METHOD FOR PLAYING SCREEN BASEBALL USING A PITCHING MODE

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for playing screen baseball and, more specifically, to a method for playing screen baseball which can be played in a manner similar to a real baseball game by further using a catching position, a ball speed, and a batter level while using a strike zone and a mitt zone along with a pitching mode in calculating the results of pitching.

Claims

1. A method for playing screen baseball using a pitching mode, the method comprising: (a) setting a mitt zone by a mitt zone setting module; (b) projecting a preset strike zone and the mitt zone set in step (a) onto a screen by a screen image unit; (c) calculating a catching position based on information confirmed in a sensor by a catching position calculation module; (d) calculating a pitching result according to a first method that was preset using a correlation between the mitt zone set in step (a) and the catching position calculated in step (c), by a pitching result calculation module; and (e) playing screen baseball according to the baseball rules by a game operation module, by repeating steps (a) to (d) for each pitch of a pitcher, wherein the first method preset in step (d) is to calculate in such a manner that as the catching position calculated in step (c) becomes farther from a center of the mitt zone, the probability of a pitching result being a strike decreases while the probability of a pitching result being a hit increases.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) further comprises (c1) calculating a ball speed based on information confirmed in the sensor by a ball speed calculation module; and step (d) further comprises (d1) calculating a pitching result according to a second method that was preset using the ball speed calculated in step (c1), by the pitching result calculation module, wherein the second method preset in step (d1) is to calculate in such a manner that as the ball speed calculated in step (c1) decreases, the probability of a pitching result being a strike decreases while the probability of a pitching result being a hit increases.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (b) further comprises projecting the information on batters that was loaded in a player database, onto the screen by the screen image unit.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: step (c) further comprises (c3) confirming a batter level from the information on batters by a batter level calculation module; and step (d) further comprises (d3) calculating a pitching result according to a third method that was preset using the confirmed batter levels calculated in step (c3), by the pitching result calculation module, wherein the third method preset in step (d3) is to calculate in such a manner that as the batter level confirmed in step (c3) becomes higher, the probability of a pitching result being a strike decreases while the probability of a pitching result being a hit increases.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein step (d) calculates the pitching result by adding up a first value calculated according to the correlation between the mitt zone set in step (a) and the catching position calculated in step (c), a second value using the ball speed calculated in step (c1), and a third value using the confirmed batter level calculated in step (c3), by the pitching result calculation module, wherein as a sum of the added-up values increases, the probability of a pitching result being a strike decreases while the probability of a pitching result being a hit increases, and wherein the first value increases as the catching position becomes farther from the center of the mitt zone, the second value increases as the ball speed becomes lower, and the third value increases as the batter level becomes higher.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (a), the mitt zone is set in such a manner that the center of the mitt zone is positioned inside the strike zone by the mitt zone setting module.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein when the catching position calculated in step (c) is outside the strike zone, the pitching result is calculated to be a swing-and-miss or ball by the pitching result calculation module in step (d).

8. The method of claim 1, wherein after step (b) and before step (c), the game operation module transmits a signal so that a toss machine tosses a ball when a discharge signal is approved in a discharge signal device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, after step (e), further comprising: (f)projecting an event image onto the screen by the screen image unit when the event image is approved by an event execution module; (g) transmitting a signal by the game operation module so that the toss machine tosses a ball when a discharge signal is approved in the discharge signal device; (h) calculating a catching position by the catching position calculation module based on the information confirmed in the sensor; and (i)calculating the event result preset corresponding to the calculated catching position by the event execution module, and projecting an event image corresponding to the calculated event result onto the screen by the screen image unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0046] FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of a screen baseball field in which the method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention is achieved.

[0047] FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram for performing the method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention.

[0048] FIG. 3 shows diagrams illustrating a mitt zone with regard to a method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention.

[0049] FIGS. 4 to 6 show exemplary images being projected on a screen with regard to a method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention, in which FIG. 4 shows a general image before setting a mitt zone, FIG. 5 shows an image after setting a mitt zone, and FIG. 6 shows an image while executing an event.

[0050] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating the method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0051] As used herein, the term catching position refers to the position where the ball thrown by a pitcher, who is a user, toward the screen reaches and can be confirmed by various sensors.

[0052] As used herein, the term ball speed refers to the speed of the ball thrown by a pitcher, who is a user, toward the screen and can also be confirmed by various sensors.

[0053] As used herein, the term pitching result refers to the result of a batting or the result of a swing-and-miss by a virtual batter according to the baseball rules after a ball is thrown toward the screen by a pitcher, who is a user. In a case where the calculation was made assuming that the virtual batter failed to perform a batting, the result would be calculated as either of a strike or ball, whereas in a case where the calculation was made assuming that the virtual batter performed a batting, the result would be calculated as either of a swing-and-miss or hit. In particular, the hit may be more precisely calculated, e.g., a one-base hit, an extra-base hit, etc.

[0054] Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

[0055] FIG. 1 shows a screen baseball field in which the method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention is achieved.

[0056] A terminal 100 for manipulating the game mode operated by a user or operator is located in a safe area separated by a safety fence 102. The terminal 100 may also possibly be located within the operation area outside the screen baseball field.

[0057] The user can enter the game area through a gate 103 of the safety fence 102.

[0058] The screen baseball field includes a screen 300, onto which the images are being projected; a discharge signal device 210, which is in the form of a pedal, for transmitting signals for playing a game; a screen image unit 220 for providing images; and a sensor 250 for detecting ball speeds and catching positions.

[0059] A toss machine 230 for tossing balls to a user is located in the screen baseball field (not shown in FIG. 1). In particular, the toss machine 230 delivers balls to a user after one or two bounds and thus the screen baseball can be played safely. The toss machine 230 may be any device capable of tossing balls to a user and may be freely selected from various conventional toss machines, and thus detailed explanation will be omitted herein.

[0060] The sensor 250 may be any sensor as long as it can detect ball speeds and catching positions.

[0061] Once entering the game area, the user can play the game while watching the images being projected onto the screen 300. Upon stepping on the discharge signal device 210, a ball is tossed to the user from the toss machine 230, and the user catches the ball and pitches toward the screen 300. In particular, ball speeds and catching positions are calculated by the sensor 250, etc.

[0062] The balls are dropped into the bottom thereof upon reaching the screen 300 and collected manually or automatically by a baseball collecting unit 205 and returned.

[0063] Hereinafter, the information flow will be explained referring to FIG. 2.

[0064] The terminal 100 may include a game setting module 110, a game operation module 120, a mitt zone setting module 130, a pitching result calculation module 140, and an event execution module 150.

[0065] The user may set the game mode by the game setting module 110.

[0066] For example, any one game may be selected from the group of games consisting of a 1:1 game, a 1:1:1 game, a single game, etc., which are preset in various modes.

[0067] The game operation module 120 performs overall functions with regard to game operation. Specifically, the game operation module 120 loads information of players on a player database 190 and controls the discharge signal device 210, screen image unit 220, toss machine 230, etc.

[0068] The mitt zone setting module 130 sets a mitt zone according to the predetermined method so that the mitt zone can be projected through the screen image unit 220. The mitt zone 10 is the core concept of the present invention and will be described herein below.

[0069] The pitching result calculation module 140 calculates a pitching result, which is the result after the user's pitching, and the pitching result may be any one selected from a strike, a ball, a swing-and-miss, and a hit. The pitching result calculation module 140 calculates the pitching result based on the batter level confirmed by the batter level calculation module 141, the catching position confirmed by the catching position calculation module 142, and the ball speed confirmed by the ball speed calculation module 143. The details of the calculation method will be described later.

[0070] The event execution module 150 performs an event when a particular condition is met. In a case where an event is performed, the baseball being played is temporarily stopped and an image as shown in FIG. 6 is projected onto the screen 300, in which as the user throws a ball toward the screen 300, the catching position is confirmed by the catching position calculation module 142, thereby confirming the event result.

[0071] The mitt zone according to the present invention will be explained referring to FIG. 3.

[0072] For playing baseball by simulating the real baseball rules, the present invention uses two different areas, i.e., a strike zone 20 and a mitt zone 10.

[0073] The strike zone 20 means the strike zone in a real baseball game. For example, the strike zone 20 may be in the shape of a square (left: 78 cm, right: 78 cm), but it can surely be adjusted according to other factors such as degree of difficulty of the preset game, batters, etc. It must be noted that the strike zone 20 is projected to an area which is fixed on the screen 300.

[0074] The mitt zone 10 is the area within which a catcher can catch balls. In other words, the mitt zone 10 refers to the area where the catcher's mitt is located.

[0075] Preferably, the mitt zone 10 is in the shape of a circle. Also preferably, the mitt zone 10 is projected so that the catcher's mitt can be located in the center of the mitt zone 10 on the image being projected on the screen 300 (see FIG. 5).

[0076] In a case where the catching position of a ball thrown by a pitcher, who is the user, is the center of the mitt zone 10, it means that the ball was accurately thrown according to the catcher's sign in real baseball. Accordingly, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike is high while the probability that the pitching result will be a hit is low.

[0077] In contrast, if the catching position of a ball thrown by a pitcher, who is the user, is located farther from the center of the mitt zone 10, it means that the ball was thrown against the catcher's sign in real baseball. Accordingly, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike is low while the probability that the pitching result will be a hit is high.

[0078] For the improvement of the calculation, the mitt zone 10 may be further divided into a first area 11 in the center, a second area 12 which is an intermediate area, and a third area on the external side 13.

[0079] When the catching position calculated by the catching position calculation module 142 is in the first area 11, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike becomes highest.

[0080] When the catching position calculated by the catching position calculation module 142 is in the second area 12, the probability that the pitching result will be a hit is high, and if it is in the third area 13, the probability that the pitching result will be a hit is highest.

[0081] In a case where the calculation is performed by dividing hits into one-base hits and extra-base hits, when the catching position is in the second area 12, the hit may be calculated as a one-base hit, whereas when the catching position is in the third area 13, the hit may be calculated as an extra-base hit.

[0082] That is, as the catching position calculated by the catching position calculation module 142 moves from the first area 11 to the third area 13, the pitch will correspond to a careless pitch that moves away from the preset sign between the user, who is the pitcher, and the catcher (i.e., the first area 11), and thus the hit probability (e.g., a one-base hit, an extra-base hit, a home run, etc.) will increase.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 3 (a) to (d), it is preferred to change the mitt zone 10 whenever the user makes a pitch. This can further increase the interest of the user and the user can play the screen baseball in a manner close to real baseball without throwing balls toward the very center of the strike zone 20, thereby further increasing the user's sense of immersion compared to the conventional technology.

[0084] Although the mitt zone 10 may be changed randomly, it may be changed into a course, which may act as the Achilles heel for the corresponding batter, based on the information of batters stored in the player database 190. For example, in a case where the virtual batter on the batter's box is confirmed to be one who can deal with high balls very well based on the information stored in the player database 190, the mitt zone 10 may be set to a lower area. As such, the user can be more deeply immersed in the screen baseball.

[0085] Meanwhile, the center of the mitt zone 10 is preferred to be located inside the strike zone 20. Certainly, it is possible that a catcher may request that a pitcher throw balls other than a strike in real baseball, but it is preferred to induce only strikes considering the characteristics of screen baseball which needs a speedy process.

[0086] The method for playing screen baseball according to the present invention will be explained in detail referring to FIGS. 4 to 7.

[0087] First, a game desired by a user can be set by the game setting module 110, and the game starts by a game operation module 120.

[0088] Then, the mitt zone 10 is set by the mitt zone setting module 130. The mitt zone 10 may be set randomly as described above or set based on the information of batters stored in the player database 190.

[0089] Then, the screen image unit 220 projects the mitt zone 10 and the strike zone 20 together onto the screen 300, and the information of batters that can be confirmed in the player database 190 (various kinds of information including images of batters, statistical data, etc.) is projected further thereonto, and thereby the pitcher, who is the user, is now ready to pitch a ball (FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0090] Now, the screen image unit 220 outputs an image through the screen 300, which requests the user to operate the discharge signal device 210.

[0091] Once the user operates the discharge signal device 210 (e.g., by stepping on the pedal) to approve the signal, the toss machine 230 tosses a ball to the user. The user catches the tossed ball and pitches toward the center of the mitt zone 10, which is projected onto the screen 300. The sensor 250 detects information necessary for the calculation of ball speeds and catching positions.

[0092] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the pitching result may be calculated based on only a catching position, or based on both a catching position and a ball speed, or based on a catching position, a ball speed, and a batter level.

[0093] First, the case where the pitching result is calculated based on the catching position will be described.

[0094] The catching position calculation module 142 calculates a catching position based on the information confirmed in the sensor 250. That is, the distance of the catching position from the center of the mitt zone 10 is calculated, and also whether the catching position is inside the strike zone 20 can be calculated together. In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, whether the catching position is within the first area 11, the second area 12, and the third area 13, which are explained in FIG. 3, can be calculated.

[0095] The pitching result calculation module 140 calculates a pitching result according to the first method preset using the correlation between the mitt zone 10 and the catching position. In particular, according to the first method, in a case where the catching position is within the strike zone 20, as the catching position becomes farther from the center of the mitt zone 10, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike decreases while the probability that the pitching result will be a hit increases. In a case where the catching position is outside the strike zone 20, the pitching result is calculated to be a swing-and-miss or ball.

[0096] Then, the case where the pitching result is calculated using a ball speed in addition to the catching position will be described.

[0097] The ball speed calculation module 143 calculates a ball speed based on the information confirmed in the sensor 250. For example, the ball speed may be calculated so that to which one of the 5 groups (i.e., 30 km/h or below, between 30 km/h and 50 km/h, between 50 km/h and 70 km/h, between 70 km/h and 85 km/h, 85 km/h or above) the ball speed belongs to may be determined.

[0098] The pitching result calculation module 140 calculates a pitching result according to the second method preset using calculated ball speeds. In particular, according to the second method, as the ball speed decreases, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike decreases while the probability that the pitching result will be a hit increases. In a case where the catching position is outside the strike zone 20, similarly as in the first method, the pitching result is calculated to be a swing-and-miss or ball.

[0099] Then, the case where the pitching result is calculated using a batter level in addition to the catching position and ball speed will be described.

[0100] The batter level is the one already stored in the player database 190 and it may be classified into, for example, a high level, an intermediate level, and a low level.

[0101] The batter level calculation module 141 confirms the batter level.

[0102] The pitching result calculation module 140 calculates a pitching result according to the third method preset using batter levels. In particular, according to the third method, as the batter level increases, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike decreases while the probability that the pitching result will be a hit increases. In a case where the catching position is outside the strike zone 20, the pitching result, while being calculated as a swing-and-miss or ball, is calculated in such a manner that as the batter level increases, the probability that the pitching result will be a ball increases while the probability that the pitching result will be a swing-and-miss decreases.

[0103] In particular, in a case where the information of all three of the catching position, ball speed, and batter level is utilized, the pitching result may be calculated as described below.

[0104] The pitching result calculation module 140 calculates a pitching result by adding up the first value according to the correlation between the mitt zone 10 and the catching position, the second value using a ball speed, and the third value using the batter level. The first value increases as the calculated catching position becomes farther from the center of the mitt zone 10, the second value increases as the ball speed decreases, and the third value increases as the batter level becomes higher. As the added-up value increases, the probability that the pitching result will be a strike decreases while the probability that the pitching result will be a hit increases.

[0105] As such, the method for calculating the pitching result is repeated for each pitching of the pitcher. For each pitching, pitching results such as a strike, a hit (in some cases, a one-base hit and an extra-base hit, a swing-and-miss (in this case, the pitching result is calculated as a strike), and a ball are calculated. Based on the above, the game operation module 120 causes the screen baseball to proceed in a similar manner as in real baseball according to the baseball rules.

[0106] Meanwhile, the level of interest may be enhanced by additionally generating an event.

[0107] In a case where an event execution signal is approved by the event execution module 150, the screen image unit 220 projects the event image onto the screen 300.

[0108] The screen image unit 220 outputs an image through the screen 300 requesting that the user operate the discharge signal device 210 (FIG. 6).

[0109] When the user approves a discharge signal by operating the discharge signal device 210, the toss machine 230 tosses a ball to the user, and the user catches the tossed ball and pitches the ball toward the center of the mitt zone 10 projected onto the screen 300.

[0110] Once the ball is pitched, the catching position calculation module 142 calculates the catching position based on the information confirmed in the sensor 250.

[0111] The event execution module 150 calculates the result of the event preset corresponding to the calculated catching position and the screen image unit 220 projects the image corresponding to the calculated event result onto the screen 300.

[0112] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understood that other modifications and variations may be effected by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in a case where at least one embodiment among the various embodiments is combined, it should also belong to the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0113] 10: mitt zone

[0114] 11: first area

[0115] 12: second area

[0116] 13: third area

[0117] 20: strike zone

[0118] 100: terminal

[0119] 102: safety fence

[0120] 103: gate

[0121] 110: game setting module

[0122] 120: game operation module

[0123] 130: mitt zone setting module

[0124] 140: pitching result calculation module

[0125] 141: batter level calculation module

[0126] 142: catching position calculation module

[0127] 143: ball speed calculation module

[0128] 150: event execution module

[0129] 190: player database

[0130] 205: baseball collecting unit

[0131] 210: discharge signal device

[0132] 220: screen image unit

[0133] 230: toss machine

[0134] 250: sensor

[0135] 300: screen