JP5348004B2 - Strike zone presentation system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new strike zone presentation system for enabling a chief umpire to excellently judge whether a pitch is a strike or ball in a baseball game. <P>SOLUTION: The strike zone presentation system includes a see-through head mount display provided with an imaging means, a target fixed object registration means, a height criterion registration means, an inside and outside corner criterion registration means, and a presentation control means. The imaging means images an outside world while the target fixed object registration means registers a home base included in the image of the outside world as a target fixed object. The height criterion registration means registers height data to be a criterion in the vertical direction of a strike zone in accordance with individual batters while the inside and outside corner criterion registration means registers inside and outside corner data to be a criterion in the horizontal direction of the strike zone. The presentation control means presents a reference image 600 which shows a strike zone following the height data corresponding to a batter in a batter's box and the inside and outside corner data in the state that the target fixed object coincides with the home base. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a strike zone presentation system using a see-through type head mounted display.

  Technologies for automating baseball strike determination have been proposed. For example, on the back screen side, multiple cameras are installed so that they are evenly distributed from the center line, the video signals are stored in video memory, and a pair of video data is compared by a computer to detect a strike An automatic determination device has been proposed. In this automatic strike determination apparatus, it is said that the high and low strike zones that differ depending on the batter are measured in advance and input to the computer as data for automatic determination (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Further, a technique related to a head mounted display that is worn on the user's head and presents an image to the user has been proposed, and a system using the head mounted display has also been proposed. For example, a head-mounted AV device having a translucent liquid crystal display panel for displaying an image and having a spectacle portion mounted on the head so that the panel comes in front of the eyes, and a work object in each work process A storage unit for storing various animation images created in advance in the form of an image and a work object itself that is visually recognized through a liquid crystal display panel by a wearer wearing the AV device according to the order of each work process. An animation display processing function for displaying the animation images on the liquid crystal display panel so that the corresponding animation images stored in the unit overlap, and displaying the animation images on the liquid crystal display panel according to the order of each work process Has proposed a work guidance system that indicates to the wearer the work content to be performed on the work object. That (for example, see Patent Document 2). Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which the AV apparatus has a built-in head tracker.

JP-A-9-290037 JP 2004-21931 A

  By the way, in a baseball game, the strike or the ball is judged by the main referee, that is, the main referee, which is often problematic. The strike zone may change slightly depending on the individual referee. For example, there are referees who strictly judge lower and other referees.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a new strike zone presentation system that allows a referee to appropriately determine a strike or a ball in a baseball game.

  One aspect of the present invention made in view of the above-described conventional problems is a strike zone presentation system using a see-through type head-mounted display capable of presenting a reference image indicating a strike zone to a baseball referee, wherein the head mount The display includes an imaging unit that captures an external image, a target fixed object registration unit that registers a home base included in the external image as a target fixed object from the external image captured by the imaging unit, and upper and lower strike zones. Corresponding to the target fixed object registered by the target fixed object registering means, which is the reference in the horizontal direction of the strike zone Registered by the internal / external angle reference registration means for registering the internal / external angle data and the target fixed object registration means. In addition, in the state where the target fixed object coincides with the home base, the height data registered corresponding to the batter entering the batter by the height reference registration means, and the height data registered by the inside / outside angle reference registration means A strike zone presentation system comprising: presentation control means for controlling to present the reference image according to inside / outside angle data.

  According to this, it is possible to suitably present the reference image indicating the strike zone corresponding to the batter in the bat at the main referee. The main referee means a main referee who determines a strike or a ball for a pitcher's pitch among the referees of a baseball game.

  This strike zone presentation system can also be configured as follows. That is, the image pickup unit picks up the external image while focusing on a home base, and the presentation control unit presents the reference image focused at a distance equal to the focal length when the external image is picked up. It is good also as controlling to carry out. According to this, it is possible to present a suitable reference image that is focused on the home base to the referee.

  In addition, a detection unit that detects the posture of the referee is provided, and the presentation control unit controls to present the reference image when the detection unit detects that the posture of the referee is a specific posture. It may be characterized by. According to this, the reference image can be presented to the referee at a suitable timing.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus includes adjustment means for adjusting the height data registered by the height reference registration means, wherein the height reference registration means updates and registers the height data adjusted by the adjustment means corresponding to each batter. It may be possible that it is possible. According to this, the height data can be adjusted and registered for update.

  Further, the presentation control means can present a height reference that constitutes a part of the reference image in accordance with the height data registered by the height reference registration means, and the adjustment means can be provided by the presentation control means. When the height reference is presented, the height data may be adjusted. According to this, when the height reference according to the registered height data is presented, the height data can be adjusted.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a new strike zone presentation system in which the referee can appropriately determine a strike or a ball in a baseball game.

It is a figure which shows a head mounted display. It is a figure which shows the state by which the reference image which shows a strike zone was shown. It is a figure which shows the functional block of a control box. It is a figure which shows the structure of an image presentation part. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of a pre-process. It is a figure which shows the state in which the A line and B line shown by the inside / outside angle data were shown. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of an adjustment process. It is a figure which shows the state by which the A line and B line shown by the inside / outside angle data, and the C line and D line shown by high and low data were shown. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the process at the time of determination. It is a figure which shows the state by which the other reference image which shows a strike zone was shown.

  Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the configurations described below, and various configurations can be employed in the same technical idea. For example, some of the configurations described below may be omitted or replaced with other configurations. Moreover, you may make it include another structure.

(Strike zone presentation system)
The strike zone presentation system is a system using a head mounted display (hereinafter also referred to as “HMD”) 100 shown in FIG. The strike zone presentation system is used by a referee who makes a strike or ball determination on a pitcher's pitch, or in other words, a referee in a baseball umpire (home base). In the strike zone presentation system, the HMD 100 includes a control box 200 and a head mounted display main body (hereinafter also referred to as “HMD main body”) 300.

  When the strike zone presentation system is used, the control box 200 is attached to the waist of the referee as a user. Details of the control box 200 will be described later.

  The HMD main body 300 has a frame 310 having a shape similar to a frame of glasses, for example, and is mounted on the head of the referee. The frame 310 is not limited to this shape, and may have another structure that can be attached to the head of the referee. For example, a mask-like frame worn by the referee may be used as a mask.

  An image presentation unit 320 is disposed in front of the referee's left eye. The image presentation unit 320 is attached to a predetermined position of the frame 310. The HMD 100 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration in which one image presentation unit 320 is arranged in front of the left eye of the referee, but another image presentation unit 320 is also arranged in front of the right eye of the referee. It is good also as a structure.

  The image presentation unit 320 is connected to the control box 200 by the signal cable 400, and the control box 200 and the image presentation unit 320 can communicate with each other. In the image presentation unit 320, image light representing a predetermined image according to the image signal transmitted from the control box 200 is emitted. Specifically, in the strike zone presentation system, a reference image 600 indicating a strike zone corresponding to a batter in a bat is presented as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the reference image 600 is shown in a state in which an outer edge thereof is indicated by a broken line and a range surrounded by the broken line is shaded. Here, the line type of the line forming the reference image 600 and the enclosed range may be determined in consideration of visibility, and any line type and state may be used. For example, as a solid line, a range surrounded by the solid line may be colored with a light (light) color or the like.

  The image light emitted from the image presentation unit 320 is reflected by the half mirror 330 in the direction of the left eye of the main referee, and is directly applied to the eyeball 700 (see FIG. 4) of the main referee's left eye. Thereby, the referee visually recognizes the reference image 600. The HMD 100 is a see-through type head mounted display. In the HMD 100, the referee can visually recognize the external image through the half mirror 330 while visually recognizing the reference image 600 presented from the image presentation unit 320. Specifically, the referee can visually recognize a pitcher, a batter, a ball, a home base, and the like.

  The image presentation unit 320 scans image light according to the acquired image signal in a two-dimensional direction, guides the scanned image light to the eyeball 700 of the referee's left eye, and forms a content image on the retina. The display can be configured. In addition, a configuration using a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Organic Electroluminescence) display, or other devices can also be used. The image presentation unit 320 includes an optical system that can adjust the focal length of a predetermined image to be presented.

  The HMD 100 includes, for example, a CCD camera 500 having a predetermined autofocus function as an imaging unit for capturing an external image. In the strike zone presentation system, the home base is focused, and an outside world image including the home base is captured. The CCD camera 500 is installed on the upper surface of the image presentation unit 320. The CCD camera 500 is connected to the control box 200 by a signal cable 400, and the control box 200 and the CCD camera 500 can communicate with each other.

(Control box)
As shown in FIG. 3, the control box 200 includes a CPU 202, a program ROM 204, a flash ROM 206, and a RAM 208. The CPU 202 controls various processes executed by the HMD 100. The program ROM 204 stores programs for various processes executed by the HMD 100. The flash ROM 206 is composed of a nonvolatile memory and stores various data. For example, the flash ROM 206 stores high / low data for the C line and D line shown in FIG. 8 to be described later, and internal / external angle data for the A line and B line shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. Details of the height data and the inside / outside angle data will be described later. The RAM 208 is used as a work area when the CPU 202 executes a predetermined process.

  The control box 200 includes a CCD camera connection interface 210, an HMD connection interface 212, an external device connection interface 214, and a peripheral interface 216. Hereinafter, the CCD camera connection interface 210 and the like are also referred to as “CCD camera connection I / F 210” and the like.

  The CCD camera connection I / F 210 is an interface for connecting the CCD camera 500. A CCD camera controller 2102 and a CCD camera VRAM (Video RAM) 2104 are mounted on the CCD camera connection I / F 210. The CCD camera controller 2102 controls the imaging of the outside world image by the CCD camera 500 and the storage of the taken outside world image in the CCD camera VRAM 2104 based on a command from the CPU 202. The CCD camera VRAM 2104 stores an external image captured by the CCD camera 500.

  The HMD connection I / F 212 is an interface for connecting the HMD main body 300, specifically, the image presentation unit 320. An HMD controller 2122 and an HMD VRAM (Video RAM) 2124 are mounted on the HMD connection I / F 212. The HMD controller 2122 controls input / output (transmission / reception) of signals including various data with the image presentation unit 320 based on commands from the CPU 202. The HMD VRAM 2124 stores a predetermined image output to the image presentation unit 320, for example, the reference image 600. The predetermined image is generated by the CPU 202 executing reproduction processing on predetermined data indicating the predetermined image, and stored in the HMD VRAM 2124.

  The external device connection I / F 214 is an interface for connecting an external device, and is connected to, for example, a personal computer. For example, high and low data is input from the external device.

  The peripheral I / F 216 is an interface for connecting a predetermined peripheral device. For example, a power switch 2162 and a power lamp 2164 are connected. The power switch 2162 is a switch for turning on / off the supply of power to the control box 200 and the image presentation unit 320. The power lamp 2164 is turned on when power supply to the control box 200 and the image presentation unit 320 is on, and is turned off when off. The control box 200 and the image presentation unit 320 are driven by a power source from a battery.

  The control box 200 includes a head tracker 218. The head tracker 218 detects the movement of the head of the referee wearing the HMD main body 300. The head tracker 218 is installed together with the CCD camera 500 on the upper surface of the image presentation unit 320. The head tracker 218 is connected to the bus line of the control box 200 via the signal cable 400. The control box 200 includes an operation unit 220. The referee can input predetermined information via the operation unit 220.

  In the control box 200, the CPU 202 executes a predetermined program stored in the program ROM 204 on the RAM 208 using the flash ROM 206, the external image input from the CCD camera 500 and information input via the operation unit 220. . Thereby, a predetermined function is executed, and a predetermined functional means is realized.

(Image presentation part)
As shown in FIG. 4, the image presentation unit 320 includes a scanning image light generation unit 3321, a collimating optical system 3322, a horizontal scanning unit 3323, a vertical scanning unit 3324, a relay optical system 3325, a relay optical system 3326, and a focus. An adjustment mechanism 3500.

  The scanned image light generation unit 3321 is a device that reads an image signal output from the HMD controller 2122 for each dot clock, and modulates the intensity according to the read image signal to generate scanned image light. The scanned image light generation unit 3321 includes a signal processing circuit 3411, a light source unit 3412, and a light combining unit 3413.

  The signal processing circuit 3411 is connected to the HMD connection I / F 212. The signal processing circuit 3411 is configured to generate B (blue), G (green), and R (red) image signals 3414a to 3D serving as elements for generating scanned image light based on the image signal input from the HMD controller 2122. 3414c is generated and output to the light source unit 3412. The signal processing circuit 3411 is connected to a horizontal scanning control circuit 3323b of a horizontal scanning unit 3323 described later. The signal processing circuit 3411 generates a horizontal drive signal 3415 based on the image signal input from the HMD controller 2122, and outputs the horizontal drive signal 3415 to the horizontal scanning control circuit 3323b. Further, the signal processing circuit 3411 is connected to a vertical scanning control circuit 3324b described later. The signal processing circuit 3411 generates a vertical drive signal 3416 based on the image signal input from the HMD controller 2122, and outputs the vertical drive signal 3416 to the vertical scanning control circuit 3324b.

  The light source unit 3412 includes a B laser driver 3412a, a G laser driver 3412b, an R laser driver 3412c, a B laser 3412d, a G laser 3412e, and an R laser 3412f. The B laser driver 3412a drives the B laser 3412d based on the B (blue) image signal 3414a output for each dot clock from the signal processing circuit 3411. The B laser 3412d emits intensity-modulated blue laser light based on the B (blue) image signal 3414a. Similarly, the G laser 3412e and the R laser 3412f emit green laser light and red laser light, which are respectively intensity-modulated.

  Each of the lasers 3412d to 3412f includes a semiconductor laser and a solid-state laser with a harmonic generation function. When a semiconductor laser is used, the drive current is directly modulated to modulate the intensity of the laser beam. When a solid-state laser with a harmonic generation function is used, each of the lasers 3412d to 3412f is provided with an external modulator to modulate the intensity of the laser light. Note that the efficiency of harmonic generation is not high, and the loss in the external modulator is also added, so that the power consumption of the solid-state laser with a harmonic generation function is increased. Therefore, it is preferable to use semiconductor lasers for the lasers 3412d to 3412f. .

  The light combining unit 3413 includes collimating optical systems 3413a to 3413c, dichroic mirrors 3413d to 3413f, and a coupling optical system 3413g. The collimating optical systems 3413a to 3413c are disposed in front of the lasers 3412d to 3412f, respectively. The collimating optical systems 3413a to 3413c collimate the laser beams emitted from the lasers 3412d to 3412f. The dichroic mirrors 3413d to 3413f are disposed in front of the collimating optical systems 3413a to 3413c, respectively. The dichroic mirrors 3413d to 3413f selectively reflect or transmit only the laser light having a wavelength in a predetermined range from the laser beams paralleled by the collimating optical systems 3413a to 3413c.

  The coupling optical system 3413g is disposed in front of the dichroic mirror 3413d. The blue laser light transmitted through the dichroic mirror 3413d and the green laser light and the red laser light reflected by the dichroic mirrors 3413e and 3413f are incident on the coupling optical system 3413g. The coupling optical system 3413g collects the laser beams of the three primary colors and makes them enter the optical fiber 3327. Note that white can be expressed by equalizing the intensity of each of the blue laser light, the green laser light, and the red laser light.

  In order to irradiate the laser beam incident on the optical fiber 3327 as an image, the horizontal scanning unit 3323 and the vertical scanning unit 3324 scan the laser beam in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to generate scanning image light.

  The horizontal scanning unit 3323 includes a resonance type deflection element 3323a, a horizontal scanning control circuit 3323b, and a horizontal scanning angle detection circuit 3323c. The laser light incident on the optical fiber 3327 is collimated by the collimating optical system 3322 and incident on the resonant deflection element 3323a. The resonant deflection element 3323a has a reflecting surface 3323d that is swung by the horizontal scanning control circuit 3323b. The resonant deflection element 3323a scans the incident laser beam in the horizontal direction by reflecting the incident laser beam on the oscillating reflecting surface 3323d. The horizontal scanning control circuit 3323b generates a driving signal for swinging the reflecting surface 3323d of the resonance type deflection element 3323a based on the horizontal driving signal 3415 output from the signal processing circuit 3411. The horizontal scanning angle detection circuit 3323c detects a swing state such as a swing range and a swing frequency of the reflection surface 3323d of the resonance type deflection element 3323a based on the displacement signal output from the resonance type deflection element 3323a. A signal indicating the swing state is output to the HMD controller 2122.

  The vertical scanning unit 3324 includes a deflection element 3324a, a vertical scanning control circuit 3324b, and a vertical scanning angle detection circuit 3324c. The deflection element 3324a has a reflection surface 3324d that is swung by the vertical scanning control circuit 3324b. The deflecting element 3324a reflects the incident laser beam on the oscillating reflecting surface 3324d and scans it in the vertical direction, and emits it to the relay optical system 3326 as two-dimensionally scanned image light. Based on the vertical drive signal 3416 output from the signal processing circuit 3411, the vertical scanning control circuit 3324b generates a drive signal for swinging the reflection surface 3324d of the deflection element 3324a. Based on the displacement signal output from the deflection element 3324a, the vertical scanning angle detection circuit 3324c detects the oscillation state such as the oscillation range and oscillation frequency of the reflection surface 3324d of the deflection element 3324a, and detects the oscillation state. The signal shown is output to the HMD controller 2122.

  The relay optical system 3325 is disposed between the resonant deflection element 3323a and the deflection element 3324a. The relay optical system 3325 causes the laser beam scanned in the horizontal direction by the reflection surface 3323d of the resonance type deflection element 3323a to enter the reflection surface 3324d of the deflection element 3324a.

  The signal processing circuit 3411 outputs a horizontal drive signal 3415 and a vertical drive signal 3416 to the horizontal scanning control circuit 3323b and the vertical scanning control circuit 3324b, respectively, based on the image signal input from the HMD controller 2122, and the reflection surface. The scanning angles of 3323d and 3324d are controlled.

  The scanning angles of the reflection surfaces 3323d and 3324d thus changed are detected as detection signals by the horizontal scanning angle detection circuit 3323c and the vertical scanning angle detection circuit 3324c, and the detection signals are input to the HMD controller 2122, and the horizontal drive signal 3415 and This is fed back to the vertical drive signal 3416.

  The relay optical system 3326 includes lens systems 3326a and 3326b having a positive refractive power. The image light emitted from the deflection element 3324a is converted into convergent image light by the lens system 3326a so that the respective image lights have their scanning image light center lines substantially parallel to each other. The converged image light is converted into substantially parallel scanned image light by the lens system 3326b, and the center line of these scanned image lights is condensed so as to converge on the user's pupil Ea.

  Based on the control signal input from the HMD controller 2122, the focus adjustment mechanism 3500 becomes a reference image 600 that is in focus at a distance equal to the focal length when an external field image including the home base is captured by the CCD camera 500. As described above, the focus of the image light representing the reference image 600 emitted from the deflection element 3324a is adjusted. As a result, the reference image 600 focused on the home base is presented to the referee. The focus adjustment mechanism 3500 can be configured by, for example, an actuator that changes the distance between the lens systems 3326a and 3326b.

  In the present embodiment, the laser light incident from the optical fiber 3327 is scanned in the horizontal direction by the horizontal scanning unit 3323 and then scanned in the vertical direction by the vertical scanning unit 3324. The arrangement of the vertical scanning unit 3324 may be changed, and the vertical scanning unit 3324 may be scanned in the vertical direction, and then the horizontal scanning unit 3323 may scan in the horizontal direction.

(Pre-processing)
In the strike zone presentation system, pre-processing shown in FIG. 5 is executed before the baseball game is started. The preprocessing is performed by the CPU 202 executing a preprocessing program stored in the program ROM 204 on the RAM 208. For example, the referee operates the operation unit 220 to instruct the start of pre-processing. The CPU 202 that has started this process in response to the start instruction registers high / low data regarding the players participating in the game, more specifically, the players of each team entering the bench, in the flash ROM 206 (S100). The height data is registered in a predetermined database in association with the player. The high / low data is input by the referee operating the operation unit 220 provided in the external device such as a personal computer connected to the external device connection I / F 214 or the control box 200. It should be noted that the high / low data may be input by a user other than the referee.

  The height data is the reference data in the height of the strike zone, in other words, the vertical direction. According to the Official Baseball Code, the strike zone is “the space above the main base with the upper limit of the horizontal line drawn at the midpoint between the upper part of the batter ’s shoulder and the upper part of the uniform's trousers, and the lower part of the line below the knee head. "

  After S100 ends, the referee attaches the control box 200 to the waist, for example, and attaches the HMD main body 300 to the head. The referee moves to the back of the home base located during the game with the HMD main body 300 attached. Next, the referee takes a posture when making a determination of a strike or a ball by bending his / her waist, and operates the operation unit 220 to instruct to capture an external image. When the referee gives an instruction to capture an external image, the CPU 202 instructs the CCD camera controller 2102 to capture an external image including the home base via the CCD camera 500. Imaging is performed with the home base in focus. The CPU 202 acquires the focal length from the CCD camera controller 2102 and registers (stores) the acquired focal length in the flash ROM 206.

  In addition, the CPU 202 performs image processing, specifically scan processing, on the external image captured and stored in the CCD camera VRAM 2104, and extracts the home base included in the external image. The CPU 202 registers the extracted home base in the flash ROM 206 as a target fixed object (S102). In S <b> 102, the CPU 202 registers the position information when the main referee detected by the head tracker 218 is set, specifically the height of the line of sight of the referee, along with the target fixed object. The height of the line of sight matches the height of the eyeball 700 of the left eye of the referee shown in FIG.

  After executing S102, the CPU 202 determines, based on the detection result of the head tracker 218, the target fixed object (image indicating the home base) registered in S102 and the actual home base visually recognized by the referee. To match. Subsequently, the CPU 202 instructs the HMD controller 2122 to present the A line and B line in the vertical direction in a state where the target fixed object and the actual home base are matched as shown in FIG. 6 (S104). When presenting the A line and the B line in S104, the referee operates the operation unit 220 to move the cursor 800 in a state where the target fixed object matches the actual home base, and the cursor 800 moves the home base pitcher. Select (click) the close corners a and b. The CPU 202 presents the A line starting from the selected corner a, and presents the B line starting from the corner b.

  In step S <b> 104, the CPU 202 controls the focus adjustment mechanism 3500 via the HMD controller 2122 so that the A line and the B line focused on a distance equal to the focal length registered in the flash ROM 206 are presented. In this case, the referee visually recognizes an image as shown in FIG. 6 in which the focused A-line and B-line and the external image overlap when the line of sight is aligned with the position of the home base.

  Next, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the referee has operated the operation unit 220 to input an instruction for moving the position of the A line and / or B line that is presented in the horizontal direction (S106). As a result of the determination, if an instruction for performing an adjustment operation is input (S106: Yes), the CPU 202 shifts the process to S108.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the referee determines whether or not the A line presented in S104 starts from the corner a with the target fixed object and the actual home base matched, and the B line shows the corner b. It is determined whether or not it is a starting point. When it is determined that at least one of the A line and the B line is shifted, the referee operates the operation unit 220 and selects the A line and / or the B line determined to be shifted with the cursor 800. The horizontal adjustment is performed so that the A line starts from the corner a and the B line starts from the corner b. In such a case, the CPU 202 affirms the determination in S106 (S106: Yes), and moves the A line and / or the B line in the left-right direction according to the operation via the operation unit 220 in S108, thereby adjusting the left-right position. I do. In addition, CPU202 returns a process to S106 after performing S108.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the A line starts from the corner a and the B line starts from the corner b, the referee determines the position of the A line and the position of the B line without performing an adjustment operation. An operation instruction is input by operating the operation unit 220. When the instruction for determining is input, the CPU 202 denies the determination in S106 (S106: No), and moves the process to S110.

  In S <b> 110, the CPU 202 registers the internal / external angle data indicating the A line and the B line in the flash ROM 206 in accordance with the A line and the B line to which the confirmation instruction is input regarding the position in the left-right direction. Thereafter, the CPU 202 ends this process. The inside / outside angle data is data indicating the A line and the B line, which are adjusted in S108 and determined in S106, with the target fixed object and the actual home base being matched. Therefore, the inside / outside angle data corresponds to the target fixed object and is data serving as a reference in the horizontal direction (inside angle, outside angle) of the strike zone.

(Adjustment process)
The adjustment processing shown in FIG. 7 is executed, for example, at the start of the game or before restarting, in other words, before the declaration of “play”. The adjustment process is performed by the CPU 202 executing an adjustment process program stored in the program ROM 204 on the RAM 208. The referee operates the operation unit 220 to instruct the start of the adjustment process. The CPU 202, which has started this process in response to the start instruction, detects that the referee is in the posture for making a strike or ball determination (S200). The CPU 202 compares the position information registered in the flash ROM 206 in the pre-processing S102 shown in FIG. 5 with the position information detected by the head tracker 218. If the CPU 202 determines that they match, the CPU 202 detects that the referee is ready.

  The referee, who is in the posture for determining the strike or the ball, operates the operation unit 220 in the held state, and selects the height data of the batter entering the bat. The CPU 202 reads the height data registered corresponding to the batter selected by the referee and the inner / outer corner data from the flash ROM 206 onto the RAM 208 (S202). Subsequently, the CPU 202 instructs the HMD controller 2122 to present the vertical A line and B line according to the inside / outside angle data as shown in FIG. 6 (S204).

  When presenting S204, the CPU 202 executes a reproduction process on the inside / outside corner data, generates an image indicating these, and stores them in the HMD VRAM 2124. Further, based on the detection result of the head tracker 218, the CPU 202 matches the target fixed object indicating the home base registered in S102 of the pre-processing in FIG. 5 with the actual home base visually recognized by the referee. As a result, variations in the referee's posture, specifically, the difference between the posture (line of sight) when the external image was captured in the pre-processing of FIG. 5 and the current posture (line of sight) are corrected, and the A line is corrected. The B line is presented starting from the corner b and starting from the corner a. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the target fixed object indicating the home base matches the actual home base visually recognized by the referee.

  In addition, the CPU 202 instructs the HMD controller 2122 to present the horizontal C line and D line according to the height data based on the position set by the referee (S206). When presenting S206, the CPU 202 executes reproduction processing for high and low data, generates an image showing these, and stores them in the HMD VRAM 2124. In S204 and S206, the CPU 202 controls the focus adjustment mechanism 3500 via the HMD controller 2122 and is focused on a distance equal to the focal length registered in the flash ROM 206 in the preprocessing shown in FIG. To be presented. In this case, the referee visually recognizes an image as shown in FIG. 8 in which the focused A-line to D-line and an external image overlap each other when the line of sight is aligned with the position of the home base.

  Next, the CPU 202 determines whether or not the referee has operated the operation unit 220 to input an instruction to move the position of the presented C line and / or D line up and down (S208). As a result of the determination, when an instruction for performing an adjustment operation is input (S208: Yes), the CPU 202 shifts the process to S210.

  The referee presents the C line at the upper limit position stipulated in the Official Baseball Code and the D line at the lower limit position stipulated in the Official Baseball Code while viewing the image shown in FIG. It is judged whether it is done. When it is determined that at least one of the C line and the D line is shifted, the referee operates the operation unit 220 and selects the C line and / or the D line determined to be shifted with the cursor 800. The vertical adjustment is performed so that the C line is the upper limit position and the D line is the lower limit position. In such a case, the CPU 202 affirms the determination in S208 (S208: Yes), moves the C line and / or the D line in the vertical direction in accordance with the operation via the operation unit 220 in S210, and adjusts the vertical position. I do.

  After executing S210, the CPU 202 associates the high and low data registered in the flash ROM 206 with the batter selected by the referee in S202, and the high and low data according to the C line and D line to which the confirmation instruction is input. (S212). In addition, CPU202 returns a process to S208, after performing S212.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the C line is the upper limit position and the D line is the lower limit position, the referee does not perform the adjustment operation, and instructs to determine the position of the C line and the position of the D line. Is input by operating the operation unit 220. When the instruction for determining is input, the CPU 202 denies the determination of S208 (S208: No), and ends this process.

  At the end of the process, the CPU 202 stops presenting the A line to the D line. Further, the CPU 202 registers (stores) high and low data indicating the C line and the D line in a predetermined area on the RAM 208 in accordance with the C line and the D line to which the confirmation instruction regarding the vertical position is input.

(Judgment processing)
The determination time processing shown in FIG. 9 is executed when “play” is applied after the batter enters the batting and the game is resumed. The determination time processing is performed by the CPU 202 executing a determination time processing program stored in the program ROM 204 on the RAM 208. This process is started when the referee operates the operation unit 220 to instruct the start of the determination process. The CPU 202 that has started this process in response to the start instruction is in the attitude when the referee makes a strike or ball determination, in other words, registered in the flash ROM 206 in the pre-processing S102 shown in FIG. It is determined whether the posture is determined to match the position information (S300). The CPU 202 makes a determination in S300 by comparing the position information registered in the flash ROM 206 in S102 of the pre-processing shown in FIG. 5 with the position information detected by the head tracker 218.

  As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the referee is not in the posture for making a strike or ball determination (S300: No), the CPU 202 does not present the reference image 600 (S302), and the process proceeds to S300. return. In other words, when it is determined that the referee is not ready (S300: No), the CPU 202 waits until the referee takes the posture for determining the strike or the ball.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the referee is in the posture for making a strike or ball determination (S300: Yes), the CPU 202 instructs the HMD controller 2122 to register the internal and external angles registered in the flash ROM 206. When the adjustment process shown in FIG. 7 is completed, the A line and the B line indicated by the data, and the C line and the D line indicated by the high and low data registered (stored) in the predetermined area of the RAM 208 are used. A reference image 600 is presented (S304).

  When presenting S304, the CPU 202 executes reproduction processing on the inside / outside angle data and the height data, generates a reference image 600, and stores it in the HMD VRAM 2124. Further, the CPU 202 controls the focus adjustment mechanism 3500 via the HMD controller 2122 so that the reference image 600 focused on a distance equal to the focal length registered in the flash ROM 206 in the adjustment process shown in FIG. 5 is presented. To. In this case, the referee visually recognizes an image as shown in FIG. 2 in which the focused reference image 600 and the external image overlap each other when the line of sight is aligned with the position of the home base.

  Furthermore, when presenting S304, the CPU 202 controls the head tracker 218, and the referee visually recognizes the target fixed object indicating the home base registered in S102 of the preprocessing shown in FIG. To match the actual home base. As a result, variations in the posture of the referee, specifically, the difference between the posture (line of sight) when the external image was captured in the pre-processing in FIG. 5 and the current posture (line of sight) are corrected, and a fixed position A reference image 600 is presented. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the target fixed object indicating the home base matches the actual home base visually recognized by the referee. Here, the target fixed object is used to present the reference image 600 in a state matched to the home base. Therefore, the referee does not necessarily need to visually recognize the target fixed object. Therefore, it is good also as a structure where a target fixed object is not shown.

  After executing S304, when the CPU 202 detects that the head tracker 218 has taken a predetermined posture by stretching the waist where the referee is bent, the CPU 202 stops presenting the reference image 600 and performs processing. Return to S300. Thereafter, the CPU 202 repeatedly executes the processes of S300 to S304. When the batter in the bat is changed, the referee operates the operation unit 220 to instruct the start of the adjustment process shown in FIG. Accordingly, the CPU 202 ends this process and starts executing the adjustment process shown in FIG. 7 again.

(Modification)
The configuration of the present embodiment can also be as follows.

  (1) In the above description, the configuration in which the height data relating to each player of each team entering the bench in the pre-processing S100 shown in FIG. In addition, when the batter enters the batter, the referee may operate the operation unit 220 to adjust the C line and the D line corresponding to the batter entering the batter. In this case, for example, S100 in FIG. 5 is omitted. In S202 of FIG. 7, the height data that is not associated with the batter is read from the flash ROM 206 together with the inner and outer corner data.

  (2) In the above description, in S202 of the adjustment process shown in FIG. 7, when the referee operates the operation unit 220 and selects the height data of the batter entering the batter, the flash ROM 206 corresponds to the batter selected by the referee. The configuration in which the registered high / low data is read has been described as an example. In addition, the HMD 100 is provided with a wireless communication function, a server device in which high and low data relating to each player of each team entering the bench is registered, and the high and low data of the batter entering the batter using the wireless communication function It is good also as a structure which acquires automatically from. According to such a configuration, the height data of the batter who entered the bat can be automatically acquired, and the reference image 600 can be presented in S304 of the determination time process of FIG. In this case, for example, S100 in FIG. 5 is omitted.

  (3) In the above-described processing at the time of determination shown in FIG. 9, for example, when the reference image 600 is presented, the CCD camera 500 may capture (record) an external field image. According to this, when the determination of the strike or the ball becomes a problem, the referee can confirm the recording and make an appropriate determination. In this case, it is more preferable that the slow reproduction is possible. The CCD camera 500 is of a type that can capture still images and moving images.

  (4) In the above description, in the determination process shown in FIG. The referee can preferably understand the current situation based on the presented information. The HMD 100 may be configured to have a wireless communication function so that data indicating a strike, a ball, and an outcount is transmitted and acquired from a predetermined location.

  (5) In the above, after executing S304 of the determination time process shown in FIG. 9, if the CPU 202 detects that the head tracker 218 has taken a predetermined posture, such as stretching the waist bent by the referee, the CPU 202 In the example described above, the presentation of the reference image 600 is stopped, and when S300 is affirmed again (S300: Yes), S304 is executed. In addition, once the S300 is affirmed (S300: Yes), the reference image 600 is presented, the batter who has entered the bat is changed, etc., the referee operates the operation unit 220, and FIG. This presentation may be continued until the start of the adjustment process shown is instructed.

  (6) In the above description, the reference image 600 indicating the strike zone is described as an example in which the reference image 600 is two-dimensionally represented as shown in FIG. In addition, the reference image 600 may be a three-dimensional reference image 610 as shown in FIG.

  Also in this case, the C line and D line forming the reference image 610 are indicated by high and low data in the same manner as described above, and the A line and B line are indicated by inside / outside angle data. An image portion indicating the depth in the reference image 610 is indicated by data obtained as follows, for example. That is, the CPU 202 scans and extracts an external image captured by the CCD camera 500 and analyzes an image indicating a home base registered as a target fixed object in S106 of the preprocessing shown in FIG. Then, the CPU 202 acquires data indicating the image portion indicating the depth by calculation using a predetermined parameter extracted by the analysis.

  When the HMD is provided with an HMD main body in which the image presentation unit 320 is disposed in front of the left and right eyes of the referee, the reference image 610 having an amount of parallax corresponding to the parameters obtained by such calculation is displayed By presenting to both eyes, the referee can recognize a suitable stereoscopic effect. An image indicating the home base may be registered (stored) in advance in the flash ROM 206, the registered image may be selected, and an image portion indicating the depth may be determined based on the selected image.

100 HMD
200 Control box 202 CPU
204 Program ROM
206 Flash ROM
208 RAM
210 CCD camera connection I / F
2102 CCD camera controller 2104 VRAM for CCD camera
212 HMD connection I / F
2122 HMD controller 2124 HRAM VRAM
218 Head tracker 300 HMD main body 320 Image presentation unit 500 CCD camera

Claims (5)

A strike zone presentation system using a see-through type head mounted display capable of presenting a base image indicating a strike zone to a baseball referee,
The head mounted display is
Imaging means for capturing an external image,
Target fixed object registration means for registering the home base included in the external image as a target fixed object from the external image captured by the imaging means,
High and low standard registration means for registering high and low data serving as a reference in the vertical direction of the strike zone corresponding to each batter,
Corresponding to the target fixed object registered by the target fixed object registration means, an internal / external angle reference registration means for registering internal / external angle data serving as a reference in the lateral direction of the strike zone;
The height data registered corresponding to the batter entering the batter by the height reference registration means in a state where the target fixed object registered by the target fixed object registration means matches the home base, and the inside and outside A strike zone presentation system comprising: presentation control means for controlling to present the reference image according to the inside / outside corner data registered by the corner reference registration means. The imaging means captures the external image focusing on a home base,
The strike zone presentation system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation control unit performs control so as to present the reference image focused at a distance equal to a focal length when the external image is captured. Comprising detection means for detecting the posture of the referee,
3. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein, when the detection unit detects that the posture of the referee is a specific posture, the display control unit controls to present the reference image. The described strike zone presentation system. Adjusting means for adjusting the height data registered by the height reference registration means;
4. The height reference registration means can update and register the height data adjusted by the adjustment means in correspondence with individual batters. Strike zone presentation system. The presentation control means is capable of presenting a height reference that constitutes a part of the reference image according to the height data registered by the height reference registration means,
The strike zone presentation system according to claim 4, wherein the adjustment means adjusts the elevation data when the elevation reference is presented by the presentation control means.

Images