JPH0757266B2 - Lifting mechanism of game console - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention allows a player to sit on a seat,
The present invention relates to a video game machine that performs a game operation according to a game screen, and particularly relates to a lifting mechanism for lifting the game machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a video game machine that allows game operation while watching a game screen on a seat, its diversification,
It is known that, along with the sophistication, the game machine body side can move up and down according to the game screen in accordance with the game operation of the player, so that the player can experience a sense of reality.

As this type of lifting mechanism, usually, one or two cylinders are used on the same side, and the opposite side is rotatably connected by a hinge or the like, and the cylinders are drive-controlled simultaneously or individually. Then, the mounted game machine is moved up and down.

[0004]

However, with the lifting mechanism as described above, sufficient lifting operation cannot be performed, and there is a limit to satisfy the diversified player's sense of realism.

Therefore, it may be considered that three cylinders are provided and the mounted game machine is swung to create a more realistic feeling. In this case, the three cylinders have basically the same structure, or one of them is made rotatable so as to absorb the distortion generated when a plurality of cylinders are driven simultaneously to some extent. It is also possible. However, it is difficult to completely absorb the above-mentioned distortion in a game machine such as a game machine that requires a vertical movement speed and various swing forms depending on the game operation, and fatigue may occur due to long-term use. , Which causes problems in life and safety.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an elevating mechanism for a game machine, which can surely absorb distortion and ensure a long life and safety while allowing various oscillating forms that are realistic to the mounted game machine.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a base, first to third cylinders arranged on respective vertices of a triangle on the base, and a piston rod top of each cylinder can roll. An elevating mechanism of a game machine for mounting and supporting the game machine main body, wherein a first cylinder is composed only of a piston rod, and a second cylinder is a line segment connecting arrangement positions of the first and third cylinders. It is configured to be rotatable on an axis parallel to
The cylinder has a first piston rod and a second piston rod, and both rods are rotatably connected to each other.

[0008]

According to the present invention, when at least two of the first to third cylinders are driven simultaneously, the second cylinder absorbs the movement amount of the game machine main body in the plane orthogonal to the rotation axis. However, the third cylinder absorbs the strain of the movement in the other directions. The second and third cylinders synergistically absorb the strain, so that the amount of strain that can be absorbed is large and the strain that is shockingly generated (during high-speed lifting operation) is sufficiently supported. It will be possible.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the drive structure of a game machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing the basic configuration of a video game machine to which the present invention is applied. Reference numeral 1 is a main body of a game machine, in which a player sits on a seat 6 and operates a steering wheel 8, a shift lever 9 and pedals 10 such as an accelerator and a brake while watching a game screen 7 to develop a game. ing.

A drive unit 2 for operating the game machine body 1 in accordance with a player's operation is disposed below the game machine body 1. The drive unit 2 allows the game machine body 1 to be three-dimensional and three-dimensional. Three units for rotating operation are laminated. Reference numeral 3 denotes an XY table unit for moving the game machine body 1 in the front, rear, left, right, and eight directions in the middle thereof. 3 ″ is an XY moving table. 4 is a turning unit for turning the game machine body 1. 5 is a cylinder unit for raising and lowering the game machine body and tilting the game machine body forward, backward, leftward and rightward.

The structure and operation of each unit will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the drive unit 2 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing one operation state.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a base on which a pair of linear rails 12 and 13 are arranged side by side, and two rail guides 14 are movably provided on the linear rails 12 and 13, respectively, while being gripped. . The moving frame body 15 is formed into a square shape by a steel square bar, and the lower surface of the moving frame body 15 is integrated with the rail guide 14.
It is possible to move in the X direction along line 3.

Above the linear rail 12, inside the moving frame 15, a support base 18 is attached to the base 11 at both ends so that the ball screw 16 is parallel to the linear rail 12. It is rotatably supported by 19. The nut 17 is screwed into the center of the ball screw 16, and the upper portion is fixed to the moving frame body 15. Further, one side of the ball screw 16 is connected to a drive shaft of a motor 21 attached to the base 11 via a coupling 20. The moving frame 15 reciprocates in the X direction when the motor 21 is driven in the reverse direction.

A pair of linear rails 22 and 23 are arranged in parallel on each upper surface of the moving frame body 15. Two rail guides 24 are movably provided on the linear rails 22 and 23, respectively, while being held by the rail guides 24. The moving table 3 ″ is made of a steel plate, and its lower surface is integrated with the rail guide 24, so that the linear rail 22,
It is possible to move in the Y direction along 23.

The moving table 3 "has a motor mounting portion 33 having a cylindrical concave shape at the center thereof. The convex portion 49 is one side of the moving table 3" and is the linear rail 23.
It is provided in the center of the side and the ball screw 2
A nut 27 screwed to 6 is attached. Both ends of the ball screw 26 are rotatably supported by support bases 28 and 29 attached to the side surface of the moving frame body 15 so as to be parallel to the linear rail 23. Further, one side of the ball screw 26 has a coupling 30
It is connected to the drive shaft of the motor 31 fixedly mounted on the moving frame body 15 via. When the motor 31 is driven in the normal and reverse directions, the moving table 3 ″ reciprocates in the Y direction.

Here, the motor 21 and the motor 3
1 are controlled by individual drive signals by a control device (not shown), so that movement operations in the X and Y directions can be performed simultaneously. Therefore, when the player gives an instruction to move diagonally forward by the operation handle 8 and other operation members or is controlled to have an inertial feeling, the game machine main body 1 once moves in the X direction and then moves in the Y direction. Since the game machine body 1 moves in the X and Y directions at the same time instead of moving, the game machine body 1 can move linearly diagonally forward from the base point and from one position to another arbitrary position.

As described above, the XY table unit 3 is constructed so that the game machine body 1 can be moved in eight directions of the X direction, the Y direction and the oblique direction.

Next, the turning unit 4 will be described.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 32 denotes a torque motor for turning the game machine main body 1, which is the moving table 3 ".
Is fixed to the bottom of the motor installation portion 33 provided in the center of the motor, and the upper portion of the cylindrical rotor 34 in the torque motor 32 is attached to the lower surface of the turning table 37. The lower part of the rotor 34 is a rotary joint 35.
It is fixed to the lower surface of the motor installation portion 33 via the. Further, the revolving table 37 is rotatably supported by having a plurality of ball casters 36 on its lower surface at equal intervals on equal radii.

The torque motor 32 is driven by the player operating the handle 8 or in accordance with the content of the game, whereby the turning table 37 starts a turning operation.

Next, the structure of the cylinder unit 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, three air cylinders 38, 39, 40 are provided on the upper surface of the revolving table 37 at each vertex of an equilateral triangle. As shown in FIG. 1, the air cylinder 40 has its piston rod 46 attached to the bottom plate 51 of the game machine body 1 via a rollable joint 48b having a link ball. The shaft portion 41 of the air cylinder 38 is supported by the bearing 43 of the support base 42 on the swivel table 37.
It is rotatable on a plane perpendicular to the line segment connecting 9 and 40, and its piston rod 44 is attached to the bottom plate 51 through a rollable joint 48a having a link ball 47. ing. One end of a rollable piston rod 50 having link balls 47 at both ends thereof is fitted on the top of the piston rod 45 of the air cylinder 39, and the opposite side is attached to the bottom plate 51.

The air cylinders 38, 39, 40 support the game machine main body 1 having the above-described structure, and individually move up and down by air from a pneumatic pressure generation source 52 described later according to the game screen 7 displayed by the player's operation. Controlled.

The means for driving the cylinder unit 5 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an air circuit diagram of the cylinder unit 5. The air circuit section is omitted in FIGS. 1 to 3.

The air generated in the air pressure generating section 52 is sent to the 4-port switching valves 56a to 56c of the air cylinders 38 to 40 via the filters 53 and 54 and the pressure reducing valve 55. Here, 38 will be described. The cylinder head 44 moves up and down by switching the 4-port switching valve 56a. The air cylinder 38 has two port switching valves 57a and 58a on the head side and the rod side, respectively. Reference numerals 59a and 60a respectively denote controllers for converting the control signal from the control device 61 into an analog voltage and outputting the analog voltage, and control the ascending / descending speed by opening / closing the 2-port switching valves 57a and 58a according to the voltage level. ing. Although the air cylinder 38 has been described here, the operation of the air cylinders 39 and 40 is similarly controlled. For example, in a car race, when the player performs an operation of riding a tire on a rocky place during the game development, the two-port switching valves 58a, 58b, 5
8c is fully opened temporarily and the piston rods 44, 45, 4
6 is rapidly raised, and immediately after that, the 2-port switching valves 57a, 57
b, 57c fully open and piston rods 44, 45, 46
By suddenly descending, the main body of the game machine temporarily abruptly swings, so that it is possible to obtain the same sensation as actually riding on a rock.

Next, the air cylinders 38, 39, 4
The absorption of strain generated as the piston rods 44, 45, 46 move up when 0 is activated will be described.

The piston rods 44, 45, 46 can be lifted up and down in various ways, but from the viewpoint of strain generation, strain is generated because another cylinder is pulled toward the raised cylinder side. Here, considering that the relationship of action and reaction is established between the remaining one and the two when they rise at the same time, actually consider the distortion when only one rises. Will be able to deal with all distortions.

In the embodiment, first, when only the air cylinder 38 is driven to raise the piston rod 44, the movement trajectory of the link ball 47 of the joint 48a is the link ball 47 of the other joint 48b and the piston rod 50. An arc is drawn on an axis parallel to the line segment connecting the upper link ball 47, that is, a force pulling inward (in the direction of the center) acts on the piston 44 as it rises, causing distortion. However, since the air cylinder 38 can be rotated by the shaft portion 41, it can be tilted in the acting direction so as to absorb the strain and be able to rise. That is, the air cylinder 38 is capable of absorbing the strain generated by the movement of the game machine body 1 within the plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion 41.

Next, when only the air cylinder 39 is operated to raise the piston rod 45, an inward force acts in the same manner as above, but the piston rod 50 whose both ends are rollable is provided on the top thereof. Since the piston rod 50 is fitted, as shown in FIG. 3, the piston rod 50 bends in the direction of strain to absorb the strain and enable the rise. Here, the joint 50 is not limited to the above example.
It is possible to bend in any direction. Therefore, it is possible to absorb a strain other than the strain absorbed by the air cylinder 38 depending on the elevating mode.

Finally, when the air cylinder 40 alone is driven to raise the piston rod 46, the same force as above acts, but the piston rod 46 is connected to the joint 48b.
Since it is only attached to the bottom plate 51 via the piston rod 44 and the piston rod 50, the piston rod 44 and the piston rod 50 actually take charge of the force component pulled by the piston rod 46. Therefore, in this case, as described above, the air cylinder 3
When the joint 50 bends and the joint 8 bends in the direction of the acting force, the strain is absorbed and the rise is possible. That is, the strain can be absorbed by the synergistic effect of the strain absorption of the air cylinder 38 and the piston rod 50. Due to this synergistic effect, the strain can be absorbed even when each piston rod moves up and down separately, or even when the piston rod goes up and down rapidly.

With the above configuration, the operator can play the game screen 7
Operate the game while watching to develop the game. At this time,
The operator can experience an ascending / descending operation in synchronization with the developed state of the game on the game screen 7, and can enjoy the game in an environment close to actual driving.

In this embodiment, a car race video game machine has been described, but the same can be applied to a video game machine simulating an aircraft battle or the like.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, of the three cylinders arranged on the base, two cylinders are provided with different strain absorbing mechanisms. The strain generated by the corresponding swing can be reliably absorbed by the two cylinders. Therefore, the player can experience the ascending / descending speed and various swing forms according to the operation, and can develop the game with a more realistic feeling, while ensuring the safety of the ascending / descending mechanism itself and prolonging its life. Can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a drive unit 2 as seen from an arrow A in FIG.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a basic configuration of a video game machine.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing one operation state.

FIG. 4 is an air circuit diagram of a cylinder unit 5.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Game Machine Main Body 2 Drive Unit 3 XY Table Unit 4 Swiveling Unit 5 Lifting Unit 6 Seat 7 Game Screen 8 Handle 9 Shift Lever 10 Pedal

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A base, first to third cylinders arranged on respective vertices of a triangle on the base, and a piston rod top of each cylinder rotatably supporting a game machine body. In the lifting mechanism of the game machine, the first cylinder is
The second cylinder is configured only by a piston rod, and the second cylinder is configured to be rotatable on an axis parallel to a line segment connecting the arrangement positions of the first and third cylinders. A lifting mechanism for a game machine, comprising a rod and a second piston rod, both rods being rotatably connected.