JPH1133236A - Biofeed-back game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To start a game in a state where a biosignal is correctly fetched by checking a sensor connecting interface part and also checking whether the biosignal is correctly inputted or not through a sensor. SOLUTION: An earlobe sensor 1 is connected to the connector 2 of the sensor connecting interface part 5, a first check means 14a outputs a normal signal when the connector 2 is correctly connected to a connector 4 of a controller 3 and an operation is shifted to the judging operation of a second checking means 14b. In the second checking means 14b, the game can be started only when a stipulated number of biosignals are fetched by the earlobe sensor 1 at prescribed time interval.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a biofeedback game machine, and more particularly, to the capture of heart rate, pulse, brain wave, face temperature, skin resistance, and the like of various biological signals from a player, and uses these as parameters as parameters for progress of a game. The present invention relates to a game device that changes the development.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a normal game, a gamer operates a controller, a keyboard, and the like while watching the screen of a display to advance the game. During the course of the game, the gamer gets excited about a good operation or a failure. Therefore, a sensor is attached to the player, and various biological signals, such as a heartbeat, a pulse, an electroencephalogram, a face temperature, and a skin resistance, are taken from the player and fed back to the progress of the game so as to change the development of the game. A game console has been developed.

[0003]

However, when the sensor is not properly attached before the game is started and the biological signal cannot be detected faithfully, the original fun of the biofeedback game may not be experienced.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and checks whether or not an interface unit of a sensor is correctly connected and whether or not a biological signal is correctly output from a player. In advance, if the interface unit is not connected properly or a biological signal is not input, a warning is issued and the sensor interface is disconnected or the biological signal is not correctly input Prevent the game from starting.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a first check means for checking the connection of the sensor connection interface unit, and whether a predetermined number of biological signals are input within a predetermined time interval. And a second check means for checking the interface, so that the game can be started only when the interface section of the sensor is correctly connected and the biological signal is correctly input.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a window for displaying a biological signal on a monitor is provided so that the status of the biological signal input to the sensor can be known from the display in the window.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiment 1 FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a biofeedback game machine according to the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a sensor for detecting a biological signal from, for example, an earlobe, which includes pinching portions 1a and 1b for pinching the earlobe.
The light-emitting device is composed of a light-emitting body 1c mounted on one of the holding portions 1a and a light-receiving element 1d mounted on the other holding portion 1b. By detecting at 1d, the flow of blood changes due to the heartbeat, so that the amount of light detected by the light receiving element 1d changes, thereby making it possible to capture the heartbeat.

[0008] The output from the sensor 1 is input to the connector 4 of the controller 3 via the connector 2. The connector 2 and the connector 4 constitute a sensor connection interface unit 5 of the sensor 1.

The controller 3 is provided with various switches or operating members. A control signal output from the controller 3 and a biological signal (heartbeat) output from the earlobe sensor 1 are supplied to a connector 7 via a wiring 6. A connector 8 provided on the main body 8
Is supplied to the connector 8.

The connector 8 is a CPU 9 built in the main body 8.
Or to the display 10. Body 8 is CPU
9, a RAM 11, a ROM 12, a speaker 13, and a check means 14.

A storage device 15 is connected to the main body 8, and the storage device 15 is composed of a cassette or a disk, and is a program ROM. The CPU 9 reads this program and displays it on a display 10 as a game screen. .

The checking means 14 has a first checking means 14a for judging the connection state of the sensor connection interface section 5 and detecting whether or not the connector 2 is correctly connected to the connector 4. Further, the checking means 14 checks whether or not a predetermined number of heartbeat signals, for example, three heartbeat signals are input within a predetermined time interval, for example, an interval of 3 seconds, after determining the connection state of the sensor connection interface unit 5. It has means 14b.

The first check means 14a supplies a dummy signal from, for example, the connector 4 of the controller 3 to the connector 2 and compares the reflected signal of the dummy signal with a reference value to connect the connector 2 to the connector 4 accurately. The determination is made based on the first check means 14a.

Alternatively, a switch may be formed between the connector 2 and the connector 4, and the first check means 14a may have a function of determining the connection state of the connector 2 depending on whether the switch is closed.

The second check means 14b operates after the first check means 14a completes the check. The second check means 14b generates a pulse at intervals of, for example, 3 seconds. It is determined whether or not three heartbeat signals are input. If three heartbeat signals are input, a normal signal is output. When the CPU 9 receives this normal signal, the game starts when the start switch of the controller 3 is pressed. However, the second check means may input only two heartbeat signals within a predetermined time range. If no heart rate signal is input, or if four or five heart rate signals that cannot be expected normally are input, the game is not started.

The operation of the biofeedback game machine having the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 2, by turning on a power switch (not shown) and starting the game in step S1,
A display 10a for selecting the number of gamers in the game is displayed on the display 10. By selecting any one of the displays in step S2, the type of the game and the level of difficulty of the game are displayed on the display 10. Is displayed, the type and difficulty of the game are selected in step S3. Next, after the selection is completed, the display 10 displays three screens A, B, and C.
The screen A shows a display indicating that the sensor is being checked, the screen B shows that the sensor is not attached, a display urging the user to attach the sensor, and the screen C has an earlobe. A display is made to show the sensor as if it were sandwiched between earlobes. In this state, in step S4, the sensor connection interface unit 5
Check of the hardware connection of the first check means 14a
The operation is performed based on the above operation.

The first checking means 14a outputs a normal signal to the CPU 9 when the connector 2 is correctly inserted into the connector 4, but outputs a normal signal to the CPU 9 when the connector 2 is not correctly inserted into the connector 4. Is not normal and does not proceed to the next step.

If the connector 2 is correctly connected to the connector 4, a normal signal is output from the first check 14a to the CPU 9.
The CPU 9 activates the second check means 14b based on this, and displays the pulse of the heartbeat signal taken from the earlobe sensor 1 on the screen A portion of the display 10 in the window Aa. A heart rate is displayed on the section Ab, and furthermore, a display indicating the condition of the player is displayed on the display section Ac based on the progress of the heart rate signal, that is, a comparison between the current heart rate and the previous heart rate. Therefore, since the heart rate signal is not captured unless the sensor is attached to the earlobe, only a linear display is performed in the window Aa. However, when the earlobe sensor is accurately mounted and a heartbeat is detected. Based on the heartbeat signal, a pulse P indicating a heartbeat is displayed in the window Aa, the heart rate is numerically displayed on the display Ab, and the player's condition is good on the display Ac since the heart rate has passed. Is determined, a display indicating a smile is displayed. Such display is performed based on step S5.

The second check means 14b checks in step S6 whether a prescribed number, for example, three pulse heartbeat signals are inputted at predetermined time intervals, for example, at intervals of 3 seconds, and if three pulse heartbeat signals are inputted correctly, It is determined to be normal, and this is notified to the CPU 9. When the start button of the controller 3 is turned on, the CPU 9 determines that this is significant and starts play in step S7.

On the other hand, if a prescribed number of heartbeat signals, for example, three pulses, are not input within a predetermined time interval, the start of play is suspended. In this case, since the player can determine at a glance that the heartbeat signal is not normal by looking at the window Aa, the display Ab, or the display Ac, the player can easily know why the game does not start.

When the game starts, a normal biofeedback game is performed. That is, the game proceeds based on the program in the storage device 15 and the control signal from the controller 3, and the game is given a change based on the heartbeat signal detected by the earlobe sensor 1.

In the present invention, the earlobe sensor 1 is used.
Although it has been described that the heartbeat is detected in the above, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where the pulse is detected. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a case where a game is changed based on brain waves, skin temperature, or skin resistance other than heartbeat or pulse.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
According to the above, after checking the connection of the sensor connection interface unit, the game is started by further checking whether a predetermined number of biological signals are input within a predetermined time interval. By judging the state and the state of capture of the biological signal,
It is possible to more accurately check the input state of the biological signal.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since a window for displaying and displaying a biological signal is provided in the display screen, it is possible to judge one's condition at the start of the game. Moreover, if no pulse of the biological signal is displayed in the window displayed on the monitor, it is possible to know that the sensor is not worn on the body, so that the player can be notified of the wearing of the sensor.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Earlobe sensor 2 Connector 3 Controller 4 Connector 5 Sensor connection interface part 6 Wiring 7 Connector 8 Connector 9 CPU 10 Display 14 Check means 14a First check means 14b Second check means 15 Storage device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A biofeedback game comprising: storage means for storing a program for controlling the movement of a display screen; and a CPU which detects a player's biological signal with a sensor and changes the display screen movement with the biological signal. First checking means for checking the connection of the sensor connection interface unit in the device, and checking whether a specified number of biosignals are input within a predetermined time interval after the first checking means has been checked. A biofeedback game machine comprising a second check means. 2. The biofeedback game device according to claim 1, wherein a window for displaying a biological signal on a monitor is provided on the display screen, and the display allows the user to grasp the input state to the sensor.