WO2009025491A1

WO2009025491A1 - Outfit for fight game capable of displaying simulated bleeding amount

Info

Publication number: WO2009025491A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/004836
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hwa Suk Yang; Chi Young Cho
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-08-21
Filing date: 2008-08-20
Publication date: 2009-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 2010-02-21
Also published as: KR20090019470A; KR100918372B1

Abstract

The invention is an outfit for a fight game which includes a plurality of strike detectors installed at component parts constituting the protector for detecting the strength of a strike with the weapon and outputting a detection signal, a controller for computing simulated bleeding amount as the damage degree of a struck player based on the detection signal from the strike detector, and outputting an control signal according to the simulated bleeding amount, anda display for displaying the simulated bleeding amount according to the control signal from the controller.

Description

OUTFIT FOR FIGHT GAME CAPABLE OF DISPLAYING SIMULATED BLEEDING AMOUNT

Technical Field

[1] The invention relates to an outfit for a fight game such as a duel or a battle game between different groups in which a player uses a weapon such as a sword, rod, spear and gun, and more particularly, to an outfit capable of displaying simulated bleeding amount as the damage degree of a struck player, thereby enabling opponents, referees, and spectators to easily recognize the player's damage state.

[2]

Background Art

[3] Various fight games between the individual players or different teams are practiced as a sport or leisure activity, in which a player competes against an opponent using his/ her body or a weapon. For example, traditional fight games such as boxing, taekwondo, and Japanese fencing have been carried out for assessing players' ability. Recently, a survival game allowing players to use various imitation weapons is popular among adults and teens.

[4] However, in order to protect players or reduce violence level, each traditional fight game adopts its own game rules used. Accordingly, there are restrictions on usable skills, striking parts of the player's body, weapons, so the player could not use his/her skills to the fullest extent and it is difficult to attract spectators' interest. Also, since how serious the player's damage is cannot be immediately recognized unless the player suffers serious injury, interest in the fight game is decreased and, complaints against a referee's decisions are sometimes lodged.

[5] Though special guns and bullets are used in a mock battle such as a survival game, when a player is shot, spectators and opponents cannot know how deeply the player is wounded. Accordingly, this reduces the spectators' and the players' interest and makes it harder for a referee to make a correct decision.

[6] For example, in case of the survival game in which a paintball is used as a bullet, when the paintball strikes a player, the paintball bursts and leaves only a colored paint mark on the struck player's protector. However, the paint mark is not sufficient to give a realistic effect.

[7] To overcome the above mentioned restrictions, Korean Patent No. 719832 filed by the present applicant discloses "Protector for a combative sport". As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the above Korean patent, the protector for the combative sport includes a protector 2, a strike detector 4, and a motion restrictor 8. The protector 2 has joints 16 corresponding to respective body joints of the player. The strike detector 4 such as a pressure sensor detects striking impact and position to the protector 2. The motion restrictor 8 includes a plurality of gas bags 18 and a gas supplier 20 to limit motion of a corresponding joint based on the striking impact and position detected by the strike detector 4. In this protection equipment, after the strike detector 4 detects the position and magnitude of the impact on the player, the sensor 4 sends a detection signal to the gas supplier 20. In response to the detection signal, the gas supplier 20 supplies gas to the gas bag 18 to inflate and be stiffened, thereby restricting the motion of a corresponding joint. As a result, the struck player may acts as if he/she is actually wounded, which enhances the realistic effect.

[8]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[9] However, the motion restriction is not sufficient to give the realistic effect as much as the real battle to spectators and players. Particularly, in the fight game allowing players to use fake guns and swords, since the players were not really injured, a tense atmosphere may not be created. Consequently, the players are not induced to make more active offenses and thus the spectators may lose their interest.

[10] In addition, in order to heighten the sense of realism, it is possible that fake blood flows when the player is shot or struck, but this may cause spectators to feel unpleasant feeling and be harmful to them.

[H]

Technical Solution

[12] The invention is provided to solve the above mentioned problems of the related art, and the object of the invention is to provide an outfit capable of displaying simulated bleeding amount according to the damage level of a struck player, so that the realistic effect of the fight game may increase and enables the players, referees, and spectators to instantly recognize how much the player is hurt.

[13]

[14] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an outfit for a fight game including a protector and a weapon and capable of displaying simulated bleeding amount, the outfit comprising a plurality of strike detectors installed on the parts of the protector for detecting the strength of a strike by the strike, a controller for computing simulated bleeding amount as the damage degree of a struck player based on the detection signal from the strike detector, and outputting a control signal to the display according to the simulated bleeding amount, and a display for displaying the simulated bleeding amount according to the control signal from the controller. [15]

[16] According to another aspect of the invention, the weapon is molded of a resin in which a reinforcement member of a metal, a fiber, a carbon or a composite material is embedded.

[17]

[18] According to another aspect of the invention, the protector and the weapon further include a weapon part detector for determining which part of the weapon strikes the protector and outputting signals to the controller, wherein the controller computes the simulated bleeding amount based on the signal.

[19]

[20] According to another aspect of the invention, the outfit for a fight game further comprises an RF transmitter for transmitting the control signal according to the simulated bleeding amount computed by the controller to a Scoreboard to display the simulated bleeding amount.

[21]

[22] According to another aspect of the invention, the outfit for a fight game further comprises, a plurality of gas bags installed at joint parts of the protector, respectively, a gas supplier connected to the gas bags through respective supply lines, and a plurality of valves installed at the supply lines respectively to be opened and closed according to a control signal from the controller.

[23]

[24] According to another aspect of the invention, a plurality of light emitting diodes

(LEDs) is installed in each of the component parts of the protector and the LEDs are covered by a transparent or semitransparent cover of the protector, and the number, color or brightness of LEDs may be changed according to the simulated bleeding amount computed by the controller.

[25]

Advantageous Effects

[26] The outfit for a fight game of the invention may display simulated bleeding amount according to strike strength, which makes it easy to recognize how badly the struck player is damaged, so that the realistic effect of the fight game is increased. In addition, since the motions of corresponding joints of the struck player are restricted, the player feels as if he/she suffers actual injury. Accordingly, players participating in the fight game will act as soldier in a real battle field, and the spectators also feel that they are watching a real battle. Moreover, the damage level of the struck player may be displayed on the Scoreboard 140 and thus the spectators can easily know which side is currently winning. [27] Due to the simulated bleeding amount and motion restriction, it is possible to objectively determine which side wins or loses. Also, due to the objective determination, appeals against referee's decisions can be prevented.

[28] In the outfit according to the invention, the gas supplier 120 is not limited to the high pressure gas tank. For example, the gas supplier 120 can be a pump tank. Also, the motion restrictor 108 is not limited to the gas bags 118 and gas supplier 120. That is, other structures capable of restricting the motions of body joints can be used as the motion restrictor 108.

[29] Also, the controller 106 may control the motion restrictor 108 as described below.

When the strike is made on a player's vulnerable parts, the controller 106 may control the motion restrictor 108 to restrict the motions of the several joints. If necessary, the motion restrictor 108 may be directly connected to the strike detector 104, and thus the motion restrictor 108 operates in response to the detection signal from the strike detector 104.

[30] Moreover, the invention can be applied to a fight game in which a player uses body parts such as a fist and foot for attack as well as the weapon 130.

[31]

Brief Description of the Drawings

[32] Preferred embodiments of the invention can be understood in more detail from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[33] FIG. 1 is a front view of an outfit capable of displaying simulated bleeding amount according to an embodiment of the invention;

[34] FIG. 2 is a diagram of a control mechanism of the outfit of FIG. 1 ;

[35] FIG. 3 is a view of a display of the outfit of FIG. 1 ; and

[36] FIG. 4 is a pictorial view illustrating operation states of a motion restrictor in the outfit of FIG. 1.

[37]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[38] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[39] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an outfit for a fight game according to the invention includes a protector 102 and a weapon 130. The protector 102 protects a player when he/she is struck with a weapon 130, and can be formed in a single piece or several pieces that correspond to body parts of the player. In the present embodiment, the protector 102 is constituted of a helmet, a upper armour, a lower armour, guard gloves, and guard shoes to protect all body parts of the player.

[40] The protector 102 includes a plurality of strike detectors 104, a controller 106, a motion restrictor 108, and a display 112. The strike detector 104 is installed in each of the component parts of the protector 102, respectively, to detect the strength of a strike with an opponent's weapon and output a detection signal. The controller 106 outputs various control signals based on the detection signal. The motion restrictor 108 restricts the motions of body joints according to the signal from the controller 106. The display 112 displays simulated bleeding amount. In consideration of installation space, the controller 106 may be preferably installed at the upper armour. But, the location of the controller 106 is not limited to the upper armour.

[41] The strike detector 104 may be made of various sensors. For one example, the protector 102 may include a soft sheet therein and a plurality of pressure sensors may be distributed on the soft sheet to detect mechanical pressure occurred when the opponent's weapon strikes the protector 102.

[42] For another example, the strike detector 104 may include gas bags and pressure sensors connected to the gas bags respectively. The pressure sensor detects the change of the inner pressure of the gas bag when the protector 102 is struck. For a further example, the strike detector 104 may be a net type sensor array covering the outer surface of the protector 102 to detect the attack of the opponent.

[43] The controller 106 may be a micro-controller or micro-computer that is connected to the strike detectors. Based on the detection signal of the strike detector, the controller 106 decides which part of the protector is struck and how much strong the strike is. Then, the controller 106 outputs a control signal to a corresponding valve 124 of the motion restrictor 108, computes simulated bleeding amount corresponding to the strike strength, and outputs an control signal according to the simulated bleeding amount to the display 112.

[44] The motion restrictor 108 includes a plurality of gas bags 118, a gas supplier 120 that is connected to the gas bags 118 through respective supply lines 126 for gas supply, and valves 124 that are installed at the respective supply lines 126.

[45] The gas bags 118 may be installed at joint parts of the protector 102. Preferably, the gas bag 118 may be concealed by the cover sheet of the protector 102. However, as shown in Fig 1, the gas bag 118 may be exposed to outside. The gas bag 118 may be formed in various shapes according to a corresponding joint of the body. For example, a gas bag 118 corresponding to an elbow or knee may be formed in a hollow tubular shape for wrapping around the elbow or knee, and a gas bag 118 corresponding to a shoulder or hip joint may be made of a plurality of pads partially coupled to each other.

[46] The gas supplier 120 may be a high pressure gas tank. The gas tank contains high pressurized gas and thus gas is supplied to the gas bag 118 by a pressure difference between the gas tank and the gas bag 118. The valves 124 connected to the respective gas bags 118 are separately controlled by the controller 106. [47] The display 112 is a display apparatus capable of displaying various states depending on the control signal of the controller 106. For one example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the display 112 may include a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 112a that is installed on at least one part of the protector 102. The LEDs 112a may be installed at the chest or back part of the upper armour. The LEDs 112a may be turned on according to the control signal of the controller 106. That is, the number, color or brightness of LEDs 112a may be changed according to the simulated bleeding amount that is computed by the controller 106. The above method simplifies the designs of the display 112 and controller 106, and allows the spectators, opponents, and referees to intuitively recognize the state of the struck player.

[48] For another example, the display 112 may display the simulated bleeding amount in digit form using 7 segment LEDs, thereby displaying the simulated bleeding amount precisely. For a further example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, a plurality of LEDs 150 is installed in each of the component parts of the protector 102. The LEDs 150 are covered by the transparent or semitransparent cover 102a of the protector 102. As the simulated bleeding amount computed by the controller 106 increases, the number of LEDs to be turned on increases. That is, the simulated bleeding amount is displayed using the illuminance of light emitted by the turned-on LEDs. In this case, by using various colored LEDs, the color of the emitted light can be changed according to the simulated bleeding amount. This display method allows the spectators to instantly recognize the simulated bleeding amount, and may be used together with the above display methods.

[49] The weapon 130 includes a sword, rod, spear, gun and so on. The weapon 130 can be made of a metal as a real weapon, but in order to protect the player and reduce manufacturing cost, the weapon 130 may be made of a synthetic resin. When the weapon 130 is molded with a resin, and a reinforcement member 135 made of a metal, a fiber, a carbon or a composite material may be embedded within the weapon.

[50] When a sword with an edge 131 and back 133 is used as the weapon 130, the protector 102 and the weapon 130 may include a weapon part detector in order to determine whether the player is struck by the edge 131 or the back 133. When the player is struck by the edge 131, the simulated bleeding amount may be greater than that when struck by the back 133.

[51] The weapon part detector may be made of an optical, pressure, magnetic, electric, electromagnetic sensor or the like. For one example, a frequency detector including a plurality of variable capacitors may be installed in each of the component parts of the protector 102, respectively. Different variable inductors are provided at the edge 131 and the back 133, respectively, or only the edge 131 may is provided with variable inductors. Thus, a frequency generated when the edge 131 hits the protector 102 is different from that generated when the back 133. Therefore, it is possible to distinguish whether the player is struck by the edge 131 or the back 133.

[52] For another example, an electrified layer is disposed as the outer surface of the protector 102 and a conductor is attached at one of the edge 131 and the back 133. Therefore, the edge 131 is distinguished from the back 133 by determining whether the conductor contacts the electrified layer.

[53] In addition, the weapon 130 may include a sounder that generates sound effects when the weapon 130 collides with the opponent's weapon or the protector 102 to improve the realistic effect. The sounder may include a speaker, a sensor for detecting the collision, and a sound controller for generating different sound effects according to strike strength or position. The sound controller may be synchronized with the weapon part detector. Therefore, the sound controller may generate special sound effects when the edge 131 of the sword strikes the protector 102.

[54] The controller 106 may include an RF transmitter 139 for transmitting the control signal representing the simulated bleeding amount to outside device. For example, a Scoreboard 140 receives the signal from the RF transmitter 139 and displays the simulated bleeding amount in the above described display methods or in other display methods.

[55] In the outfit according to the invention, when a strike is made on the protector 102, the strike detector 104 detects the strength of the strike and transmits a detection signal to the controller 106. Then, in response to the detection signal, the controller 106 controls the display 112 to show simulated bleeding amount computed thereby, and opens a valve 124 connected to a corresponding gas bag 118. Thus, gas is injected to make the gas bag 118 inflate, and the motion of a corresponding joint is restricted.

[56] Hereinafter, the motion restricting process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, when gas is not supplied to the gas bag 118, a corresponding joint can freely bend or straighten because there is no resistance due to the gas bag 118. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, when gas is supplied to the gas bag 118, the gas bag 118 gradually inflates to put pressure the corresponding joint and thus the corresponding joint cannot freely bend or straighten.

[57] The controller 106 may control the display 112 and gas supplier 120 according to strike strength. For example, when the strike is detected, based on the strength of the strike, the number of LEDs to be turned on and the amount of gas to be supplied by the gas supplier 120 are computed. In addition, if the simulated bleeding amount computed by the controller 106 becomes greater than a preset amount, motions of all body joints of a struck player are restricted, which makes the struck player feel like a dead person.

[58]

[59] While the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

[1] An outfit for a fight game including a protector and a weapon and capable of displaying simulated bleeding amount, the outfit comprising a plurality of strike detectors installed on the parts of the protector for detecting the strength of a strike by the strike, a controller for computing simulated bleeding amount as the damage degree of a struck player based on the detection signal from the strike detector, and outputting a control signal to the display according to the simulated bleeding amount, and a display for displaying the simulated bleeding amount according to the control signal from the controller.

[2] The outfit for a fight game of claim 1, wherein the weapon is molded of a resin in which a reinforcement member of a metal, a fiber, a carbon or a composite material is embedded.

[3] The outfit of claim 2, wherein the protector and the weapon further include a weapon part detector for determining which part of the weapon strikes the protector and outputting signals to the controller, wherein the controller computes the simulated bleeding amount based on the signal.

[4] The outfit of claim 1, further comprising an RF transmitter for transmitting the control signal according to the simulated bleeding amount computed by the controller to a Scoreboard to display the simulated bleeding amount.

[5] The outfit of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a plurality of gas bags installed at joint parts of the protector respectively, a gas supplier connected to the gas bags through respective supply lines, a plurality of valves installed at the supply lines respectively to be opened and closed according to a control signal from the controller.

[6] The outfit of claim 5, wherein a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is installed in each of the component parts of the protector and the LEDs are covered by a transparent or semitransparent cover of the protector, and the number, color or brightness of LEDs may be changed according to the simulated bleeding amount computed by the controller.