JP2011224243A - Vibrating unit for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A vibration unit that vibrates a board-like controller on which a person is placed without difficulty.
A recess G is formed at the front and rear positions of the upper surface of a housing CHa of the game vibration unit. The housing CHa includes a vibration generator 14 that generates vibration by electrical control, and a support member 23 made of an elastic material so as to be disposed below the recess G. The concave portion G is formed at a position where a grounding protrusion formed on the lower surface of a board-type controller on which a person gets on and operates with weight is fitted. By setting the game vibration unit on the lower side of the housing CHa so that the grounding projection is fitted in the recess G, the vibration generated by the vibration generating unit 14 is transmitted from the support member 23 to the grounding projection, and the entire controller is transmitted. Vibrate.
[Selection] Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a vibration unit for a game machine that is separably provided with respect to a controller having a grounding protrusion protruding downward at a plurality of locations on a bottom surface of a board part on which a player is boarded. It is related with the unit which makes a player feel a vibration by vibrating.

  As a game machine vibration unit, Patent Document 1 is directed to a controller that a player holds and operates, but describes a controller pack that is detachably attached to the controller. This controller pack includes a vibration source, and a configuration is shown in which the vibration of the controller pack is transmitted to the player's hand by vibrating the vibration source in accordance with a command signal from a game machine.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, as in Patent Document 1, an extension connector is formed on a controller main body that a player holds and operates, and a vibration unit is provided in an extension unit that is detachably attached to the extension unit. Is described. By providing the controller with a unit having a vibrating part as described in Patent Document 2, the player feels vibration by operating the vibrating part at the timing of shooting, for example, in accordance with the progress of the game. Realize a game with

  Although not provided in a controller, Patent Document 3 discloses a sensation-type video game apparatus including a video display unit that displays video and a mounting unit that swings and tilts while a player is mounted. Is described. In the video game device of Patent Document 3, the mounting unit includes a vibration generating unit. For example, in a game in which the mounting unit is assumed to be a cockpit of a spacecraft, vibration is generated by the vibration generating unit. A game can be realized.

Japanese Patent No. 3514925 JP 2002-248268 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-336091

  As a video game controller, a board-like one having a size on which a person can board is commercially available. This type of controller has a load sensor that measures the load (weight) acting on the board, and when the player exercises or moves the weight on the board, these are detected by the load sensor and used in the game. It is possible to reflect.

  In addition, it is also desired that a controller that can be boarded by a person vibrates the controller in accordance with the content of the game so that the player who rides on the controller can feel the vibration.

  On the other hand, as described in Patent Document 3, a configuration including a vibration generating unit inside the apparatus is also conceivable. However, a user who has already used the controller will be forced to purchase a new controller. The burden of. In addition, when a controller including a vibration generating unit is manufactured, not only the cost of the controller is increased, but also a function that generates vibration is wasted for a game that does not require a vibration function. For this reason, as described in Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2, a configuration in which a vibration unit configured as a unit separate from the controller is desired.

  Therefore, it is also conceivable to configure a vibration generator having a device that generates vibration and use the controller simply on the upper surface of the vibration generator. However, when the controller is mounted on the vibration generator, the feeling of use is not so good because the upper surface of the controller is higher than the floor surface.

  In addition, as a unit that transmits vibration to the controller, for example, an eccentric weight is driven by an electric motor to generate vibration and transmit the vibration to the controller. The need to vibrate the controller against body weight necessitates a powerful drive source and room for improvement.

  An object of the present invention is to rationally configure a vibration unit that easily vibrates a board-like controller on which a person is placed.

A feature of the present invention is a vibration unit for a game machine that is detachably provided with respect to a controller having a grounding protrusion protruding downward at a plurality of locations on a bottom surface of a board portion on which a player is boarded.
The housing is provided with a support member made of an elastic material that supports the grounding protrusion from below and a vibration generating portion that causes vibration to act on the support member.

According to this configuration, the game unit vibration unit is disposed below the controller, so that the support member supports the grounding protrusion of the controller from below. Further, since the supporting member is made of an elastic material, the controller can be easily displaced in the lateral direction or the vertical direction even when a relatively small force is applied. When vibration is generated in the vibration generating portion with the player on the board, this vibration is transmitted from the housing to the grounding protrusion via the support member, and the entire controller can be vibrated.
As a result, a vibration unit that reasonably vibrates a board-like controller on which a person is placed even if the vibration energy of the vibration generating portion is relatively small has been rationally configured.

  In the present invention, the housing is formed with a recess into which the grounding protrusion is fitted, and the support member is disposed at a position for receiving the load of the grounding projection fitted into the recess, and the bottom surface of the support member A holder that supports the projection may be disposed so as to protrude downward from the lower surface of the housing.

  According to this, the grounding projection is fitted into the recess of the housing, so that the relative positional relationship between the housing and the game machine vibration unit can be maintained and integrated use is possible, and the grounding projection is recessed. By fitting into the board, it is possible to suppress an increase in the distance between the upper surface of the board and the floor surface and to improve the usability of the controller. When the game vibration unit is set on the floor, the weight from the ground contact protrusion of the controller is in a tension state in which the support member is compressed between the floor surface and the vibration of the vibration generation unit is in a tension state. The vibration energy can be transmitted from the support member to the controller without being attenuated unnecessarily by the support member.

In the present invention, the grounding protrusions are formed at four positions, a front position and a rear position, on both sides in the left-right direction of the bottom surface of the controller,
An intermediate position of the support member that supports the grounding protrusion between the left front position and the rear position, and an intermediate position of the support member that supports the grounding protrusion between the right front position and the rear position. The vibration generating unit may be arranged at two places.

  According to this, the vibration generated by the left vibration generation unit and the vibration generated by the right vibration generation unit can be individually transmitted to the controller, and different vibrations are applied to the left and right feet of the player. Also realized.

  In the present invention, the housing includes a left housing that supports the grounding protrusions disposed on the front and rear of the left side, and a right housing that supports the grounding protrusions disposed on the front and rear of the right side. A connection mechanism for detachably connecting the left housing and the right housing may be provided.

  According to this, when the controller is provided, the connection mechanism is released, the left housing is disposed below the two left ground protrusions, and the right housing is disposed below the two ground protrusions. Can do. Further, when not in use, handling is facilitated by connecting the left housing and the right housing with a connecting mechanism.

It is a perspective view which shows arrangement | positioning of a game machine, a television, a controller, a vibration unit, etc. It is a top view of the state which set the controller to the vibration unit. It is a top view which shows the left housing and right housing of a connection state. It is a bottom view which shows the left housing and right housing of a connection state. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a top view of the left housing which removed the upper wall part. It is a disassembled perspective view of a left housing. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is an expanded sectional view of a crevice in the state where a grounding projection was inserted.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
〔overall structure〕
As shown in FIG. 1, a game machine vibration unit C provided below the controller B (controller Bb) of the game machine A is configured. The game machine A outputs video and audio to the home television D screen via the AV cable 1 and can access information by radio waves from a wireless unit built in the game machine A. It is configured. This figure shows a handheld type controller B that is operated by holding it as a controller B (controller Ba) and a board type controller that is operated by a person on board (controller Bb). A communication unit (not shown) for accessing information with the game machine A by radio waves is incorporated.

  The board type controller Bb has the same function as that described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-264195 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-92408. The controller B is for accessing information with the game machine A by radio waves, but is not limited to the one for accessing information by radio waves. The controller B includes a cable connecting the controller B and the game machine A. Information may be accessed through the network.

  The game machine A includes a processor, a semiconductor memory, and the like, and a media drive that acquires a game program from an optical disk such as a CD-ROM and a semiconductor medium such as a nonvolatile memory, and the game program acquired from the media drive. The process according to is executed. Further, when a game program is executed on the game machine A, images such as backgrounds and characters set in the game program are displayed on the screen of the television D, and sound is output from the speaker of the television D. Then, when information is acquired from the controller B, a process of reflecting the acquired information on video or audio, such as scrolling the background or exercising the character, is performed. A connector 9 is provided on the bottom surface of the handy-type controller Ba shown in FIG.

  In the board type controller Bb, a flat board portion 6 is formed on the upper surface so that the player can get on with both feet standing, and four positions of front and rear positions on both sides of the bottom surface 6A in the left-right direction are provided. A cylindrical grounding protrusion 7 is formed to protrude. Although not shown in the drawing, the controller Bb is provided with a load sensor for measuring the load acting on the four grounding protrusions 7, and the information from the load sensor is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter, The communication unit includes a communication unit that performs necessary processing and transmits information from the processing unit by radio waves. This communication unit also has a function of receiving information from the game machine A.

  Since the board type controller Bb is thus provided with four load sensors, the player's jump on the upper surface of the board portion 6 can be measured by independently measuring the load acting from the left and right feet of the player, Standing on one foot, shifting weight to the left and right, front and rear, etc. are determined not only from the measurement value of the load sensor, but also whether or not the boarder 6 is on board is determined. And when it determines with the player not having boarded on the board part 6, the control form which does not generate | occur | produce a vibration in the vibration generation part 14 of the vibration unit C mentioned later is performed. Thereby, the inconvenience that the vibration unit C vibrates uselessly is prevented, and useless consumption of the battery is prevented.

[Vibration unit]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the vibration unit C of the present invention includes a resin left housing CHa and a resin right housing CHb connected by an intermediate cable 11 and a communication cable 12 provided in the right housing CHb. In the front and rear positions of the upper surfaces of the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb, concave portions G that are circular in a plan view are formed at two positions on the front and rear sides. The left housing CHa and the right housing CHb are collectively referred to as a housing CH.

  1 and 2, the left housing CHa is disposed on the lower left floor surface F of the controller Bb, the right housing CHb is disposed on the lower right floor surface F of the controller Bb, and the left housing CHa The front and rear grounding protrusions 7 on the left side of the controller Bb are fitted into the front and rear concave parts G. Similarly, the front and rear grounding projections 7 on the right side of the controller Bb are fitted into the front and rear concave parts G of the right housing CHb. Include. Accordingly, the vibration unit C is provided so as to be separable from the controller Bb. Then, the plug 13 of the communication cable 12 is connected to the connector 9 of the controller Ba.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb constituting the vibration unit C basically have a common structure, and the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb have vibrations inside. The generator 14 and the battery box 15 are provided, and the control board 16 is provided only inside the right housing CHb.

  A connecting mechanism for connecting the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb of the vibration unit C is provided. That is, as shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the opposing surfaces of the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb are in sliding contact with each other when the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb move in the approaching direction. Pipe-shaped coupling bodies 17 and 18 are formed to protrude. A tongue piece is formed on the upper surface of the right connecting body 18 at a position sandwiched between the pair of slits 18S, and an engaging projection 18A and an operating portion 18B are formed to protrude upward on the upper surface of the tongue piece. A hole portion 17A into which the engaging protrusion 18A is engaged is formed on the upper surface of the. The connection mechanism of the present invention is constituted by a structure in which the connection bodies 17 and 18 are engaged to reveal a connected state.

  The right connecting body 18 is formed to fit into the left connecting body 17, and when the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb are moved in the approaching direction, the right connecting body 18 becomes the left connecting body 17. In this state, the relative positional relationship is determined by sliding contact, and the tongue piece is elastically deformed along with this movement, so that the engaging projection 18A is fitted into the hole portion 17A to reach the connected state. After reaching this connected state, the operation portion 18B is pushed in with a finger or the like, so that the engagement projection 18A is disconnected from the hole portion 17A and the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb can be separated.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9, both the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb have an upper wall portion 21 and a bottom wall portion 22, and the front and rear positions of the upper wall portion 21 are circular in plan view as described above. The concave portion G is formed, and a support member 23 made of an elastic material obtained by molding silicon rubber into a cylindrical shape is provided below the concave portion G. The vibration generating portion 14, the battery box 15, Is placed.

  The support member 23 is not limited to silicone rubber, and synthetic rubber such as isoprene rubber and chloroprene rubber or elastomer such as natural rubber can be used, and a coil spring manufactured using spring steel or the like may be used.

  A circular through hole 22A that is coaxial with the axial center (circular center) of the concave portion G is formed at the front and rear positions of the bottom wall portion 22 below the concave portion G, and from above the through hole 22A. A dish-shaped holder 24 is fitted so as to be movable up and down, and the support member 23 described above is provided on the upper surface of the bottom 24 </ b> A of the holder 24. A flange portion 24F is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the upper end side of the holder 24. When the holder 24 is fitted in the through hole 22A, the lower side of the flange portion 24F contacts the upper surface of the outer periphery of the through hole 22A of the bottom wall portion 22. The positional relationship is

  The bottom wall 21G of the concave portion G of the upper wall portion 21 is disposed on the upper side of the support member 23, and the upper wall portion 21, the bottom wall portion 22 and the outer peripheral portion are closely fitted to each other using a plurality of screws. Thus, the bottom wall 21 </ b> G of the recess G is in close contact with the upper surface of the support member 23. Note that when the housing CH is configured, the upper wall portion 21, the bottom wall portion 22, and the outer peripheral portion may be bonded and fixed. Further, when the support member 23 is provided, the lower surface of the support member 23 may be bonded and fixed to the bottom 24A of the holder 24, or the upper surface of the support member 23 may be bonded and fixed to the bottom wall 21G of the recess G of the upper wall portion 21. good.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the vibration generating portion 14 is disposed in the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb at positions separated by an equal distance H in the front-rear direction with respect to the axial center position of the support member 23 provided in the front-rear position. Has been. The vibration generating unit 14 includes an electric motor 14A and an eccentric weight 14C connected to the output shaft 14B of the electric motor 14A. The electric motor 14A is a support wall 22B formed in a rectangular shape on the upper surface of the bottom wall portion 22. It is supported in a state of fitting in. In addition, a bulging portion 21A that protrudes upward is formed on the upper wall portion 21 so as to secure an arrangement space for the electric motor 14A and a rotation space for the eccentric weight 14C.

  Since the vibration generating unit 14 is configured to rotate the eccentric weight 14C with the driving force of the electric motor 14A, the vibration generating unit 14 obtains vibration synchronized with the rotation speed of the electric motor 14A. It is transmitted equally to the support member 23.

  The vibration generator 14 may have another configuration without using the electric motor 14A. As a specific example, a coil may be arranged in a magnetic field created by a permanent magnet, and the coil may be vibrated by switching the energization direction of the current supplied to the coil. In addition, a coil that generates a magnetic force when energized and a contact that is turned off by the magnetic force generated when the coil is energized and that is turned on when the magnetic force is reduced are supplied to the coil via the contact. Thus, the contact portion may be configured to vibrate like a buzzer.

  The battery box 15 has a structure including a case-like box body 15A in which a battery housing space is formed and a lid 15B that can be freely opened and closed, and the bottom wall so that the lid 15B is disposed on the lower surface side. It is fitted and fixed from below while being fitted into the opening of the portion 22. The battery accommodating space of the battery box 15 has a structure for accommodating two dry batteries such as AA type, and a plurality of batteries accommodated in the battery box 15 of the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb are connected to the intermediate cable 11. Is connected in series, and a power supply circuit for supplying power from the batteries connected in series in this way to the electric motor 14A of the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb in parallel is configured. During the control for generating vibration, the control board 16 supplies power of a plurality of battery voltages (6 volts in this embodiment) connected in series to the left and right electric motors 14A at the same time, so that the left and right vibration generating units 14 are supplied. It is configured to generate strong vibration.

[Operating form]
With this configuration, when the vibration unit C is provided (set) on the board-type controller Bb, the grounding protrusion 7 of the controller Bb is fitted in the recess G between the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb of the vibration unit C. Reach the state. In this state, the bottom wall portion 22 between the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb is separated from the floor surface F, and reaches a state where the bottom portion 24A of the holder 24 is in contact with the floor surface F.

  In such a state, when the player has boarded the board portion 6 of the controller Bb, the bottom wall 21G of the recess G is distorted downward due to the weight of the player, so that the support member 23 is slightly compressed and deformed. Reach tension. With this compression deformation, the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb are slightly displaced downward in a form in which the holder 24 is shifted upward within the through hole 22A of the bottom wall portion 22.

  When the timing for generating vibration is reached as the game progresses, the controller Ba receives information by radio waves, and the control board 16 acquires this signal via the communication cable 12. The control board 16 performs a process of generating vibrations by operating the electric motor 14A of the vibration generating unit 14. When vibration is generated in the vibration generation unit 14, the vibration is transmitted to the support member 23 at the front and rear positions with equal strength, and this vibration is transmitted from the grounding protrusion 7 to the controller Bb and the player's foot. Vibration is transmitted to.

  In particular, since the support member 23 made of an elastic material is disposed at a position where the ground contact protrusion 7 of the controller Bb is supported from the lower side, the controller Bb can be easily displaced in the lateral direction or the vertical direction. Further, when the player is on the board unit 6, the support member 23 is compressed by the weight of the player and is in a tension state. Therefore, even if the vibration energy transmitted from the vibration generating unit 14 is small, the vibration is almost attenuated in the support member 23. It is possible to transmit to the grounding protrusion 7 without causing it.

  Therefore, even when a relatively small vibration is applied from the vibration generating unit 14 while the player is on the board unit 6, the vibration causes the upper wall portion 21 of the housing CH to vibrate well, and this vibration is detected by the grounding projection 7. Thus, the entire controller Bb can be vibrated. As a result, the player boarding the board-like controller Bb can feel the vibration without difficulty. In addition, the vibration unit C can also vibrate the vibration generating portions 14 of the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb independently. In this way, the left and right feet are separately vibrated, so that the left and right feet of the player can be prevented. It is also possible to experience different vibrations.

  When the vibration unit C is used, the connection between the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb is released. When the vibration unit C is not used, the left housing CHa and the right housing CHb are connected to make it compact. The handling is high.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the embodiment described above.

(A) The vibration generator 14 is provided in the vicinity of the support member 23. In the embodiment, since four support members 23 are provided, four vibration generating units 14 are provided. With such a configuration, strong vibrations can be independently transmitted from the four support members 23 to the four locations of the controller, and the player can also experience realistic vibrations.

(B) The support members 23 corresponding to the number of the grounding protrusions 7 are provided so that the grounding protrusions 7 provided on the bottom surface of the controller can be applied to those having less than four or five or more.

(C) The vibration unit C is composed of a single housing CH. Thus, it becomes possible to improve the stability of the vibration unit C by comprising by the single housing CH.

(D) As the vibration generation unit 14, for example, a vibration generation mechanism that independently generates vibration in the vertical direction, vibration in the horizontal direction, and vibration in the front-rear direction is provided. By configuring the vibration generating unit 14 in this way, a realistic sensation can be realized by selecting the direction of vibration generation and combining the vibration directions.

(E) A connector for accessing information is formed on the board-type controller Bb, and the connector 13 of the vibration unit is connected to this connector so that it can be used. With this configuration, a game can be played without using the handy-type controller Ba for wireless information access.

  The present invention can be used for all controllers having a structure in which a player gets on board.

6 Board part 7 Grounding protrusion 14 Vibration generating part 23 Support member 24 Holder B (Bb) Controller CH Housing CHa Left housing CHb Right housing G Recessed part

Claims (4)

A vibration unit for a game machine provided separably with respect to a controller having a grounding protrusion protruding downward at a plurality of locations on a bottom surface of a board portion on which a player is boarded,
A vibration unit for a game machine, wherein a housing includes a support member made of an elastic material that supports the grounding protrusion from below and a vibration generating unit that causes vibration to act on the support member.   A concave portion in which the grounding protrusion is fitted in the housing is formed, and the support member is disposed at a position for receiving a load of the grounding projection fitted in the concave portion, and supports a bottom surface of the support member The vibration unit for game machines according to claim 1, wherein is arranged so as to protrude downward from the lower surface of the housing. The grounding protrusions are formed at four positions, a front position and a rear position, on both lateral sides of the bottom surface of the controller.
An intermediate position of the support member that supports the grounding protrusion between the left front position and the rear position, and an intermediate position of the support member that supports the grounding protrusion between the right front position and the rear position. The vibration unit for game machines according to claim 1, wherein the vibration generating unit is disposed at two places.   The housing includes a left housing that supports the grounding protrusions disposed on the front and rear of the left side, and a right housing that supports the grounding protrusions disposed on the front and rear of the right side, and the left housing and the The vibration unit for game machines according to claim 3, further comprising a coupling mechanism that detachably couples the right housing.

Images