JP3868633B2 - Optical position detection method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is used for, for example, shooting determination in an electronic game such as a shooting game, and particularly relates to an optical position detection method for detecting a position on a target surface in a direction to which an instruction input device such as a shooting device is directed. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, an optical position detection method for detecting a position on a target surface in a direction in which an instruction input device is directed is used in, for example, a shooting game. That is, when a player (operator) performs a shooting aiming at one of a plurality of targets with a shooting device that is an instruction input device, the shooting device is on the target surface to which the shooting device is directed. By detecting the position, it is determined whether or not the shooting has been performed as intended.
[0003]
FIG. 5 shows this conventional optical position detection method 100 used in a shooting game, in which a target device 101 on which a plurality of targets 102, 102,. It consists of an instruction input device (shooting device) 103 that is operated by the player at a position facing the target surface 101a and spaced from the target device 101 at a certain distance.
[0004]
The plurality of targets 102, 102,... Of the target device 101 are displayed at different positions on the target surface 101a formed of a translucent panel, and each target 102, 102,. The target light emitting units 104, 104,... Are arranged inside. The target light emitting units 104, 104,... Are constituted by infrared LEDs, so that the infrared target light signals emitted from the light emitting units 104, 104,... Pass through the targets 102, 102,. , Emitted in the direction of the shooting device 103.
[0005]
The target light emitting units 104, 104,... Are connected to the controller 110, and the light emission timing of the target light signal is controlled by the controller 110. FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing the light emission timing, and the target light signals emitted from the respective target light emitting units 104, 104,... Times t until light signals are emitted are set to be different.
[0006]
In the shooting device 103, a telephoto lens 107 and a shutter 108 are disposed between an infrared filter 105 that transmits infrared light and an infrared photodiode 106 that photoelectrically converts an infrared target light signal.
[0007]
The telephoto lens 107 causes the shooting device 103 to have a linear light-sensing directional characteristic, and guides only the target light signal emitted from the direction in which the shooting device 103 is directed to the infrared photodiode 106. It is configured.
[0008]
The shutter 108 is interlocked with a trigger (not shown) of the shooting device 103, and allows the light that has passed through the telephoto lens 107 to pass to the infrared photodiode 106 only when the player performs the shooting by pulling the trigger. It is.
[0009]
Therefore, when the player pulls the trigger of the shooting device 103, the target light signal emitted from the direction in which the shooting device 103 is directed is converted into an electric signal by the infrared photodiode 106.
[0010]
A comparator 109 is connected to the output side of the infrared photodiode 106. The comparator 109 regards an electrical signal below a predetermined level (ref) as noise, and outputs only an electrical signal having a predetermined level or higher to the controller 110 of the target device 101 via the cable 111.
[0011]
From the time t ′ (see FIG. 6) from when the target light emitting units 104, 104... Are reset to when the electric signal is input, the controller 110 receives the input electric signal from any target light emitting unit 104. It is determined whether it is due to the emitted target light signal. That is, the target light emitting unit 104 that has emitted the target light signal immediately before an electric signal is input via the cable 111 can be determined as the target 102 in the direction in which the shooting device 103 is directed.
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
[0013]
According to this conventional light position detection method, the position (target 102) on the target surface 101a in the direction in which the instruction input device 103 is directed can be detected reliably. On the other hand, the instruction input device 103 and each target light emission Since it is necessary to make a determination in synchronization with the units 104, 104..., The controller 110 and the instruction input device 103 must be connected by the cable 111. For this reason, when the instruction input device (shooting device) 103 is operated, the cable 111 is troublesome, and when a plurality of players move while holding the respective instruction input devices (shooting devices) 103, other instruction input devices are used. There is a problem that the cable 111 is entangled with the cable 103 or its movement range is restricted.
[0014]
Further, when the number n of the targets 102, that is, the number n of the target light emitting units 104 increases, the target light signals are emitted after resetting so that the target light signals emitted from the positions of the targets 102 are emitted without overlapping. The target light emitting unit 104 having a long time t until it is included is included, and the common transmission cycle T ′ must be lengthened, which slows down the detection of the position on the target surface 101a in the controller 110. was there.
[0015]
Furthermore, even if the infrared filter 105 is provided, the instruction input device 103 may malfunction due to infrared rays included in external light.
[0016]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described conventional problems. The instruction input device is wirelessly connected, and the position on the target surface 101a can be quickly determined regardless of the number of target light emitting units. An object of the present invention is to provide an optical position detection device capable of detection.
[0017]
It is another object of the present invention to provide an optical position detection device in which an instruction input device does not malfunction due to external light.
[0018]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an optical position detection method according to claim 1 includes a target device that emits a target optical signal from a plurality of different positions on a target surface, and a target device that is disposed opposite to the target surface and has a minute directivity direction. An instruction input device that receives only the target light signal emitted from the directivity direction by guiding the target light signal in the angle range through the telephoto lens (4) and receiving the target light signal by the instruction input device; In the optical position detection method for detecting the position on the target surface in the direction in which the instruction input device is directed from the optical signal,
The target device has a target light emitting unit that emits a target light signal including unique target ID information at each of a plurality of different positions on the target surface, and repeatedly emits the target light signal simultaneously from all target light emitting units. ,
The instruction input device detects a position on the target surface in a direction in which the instruction input device is directed from target ID information included in the received target light signal.
[0019]
The target light signals emitted from the plurality of target light emitting units are periodically emitted simultaneously from the target device, but the instruction input device sends the target light signals in a minute angle range in the directing direction to the telephoto lens (4). Since the light is passed through and guided, only the target light signal emitted in the directivity direction can be received without overlapping with other target light signals.
[0020]
Since the target ID information included in the target optical signal received by the instruction input device represents the position on the target surface where the target optical signal is emitted, the instruction input device uses the target input information based on the target ID information. Detect the position on the target surface in the direction that is directed.
[0021]
Even if the number of target light emitters on the target surface is increased, multiple target light signals can be emitted simultaneously, so there is no need to increase the light emission period, and the resolution is not affected by the position detection time. Can be raised.
[0022]
Since the instruction input device detects the position on the target surface only by the target ID information, it is not necessary to synchronize with the emission of the target optical signal, and it is not necessary to connect the target device with a cable.
[0023]
Further, in the optical position detection method according to claim 2, the target device displays the target on any or all of the target light emitting portions, and the instruction input device performs shooting toward the target. The shooting device for shooting game that receives the target light signal emitted from the position of the target, and determining the target that has been shot by the shooting device from the target ID information included in the received target light signal It is characterized by.
[0024]
When the shooting game shooting device is directed toward the target, the target light signal emitted from the target light emitting unit at the target position in the direction in which the shooting device is directed is received. Thereby, the target in the direction in which the shooting device is directed can be determined, and the shooting game can be operated as if shooting was aimed at the target.
[0025]
Even if multiple shooting devices are operated at the same time, each player is connected wirelessly to the target device, so that each player can freely operate the shooting device and is not affected by other shooting devices. You can judge your performance.
[0026]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the target optical signal is an optical signal modulated by target ID information.
[0027]
In the instruction input device, the target optical signal is demodulated to obtain target ID information included in the target optical signal, and the position on the target surface is detected.
[0028]
A plurality of target light signals are simultaneously emitted from the target device, but the instruction input device receives only the target light signal emitted from the directivity direction, so that no demodulation error occurs.
[0029]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an optical position detection method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 in an embodiment applied to a shooting game.
[0030]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing respective configurations of a target device 10 and an instruction input device 1 used in the optical position detection method. In this embodiment, the instruction input device 1 is a shooting game shooting device. .
[0031]
In the target device 10, the facing surface that is separated from the instruction input device 1 by a predetermined distance is covered with an infrared transmissive translucent plastic panel 11, and the outer surface thereof is used as the target surface 11 a of the shooting device 1. A plurality of (m) target light emitting units 12a, 12b,... 12m that emit target light signals inwardly corresponding to a plurality of arbitrary positions on the target surface 11a, in this embodiment a matrix-like position. Is disposed.
[0032]
A plurality of targets 13a, 13b,... 13m, which are shooting targets of the shooting device 1, are displayed by printing at positions of the target surface 11a through which the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,.
[0033]
The display method of the target 13 is arbitrary. For example, the plastic panel 11 may be used as the transparent liquid crystal display panel 11 and the target 13 may be displayed by liquid crystal. In the present embodiment, the targets 13a, 13b,... 13m are displayed for all the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,. 13 may be displayed.
[0034]
Each of the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,... 12m is connected to the controller 15 via the modulators 14a, 14b,... 14m, and transmits a target light signal including target ID information.
[0035]
The data of the target optical signal is composed of 1 pulse header bit, 6 bits of target ID information, 2 bits of system ID information, 2 bits of check bits, and 1 pulse of end bits as in the data format shown in FIG. It consists of a bitstream.
[0036]
The 6-bit target ID information is unique data given to each of the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,... 12m, and here, the target ID information individually corresponds to the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,. The targets 13a, 13b,... 13m are shown directly. Therefore, 64 types of target light emitting units 12, that is, 64 targets 13 can be identified, but by changing the number of bits allocated to the target ID information, the number of target light emitting units 12 and targets 13 installed in the target device 10 can be arbitrarily set. Can be a number. In addition to this, the target ID information can also be various data such as data indicating position coordinates on the target light emitting unit 12 or its target surface 11a.
[0037]
The system ID information is set for each shooting game machine, and prevents a malfunction with an instruction input device of another shooting game machine when a shooting game machine having the same configuration is also provided. is there.
[0038]
The target ID information and the system ID information are stored in the storage unit 16 connected to the controller 15. For example, when the target device 10 is powered on and reset, the controller 15 calls the target ID information and the system ID information from the storage unit 16 to generate a bit stream according to the data format shown in FIG.
[0039]
At this time, the bit stream including the target ID information representing each target 13 is output to the modulation unit 14 connected to the target light emitting unit 12 corresponding to the target 13. For example, a bit stream including target ID information representing the target 13a is output to the modulation unit 14a, and a bit stream including target ID information representing the target 13b is output to the modulation unit 13b.
[0040]
Each of the modulation units 14a, 14b,... 14m generates a primary modulation signal from the bit stream data by PPM modulation, and outputs the primary modulation signal to the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,.
[0041]
The target light emitting units 12a, 12b,... 12m modulate the IR carrier signal of 455 KHz using this primary modulation signal and transmit an infrared target light signal. The target light signal transmission timing is controlled by the controller 15, and as shown in FIG. 3, the target light signals emitted corresponding to the targets 13a, 13b,. At the same time, light is emitted repeatedly from the sections 12a, 12b,.
[0042]
In the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,... 12m, an infrared light emitting diode having a wide angle directivity characteristic is used as a light emitting element that emits a target light signal. Can be received by the instruction input device 1 around the.
[0043]
The instruction input device (shooting device) 1 includes a target light receiving unit 2 for receiving the target light signal. The target light receiving unit 2 includes an infrared filter 3 that transmits infrared light, a telephoto lens 4, and a phototransistor 5 that photoelectrically converts the infrared light that has passed through the telephoto lens 4. The telephoto lens 4 guides infrared rays in a minute angle range in the direction in which the shooting device 1 is directed to the phototransistor 5, and the telephoto lens 4 and the phototransistor 5 are arranged in combination on the same axis. The shooting device 1 has a light-sensitive directional characteristic with a limited linear directivity angle, and receives only a target light signal emitted from a direction aimed at the aim of the shooting device 1.
[0044]
The output of the phototransistor 5 is connected to the demodulation unit 7 via the trigger switch unit 6. The trigger switch unit 6 opens and closes between the phototransistor 5 and the demodulating unit 7 in conjunction with the trigger of the shooting device 1 for the shooting game, and only when the player pulls a trigger (not shown). The target optical signal photoelectrically converted in step S3 is output to the demodulator 7. The demodulator 7 decodes target ID information and system ID information included in the target light signal from the photoelectrically converted target light signal, and outputs the decoded information to the determination unit 8.
[0045]
The determination unit 8 is connected to a determination storage unit 9 that stores the same data as the target ID information and system ID information stored in the storage unit 16 of the target device 10. The determination unit 8 compares the target ID information and the system ID information decoded by the demodulation unit 7 with the data stored in the determination storage unit 9, and when the same combination is not stored in the determination storage unit 9. Determines that a target light signal transmitted from a target device of another shooting game machine is received, or ignores an input signal from the demodulator 7.
[0046]
On the other hand, when the matching combination is stored, when the player operates the trigger, the target light signal emitted from one of the target light emitting units 12a, 12b,. The target 13 in the direction in which the shooting device 1 is pointed is specified from the target ID information. That is, by specifying the target 13, the position on the target surface 11 a in the direction in which the shooting device 1 is directed can be detected, and whether or not the shooting target 1 is shooting at the target 13 as intended. Can be judged.
[0047]
In the determination unit 8 shown in FIG. 1, if the player operates the trigger when the shooting device 1 is pointed at a specific target 13, it is determined that the target has landed on the target 13 and the determination result is determined by the determination unit 8. Are output to the result calculation unit 20 and the display control unit 21 connected to the. Based on the determination result output from the determination unit 8, the display control unit 21 displays on the display unit 22 such as a display whether the shooting has been performed as intended and notifies the player.
[0048]
In addition, the score calculation unit 20 receives the determination result from the determination unit 8, updates the shooting record information of the shooting device 1, outputs the updated shooting record information to the display control unit 21, and displays a score. Similarly, the information is displayed on the display unit 22 such as a display.
[0049]
The detection result and determination result on the instruction input device 1 side may be fed back to the target device 10 side by any transmission means and used on the target device 10 side.
[0050]
In the first embodiment, the infrared target optical signal is secondarily modulated based on the target ID information. However, as shown in FIG. 4, the modulation signal primarily modulated by the target ID information is directly used as the target. You may make it light-emit from each target light emission part 12a, 12b ... 12m as an optical signal. In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, even if each target light signal partially overlaps, similarly, the target input information 1 can be reliably demodulated by the instruction input device 1.
[0051]
Further, a target light signal emitted from one target device 10 is received by a plurality of instruction input devices 1, and the position on the target surface 11 a of the common target device 10 is detected for each instruction input device 1. It may be.
[0052]
Although the first embodiment has been described with reference to an example used in a shooting game, the position of the target light emitting unit 12 on the target surface is represented by target ID information, the pointing input device is a light pen, and the light pen is pointed. A specific position on the target surface in the direction can also be output to other devices.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, target light signals can be emitted simultaneously from positions on a plurality of target surfaces, so that the position detection resolution is improved by increasing the light emission position without extending the position detection time. Can be made.
[0054]
Various information such as system information and score information can be included in the target optical signal in addition to or in addition to the target ID information.
[0055]
Further, since the instruction input device (shooting device) 1 and the target device 10 are not connected by a cable, the instruction input device 1 can be carried freely, and its movement range is not restricted.
[0056]
According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the invention of claim 1, the shooting game is further determined as if the target in the direction in which the shooting device was directed was determined and the target was shot at the target. Can be operated.
[0057]
According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the invention of claim 1, the target optical signal is a modulated signal modulated by the target ID information. An error is unlikely to occur and erroneous detection by the instruction input device 1 does not occur.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing each configuration of a target device 10 and an instruction input device 1 used in an optical position detection method according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a data format of a target light signal.
FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram showing a light emission pattern of target light signals emitted from a plurality of target light emission units 12 after reset.
FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram showing a light emission pattern of target light signals emitted from a plurality of target light emitting units 12 in an optical position detection method according to another embodiment.
5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional optical position detection method 100. FIG.
6 is a waveform diagram showing a light emission pattern of a target light signal emitted from each of the conventional target light emitting units 104 and 104. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Instruction input device 10 Target apparatus 11a Target surface 12 Target light emission part 13 Target

Claims (3)

A target device (10) for emitting a target light signal from a plurality of different positions on the target surface (11a);
Only the target light signal emitted from the directional direction is disposed by facing the target surface (11a) and guiding the target light signal in a minute angle range in the directional direction through the telephoto lens (4). An instruction input device (1) for receiving light,
In the optical position detection method for detecting the position on the target surface (11a) in the direction in which the instruction input device (1) is directed from the target light signal received by the instruction input device (1),
The target device (10)
A target light emitting unit (12) that emits a target light signal including unique target ID information is disposed for each of a plurality of different positions on the target surface (11a), and the target light signal is simultaneously transmitted from all the target light emitting units (12). Repeat the flash to
The instruction input device (1)
An optical position detection method characterized by detecting a position on a target surface (11a) in a direction to which an instruction input device (1) is directed from target ID information included in a received target light signal. The target device (10) displays the target (13) on the arrangement site of any or all of the target light emitting units (12),
The instruction input device (1) is a shooting device for a shooting game that receives a target light signal emitted from the position of the target (13) by a player shooting toward the target (13),
2. The optical position detection method according to claim 1, wherein a target (13) subjected to shooting with a shooting device is determined from target ID information included in the received target light signal.   3. The optical position detection method according to claim 1, wherein the target optical signal is an optical signal modulated by target ID information.

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