detecting a person by the sensor, the display shifts from the power saving mode to a display mode for displaying game information. Features. In addition, the above-mentioned display is C
The present invention is not limited to the RT display and the liquid crystal display, or can be appropriately adopted such as a plasma display.

In the invention according to a second aspect, an adjusting means is provided which can adjust a detection area of a person in front of the display unit in the sensor.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game arcade in which a plurality of the amusement devices according to any one of the first and second aspects are arranged in a row, wherein a sensor provided in the amusement device detects a person. The area is characterized in that a detection area is set so as not to detect a person using another adjacent amusement device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game arcade in which the amusement device with a power function according to the third aspect is arranged, wherein the amusement devices are arranged in a plurality of rows, and a passage is formed between each row. The pair of amusement devices arranged across the passage have a sensor detection area provided by a pair of amusement devices.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (Embodiment 1) An embodiment of an amusement apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an amusement apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. An amusement apparatus 1 according to this embodiment progresses a game based on a game program, and outputs a video signal as game information corresponding to the progress of the game based on video information stored in advance. A display control circuit 3 which receives a signal and converts it into a video signal corresponding to a display 5 described later; a display 5 which receives an output signal from the display control circuit 3 and displays the game information on a display unit 5A thereof; And a display power supply for supplying power to the display 5 via the switching circuit 7. The switching circuit 7 is provided with a sensor 10 for detecting whether or not a human body exists in the detection area and / or whether or not the human body has entered.
2A is an operation means for a game player to input a game while watching a video displayed on the display unit 5A, and 2B detects a predetermined charge input and sends a game start signal to the game control unit 2. It is a coin selector to output.

The switching circuit 7 includes the sensor 1
In response to a human detection signal from 0, supply of display power to the display 5 is cut off. As described above, the method is not limited to the method of completely turning off the power supply to the display 5 when no person is present in the detection area of the sensor. In particular, when a CRT monitor is used as the display, the display 5A of the display 5 It is preferable to supply a small amount of power smaller than the display power so that the display can be performed instantaneously. As a method for instantly starting up the CRT display 5 by the switching operation, an existing method used in a home television or the like can be adopted.

FIG. 2 is an overall view of the amusement apparatus 1, in which the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

Reference numeral 1A denotes a housing, and a display portion 5A of the display 5 is provided on the front surface 1B of the housing 1A so as to be disposed diagonally upward. A sensor 10 is provided below the display 5A so as to detect a person in front of the display.

The sensor 10 for detecting a person can be any sensor that can achieve a desired purpose, such as an ultrasonic sensor used for a toilet or a pyroelectric infrared sensor used for an intrusion alarm sensor system. Any sensor can be employed.

Since the display section 5A of the display 5 is provided on the front face 1B of the housing 1A, the game information displayed on the display section 5A is used for game play while sitting on a chair disposed in front of the housing. Not only can the game player see the game comfortably, but also can be easily viewed without being looked into by other people, and if the other person understands the game based on the displayed game information, the promotion The following effects can be obtained.

A sub-screen 5C is provided above the display section 5A. Although this sub-screen 5C is not essential,
On the sub-screen 5C, the sensor 10 detects a forward person, and the game information can be continuously displayed until the game information is displayed on the display unit of the display 5. I have. The sub-screen 5C is configured by a liquid crystal screen smaller than the display 5 and consumes much less power than the display 5 employing the CRT display.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a speaker which is connected to the game control circuit 2 and receives a sound signal (not shown) transmitted from the game control circuit 2 to generate a sound outside.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a game arcade in which a plurality of the amusement devices 1 are arranged.

In general, when a plurality of amusement devices 1 are installed in a game arcade, they are generally installed in a row, and when the amusement devices 1 are installed in a plurality of rows, a passage S is provided between opposing rows. Can be

The symbol E denotes the amusement device 1
And the detection area of the amusement device 1 in the opposing row forms an overlapping detection area in the passage S. As described above, the overlapping detection area E is determined by which of the amusement devices 1 facing the person passing / passing the passage in the currently marketed sensor 10 as far as it is known. Cannot be determined. If it is configured to be able to detect with both sensors 10, it is possible to respond to displaying interest in either amusement apparatus 1 by displaying respective game information on any of the displays 5. T indicates a chair or a game player.

The detection area E of the sensor 10 provided in each amusement device 1 does not detect the game player (person) even if there is a game player operating the adjacent amusement device 1 in the same row. The area is set as follows.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 4 shows a modification of Embodiment 1 described above. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same components.

The second embodiment is characterized in that an adjusting means 10A for adjusting the detection area E of the sensor 10 is provided.

The sensor 10 employs a pyroelectric infrared sensor. The horizontal direction of the detection area is adjusted by the aperture of the Fresnel lens, and the front detection distance can be adjusted by the mounting angle of the sensor 10. doing. As the adjusting means 10A, various methods can be adopted as long as they can be manually adjusted like a focus stop of a camera.

[0030]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the display device for displaying game information is provided on the front surface of the housing, and the sensor is disposed so as to detect a person in front of the front surface. When the game player to be used comes to an area where the display of the amusement device can be visually recognized, power is supplied to the display, and the game information displayed on the display can be displayed. Therefore, similarly to the conventional amusement device without energy saving measures, it is possible to determine whether or not the game player uses the amusement device while watching the game information, and to set the person in the area where the sensor can detect the person. Until the power is turned on, the display is not supplied with power, so that energy saving can be achieved at the same time.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the adjusting means for adjusting the detection area of the person by the sensor is provided, the installation position of a game arcade where the amusement device is installed and the amusement device are managed. The detection area can be set according to the owner's preference. In other words, it is possible to freely set the detection area to be wider if the game space is to be as colorful as possible, or to increase the detection area if priority is to be given to energy saving.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, detection by a sensor of an adjacent amusement device different from the amusement device in which oneself plays a game is eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to save power required for display display of the adjacent amusement device and to concentrate on game play. Further, even for the owner who manages and operates the amusement device, there is no economic loss since one game player cannot use two amusement devices.

In addition, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the path existing between the opposing rows of the amusement apparatus group is set as the detection area where the sensors of the opposing amusement apparatus are overlapped, so that the game player passing through the path can be used. Regardless of which row of amusement devices are interested, both displays can be powered to display game information. Therefore, a normal sensor cannot determine which amusement device the game player's eyes are pointing at, but it can cover the shortcomings of the sensor.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the standby state is set to the standby mode, when the sensor detects a person, the display mode is immediately changed to the display mode, so that the game player can instantly visually recognize the game information displayed on the display unit. Becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an amusement apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the amusement apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan layout view of a game hall where a plurality of amusement devices shown in FIG. 1 are installed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a modification of the amusement device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Amusement device, 1A housing, 1B
The front, 5 displays, 10 sensors, E detection area, and S passage.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An amusement device having a display for displaying game information on a front surface of a housing, wherein the housing is provided with a sensor for detecting at least a person in front of a display unit of the display, An amusement device with a power saving function, characterized in that power for game information display is supplied to the display by detecting a person. 2. The amusement apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting unit that can adjust a detection area of the person in front of the display unit in the sensor. 3. A game arcade in which a plurality of the amusement devices according to claim 1 or 2 are arranged in a row, wherein a sensor detection area of a sensor provided in the amusement device is different from another adjacent one. A game arcade in which an amusement device with a power saving function is arranged, wherein a detection area is set so as not to detect a person using the amusement device. 4. A game arcade in which the amusement device according to claim 3 is arranged, wherein the amusement devices are arranged in a plurality of rows, a passage is formed between each row, and the amusement apparatus is arranged across the passage. A game arcade in which an amusement device with a power saving function is arranged, wherein a person detection area of a sensor included in a pair of amusement devices is set to be detectable in the passage in an overlapping manner. 5. The amusement apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is a CRT.
A display, wherein the CRT display is usually in a standby mode of a power saving mode in which no display is performed, and the display displays game information from the power saving mode by detecting a person by the sensor. It is characterized by shifting to a display mode.