Crawler driving device and game device

• US 20020137568A1
• Filed: 04/08/2002
• Published: 09/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SEGA Corporation (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SEGA Corporation (SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Kaneko, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 6,872,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/58
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2250/0414 in motion
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 9/143 electric
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 18/14 Drives arranged in the track, e.g. endless conveying means, magnets, driving-discs
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 23/02 Boats; Sailing boats

Abstract

A crawler driving apparatus and a game apparatus in which a storage battery mounted on a crawler is charged with electricity in a state that the crawler is adjacent to or not separated from a runway surface. In the crawler driving apparatus, the crawler 50 has a storage battery to self run by electric power of the storage battery, a charger 70 is disposed at a stand-by position of the crawler, and the storage battery is charged with electricity by the charger in a state that the crawler is not separated from a runway surface.

Claims

1. A crawler driving apparatus, wherein a crawler has a storage battery to self run by electric power of said storage battery, a charger is disposed at a stand-by position of said crawler to where said crawler can self run, and said storage battery is charged with electricity by said charger in a state that said crawler is adjacent to or not separated from a runway surface.

4. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said crawler is a self running model.

5. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said crawler is connected to a model for running said model.

6. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said model and said crawler are disposed on and under a runway plate respectively, and said model is connected to said crawler by magnetic attraction and runs on said runway plate following said crawler.

7. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said storage battery is automatically charged with electricity by said charger when said crawler has run by a predetermined time or distance.

8. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a charge condition detecting means for detecting whether said storage battery is required to be charged with electricity or not is provided, and said storage battery on said crawler returned to said stand-by position is charged with electricity by said charger when said charge condition detecting means detects a condition requiring charge.

9. A crawler driving apparatus claimed in claim 8, wherein said crawler is controlled by a run control means provided on said runway surface side, said run control means transmits a run control signal for moving said crawler to said charger to said crawler when information requiring charge detected by said charge condition detecting means is transmitted to said run control means by wireless, and said crawler moves to said charger so that said storage battery in said crawler is charged with electricity by said charger.

10. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said crawler returns to said stand-by position provided with said charger after said crawler has run on said runway surface, and when charge is required by said charge condition detecting means, a terminal of said charger and a terminal of said storage battery of said crawler are connected with each other to charge said storage battery.

11. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said crawler returns to said stand-by position provided with said charger after said crawler has run on said runway surface, and when operation of said crawler is to be stopped for long time, an electric circuit within said running body is cut off.

12. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said crawler has an electric source switch for cutting and connecting an electric source circuit and charge terminals for charging said storage battery, said charger has connection terminals capable of connecting with said charge terminals of said storage battery, and when said charge terminals of said storage battery and said connection terminals of said charger are connected with each other, said electric source switch is cut off.

13. A crawler driving apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said charge terminals of said storage battery and said connection terminals of said charger form three sets of terminals, a set of terminals are those for charging, another set of terminals are those for transmitting quantity of remaining electricity of said storage battery and further set of terminals are earth terminals of said terminals for charging and said terminals for transmitting quantity of remaining electricity.

18. A game apparatus as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein a charge condition detecting means for detecting whether said storage battery is required to be charged with electricity or not is provided, and said storage battery on said self running model or body is charged with electricity by said charger when said charge condition detecting means detects a condition requiring charge.

19. A game apparatus as claimed in claim 14, 15 or 18, wherein the number of self running models or bodies is selected so that said self running models or bodies can participate in a plurality of races enough, and self running models or bodies not participating in a race stand by at stand-by positions.

20. A game apparatus as claimed in claim 19. wherein said self running models or bodies are collected in groups for every races, and when it is detected that said storage battery of one of said self running models or bodies belonging to one of said groups is required to be charged with electricity, said storage batteries of all self running models or bodies belonging to said one group are charged with electricity altogether at said stand-by positions.

21. A game apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein total number of said self running models or bodies is larger than number of self running models or bodies in a race having most self running models or bodies participating among various races, and said storage battery of a self running model or body requiring charge is charged at said stand-by position.

22. A crawler driving apparatus or a game apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 21, wherein said model is a boat model.

23. A crawler driving apparatus or a game apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 21, wherein said model is a race horse model.

26. A game apparatus as claimed in claim 24 or 25, wherein a charge condition detecting means for detecting whether said storage battery is required to be charged with electricity or not is provided, and said storage battery on said self running model or body is charged with electricity by said charger when said charge condition detecting means detects a condition requiring charge.

2. A crawler driving apparatus, wherein a crawler has a storage battery to self run by electric power of said storage battery, a charger is disposed at a stand-by position of said running body to where said crawler can self run, said crawler moves automatically to said charger in a state that said crawler is adjacent to or not separated from a runway surface, and said storage battery is charged with electricity by said charger.

3. A crawler driving apparatus, wherein a crawler has a storage battery to self run by electric power of said storage battery, a charger is disposed at a stand-by position of said crawler to where said crawler can self run, said crawler moves automatically to said charger in a state that said crawler is adjacent to or not separated from a runway surface, and said storage battery is automatically charged with electricity by said charger.

14. A game apparatus having a plurality of models running along a predetermined course toward a goal to emulate for order of arrival, wherein each of said models has a storage battery as electric source for running and self runs along a runway surface, respective connecting sections to a charger are disposed corresponding to said self running models at stand-by positions of said self running models, and said storage battery of said self running model is charged with electricity by said charger in state that said self running model is adjacent to or not separated from said runway surface.

15. A game apparatus having a plurality of models running along a predetermined course toward a goal to emulate for order of arrival, wherein said model is connected to a crawler self running along a runway surface, said crawler has a storage battery as electric source for running, a charger is disposed at a stand-by position of said running body, and said storage battery of said crawler is charged with electricity by said charger.

16. A game apparatus having a plurality of models running along a predetermined course toward a goal to emulate for order of arrival, wherein each of said models has a storage battery as electric source for running and self runs along a runway surface, respective connecting sections to a charger are disposed corresponding to said self running models at stand-by positions of said self running models, said self running model moves to said charger automatically in a state that said self running model is adjacent to or not separated from said runway surface, and said storage battery is charged with electricity by said charger.

17. A game apparatus having a plurality of models running along a predetermined course toward a goal to emulate for order of arrival, wherein each of said models has a storage battery as electric source for running and self runs along a runway surface, respective connecting sections to a charger are disposed corresponding to said self running models at stand-by positions of said self running models, said self running model moves to said charger automatically in a state that said self running model is adjacent to or not separated from said runway surface, and said storage battery is charged with electricity by said charger automatically.

24. A game apparatus having a plurality of models moving along a field for gaming, wherein each of said models has a storage battery as electric source for running and self runs along a runway surface, respective connecting sections to a charger are disposed corresponding to said self running models at stand-by positions of said self running models, and said storage battery of said self running model is charged with electricity by said charger automatically in state that said self running model is adjacent to or not separated from said runway surface.

25. A game apparatus having a plurality of models moving along a field for gaming, wherein said model is connected to a crawler self running along a runway surface, said crawler has a storage battery as electric source for running, a charger is disposed at a stand-by position of said running body, and said storage battery of said crawler is charged with electricity by said charger automatically.

27. A game apparatus having a plurality of models running along a predetermined course toward a goal to emulate for order of arrival, wherein a transparent plate is stretched around above of a runway surface on which said models run.