JP2008148721A - Portable game console - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a portable game machine that can easily operate a game, can execute various games, and can easily carry the game machine even if the screen size is increased.
A flexible display 2 is wound up by a main body 1 provided at an end of a flexible display 2, and lid members 3a and 3b are fitted to the main body 1 in that state, thereby carrying the portable display 1. The game machines are combined into a single cylinder and the state is maintained. At this time, since the power switch 11 and the storage lid 12 provided on the peripheral surface of the main body 1 are configured so as not to protrude from the peripheral surface of the main body 1, the wound flexible display 2 is damaged. There is no fear.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable game machine that includes an image display device and a touch panel and controls a game in accordance with a program stored in a removable storage medium.

  Currently, a large number of table-type game machines in which a screen of an image display device is installed along the surface of a table board and a game is played while looking down on the screen from above the table board are installed in game centers such as game centers. In this type of table-type game machine, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a liquid crystal display with a touch sensor is used as an image display device and a game piece displayed on the screen is directly touched. In some cases, the movement of the piece can be operated. Moreover, in the table type game machine of patent document 1, it displays on the said liquid crystal display so that a player can see easily based on the contact position to a touch panel, or the voice of the player picked up by the some microphone provided in the upper surface of the table board. The orientation of the game screen to be changed is changed.

In addition, the table type game machine disclosed in Patent Document 2 is provided with a screen on the surface of the table board, and the S wave image and the P wave image are time-divided from the inside of the table to the screen at a predetermined timing. Projecting. When one player views these images through S-wave polarized glasses and the other player through P-wave polarized glasses, one image display device can display individual images for two players. It is said.
Furthermore, the table-type game machine disclosed in Patent Document 3 is provided with a screen on the surface of the table plate, and projects an image from the inside of the table onto the screen, and touches the screen with a pointing stick or a player's finger. The touched position is detected from the pointing stick or the shadow of the finger, and the image projected on the screen is changed based on the result.

JP 07-222868 JP2005-010695A JP-A-2005-230476

  By the way, in any of the above-described game machines, since the image display device is installed on the table, the size of the game machine itself is increased and the weight is increased, and the game machine itself is not easily carried. In addition, when considering application to a home game machine, it is desirable that the game program is easily exchanged so that a variety of games can be executed on one game machine.

  Further, as in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 3, when a game operation is performed by directly touching the screen of the image display device with a finger, a game with a screen size of about 4 to 5 inches as in a conventional portable game machine. Operation becomes difficult. In other words, the larger the screen size, the easier it is to see the game screen and easier game operation. End up.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable game machine that facilitates game operations, enables various games to be executed, and makes it easy to carry a game machine even when the screen size is increased. It is an object.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable portable game machine having an image display means for displaying an image on the screen, a pressure display provided on the surface of the screen, By reading the game program from a touch panel that outputs a position signal corresponding to the position to which the character is added and a removable recording medium that stores a game program for executing the game, and executing the read game program, Control means for controlling the progress of the game in accordance with an output signal from the touch panel.

  Here, the size of the touch panel may be the same size as the screen of the image display means or smaller than that. As the recording medium, for example, a CD-ROM, a memory card, or a cartridge type case in which a ROM is incorporated (hereinafter referred to as a ROM cassette) can be considered.

  According to the portable game machine described above, when the game program is read from the removable recording medium and pressure is applied to the touch panel provided on the screen of the image display means, the pressure is applied according to the read game program. The game is controlled according to the position. Accordingly, for example, by touching an image to be operated displayed on the game screen with a finger or the like, an instruction for the image to be operated can be input, so that the game operation can be facilitated. In addition, by preparing a plurality of recording media each storing different types of game programs and exchanging these recording media, various games can be executed with one portable game machine.

  Further, the gaming machine of the present invention is the above-described gaming machine, wherein the image display means is a flexible display whose screen has flexibility and can be deformed, and the flexible display and the control means are integrally configured. It is characterized by that.

  Here, the flexible display is, for example, a so-called flexible organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display configured by sandwiching a light emitting layer such as a polymer light emitting material between two transparent plastic film substrates with transparent electrodes. A powder movement type display device for displaying an image by enclosing an electronic powder fluid between two transparent plastic substrates each provided with an electrode, and appropriately charging the electronic powder fluid to adhere to the transparent plastic substrate Electro which displays an image by encapsulating colored oil to be a pixel between a white substrate and a transparent substrate, and applying a voltage to the colored oil to deform the colored oil to appropriately display the white color of the substrate. Wetting display device, polymer fiber and ferroelectric liquid crystal composite film transparent A flexible ferroelectric liquid crystal display having a sandwiched by the electrode coated plastic films.

  According to the portable game machine described above, the flexible display is used as the image display means and is configured integrally with the control unit. Therefore, the portable game machine can be reduced in weight, and the flexible display and the control unit can be combined. And easy to carry.

  In addition, the gaming machine of the present invention includes a rod-shaped housing member that houses the control means and a holding member that holds the flexible display around the circumferential surface of the housing member. It is characterized by that.

  Here, if the shape of the housing member is a rod shape, the cross section perpendicular to the axis may be any of a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon.

  According to the portable game machine, the flexible display can be wound around the housing member and the state can be held by the holding member. Therefore, even when the screen size of the flexible display and the size of the touch panel are increased in order to facilitate the game operation performed via the touch panel, they can be collected in a compact manner, and storage and carrying are facilitated.

  According to the portable game machine of the present invention, the operation of the game can be facilitated, various games can be executed, and the game machine can be easily carried even when the screen size is increased.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a portable game according to the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the game machine according to the present embodiment includes a main body 1, a flexible display 2, and lid members 3a and 3b. The main body 1 has a cylindrical shape, and a control unit (described later) for controlling the game is accommodated therein. Therefore, the main body 1 corresponds to a housing member that houses the control means. On the peripheral surface of the main body 1, there are provided a slide type power switch 11 and a battery holder storage lid 12 for storing a battery serving as a power source for the control unit and the like described above. Each of these parts is configured not to protrude from the peripheral surface of the main body 1. Further, an insertion hole 13 into which a ROM cassette 20 storing a game program is inserted is formed on the bottom surface of the main body 1. The ROM cassette 20 corresponds to a recording medium.

  The flexible display 2 has a rectangular shape, and a touch panel 4 is provided on the screen. The main body 1 described above is attached to one short side of the flexible display 2, and circular lid members 3L and 3R are integrally formed at corners on the other short side. The flexible display can be arbitrarily selected as long as it has flexibility and can be bent or rounded. For example, a flexible organic EL display, a powder movement display device, an electrowetting display device, A flexible ferroelectric liquid crystal display or the like can be used. In addition, if the type of game to be executed on the portable game machine of this embodiment is a board game such as shogi, go, or a card game that does not require a quick movement in the displayed image, the response speed is generally high. Various types of display devices such as electrophoretic method, magnetophoresis method, twist ball method, thermal method, electrodeposition method, movable film method, and electrochromic method, which are said to be slow, can also be used. The flexible display 2 corresponds to image display means.

  When touching the surface of the touch panel 4 with a finger, the touch panel 4 outputs coordinate data corresponding to the contact position to the control unit accommodated in the main body 1. Thereby, a control part controls a game based on the input coordinate data. For the touch panel 4, for example, a resistance film type or a capacitive coupling type can be used. The lid members 3a and 3b are circular lids made of synthetic resin, and are formed integrally with the flexible display 2 at the corners on the other short side of the flexible display 2 as described above. The diameters of the lid members 3 a and 3 b are slightly larger than the diameter of the bottom surface of the main body 1. Further, the dimension (2d + h) obtained by adding the depth d of the lid members 3a and 3b and the height h of the flexible display 2 is slightly longer than the dimension of the length L in the axial direction of the main body 1. It is configured.

  When carrying the portable game machine having the above-described configuration, first, as shown in FIG. 2A, the main body 1 is turned in the direction in which the lid members 3a and 3b are provided (the direction of the arrow (A)). Move. As a result, the flexible display 2 is wound around the peripheral surface of the main body 1. At this time, due to the dimensional relationship of each part described above, from the upper and lower ends (both ends in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the arrow (A)) of the flexible display 2 wound around the main body part 1, the length d is approximately The main body 1 will protrude. Then, at the position where the main body 1 is rolled to the end of the flexible display 2, that is, at the position where the flexible display 2 is completely wound up by the main body 1, the lid members 3a and 3b are respectively shown in FIG. The lid members 3 a and 3 b are raised in the directions of arrows (A) and (C) shown in FIG. 5 and the both ends of the main body 1 projecting from the upper and lower ends of the flexible display 2 are fitted. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2B, the portable game machine of the present embodiment is combined into one cylindrical shape, and the cover members 3a and 3b are fitted to both end portions of the main body portion 1, thereby This state is maintained. Therefore, the lid members 3a and 3b correspond to holding members.

  Next, the structure of the control part accommodated in the main-body part 1 mentioned above is demonstrated with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 1, and detailed description thereof is omitted. As shown in FIG. 3, a connector 32, a control RAM 33, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) 34, and an I / F (interface) circuit 35 are connected to the CPU 30 via a bus 31.

  The connector 32 is provided inside the insertion hole 13 shown in FIG. 1, and electrically connects the ROM cassette 20 inserted into the insertion hole 13 and the control unit shown in FIG. 3 in a detachable manner. The ROM cassette 20 is equipped with a ROM 21 that stores a game program and a RAM 22 that stores rewritable backup data related to the game. The power switch shown in FIG. When 11 is turned on, the game program stored in the ROM 21 is loaded into the control RAM 33 and executed by the CPU 30. In addition to the game program, the control RAM 33 stores temporary data obtained by the CPU 30 executing the game program and data for generating a game image.

  The GPU 34 generates a game image in accordance with an instruction from the CPU 30 based on data for generating a game image stored in the control RAM 33, and draws it on a VRAM (Video RAM) 36 connected to the GPU 34. . The game image drawn on the VRAM 36 is output to the flexible display 2 via the driver 37 and displayed as an image. The touch panel 4 is connected to the I / F circuit 35, and the coordinate data output from the touch panel 4 is output to the CPU 30 via the bus 31. Further, as described above, a battery 38 (for example, a dry cell) that supplies power to each unit shown in FIG. 3 is mounted inside the main body 1, and power supply by the battery 38 is turned on by the power switch 11. / OFF.

  For example, when the ROM cassette 20 storing a known reversible game program is inserted into the insertion hole 13 and the power switch 11 is turned on by the control unit having the above-described configuration, the reversi stored in the ROM 21 of the ROM cassette 20 is turned on. A game program is loaded into the control RAM 33. Then, the CPU 30 starts the game process according to the game program loaded in the control RAM 33, and an initial screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the flexible display 2, for example. That is, the image of the game board of the reversi game is displayed at the center of the screen of the flexible display 2, and two black and white stone images are alternately arranged on the four squares in the center of the displayed game board. Is displayed.

  In addition, an icon including the character “first move” is displayed on the left side of the displayed game board, and an icon including the character “rear hand” is displayed on the right side. Depending on the display mode of these icons, “first move” is displayed. It shows which of the “rear hands” is the offensive. That is, the one with the white background and the characters displayed in black is the attacker, and the one with the background black and the characters displayed in white indicates the one who is attacked. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. Below these icons, a pass button image is displayed to pass your turn when you cannot place your stone on the game board due to the rules of the reversi game. .

  When the front side touches the screen of the flexible display 2 in a state where the game screen is displayed, coordinate data corresponding to the position is output from the touch panel 4 to the CPU 30 via the I / F circuit 35. Thereby, the CPU 30 determines whether or not the touched position is on the game board, and if it is on the game board, specifies the touched cell. Then, according to a predetermined reversi game rule, it is determined whether or not the current attacker's stone can be placed on the touched cell. If the square cannot be placed, a message such as “Cannot place” is displayed on the flexible display 2. On the other hand, if it is a square where a stone can be placed, an image of a stone of a color corresponding to the attacking hand (black for the front and white for the rear) is displayed on the square.

  If the touched position is the display position of the pass button image, the icon display state is changed to indicate that the order of the attacker has been changed. Further, if the touched position is neither the game board nor the display position of the pass button image, the player enters a standby state until the player touches the flexible display 2 again.

  In this way, the CPU 30 repeats the above-described processing until no front or rear stones can be placed on the squares of the game board, and when it becomes impossible to place any stones, The number of white stones is counted and displayed on the flexible display 2. In addition, a start button image (not shown) for instructing the start of a new game and an end button image (not shown) for instructing the end of the game are displayed on the flexible display 2. When the player touches the display position of the start button image, the CPU 30 newly displays the initial image of the game shown in FIG. 4 on the flexible display 2 and then starts the above-described processing. When the player touches the display position of the end button image, the image displayed on the flexible display 2 is deleted. In this case, in order to start the game again, it is necessary to once turn off the power switch 11 and then turn on the power switch 11 again. 3 reads out the game program stored in the ROM 21 of the ROM cassette 20 and executes the read-out game program, thereby responding to the coordinate data (output signal) from the touch panel 4. This corresponds to control means for controlling the progress of the game.

  According to the portable game machine described above, by winding the flexible display 2 by the main body 1 and fitting the lid members 3a and 3b to the main body 1, the game machines are combined into a single cylinder. , Can hold that state. For this reason, even when the screen of the flexible display 2 and the touch panel 4 are increased in size, the game machine main body can be made compact when being carried or stored, and can be easily carried or stored. At this time, since the power switch 11 and the storage lid 12 provided on the peripheral surface of the main body 1 are configured so as not to protrude from the peripheral surface of the main body 1, the wound flexible display 2 There is no fear of hurting.

  In the present embodiment, the description has been made on the premise that only the battery is used as the power source of the control unit or the like. However, an external AC (Alternating Current) adapter connector is provided on the peripheral surface or the bottom surface of the main body unit 1. The power supplied from the AC adapter may be used as a power source.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the portable game machine in embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the state until the portable game machine is put together compactly. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the portable game machine. In the portable game machine, it is a top view for showing an example of a game screen displayed when playing the game.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main-body part 2 Flexible display 3a, 3b Cover member 4 Touch panel 11 Power switch 12 Storage cover 20 ROM cassette 21 ROM
22 RAM
30 CPU
31 Bus 32 Connector 33 Control RAM
34 GPU
35 I / F circuit 36 VRAM
37 Driver 38 Battery

Claims (3)

A portable portable game machine,
An image display means having a screen and displaying an image on the screen;
A touch panel which is provided on the surface of the screen and outputs a position signal corresponding to a position where pressure is applied;
The progress of the game is controlled in accordance with an output signal from the touch panel by reading the game program from a removable recording medium storing a game program for executing the game and executing the read game program A portable game machine comprising: a control means. The image display means is a flexible display in which the screen has flexibility and can be deformed,
The portable game machine according to claim 1, wherein the flexible display and the control means are integrally formed. A rod-shaped housing member that houses the control means;
The portable game machine according to claim 2, further comprising: a holding member that holds a state in which the flexible display is wound around a peripheral surface of the housing member.

Images