Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02608095 2007-11-09
DESCRIPTION
PLAY FACILITY FOR REMOTE-CONTROL SYSTEM
This application is a division of Canadian Patent
Application No. 2,481,544, filed May 8, 2003.
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a play facility in which
a player can enjoy a remote-control system.
BACKGROUND ART
In a toy which can be driven by remote control and
personalized (hereinafter referred to as "personal use
remote-control toy"), a player has enjoyed the personal use
remote-control toy in the closed world such that the player has
used a portion in a house or out of doors to play a race or the
like with player's friends or acquaintances.
Therefore, the players often enjoy the personal use
remote-control toy with the same partners in the same place,
and the player is likely to be satiated with the personal use
remote-control toy in the end. The so-called power player who
has acquired operation skill to a certain level has no place
where to exhibit the skill more than the certain level, so that
it is also difficult to keep the power player's interest.
However, even if large-scale facilities are prepared in
order to attract interest of the player, since the personal use
remote-control toy is configured for the personal use, the
personal use remote-control toy has a problem that output is
weak and the personal use remote-control toy can not correspond
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to the large-scale facilities. When anyone can utilize the
large-scale facilities bybringing on the device ownedby a person,
there is also generated the problem that management on the play
facility side providing the field where the personal use
remote-control toy can be operated can not become economically
viable.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention
to provide the play facility in which permission and prohibition
of the use can be controlled according to predetermined conditions,
in order that the personal use remote-control toy can be operated
in large scale facilities away from day-to-day life, acquired
play skills can be exhibited on the commercial facility, and
profits can be expected by the person who provides the play field.
The invention solves the problems by a play facility for
a remote-control system to provide a play field for the
remote-control system including a transmitter and a drive device
remote-controlled by drive data transmitted from the transmitter,
the play facility comprising: a scramble signal generating device
which generates scramble signals to interfere with the remote
control of the drive device by the transmitter; a scramble signal
outputting device which outputs the scramble signals to the play
field;and a scramble signal control device which switches between
output and termination of the scramble signals from the scramble
signal outputting device according to predetermined conditions.
This enables the provision of the play facility in which
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the permission and the prohibition for the utilization of the
play field configured to correspond with the remote-control
system can be switched according to the predetermined conditions.
According to the present invention, it is also possible
that the scramble signal control device judges whether the
predetermined conditions are satisfied, and the scramble signal
control device terminates the output of the scramble signals
when it is j udged that the predetermined conditions are satis f ied.
This enables the provision of the play facility in which
permits only the player who satisfies the predetermined
conditions to utilize the play field when the predetermined
conditions are previously set.
In the present invention, it is also possible to comprise
a drive data relay device which inputs the drive data output
from the transmitter, judges whether the predetermined
conditions are satisfied, and outputs the drive data toward the
play filed when it is judged that the predetermined condition
is satisfied.
Therefore, even if the output of the transmitter is weak
and the output drive data does not reach the whole play field,
the drive data can be amplified and output to the play field,
and the player can perform the remote control independently of
the size of the play field.
In the present invention, it is also possible that the
scramble signal control device has an output switching device
which selectively switches between relay of the drive data with
the drive data relay device and output of the scramble signals
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toward the play field according to the predetermined condition.
Therefore, the scramble signals are output when the use
of the play field is prohibited, and the drive data is output
when the use of the play field is permitted. Since either the
scramble signal or the drive data is selectively output, the
switching control is effectively performed by the play facility.
In the present invention, it is also possible that the
remote-control system is the system where a plurality of drive
devices provided by the drive device is remote-controlled
individually by each of a plurality oftransmitters,each prepared
corresponding to each of the drive devices, the drive data
transmitted by each of the plurality of transmitters includes
identification information, which is unique to each transmitter
for identifying itself, and control information for controlling
the drive device, and each of the plurality of drive devices
compares the identification information included in the received
drive data with identification information allocated to itself
to judge whether the received drive data is the drive data
transmitted to itself, and performs operation control based on
the drive data when it is judged that the received drive data
is the drive data transmitted to itself.
Therefore, the remote-control system, in which the
plurality of drive devices one-to-one corresponds to the
plurality of transmitters and the plurality of drive devices
can be individually remote-controlled at the same time, can be
applied to the play facility of the invention.
In the present invention, it is also possible that that
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the scramble signal generating device generates the scramble
signals for interfering with the remote control by the transmitter
to which a particular identification information is allocated.
Therefore, in the remote-control system in which the
plurality of drive devices one-to-one corresponds to the
plurality of transmitters and the plurality of drive devices
can be individually remote-controlled at the same time, it is
possible to interfere with the remote control of the drive device
which is driven by the particular transmitter and corresponds
to the transmitter.
In the present invention, it is also possible that each
of the plurality of transmitters comprises a device which receives
the drive data transmitted from other transmitters, a
transmission timing device which sets transmission timing of
the own drive data based on the identification information
included in the received drive data, and transmits the drive
data according to the set transmission timing, and a suspending
device which judges whether the identification information
included in the drive data transmitted from other transmitters
is identical to the identification information set in itself,
and suspends the setting of the transmission timing by the timing
setting device until the drive data including the identification
information differer.t from the own identification information
is received when the identification information included in the
drive data transmitted from other transmitters is identical to
the identification information set in itself, wherein the
scramble signals includes the identification information.
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The signal including the identification information of
the transmitter which is the subject of the interference can
be used as the scramble signal, since the transmitter which
receives the drive data including the own identification
information utilizes the timing setting device which suspends
the transmission of the own drive data.
In the present invention, it is possible that the scramble
signal control device terminates the output of the scramble
signals within a range according to dropped value.
Therefore, the player who has dropped the predetermined
value is permitted to use the play field of the present invention.
For example, a coin, a medal, a token, a pre-paid card, and
electronic money are thought as the value applied to the present
invention, and the present invention can contribute to profits
of a play facility provider.
The invention.can solve the problems by a play facility
for a remote-control system to provide a play field for a
remote-control system including a transmitter and a drive device
remote-controlled by drive data transmitted from the transmitter,
the play facility comprising: a drive data inputting device which
inputs the drive data output from the transmitter; a drive data
outputting device which outputs the drive data toward the play
field; and a drive data relay device which relays the drive data
input by the drive data inputting device to the drive data
outputting device, when predetermined conditions are satisf ied.
Therefore, whether the drive data output from the
transmitter is relayed to output the drive data to the play field
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can correspond to the permission and the prohibition of the use
of the play field. That is, when the predetermined condition
is satisfied, the relay is performed to enable the provision
of the play facility inwhich the use of the play field is permitted.
It is also possible that the remote-control system is the
system where each of a plurality of drive devices provided by
the drive device is remote-controlled individually by each of
a plurality of transmitters, each prepared corresponding to each
of the drive devices, the drive data transmitted by each of the
plurality of transmitters includes identification information,
which is unique to each transmitter for identifying itself, and
control information for controlling the drive device, and each
of the plurality of drive devices compares the identification
information included in the received drive data with
identification information allocated to itself to judge whether
the received drive data is the drive data transmitted to itself,
and performs operation control based on the drive data when it
is judged that the received drive data is the drive data
transmitted to itself.
Therefore, the invention can be applied to the
remote-control system, in which the plurality of drive devices
correspond one-to-one to the plurality of transmitters and the
plurality of drive devices can be individually remote-controlled
at the same time.
It is also possible that the drive data relay device relays
the drive data having a particular identification information
to the drive data outputting device.
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Therefore, in the remote-control system in which the
plurality of drive devices correspond one-to-one to the plurality
of transmitters and the plurality of drive devices can be
individually remote-controlled at the same time, it is possible
to permit only the use of the particular transmitter satisfying
the predetermined condition and the drive device corresponding
to the particular transmitter.
It is also possible that the drive data relay device relays
the drive data within a range according to dropped value.
Therefore, only the player who has dropped the predetermined
value is permitted to use the play field of the present invention.
In the present invention, it is possible that, when a
predetermined race is held by the plurality of drive devices
in the play field, the drive device has a transmission source
which sends the identification information allocated to itself,
the play field has at least one reception terminal which receives
contents of the sending at at least one predetermined place,
and the remote-control system has a race management device which
judges whether each of the drive devices participating in the
race passes through the predetermined places based on the data
received by the reception terminals, and manages the data
concerning wins and losses of the race. Therefore, the car race
can be performed by the remote control.
It is also possible that the race management device returns
a refund of the value according to the result in the race.
Therefore, player's interest and aspiration for the car race
can be enhanced.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows an example of a configuration of a
remote-control system in the present invention;
FIG. 2A shows an example of the configuration of a play
facility in which a car race can takes place by the remote-control
system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is an expanded view of a
station portion in the play facility;
FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a control
circuit included in the play facility in the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows a procedure of switch control which is executed
by the control circuit included in the play facility in the present
invention;
FIG. 5 shows a procedure of game control which is executed
by the control circuit included in the play facility in the present
invention;
FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of the
remote-control system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 shows a circuit configuration of a transmitter of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 shows one block of drive data transmitted from the
transmitter of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 shows a circuit configuration of a control system
mounted on a drive device of FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 shows how to manage transmission timings when four
transmitters are simultaneously used;
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the procedure from power-on
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to start of transmission of own data, which is executed by the
control circuit in the transmitter of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the procedure of a normal
operation to be executed by the control circuit in the transmitter
of FIG. 1.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIGS. 1 and 2A show an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an example of a configuration of the remote-control
system in the present invention. A drive device 1 is configured
to be an automobile model, and the drive device 1 is driven by
drive data output from a transmitter 2. FIG. 2A shows an example
of the configuration of a play facility 67 in which a car race
can take place by the remote-control system.
A concrete flow until the start of the game utilizing the
play facility 67 is as follows:
Scramble signals are output from boosters 55...55 in an
overall circuit 66 until a predetermined amount of medals are
dropped. Therefore, a player can not remote-control the drive
device 1 in the circui t 66 until the player drops the predetermined
amount of medals. In a station 56 corresponding to the
identification number of the player's drive device 1, the player
drops the number of medals required for race entry from a medal
input port 65 to connect the not connected side of a code 64
with a transmitter output unit 61 in the transmitter 2 owned
by the player. After the predetermined amount of medals are
dropped, the scramble signals output from the boosters 55...55
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are terminated to output if the other player dose not operate
the drive device 1 having the same identification information
as the player. Therefore, the player can start to play the game
by the remote control. Then, the boosters 55...55 output drive
data from the transmitter 2 instead of the scramble signals,
which allows the player to remote-control the drive device 1
in a circuit course 51.
The drive device 1, the transmitter 2, and the play facility
67 will be sequentially described in detail below.
FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of the
remote-control system in the present invention. In FIG. 6, it
is assumed that three drive devices 1...1 are remote-controlled
in the same place.
The transmitters 2...2 are prepared in one-to-one
correspondence for each drive device 1. The numbers 1 to 3 are
set as identification numbers for the drive devices 1...1 and the
transmitter 2. The drive device 1 and the transmitter 2 which
are designated by the same identification number are paired.
Each drive device 1 is remote-controlled based on the drive data
from the transmitter designated by thesame identification number.
An electromagnetic wave suchas infrared and radio wave is utilized
for the remote-control of each drive device 1. Therefore, a
remote-control signal light-emission unit 3 is mounted on each
transmitter 2 and a remote-control signal light-reception unit
4 is mounted on each drive device 1. Further, in order to provide
synchronization of data transmission from each transmitter 2,
a remote-control signal light-reception unit 5 is mounted on
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each transmitter 2.
FIG. 7 shows a circuit configuration of the transmitter
2. While the remote-control signal light-emission unit 3 and
the remote-control signal light-reception unit 5 are provided
in the transmitter 2', a control circuit 10 which generates the
drive data to be transmitted and controls other circuits, an
input device 11 such as an operation key, a switch, and a volume
control for controlling the operation of the drive device 1,
and a switch 12 for setting the identification number are provided
in the transmitter 2. An input circuit 13 detects an operation
state of the input device 11 by an operator, and operation signals
according to the operation state of the input device 11 are input
from the input circuit 13 to the control circuit 10. The
identification number set by an identification number setting
switch 12 is readbythe control circuit 10. By the identification
number setting switch 12, it is also possible that an arbitrary
identification number is selected from a predetermined range
determined by the operator or a system manager, or it is also
possible that the identification number is previously fixed to
the specified number by a manufacturer of the transmitter 2.
The remote-control signal light-emission unit 3 is
configured to include light emitting means such as LED, and emits
infrared or the like according to direction from a transmission
circuit 14. The transmission circuit 14 outputs transmit data
to the remote-control signal light-emission unit 3 according
to a timing directed from an output timing generation circuit
15. The data output to the remote-control signal light-emission
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unit 3 is generated in the control circuit 10. The transmission
circuit 14 performs modulation with remote-control signal
carrier signals to the data generated in the control circuit
to drive the remote-control signal light-emission unit 3.
The output timing generation circuit 15 counts the time according
to a timer setting value given from the control circuit 10. When
the time corresponding to the timer setting value has elapsed,
the output timing generation circuit 15 outputs a transmission
direction to the transmission circuit 14. Note that frequencies
of the carrier signals output from the remote-control signal
light-emission units 3 are identical in all the transmitters
2 in this embodiment, but it is possible to the frequency as
the identification information of the transmitter 2 by changing
the frequency depending on the transmitter 2.
The remote-control signal light-reception unit 5 receives
the infrared or the like transmitted from another transmitter
2 and outputs the signals, in which a carrier component is removed
from the received infrared or the like, to a reception circuit
16. The reception circuit 16 decodes the signals given from
the remote-control signal light-reception unit 5 into the drive
data of one block to output the drive data to a reception data
judgement circuit 17. In this case, as shown in Fig. 8, the
drive data of one block is configuredby the identification number
and control information for a pair of motors provided on the
left and right sides in the drive device 1. The number of bits
in the drive data of one block is always constant. Therefore,
the time required for the transmission of the drive data of one
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block is also constant.
The reception data judgement circuit 17 judges the
identification number of the reception data given from the
reception circuit 16 to give the judgement result to the control
circuit 10. The control circuit 10 controls the operations of
the transmission circuit 14 and the output timing generation
circuit 15 based on the information given from the reception
data judgement circuit 17, the identification number setting
switch 12, and the input circuit 13. The control circuit 10
judges whether radio interference occurs and sets the timing
for outputting the transmit data of itself based on the
identification number of the received data given from the
reception data juegement circuit 17 and the own identification
number set by the identif ication number setting switch 12. Then,
the control circuit 10 sets the timer setting value for the output
timing generation circuit 15 according to the set output timing.
Further, the control circuit 10 generates the drive data for
the drive device 1 having the same identification number as the
own number based on the information given from the identification
number setting switch 12 and the input circuit 13, and the control
circuit 10 outputs the drive data to the transmission circuit
14.
Each of the transmission circuit 14, the output timing
generation circuit 15, the reception circuit 16, and the reception
data judgement circuit 17 can be configured as a logic circuit
or configured by combining a microcomputer and a predetermined
program as the control circuit 10. It is possible that at least
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one of the output timing generation circuit 15 and the reception
data judgement circuit 17 is integrated with the control circuit
10.
FIG. 9 shows the circuit configuration of a control system
mounted on the drive device 1. A remote-control signal
light-reception unit 34 provided in the drive device 1 receives
the infrared or the like transmitted from the transmitter 2 and
outputs the signals, in which the carrier component is removed
from the received infrared or the like, to a reception circuit
35. The reception circuit 35 decodes the signals given from
the remote-control signal light-reception unit 34 into the drive
data of one block to output the drive data to a control circuit
37. The drive data of one block is as shown in Fig. 8. The control
circuit 37 judges the identification number of the reception
data given from the reception circuit 35. The control circuit
37 compares the identification number with the identification
number set by the identification number setting switch 38 to
judge whether the data is valid or invalid. That is, when the
identification numbers are different from each other, the control
circuit 37 judges that the drive data is invalid and the control
circuit 37 does not generate the drive signals for the motor
in the drive device 1. On the contrary, when the identification
numbers are identical to each other, the control circuit 37
determines a rotational direction and rotational speed of the
motor in the drive device 1 based on motor control information
of the drive data given from the reception circuit 35, and the
control circuit 37 outputs the motor drive signals corresponding
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to the determined value to motor drive circuits 39 and 39. Each
motor drive circuit 39 controls the rotation of the motor in
the drive device 1 based on the given motor drive signals . Note
that an identification number setting switch 38 canbe configured
to select an arbitrary identif ication number from a predetermined
range determined by the operator or the system manager, or to
fix previously to the specified number by the manufacturer of
the transmitter 2. A power switch 40 is also connected to the
control circuit 37.
In the remote-control system of this embodiment, while
each transmitter 2 receives remote-control signals transmitted
from another transmitter 2, each transmitter 2 specifies the
timing to transmit the remote-control signal. As a result, each
transmitter 2 provides synchronization of the transmission
timing not to overlap the transmission timing of each transmitter
2 with each other. This point will be described below.
FIG. 10 shows the transmission timing which is provided
when four transmitters 2 are simultaneously used. In FIG. 10,
a time interval when one transmitter 2 transmits the
remote-control signal is T, and each transmitter 2 repeatedly
transmits the remote-control signal in a period corresponding
to the number of transmitters 2 x transmission time interval
T(=4T). The transmission timing of each transmitter 2 is
sequentially shifted from one another by T from the identification
number 1. Each transmitter 2 manages the transmission timing
according to the above-described relationship. This allows the
transmission time intervals of the four transmitters 2 not to
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overlap one another. In order to realize this transmission
control, for example, for the transmitter 2 having the
identification number 2 of FIG. 10, the transmission timing may
be controlled as follows:
When the transmitter 2 having the identification number
2 receives the data of the identification number 1 at a time
tl, the transmitter 2 having the identification number 2 starts
to output the transmit data of itself and finishes the output
of the own transmit data at a time t2. When the transmitter
2 having the identification number 2 finishes the transmission,
the transmitter 2 having the identification number 2 checks the
reception data of the reception circuit 16 (see FIG. 7) to conf irm
that the interference of the signals does not occur. Then, the
transmitter 2 having the identification number 2 sets a transmit
timer for counting the next output timing after 3T and starts
the timer count.
Then, when the power of the transmitter 2 having the
identification number 1 is turned off, or when the transmitter
2 having the identification number 2 can not receive the data
from the transmitter 2 having the identification number 1 due
to noise or the like, the transmitter 2 having the identification
number 2 can start to output the own data at the time when the
count of the transmit timer proceeds by time T after the reception
of the data of the identification number 4. Further, even if
the transmitter 2 having the identification number 2 can not
receive the signals from other transmitters 2, the transmitter
2 having the identification number 2 can continue the output
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of the transmit data in the period 4T by utilizing the time 3T
which is set to the transmit timer in finishing the transmission
of the own data.
Although the case of the four transmitters 2 was described
in this case, similarly the transmission timing can be controlled
even in the case of five and more transmitters 2 by adding the
identification number. The period of the transmission timing
of each transmitter 2 becomes N x T(N is the number of transmitters ).
However, it is possible that a blank interval in which any
transmitter does not transmit the data is inserted into between
the intervals in which each transmitter 2 transmits the data,
thereby the whole period may be set longer than NT.
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the procedure of a power-on
operation executed by the control circuit 10 in the transmitter
2 from turning the power on to the start of the transmission
of the own data. When the power is turned on, the timer for
time over is first set (Step S1). Then, the control circuit
judges whether the data from other transmitters 2 has been
received (Step S2). When the data from other transmitters 2
has been received, the control circuit judges whether the
identification number of the received data is identical to the
identification number set to the paired transmitter 2 (Step S3) .
When the identification number of the received data is identical
to the identification number set to the transmitter 2 of itself,
the procedure returns to Step S 1 to repeat the judgment operation.
Accordingly, the interference is prevented in the case where
there are plural transmitters 2 having the same identification
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numbers. When the identification number of the received data
is not identical to the identification number set to the
transmitter 2 of itself in Step 3, the control circuit 10 sets
the own output timing according to the identification numbers
of other transmitters 2 (Step S4) For example, when the
transmitter 2 having the identif ication number 2 of FIG. 6 receives
the data of the identification number 3, the transmitter 2 having
the identification number 2 sets the own output timing to come
after 2T time intervals
Then, the control circuit 10 judges whether the timer set
in Step S1 expires (Step S5). When the timer does not expire,
the procedure returns to Step S2. When the timer expires, the
transmitter 2 of the identification number 2 starts to transmit
the own data (Step S6). However, the transmitter 2 of the
identification number 2 actually starts to output the own data
at the timing set in Step S4 comes. When the transmitter 2 having
the identification number 2 does not received the data until
the timer expires, it is the case of single operation, i. e. there
is no other transmitters 2, so that the control circuit 10
immediately starts the data transmission in Step S6.
When the process of Step S6 is finished, the control circuit
controls the data transmission according to the procedure
of the normal operation in FIG. 12. In the normal operation,
the control circuit 10 judges whether the data from other
transmitters 2 is received (Step S11) . When received, the control
circuit 10 judges whether the identification number of the
received data is identical to the identification number set in
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itself (Step S12). When identical, the procedure returns the
power-on operation of FIG. 11. When the identification number
of the received data is not identical to the identification number
set in itself, the control circuit 10 sets the output timing
of itself to the transmit timer according to the identification
number of the received data (Step S13). Then, the control circuit
judges whether the transmit timer expires (Step S14) . The
procedure returns to Step S1 until the transmit timer expires.
When the control circuit 10 judges that the transmit timer
expires in Step S4, the transmitter 2 of the identification number
2 starts to transmit the own data (Step S15) . At this moment,
the transmitter 2 of the identification number 2 simultaneously
receives the data. Then, the control circuit 10 judges whether
the data transmission is finished (Step S16). When the data
transmission is finished, the control circuit 10 compares the
transmitted data with the simultaneously received data (Step
S17). When the transmitted data is not identical to the
simultaneously received data, it is judged that the interference
occurs, then, the procedure goes back to the power-on operation
of Fig. 7. When the transmitted data is identical to the
simultaneously received data, it is judged that there is no
interference, so that the control circuit 10 sets the next output
timing to the transmit timer (Step S18). After that, the
procedure returns to Step S1.
The remote-control system in the present invention is not
limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be executed
in various modes. For example, the drive device is not limited
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to the automobile, and the drive device may be the object which
mimics various moving bodies such as a tank, a hovercraft, and
a submarine. The transmitter may be a hand-held type or a
stationarytype. A particular program is installed in a portable
device such as a portable game machine or a mobile phone to function
the portable device as the transmitter.
FIG. 2A shows an example of the configuration of the play
facility in the present invention. The play facility 67 has
an almost rectangular-solid chassis 50. The circuit course 66
is provided as the play field on the upper surface of the chassis
50 and the stations 56...56 are provided on the side face of the
chassis 50 so that the players can look over the circuit course
66. The circuit course 51 in the circuit field 66 is configured
to be a road course including one control line 57 which is of
a start point and a finish point and three corner points 53...53.
The shape of the circuit course 51 is formed by a course wall
52a and a peripheral wall 52b provided on peripheries on the
upper surface of the chassis 50. Each of sensors for reading
a reed switch 120 mounted on the drive device 1 is individually
installed in each of the corner points 53...53 and the control
line 57 in the circuit course 51.
The reed switch 120 means the device which transmits the
identification information which each drive device 1 has, and
the reed switch 120 may be a barcode or the like as long as the
drive device 1 participating the race can be specified. Further,
the reed switch may be built in the drive device 1 or may be
attached to the outside of the body.
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The sensors installed in the circuit course read the reed
switch 120 mounted on the drive device 1 to specify the drive
device 1, when the drive device 1 passes through necessary passage
areas 54...54 and 57 in the course. The necessary areas 54...54,
and 57 mean the area where the drive device 1 must pass through
in the race.
In this embodiment, the form of the circuit course 51 is
not limited to this embodiment, such as an oval course, a street
course, or the like. Some sensors for reading the reed switch
may be added in addition to the sensors installed in the corner
points 53...53 and the control line 57.
The player performs the remote control with the transmitter
2 at the stations 56...56. Station numbers 1 to 4 are numbered
to the stations 56...56, and the stations 56...56 are horizontally
arranged along the side face located on the front face of the
chassis 50. The station numbers 1 to 4 correspond to the
identification numbers 1 to 4 of the remote-control system in
this embodiment respectively. That is, when the remote-control
system of the identification number 1 is operated, the player
operates the remote-control at the station of which the station
number is 1. With respect to the installation place of the
stations 56, the stations 56...56 are integrated with the chassis
50 in this embodiment. However, the installation place of the
stations 56 is not limited to this embodiment. It is possible
that the stations 56...56 are separated from the chassis 50, or
it is possible that the stations 56...56 are arranged so as to
surround the circuit field 66. The installation number of
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stations 56 can be properly changed up to the number in which
the transmitters can be simultaneously used in the same play
facility according to identification information of the
remote-control system to which the invention is applied.
FIG. 2B shows an expanded view of the station 56. A panel
screen 60, a drive data input unit 62, a transmitter installation
unit 63, and a coin input unit 65 are provided in each station.
One end of a code 64 is connected to the drive data input unit
62. The transmitter output unit 61 in the transmitter 2 of the
player is connected to one end which is not connected to the
station 56. This is because the drive data output from the
transmitter 2 is sent to the circuit field 67 through the drive
data input unit 62.
The boosters 55...55 whose output ports are orientated toward
the circuit course 51 are provided at several places of the circuit
course 51. The scramble signals or the drive data output from
the transmitter 2 is output from the boosters 55...55 . The scramble
signal means the signal to interfere with the remote control
of the drive device 1 with the transmitter 2. While the boosters
55...55 are provided at four corners of the circuit course 51 in
this embodiment, the installation place and the installation
number of boosters 55...55 may be arranged so that the signal and
the data output from the booster 55 reach the whole of the circuit
field 66 including all the stations, and the installation place
and the installatior number of boosters 55...55 can be properly
changed according to a size of the circuit course 51 or intensity
of the output from the boosters 55...55.
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The circuit field 66 also includes a notice board 58 for
displaying race information and speakers 59, 59 for performing
sound effect. The notice board 58 and the speakers 59 and 59
are orientated toward the side of the stations 56...56.
The configuration of a control system circuit provided
in the play facility 67 and the flow of the signal or the data
in each control will be described below.
FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a control
circuit 100 included in the play facility 67. The play facility
67 includes the control circuit 100 which controls the data dealt
withbytheplay facility 67. The control circuit 100 is connected
to a medal selector 101, a reed switch read unit 53, display
devices 58 and 60, a main memory unit 102, an external memory
unit 103, and a switching circuit 104. The switching circuit
104 is connected to a scramble signal generation unit 106, the
drive data input units 62...62 , a relay circuit 107, and the signal
output units 55 in addition to the control circuit 100. Switches
105...105 for changing output modes from the signal output units
55 are provided in the switching circuit 104. The drive data
input units 62...62 and the switches 105...105 respectively
correspond one-to-one with the identification number of the
remote-control system in this embodiment.
In the play facility 67, the mode of the switch 105 is
set to the output mode of the scramble signals until the remote
control is permitted, and the scramble signals are output from
the signal output unit 55. Therefore, the drive device 1 can
not be remote-controlled with the transmitter 2 in the play
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facility 67.
The medal selector 101 outputs the data concerning the
dropped medal to the control circuit 100. For example, the
identification number of the station 56 in which the predetermined
amout of medals is dropped is output as the identification number
in which the remote control should be permitted. The control
circuit 100 directs the switching circuit 104 to switch to the
output signal corresponding to the identif ication number to which
remote control is permitted. In the switching circuit 104,
according to the direction, the switch 105 corresponding to the
identification number seitches from the output mode of the
scramble signal to the termination mode. The drive data
corresponding to the identification number, which is input from
the drive data input unit 62, is relayed to the signal output
units 55...55 through the relay circuit 107. In the relay circuit
107, it is also possible to amplify the relayed drive data.
Therefore, instead of the scramble signals, the drive data to
mean the remote control is permitted is output from the signal
output units 55...55. Then, for example after a predetermined
time has elapsed, when the direction of prohibiting the remote
control corresponding to the identification number is provided
from the control circuit 100 to the switching circuit 104, the
relay circuit 107 terminates the relay of the drive data
corresponding to the identification number. The switch 105 is
changed to the scrarrble signal output mode, and the switch 105
outputs the scramble signal corresponding to the identification
numbertothe signal output units 55...55. Consequently, the remote
CA 02608095 2007-11-09
control can not be performed with the identification number.
The drive data input unit 62 transmits the drive data to
the switching circuit 104 in order to output the drive data output
from the transmitter 2 onto the circuit course 51 according to
the control by the control circuit 100.
The scramble signal is generated in this scramble signal
generation unit 106. The scramble signal in this embodiment
has the same data structure as the drive data shown in FIG. 8,
the identification number is the identification number of the
transmitter 2 which is the subject of the interference of the
remote control, and the control information represents
information to be uncontrollable. With respect to the control
information which makes the drive device 1 uncontrollable, for
example, it is thought that speed information included in the
control information is set to zero, and the value in excess of
a predetermined maximum speed is set as the maximum speed, or
the like. As shown in FIG. 11, when the transmitter 2 receives
the own identification number after turning the power on, the
transmitter 2 suspends the transmission of the own drive data,
so that the generated signal becomes the signal which prevents
the transmission of the drive data from the transmitter 2.
As described above, it is possible that the installation
number of drive data input units 62...62 and the installation number
of switches 105...105 are provided corresponding one-to-one with
the identification numbers of the remote-control system. The
installation number of drive data input units 62...62 and the
installation number of switches 105...105 can be properly changed
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according to the remote-control system to which the invention
is applied. While the four signal output units 55...55 are provided,
as described above, the number of signal output units 55 can
be properly changed depending on the intensity of the output
of the boosters 55...55 or the size of the circuit course 51. For
example, when the control circuit 100 has the function of
amplifying the drive data output from the transmitter 2, the
installation number of boosters can be reduced without changing
the intensity of the output from the transmitter 2.
In this embodiment, the drive data output from the
transmitter 2 is output from the signal output units 55...55
according to the control of the control circuit 100, but the
invention is not limited to this embodiment. When the output
from the transmitter 2 is sufficiently strong, it is possible
that only the scramble signal is output from the signal output
unit 55 and the switching circuit 104 has only the function of
switching whether the scramble signal is output. It is also
possible to provide only the relay circuit 107 without utilizing
the scramble signal in this embodiment, and whether the input
drive data is relayed to the signal output unit 55 may correspond
to the control whether the remote control is permitted.
In this embodiment, the condition for terminating the
output of the scramble signal is that the predetermined amount
of medals is dropped. However, the invention is not limited
to the embodiment. For example, other conditions can be also
set such that the permission of the remote control is given to
only a player having the excellent result. Further, according
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to the amout of the dropped medals, it is also possible to set
the time when the player can use the circuit course 51.
The reed switch read unit 53 reads the data of the reed
switch mounted on the drive device 1 through the sensors installed
in the corners 53...53 and control line 57 of the circuit course
51. On the basis of the data, the control circuit 100 can grasp
when the drive device 1 passes through which point or what number
the drive device 1 is running, and the control circuit 100 performs
race management in conjunction with the main memory device. The
race management means the management concerning the race such
as timing of a rap time, determination of a race rank, record
of a race result, payment of penalty for the case in which the
drive device 1 does not pass through the necessary passage area.
The result history of the player is stored in the external
memory device 103, and the control circuit 100 can read the result
history of the player from the external memory device 103 to
reflect the result history to the race result or switch control
of the switches 105...105 in the switching circuit 104. The control
circuit 100 properly outputs to the display device 58, 60 contents ,
which should be notified to customers and players, such as
directions of the operation to players and a race status.
Further, it is possible that amedal refundunit is connected
to the control circuit 100. This allows the refund of the medal
to be performed to the higher-ranking players of the race according
to the result of the game. Adjustment of the amount of refund
can enhance player's interest and always secure profits for the
side to install the play facility 67.
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It is also possible that the control circuit 100 and the
switching circuit 104 are configured as the logic circuit, or
it is also possible that the control circuit 100 and the switching
circuit 104 are configured by combination with middleware and
software.
FIG. 4 is the flow chart showing the procedure of the switch
control executed by the control circuit 100 included in the play
facility. In Step S70, the control circuit 100 judges whether
the medal has been dropped. When the control circuit 100 judges
that the medal has been dropped, the procedure proceeds to Step
S71, and the control circuit 100 judges whether the number of
medals is a predetermined number of medals. When the control
circuit 100 dose not judge that the medal has been dropped, the
control circuit 100 waits until the medal is dropped. In Step
71, when the control circuit 100 judges that the number of dropped
medalsisa predetermined number of inedals,the procedure proceeds
to Step S72. When the number of dropped medals is not a
predetermined number of medals, the procedure returns Step S70
to wait for the medal to be dropped.
In Step S72, the control circuit 100 judges whether the
drive data output from the transmitter is input. When the control
circuit 100 does not confirm that the drive data is input, since
there is a possibility that the transmitter is not connected
to the code or the identification number is already used in the
play, the notification is displayed on the panel 60 of the station
in Step S73. When the control circuit 100 judges that the drive
data is input in Step S72, the procedure proceeds to Step S74
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to switch the switches 105...105 corresponding to the
identification number to the drive data output mode. Then, in
Step S75, the drive data is output from the signal output unit
55 and the player can start the game concerning the remote-control
system.
In Step S76, the control circuit 100 judges whether the
game finishes until the control circuit 100 judges that the game
finishes. When the control circuit 100 judges that the game
finishes, the procedure proceeds to Step S77. In Step S77, the
switches 105...105 corresponding to the identification number is
switched from the drive data output to the scramble signal output,
and the procedure proceeds to Step S78. In Step S78, the control
circuit 100 causes the signal output unit 55 to output the scramble
signals, after that the procedure returns to Step S70 to become
a medal dropping standby state.
FIG. 5 is the flow chart showing the procedure of the game
control executed by the control circuit 100 included in the play
facility 67. When one player makes an entry into the game, an
entry timer is set in Step S80. The control circuit 100 repeats
Step S81 and Step S82 until the entry timer expires to wait for
another player's entry. In Step S83, the control circuit 100
judges whether one player makes the entry into the game. When
the control circuit 100 judges that one player makes the entry
into the game, the procedure proceeds to Step S84 to perform
time attack control. When the control circuit 100 judges that
at least two players make the entry into the game, the procedure
proceeds to Step S85 to perform race control. The time attack
CA 02608095 2007-11-09
is the game for competing about rap time when the drive device
1 runs on the course unlike the game where the plurality of drive
devices 1 run on the course at the same time. When each game
finishes, the control circuit 100 judges whether the refund of
the medal is required in Step S86. When the control circuit
100 judges that the refund of the medal is required, the procedure
proceeds to Step S87. After the refund of the medal is performed
in Step 88, the game is finished. When the control circuit 100
judges that the refund of the medal is not required in step 86,
the game is directly finished.
In this embodiment, the four drive devices 1 can make the
entry into one race at the maximum corresponding to the four
types of the identification information of the remote-control
system. However, the number of drive devices 1 which can make
the entry into the race can be properly changed depending on
the remote-control system to which the invention is applied.
It is also possible that the player can select the race
type game or the time attack type game at the moment of his/her
entry without the entry time.
In the race control, qualifying races are performed before
a final race, and a pole position (start grid) in the final game
may be determined depending on the result of the qualifying game.
The play facility 67 can be also configured to be the field where
the drive devices freely run without taking place games for
competing a rap time or a running rank.
The embodiment of the invention is not limited to the
described above. The play facility can be realized in various
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designs, such as a battle field when the drive device 1 is a
tank of as a filed utilizing water when the drive device 1 is
a hovercraft or a submarine.
While the drive device 1 is controlled with the infrared
in this embodiment, the similar play facility can be configured
in the case where the drive device 1 is controlled with the radio
wave. For example, in the case of the remote-control system
in which the plurality of drive devices 1 can be simultaneously
controlled by dividing the frequency into plural bands, by
outputting the interference radio wave for each band, the control
for the use of the play facility can be available in the same
manner as this embodiment. Further, both the control using
infrared and the control using radio wave can be performed at
the same time.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
As described above, according to the invention, the play
facility can be installed, in which the personal use
remote-control toy can be operated in large-scale facilities
away from day-to-day life and the acquired play skills can be
exhibited on the commercial facility, and further, by which
profits can be expected also on the side to provide the facility.
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