HK1043332B - Sensing ball game machine - Google Patents

Description

Induction ball game machine

Technical Field

The invention relates to a sensing ball game machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel inductive ball game apparatus for playing games using actual ball game tools, such as bats, balls and rackets, which cause changes in the displayed image on a television monitor, particularly a ball marker, due to the motion of such tools.

Background

To play baseball, a large field is required to play this type of actual ball game. In addition, many other athletes must be grouped together. This has been difficult to prepare for a real ball game.

On the other hand, ball games such as baseball and soccer have recently been put into practical use in video games to provide entertainment of the ball games. In this type of video game, a video game machine loaded with game software is connected to a television monitor to display a baseball or soccer field on a monitor screen. A game player may manipulate switches located on the controller to control a moving character on the screen, such as a bat, ball, and player.

In a conventional tv ball game, a game player merely manipulates the operation switch without actually swinging or kicking a ball. This makes the ball game less realistic in playing the game.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel inductive ball game apparatus for playing a ball game using a television monitor with a realistic sensation.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a sensing ball game apparatus for playing a game using a television monitor, an actual game tool or a game tool of a simulated shape.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a sensing game apparatus having an actual game tool or a game tool of a simulated shape to input an acceleration-related signal so that a game screen displayed on a monitor is changed according to the signal.

The ball sensing device according to the present invention for playing a ball game by displaying at least one ball marker on a screen of a television monitor, comprises: an input device that is moved in three-dimensional space by a game player; signal output means included in the input device to output an acceleration-related signal in accordance with an acceleration of the movement of the input device in the three-dimensional space; and a game processor for receiving the acceleration-related signal, estimating a peak value of the moving speed of the input device based on the received acceleration correction signal, calculating an amount for changing the ball marker based on at least the peak value of the moving speed, and causing the ball marker displayed on the screen to be changed according to the calculated parameter.

The input device is moved in three-dimensional space by a game player. For example, in the case of a bat input device or a racket input device, the player holds and waves it. Meanwhile, in the case of the ball input device, a game player can hold it in his hand for a throwing motion. The input device has an acceleration sensor, for example a piezoelectric buzzer. The acceleration sensor outputs an acceleration-related signal when the input device is moved. The acceleration-related signal is sent to the game processor via a wire or wirelessly.

The game processor determines the speed of movement of the input device from the acceleration-related signal and calculates parameters for the above-mentioned calculated speed, direction, etc. for bouncing the ball from the calculated speed time, ball trajectory, etc. The ball moves on the game screen according to the calculated parameters.

According to the present invention, the ball game can be played and displayed on a game screen on a television monitor. Accordingly, the game can be easily played as a video game. In addition, since the game player actually moves the input device in a three-dimensional space so that the ball on the screen is changed, it is possible to provide the game player with a realistic sensation of playing an actual ball game.

The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall structure of a sensory baseball game in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of a game screen displayed on the television monitor in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the internal structure of the end of the bat input device in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a bat input device;

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram illustrating various portions of the operation of the bat input device;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the operation of the gaming machine or gaming processor to obtain the rotational speed of the bat input device in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating operation in swinging the bat input device in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 1, as a schematic diagram showing a confrontational type inductive baseball game apparatus;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a ball input device and its structure in the embodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a pitching operation using the ball input device in the embodiment of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a countermeasure type table tennis game apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing one example of a game screen displayed on the television monitor in the embodiment of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 13;

fig. 16 is a schematic view showing an example of a racket input device using the embodiment of fig. 13;

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of waving the racket input device in the embodiment of FIG. 13; and

fig. 18 is a schematic view showing an example of a game screen in a sensing table tennis game in a modification to the embodiment of fig. 13.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, a sensing baseball game apparatus 10 as an embodiment of the present invention is shown to include a game machine 12. The gaming machine 12 is supplied with dc power through an ac/dc adapter 14. However, this may be replaced by a battery 15. The game machine 12 is further connected to an AV terminal 16 of a television monitor 18 via an AV cable 20. The gaming machine 12 includes a housing having a power switch 22 and three operating keys 24, 26 and 28 thereon. Such as using direction keys 24, e.g., cross keys, to indicate the direction of a game character on the display screen of the television monitor 18 or moving a cursor for menu selection. The decision key 26 is used to determine input to the gaming machine 12 and the cancel key 28 is used to cancel input to the gaming machine 12. The gaming machine 12 is further provided with an infrared receiver 30. The infrared receiver 30 receives infrared signals from an infrared LED (light emitting diode) 34 on the bat input device 32.

The bat input device 32 is formed, for example, of plastic and has a shape, size, or weight that simulates a bat used in an actual baseball. The device is moved in three-dimensional space by the actual swinging of the game player. To play the inductive baseball game of the present embodiment, a game player grasps the bat input device 32 at one of the holding portions and swings the bat input device 32 as in an actual baseball. By detecting the acceleration or rotational direction of the bat input device 32 at this time, the gaming machine 12 causes the game image displayed on the television monitor 18 to change.

It should be noted that the shape, size or weight of the bat input device 32 may be suitably varied to serve it as a toy. However, at least a portion of the bat input device 32 is hollow internally to accommodate therein acceleration switches, acceleration sensors, and the like, as will be described hereinafter.

In the inductive baseball game apparatus 10 of fig. 1, a game screen such as that shown in fig. 2 is displayed on the screen of the television monitor 18. The game screen includes a still image (text screen) showing the baseball field on which pitcher character a41 and other player character a42 are displayed. The pitcher character a41 is displayed as at least one moving image character (sub-graphic). In addition, all player angles on the screen may be displayed as sub-graphics.

On the game screen, the pitcher character a41 throws a ball (hereinafter may be simply referred to as "ball") a43 toward home base a 48. Ball a43 is also a sub-figure that moves toward home base a48 in response to the throwing motion of pitcher a 41. The game player swings the bat input device 32 (fig. 1) at shot a 43. Note that home base a48 is displayed as one text screen.

In the gaming machine 12, the signals from the acceleration switches or acceleration sensors (described below) are passed through when the player actually swings the bat input device 32. Depending on the predetermined rate of movement of the bat input device 32 and the position of ball a43 on the screen, ball 43 moves toward pitcher a41 or other player a42 as if ball a43 were hit back by a bat. From the position to which the ball a43 has moved, it is determined whether the result is a safe hit (home run, three, two, one), an out-of-bounds ball, an empty ball, a groundball, a play, a safe top run, etc. However, when there is a deviation between the timing of the bat input device 32 swing and the location of the ball a43 on the screen, a miss is identified.

As can be seen from fig. 2, a ball speed display portion a44, a score display portion a45, a count display portion a46, and a runner display portion a47 are further provided on the game screen as needed. The ball speed display portion a44 displays the speed of the ball a43 thrown by the pitcher a 41. However, in another embodiment described below, this shows ball speed as a function of the speed of movement of the ball input device 64 (FIG. 5) thrown by the game player. The score display portion a45 displays what ratio of scores and the number of times in the first half field or the second half field. The count display portion a46 displays a shot count, a ball count, and a play count. Runner display section a47 shows the runner now on base.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the inductive baseball game apparatus 10 of fig. 1. The bat input device 32 illustratively gates the carrier generated from a carrier generation circuit 36 through an acceleration switch 38. Thus, when the acceleration becomes greater than a predetermined level upon swinging the ball-stick input device 32, a carrier wave is supplied to the infrared LED34 to drive the infrared LED 34. The acceleration switch 38 may use a type of switch that conducts to output a signal when the acceleration of the bat input device 32 becomes greater than a certain level. For example, the acceleration switch accommodates a weight for deflection in a cylindrical housing, wherein the weight is stably elastically deflected by a spring. When the input device is swung, centrifugal force acts on the spring and biases the weight, turning the switch on. In this case, by appropriately providing the spring with an elastic force, it can be appropriately set to output an on signal when a certain degree of acceleration is applied.

An infrared receiver 30 is located on the gaming machine 12 to receive an infrared signal from the infrared LED 34. The infrared receiver 30 demodulates the received infrared signal and inputs it as an acceleration correction signal to the game processor 40.

Although the game processor 40 may use any type of processor, a high-speed processor that is switched on and off by the present applicant and has already been patented is used in the present embodiment. Such a high-speed processor is specifically disclosed in, for example, japanese patent laid-open No. 307790/1998G 06F 13/36, 15/78 and corresponding us patent S/N09/019,277.

Although not shown, the game processor 40 includes various processors such as an EPU and a graphics processor, a sound processor, and a DMA processor. It further includes an a/D converter for obtaining an analog signal, and an input/output control circuit for receiving input signals such as a key operation signal and an infrared signal and supplying an output signal to an external device. Thus, the demodulated signal from the infrared receiver 30 and the input signals from the operation keys 24 to 28 are transmitted to the CPU through the input/output circuit. The CPU performs a desired operation based on the input signal and supplies the result thereof to the other processors. Accordingly, the graphics processor and the sound processor perform image processing and sound processing according to the operation result.

The game processor 40 has an internal memory 42. The internal memory 42 includes a ROM or a RAM (SRAM and/or DRAM). The RAM is used as a temporary memory, a working memory or a register area and a flag area. Incidentally, the external memory (ROM and/or RAM) connection is connected to the game processor 40 through an external bus. The external memory 44 is pre-installed with a game program.

Among the above processors, the game processor 40 performs arithmetic and image-sound processing based on input signals from the infrared receiver 30 and the operation keys 24 to 28, and outputs video and audio signals. The video signal is a combination of the text screen and the sub-graphics in fig. 2. These video and audio signals are supplied to the television monitor 18 through the AV cable 20 and the AV terminal 16. Thus, as shown in fig. 2, a game image is displayed on the screen of the television monitor 18 along with desired sounds (sound effects, game music).

Referring to fig. 4-6, the bat input device 32, which is a feature of the present embodiment, is described in detail below. Fig. 4 illustrates the end of the bat input device 32 and its internal structure. Within the interior of the end of the bat input device 32, the printed circuit board 48 is secured to a plane parallel to the end surface 46 by a sleeve 50 rising perpendicularly from the interior surface of the end surface 46. The printed circuit board 48 is mounted with one piezoelectric buzzer 52 on one surface, and has an interconnection pattern constituting a circuit shown in fig. 5 including the piezoelectric buzzer 52 on the other surface. The infrared LED34 is mounted on the printed circuit board 48 and faces a light-transmissive portion formed in the peripheral side surface of the end of the bat input device 32. Accordingly, the infrared signal from infrared LED34 is output through the light-transmissive portion and then received by infrared receiver 30 located on gaming machine 12, as described above.

As is well known or as shown in fig. 5, the piezoelectric buzzer 52 is, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic sheet formed of barium titanate or PZT (piezoelectric transducer) having electrodes 52b and 52c formed on both main surfaces, respectively. This embodiment employs a piezoelectric buzzer 52 as an acceleration sensor. That is, in this embodiment, the acceleration-related-signal generating means utilizes an acceleration sensor instead of the acceleration switch described above with reference to fig. 3.

More specifically, the piezoelectric buzzer 52 is parallel to the end surface 46 of the bat input device 32 in a plane. When the bat input device 32 is swung by a game player, the tip is acted upon by a strongest centrifugal force. Thus, the piezoelectric plate 52a of the piezoelectric buzzer 52 is deformed by centrifugal force, so that the potential difference between the opposite major surfaces of the piezoelectric plate 52a is proportional to the deformation. The potential difference changes according to the stress (centrifugal force) received by the piezoelectric sheet 52 a. If the stress is larger, the deformation or the potential difference is larger, and if the application is smaller, the deformation or the potential difference is smaller. In other words, the potential difference caused by the piezoelectric buzzer 52 varies depending on the speed or intensity at which the bat input device 32 is swung by the player. Accordingly, this embodiment may utilize the piezoelectric buzzer 52 as a kind of acceleration sensor.

The potential difference generated at the piezoelectric buzzer 52 is supplied to the base of a transistor 54. Accordingly, transistor 54 conducts in accordance with the magnitude of the potential difference. The piezoelectric buzzer 52, accompanying circuit elements, and the transistor 54 shown on the left side of fig. 5 are referred to as an acceleration sensor 56.

The collector output of transistor 54 is input to a modulation pulse generation circuit 58. The modulation pulse generating circuit 58 includes a capacitor 59. Capacitor 59 is charged by an amount of charge corresponding to the conductivity of transistor 54. That is, since the transistor 54 and the capacitor 59 form one common current path, the current flowing through the transistor 54 is increased when the conductivity of the transistor 54 becomes large, and the charging current flowing to the capacitor 59 is reduced. In contrast, when the conductivity of the transistor 54 is small, the current flowing through the transistor 54 decreases and the charging current flowing in the capacitor 59 increases. The charging voltage on capacitor 59 is distinguished in level by transistor 60. Thus, at one emitter, the transistor 60 outputs a pulse having a pulse width depending on the magnitude of the charging voltage to the capacitor 59.

The modulated pulses from modulated pulse generating circuit 58 are applied to a carrier generating circuit 62. The carrier generation circuit 62 generates a carrier of a predetermined frequency. Thus, the carrier generation circuit 62 has an output as a signal having a carrier modulated by the modulation pulse. The modulated signal is used to operate a switching transistor 63. Accordingly, the infrared LED34 blinks according to the modulation signal, and the infrared LED34 outputs an infrared signal according to the signal.

It is assumed with reference to fig. 6 that the racket input apparatus has an acceleration change as shown in fig. 6 (a). As the acceleration changes, a voltage signal as shown in fig. 6(B) is output from the piezoelectric buzzer 52. When the voltage signal exceeds a certain level determined by transistor 54, transistor 54 is placed in a conductive state, i.e., conducting. As described above, the modulation pulse having a pulse width close to inverse proportion to the amplitude of the acceleration or the voltage signal from the piezoelectric buzzer 52 is output from the modulation pulse generating circuit 58, as shown in fig. 6 (C). Although the carrier generation circuit 62 generates a carrier as shown in fig. 6(D), the carrier is modulated by the modulation pulse. Accordingly, an infrared signal as shown in fig. 6(F) is output from the infrared LED 34.

An infrared receiver 30 (fig. 3) located on the gaming machine 12 receives this infrared signal and demodulates it to obtain a demodulated signal as shown in fig. 6 (G). The demodulated signal is input to the game processor 40 through an input/output control circuit (not shown). Subsequently, the game processor 40 calculates the speed at which the game player swings the bat input device 32, i.e., the rotational speed of the bat input device 32, from the demodulated signal of fig. 6 (G).

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of calculating the rotational speed. The flowchart shows an interrupt operation to be performed each time the leading edge of the demodulated signal comes as shown in fig. 6 (G). When the leading edge of the demodulated signal is detected, a CPU (not shown) included in the game processor 40 reads in a count value (timer value) of a timer circuit (not shown). The CPU then resets the timer circuit in response to a trailing edge of the demodulated signal. Thus, the CPU knows the timer value between the leading and trailing edges of the demodulated signal pulse. Accordingly, the inverse of the timer value (1/timer value) is determined as the movement or rotational speed of the bat input device 32.

The movement or rotational velocity of the bat input device 32 so determined is reflected in the movement of the struck ball, thereby changing the distance or direction of the ball a43 (fig. 2) depending on the swing velocity of the bat input device 32.

Referring to fig. 8, in a first step S1, the game processor 40 (fig. 3) causes the shape of pitcher character a41 and the shape and position of ball a43 to change, so that a pitch is made on the screen to move the ball accordingly. At this time, since the game processor 40 essentially displays one text screen, the game scene shown in fig. 2 is displayed on the television monitor 18. Such game images are generated by an image processor included in the game processor 40.

At next step S2, the game processor 40 resets the spin speed value saved in a spin speed register (not shown) formed in the internal memory 42 (fig. 3).

After that, the game processor 40 in step S3 takes the spin speed as determined in fig. 7, and determines whether or not the taken spin speed is "0", that is, whether or not the game player will act on the bat input device 32, the spin speed is not "0", and the process proceeds to the next step S4. When the rotation speed is "0", the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S4, the game processor 40 determines whether the spin taken in step S3 is smaller than the value saved in the spin speed (spin speed < saved value). At the beginning of the swing of the bat input device 32, it can be seen from fig. 6(a) that the rotational speed is low. The speed is increased gradually as the swing progresses. Accordingly, in step S4, the determination is no. Thus, the game processor 40 replaces the held value of the rotation speed register with the rotation speed at that time. That is, the held value of the rotational speed register is updated.

As the swing of the bat input device 32 continues, the rotational speed peaks quickly and then gradually decreases. It may be determined at step S4 whether the rotational speed of the bat input device 32 has peaked.

Then, the game processor 40 determines whether the ball 43 reaches the catcher position on the game screen, i.e., the position of home base a 48. This determination can be made by detecting whether the ball 43 in the depth position of the game screen (known by the CPU) moves to a position assumed to be home base a 48. However, in this case, the velocity of the ball a43 (shown in the velocity indication region a44 of fig. 2) need not be considered.

No determination of "yes" in step S4 before the ball a43 reaches the catcher position means that the peak of the rotation speed has not been detected in the time between the ball a43 thrown by the pitcher a41 and the ball a43 reaching the catcher position. In other words, this means that there is a discrepancy between the time the bat input device 32 is swung by the game player and the time the ball a43 is moved, i.e., the swing action is taken after the ball a43 is caught by the catcher. In this case, the game processor determines as "swipe miss". However, the rotational speed remains at "0" in step S3, meaning that the bat input device 32 has not been swung. In this case, the game processor 40 judges the shot based on the arrival position of the ball a43 and the established pass area.

Steps S3-S5 are repeated at appropriate time intervals until ball a43 reaches the position of the catcher. In this process, if it is determined to be "yes" in step S4, this means that the rotational speed reaches a peak due to the swing of the bat input device 32. In this case, the game processor 40 in step S7 determines the parameters, direction, and the like of the moving speed in the opposite direction of the ball a43 hit back by the bat or the return ball a43, from the spin speed, the position of the ball a43 (the route along which the ball is thrown), the time, and the like. The ball a43 moves according to the parameters thus determined. As a result, the game processor performs the judgment of the security hit or miss as described above and the judgment of the out or security top, etc., for the operation section.

According to the embodiment of fig. 1, the rotational speed of the input device 32 is detected when a game player swings the wand input device 32 against the motion of a ball on a game screen. Depending on the speed and time, the ball is hit. Thus, the ball moves as a return stroke on the game screen. In correspondence with the position reached by the return shot, the play or the safe top is judged as in the usual softball game. Accordingly, in this embodiment, a game player facing the screen of the television monitor 18 may wave the bat input device 32. This provides entertainment that cannot be experienced in conventional video games with a realistic feel. In addition, the game player can satisfactorily swing the bat input device 32 and easily enjoy the game.

Incidentally, in the above description, the acceleration sensor 56 (fig. 5) is included in the bat input device 32, so that a signal of a pulse width change is output in response to an acceleration from the sensor, and in step S4, one peak of the moving speed or the rotational speed of the bat input device 32 is detected. However, when the acceleration switch 38 of the type described above with reference to fig. 3 is used, it may be determined whether a signal is output from the acceleration switch during step S4. In this case, the process of retaining the value with respect to the rotation speed as in steps S2 and S5 is substantially omitted. That is, when the acceleration switch is used, the direction and distance of the return stroke are determined according to the time at which the acceleration switch 38 (fig. 3) is turned on and the position of the ball a 43.

Fig. 9 is a modification of the embodiment of fig. 1. The modification uses a ball input device 64. When playing a sensory baseball game in this embodiment, a game player holding the ball input device 64 makes a pitching motion (simulating a pitch) to cause the ball input device 64 to move in three-dimensional space. The ball input device 64 has a directional switch 66. The directional switch 66 is used to route a ball, such as a straight ball, a curved ball, a projected ball, and the like. At the beginning of the throwing motion, a direction indicating portion is turned on or the direction indicating position is not turned on. In addition, the ball input device 64 includes two switches 68 and 70. A switch 68 is used to indicate the start of the throwing motion. Ball input device 64 is connected to gaming machine 12 by an input line 72. Thus, similar to the bat input device 32, the gaming machine 12 is input with a signal from one of the acceleration sensors 56 built into the ball input device 64. That is, the acceleration sensor 56 generates a voltage signal based on the acceleration due to the movement of the ball input device 64 in three-dimensional space, and transmits the voltage signal to the game processor 40 through the input line 72. The game processor 40 determines a movement velocity from the acceleration to deflect or move the ball a43 (fig. 2) thrown in the game screen on the television monitor 18 in accordance with the movement velocity.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing the embodiment, which is different from the block diagram of fig. 3 in the following points. That is, the ball input device 64 is connected to one of the analog-to-digital converter inputs of the game processor 40 via input line 72. In essence, the input line 72 is of sufficient length to enable a game player to perform a throwing motion (simulating a throw) with the ball input device 64. The three input switches 66-70 located on the ball input device 64 are connected to a resistor ladder 74. The resistor ladder 74 outputs a discrimination voltage signal in response to the actuation of the switches 66-70. The resistor ladder 74 inputs a voltage signal to the game processor 40 through an analog-to-digital converter. Thus, the game processor 40 is allowed to determine a switch or direction indicating portion to be operated by the game player at that time based on the voltage transformation from the analog/digital converter.

The ball input device 64 further includes an acceleration sensor 56. The acceleration sensor 56 includes 6 piezoelectric buzzers 52x1, 52x2, 52y1, 52y2, 52z1, and 52z2 for independently detecting accelerations in three axial directions, as described below with reference to fig. 11. However, the piezoelectric buzzers 52x1, 52x2, 52y1, 52y2, 52z1, and 52z2 are similar to the piezoelectric buzzers 52 of the bat input device 32 shown in fig. 4 and 5. Also, each piezoelectric buzzer 52x1, 52x2, 52y1, 52y2, 52z1, and 52z2 has a separate piezoelectric buzzer 52 and accompanying circuitry including a transistor 54. However, in this embodiment, the acceleration signal (voltage signal) from the acceleration sensor 56 is supplied to the analog/digital converter input of the game processor 40 via the input line 72. Accordingly, the output of transistor 54 of FIG. 5 would be input to the analog-to-digital converter of game processor 40 without change.

Referring to FIG. 11, the ball input device 64 has a housing 78 formed, for example, of hollow spherical plastic. A total of 6 piezoelectric buzzers, two sandwiching the origin (center point of the ball input device) per shaft, are fixedly provided within the housing 78 with their accompanying circuitry. However, fig. 11 shows only 52x1, 52x2, 52y1, 52y2, and 52z1, where it is impossible to simultaneously show the piezoelectric buzzer 52z1 and the piezoelectric buzzer 52z2 opposite to the origin.

The throw determination routine of fig. 12 is initiated when the game player switches on the input switch 68 of the ball input device 64. In a first step S11 of the routine, the game processor 40 initially sets a motion speed register (not shown) formed in the internal memory 42. That is, the register is reset by a reserved value for a particular speed of motion.

In the next step S12, the game processor 40 determines the moving speeds in the X, Y and Z-axis directions from the accelerations detected by the piezoelectric buzzers 52x1, 52x2, 52y1, 52y2, 52Z1, and 52Z2 provided two on each axis of the ball input device 64. Incidentally, in order to determine the velocity from the acceleration, it is well known that the acceleration may be integrated. Here, the X-axis direction movement speed is determined as "X1 + X2", the Y-axis direction movement speed is determined as "Y1 + Y2", and the Z-axis direction movement speed is determined as "Z1 + Z2". Incidentally, x1, y1, and z1, and x2, y2, and z2 are axial movement speeds on the positive and negative sides with respect to the origin, respectively. They are determined by piezoelectric buzzers 52x1, 52y1, and 52z1, and 52x2, 52y2, and 52z2, respectively. In step S12, an inner product is determined from the thus determined moving speed in each axis, and is taken as the moving speed of the ball input device 64.

In step S13, it is determined whether the movement speed determined in step S12 is "0". That is, it is determined whether the game player makes a throwing motion using the ball input device 64. If it is determined as "YES" in step S13, the process returns to step S12.

When it is determined as "no" in step S13, that is, when the moving speed of the ball input device 64 is not "0", the game processor 40 determines in step S14 whether the moving speed is less than the value retained in the moving speed register (not shown) (moving speed > retained value). In a throwing motion using ball input device 64, the speed of motion is generally low and gradually increases at the beginning of the throwing motion. Thus, the determination of "no" in step S14 means that the movement speed has not reached the peak. In this case, the held value of the movement speed register is updated by the movement speed at that time in step S15, and then the process returns to step S12. The judgment of "yes" in step S14 means that a peak of the movement speed has been detected. In this case, the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, parameters of the degree of change of the ball, the moving speed, the moving direction, and the like are determined according to the rotation speed of each shaft, the moving speed of each shaft, the time to reach the peak of the moving speed, and the like.

More specifically, the rotation speed is determined from the movement speed on each axis sandwiching the origin. For example, if there is a difference between the velocities of motion z1 and z2 in the z-axis direction, the ball input device 64 may be considered to be rotating about the x-axis. Similarly, if there is a difference between the moving speeds x1 and x2 in the x-axis direction, the ball input device 64 may be considered to be rotating about the y-axis. If there is a difference between the movement speeds y1 and y2 in the y-axis direction, the ball input device 64 may be considered to be rotating about the z-axis. Thus, the x-axis rotational speed is determined by "z 1-z 2", the y-axis rotational speed is determined by "x 1-x 2", and the y-axis rotational speed is determined by "y 1-y 2". In addition, the movement speed in the axial direction is retained in the movement speed register. Also, the peak arrival time may be determined by referring to a timer count value of a timing circuit located in the game processor 40.

In accordance with the parameters determined in step S16, the game processor 40 moves the ball a43 (fig. 9) as a sub-graphic on the game screen of the television monitor 18. Needless to say, the real-time position of the ball a43 can be calculated by integrating the movement velocity.

The manner of use and operation associated with the bat input device 32 in the embodiment of fig. 9 is similar to that of the embodiment of fig. 1. Accordingly, in the embodiment of fig. 9, one game player may use the ball input device 64 to make a pitching motion while another game player swings the bat input device 32, thereby playing a game of oppositional-sense baseball.

Referring to fig. 13, an apparatus 100 for sensing table tennis as another embodiment of the present invention includes a game machine 12, a television monitor 18, and an AV cable 20 for connecting them, similar to the apparatus 10 for sensing baseball described above. The gaming machine 12 is further provided with a power switch 22, selection switch 24 'and determination switch 26, and an infrared receiver 30'. An external memory 44 is installed with a program for sensing a table tennis game.

This embodiment uses two racket input devices 80. The racket input device 80 has an infrared LED34 and a ball-serving switch 82. The switch 82 is activated when a service is input. The infrared signal from infrared LED34 is received by infrared receiver 30' of gaming machine 12. As described below, the racquet input device 80 has a piezoelectric buzzer or acceleration sensor similar to the input devices 32 and 64 described above. The game machine 12 receives an acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor, so that the ball a43 in the game screen described in fig. 14 is changed.

Referring to fig. 14, when in a confrontational type game, the game screen displayed on the television monitor 18 of the induction table tennis game apparatus 100 is divided into upper and lower screen portions. The upper screen portion displays images viewed from one game player and the lower screen portion displays images viewed from another game player. The upper and lower screens display the ball a43 and player characters a491 and a492 as sub-graphics, the net a50 and the table tennis table a51 as text screens, respectively. Scoring regions a521 and a522 are formed at upper and lower portions, respectively, to represent scores of the relevant game players.

Referring to fig. 15, the racket input device 80 has an acceleration sensor 56 similar to the above embodiment. The acceleration sensor 56 outputs an acceleration-related signal to an MCU (main controller) 84. The MCU, for example, a single chip microcomputer, converts the input acceleration-related voltage signal from the acceleration sensor into a digital signal and digital modulation, and supplies it to one infrared LED 34. The digitally modulated infrared signals from the respective infrared LEDs 34 of the two racket input devices 80 are received by the infrared photoreceivers 30' of the gaming machine 12 and are then digitally demodulated and input to the game processor 40. The digital signal of 1 bit is transmitted as "1" or "0" according to the on or off of the switch 82. The game processor 40 then examines the digits to determine which game player has entered the serve.

In this sensing table tennis game apparatus 100, in brief, the gaming machine 12 or the game processor 40 receives acceleration data contained in infrared signals from two paddle input devices 80 and determines the speed of motion of the paddle input devices 80. When the moving speed reaches a peak, the game processor 40 determines a parameter of the movement of the ball a43 to move the ball a43 on the game screen according to the parameter.

The racquet input device 80 includes a grip portion 86 and a ball striking portion 88 extending from the end of the grip. The handle portion 86 and ball striking portion 88 are integrally formed, such as from two separate plastic shells. Nubs 90 and 92 are formed on the interior of the ball striking portion 88 of the housing of the racquet input device 80 to join the two separate housing portions together. A piezoelectric buzzer 52 (fig. 16) as the acceleration sensor 56 is further fixed to the boss 90. In the lower case, a bump 94 is further formed to fix a printed circuit board 96 to the bump 94. The switch 82 and the MCU 84 shown in fig. 15 are attached to a printed circuit board 96. In the lower case, a bump 98 is further formed to fix an LED board 100 thereon. On the LED board 100, an infrared LED34 is attached. Incidentally, as shown in fig. 15, electrical connections are provided between the piezoelectric buzzer or acceleration sensor 56, the MCU 84, the switch 82, and the infrared LED 34.

Referring to fig. 17, an operation of detecting the moving speed of the racket input device 80 to return the ball a43 will be explained (fig. 14). In a first step S21, the game processor 40 resets the value of the sports speed of the racket input device 80 stored in a sports speed register (not shown) formed in the internal memory 42 (fig. 15).

After that, in step S22, the game processor 40 acquires the moving speed determined in fig. 7, and determines whether the acquired moving speed is "0", that is, whether the game player has swung the racket input device 80. If the game player has swung the racket input device 80, the moving speed is not "0", so that the process proceeds to the next step S23. When the moving speed is "0", the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S23, the game processor 40 determines whether the obtained movement speed is smaller than the value held in the movement speed register (movement speed < held value). At the start of the swing of the racket input device 80, the moving speed gradually increases, and accordingly, it is judged as "no" in step S23. Accordingly, the game processor 40 replaces the saved value in the movement speed register with the movement speed at that time. That is, the moving speed updates the saved value.

During the swing of the racket input device 80, the motion speed peaks quickly and gradually decreases. It is judged from step S23 whether or not the moving speed of the racket input device 80 has reached the peak value.

Thus, the game processor 40 determines whether the ball a43 (fig. 14) has reached the limit position where the ball returns. This determination may be made by detecting whether the ball a43 at the depth position (known by the CPU) has moved to a position that is the ball return limit.

The judgment of "yes" in the step S23 means that the peak of the moving speed is not detected before the ball return limit position is reached after the ball a43 is hit back by the opponent to the ball a43 or the service ball a43 before the ball a43 reaches the ball return limit position. In other words, this means that there is a discrepancy between the time the game player swings the racket input device 80 and the time the ball a43 is moving, i.e., the swing motion is after the ball a43 reaches the ball return limit position. In this case, the game processor 40 determines "miss". In addition, the motion speed remaining "0" in step S22 means that the racket input device 80 is not swung. In this case, the game processor 40 determines the out-of-range ball or the in-range ball according to whether the ball a43 arrives at a position on the table tennis table a51 (fig. 14).

Steps S22 to S24 are repeatedly performed until the ball a43 reaches the ball return limit position. In this process, if it is judged as "yes" at step S23, this means that the moving speed reaches a peak due to the swing of the racket input device 80. In this case, in step S26, the game processor 40 determines parameters of the moving speed in the opposite direction, the direction of the ball a43 that is hit back by the racket, and the like. The ball a43 moves according to the parameters thus determined.

According to the embodiment of fig. 13, when a game player swings the racket input device 80 for a ball motion on the game screen, the motion speed of the input device is detected according to speed and time to hit back the ball, thereby moving the ball on the game screen as a return stroke. An out-bound ball or an in-bound ball is judged according to the position to which the ball is moved, etc., as in a general table tennis game. Accordingly, in this embodiment, the game player can wave the racket input device 80, and thus can enjoy a realistic sensation that cannot be experienced in a conventional video game.

Incidentally, the embodiment of fig. 13 illustrates a countermeasure type induction table tennis game apparatus using a racket input apparatus 80. However, it is possible to play a "single player game" using only one racket input device 80. In this case, the game screen displays one player a49, one ball a43, one net a50, and one table tennis table on the entire screen, as shown in fig. 18. However, a background image, such as an auditorium, may be displayed if desired. In the case of a "single player game," the return stroke by player a49 will be under the control of game processor a 40. Incidentally, although only one acceleration sensor is provided in this racket input device 80, providing 4 or at least 3 acceleration sensors enables detection of the X-axis (left and right) direction and the Y-axis (front and rear) direction of the ball striking section 88. This will result in a higher level of control and may make the game more interesting.

The above embodiments specifically describe baseball and table tennis games. However, the present invention can also be applied to a desired ball game in which an input device swung or displaced in a three-dimensional space by a game player is used to cause a change in a ball on a game screen according to the acceleration (moving speed or displacement speed) of the input device.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described, it is by way of illustration and not limitation, and the spirit and scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims (11)

1. A ball sensing device for playing a ball game by displaying at least one ball marker on a screen of a television monitor, comprising:

an input device that is moved in three-dimensional space by a game player;

signal output means included in the input device to output an acceleration-related signal in accordance with an acceleration of the movement of the input device in the three-dimensional space; and

a game processor for receiving the acceleration-related signal, estimating a peak value of the moving speed of the input device based on the received acceleration-related signal, calculating an amount for changing the ball marker based on at least the peak value of the moving speed, and causing the ball marker displayed on the screen to be changed according to the calculated parameter.

2. The sensor ball game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said signal output means includes a modulation means for modulating said acceleration-related signal, and an acceleration-related signal transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the acceleration-related signal modulated by said modulation means to said game processor.

3. The sensor ball game apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an information storage medium;

the game processor at least comprises an operation processing device, an image processing device, a sound processing device and a memory;

the operation processing means executes a program code stored in the information storage medium and calculates at least a position, a moving direction, and a velocity of the ball from the acceleration-related signal output from the signal output means;

the image processing means generating image information including the ball under control of the operation processing means by using the image data stored in the information storage medium;

the sound processing apparatus reproducing sound under control of the operation processing apparatus by using sound data stored in the information storage medium;

the memory is used by at least the operation processing device to hold the progress and results of operations.

4. A sensor ball game apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said information storage medium comprises a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

5. The inductive ball game apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the ball game is a baseball game,

the input device comprises a ball bat input device,

the game processor causes a ball change based on the acceleration related signal from the bat input device.

6. The inductive ball game apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the ball game is a baseball game,

the input devices include a bat input device and a ball input device,

the game processor causes a ball change based on the acceleration related signal from the bat input device and the acceleration related signal from the ball input device.

7. The inductive ball game apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the ball game is a table tennis game,

the input device comprises a racket input device,

the game processor causes a ball change based on an acceleration related signal from the racket input device.

8. The inductive ball game apparatus of claim 3, wherein: the acceleration-related signal transmitting apparatus includes an infrared ray emitting element and a light receiving element for receiving infrared rays from the infrared ray emitting element.

9. A sensor ball game apparatus according to claim 3 or 8, further comprising: and the starting device is used for starting the acceleration related signal sending device to send the acceleration related signal when the acceleration related signal is equal to or more than a preset level.

10. A sensor ball game apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 8, wherein the game processor determines the speed of movement of the input device in dependence on the acceleration-related signal and determines a parameter for changing the ball in dependence on at least the speed of movement.

11. The inductive ball game apparatus of claim 9, wherein the game processor determines a speed of movement of the input device based on the acceleration-related signal and determines a parameter for changing the ball based on at least the speed of movement.