Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Alps Electronics Co., Ltd.

Youtaro Sakakura

Masahiro Soma

Yasuji Hagiwara

Hiroshi Nakahama

Isao Sato

Koji Mita

An operation unit is provided with an operation body operated by hand, a first detection unit for detecting the inclination operation of the operation body, and a second detection unit for detecting the pushing-down operation of the operation body. Any of 26 alphabetical characters 'A, B, C, . . . , X, Y, and Z' is selected corresponding to the inclination direction of the operation body. The displayed character is changed successively by rotating the operation body in X-Y coordinate plane. The selected character is finalized by pushing down the operation unit in Z-direction.

Character input apparatus

A controller is provided with an artificial retina chip. The artificial retina chip is connected to a display unit via a game machine body. Before starting the game, the artificial retina chip is instructed to recognize an image of frame of the display unit to store such image as the reference image. After starting the game, the controller is moved to recognize the image of frame of the display unit in order to detect the designated position by comparing the coordinate position data after the movement and the coordinate position data of the reference image.

Designated position detector and game controller utilizing the same

An arithmetic unit for correcting a detection output of a detector for a mechanical error of the detector in accordance with a predetermined input/output characteristic (straight line) is provided. When a digital output of the detector exceeds an upper limit value stored in a main memory, the digital output becomes a new upper limit value. From a virtual line which passes through the new upper limit value and which is parallel to the straight line, a new lower limit value is obtained. A corrected operation output is obtained in accordance with a new input/output characteristic of the detector based on the new upper limit value and the new lower limit value. Thus, the correction accuracy is improved.

Arithmetic unit for correcting detection output in which corrected operation output is sensitive to mechanical factors

A detector with plural variable resistors, each having a resistance member and an elastically deformable element connected to common fixed resistors, and midpoints between the variable resistors and the fixed resistors connected to an A/D converting circuit as common output paths. Connection parts connected to the variable resistors are switched in order to a ground potential, whereby voltage outputs based on changes in resistance values of the variable resistors can be obtained in order from the common output paths.

Growing community of inventors

Fukushima-ken, Japan

Youtaro Sakakura