Apparatus having video display and display-synchronizing motion mechanism

In an apparatus having a video display and display-synchronizing motion mechanism, various images can be easily selected and displayed, and a seat or the like is moved in synchronism with motions in the images, so that a person can enjoy the images as if real. An information select unit specifies a desired one of a plurality of video/motion information pieces recorded on a storage medium, and an information read unit reads the specified video/movement information. Images formed by video information contained in the readout video/motion information are displayed on a display device, and the seat or the like is moved in synchronism with the images on the basis of motion information contained therein. A monitor unit monitors the readout video/motion information, and stops a read operation of the information read unit when the apparatus malfunctions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to an apparatus which has a video display and 
a motion mechanism in which a seat or the like is moved in synchronism 
with a motion in an image projected on the video display. 
Recently, there has been provided an apparatus which displays, on a 
projector, a video program having pictures taken on a jet-coaster and 
which gives a seat a motion (physical displacement) synchronized with an 
ascent and descent of the jet-coaster. Such an apparatus simulates a 
situation such that a passenger of the apparatus feels as if the passenger 
is really riding on a vehicle. 
An apparatus as described above is disclosed in, for example, Japanese 
Laid-Open Patent Publication 61-68074. The apparatus disclosed in this 
application has a dome-shaped projection booth equipped with a seat and a 
projector, and a motion mechanism provided for the projection booth. The 
motion mechanism is composed of a driving shaft supporting the projection 
booth, an oil pressure part which has an oil pressure servo mechanism 
driving the driving shaft, a controller that controls the oil pressure 
part and the projection booth, and a storage part which stores motion data 
beforehand for driving the driving shaft via the oil pressure part. With 
this structure, the controller reads motion data relating to video 
information from the storage part in response to predetermined synchronous 
information, and drives the driving shaft via the oil pressure part on the 
basis of the read motion data. In this manner, the projection booth is 
moved in synchronism with projected images, and a passenger can feel as if 
real. 
However, a conventional apparatus as described above has a disadvantage in 
that it is necessary for a skilled operator on the supplier side to set a 
video program in the apparatus and only video programs set by the operator 
can be presented to the passengers. Thus, the passengers cannot freely 
choose favorite video programs and are therefore reluctant to repeatedly 
enjoy the apparatus. That is, the conventional apparatus does not present 
various amusements. 
Apparatus for driving a projection booth or the like has been disclosed in 
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 58-41592 or Japanese Laid-Open 
Utility Model Publication No. 60-192873. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus having a 
video display and display-synchronizing motion mechanism in which various 
video programs can be easily prepared and selected and a favorite video 
program can be enjoyed as if real. 
According to an aspect of the present invention, an apparatus comprising: a 
storage medium storing a plurality of video/motion information pieces, 
each including at least video information, motion information associated 
with the video information and identification information for identifying 
the video information; an information select unit for specifying the 
identification information about a video/motion information piece which is 
one of the video/motion information pieces and which is to be read; an 
information read unit for reading, from the storage medium, the 
video/motion information piece related to the identification information 
specified by the information select unit; a display unit for displaying 
the video information included in the video/motion piece read by the 
information read unit; a motion unit for performing a predetermined motion 
based on the motion information included in the video/motion piece read by 
the information read unit; and a monitor unit for monitoring the 
identification information included in the video/motion piece read by the 
information read unit and for stopping a read operation of the information 
read unit when the identification information included in the video/motion 
piece is different from the identification information specified by the 
information select unit. 
In this case, it is preferable that the apparatus comprises a housing unit 
for housing a plurality of storage media, each being the same as the 
storage medium, and that the information read unit selects one of the 
storage media in which the video/motion information related to the 
identification information specified by the information select unit is 
stored and reads the video/motion information related to the 
identification information from the one of the storage media. 
It is preferable that the video/motion information stored in the storage 
medium includes a plurality of divided video/motion information sections, 
each including a divided identification information piece for identifying 
one of the divided video/motion information sections; the information 
select unit sequentially specifies divided identification information 
pieces respectively included in the divided information sections of the 
video/motion information which is to be read; the information read unit 
sequentially reads the divided video/motion information sections related 
to the divided identification information pieces sequentially specified by 
the information select unit; and the monitor unit monitors the divided 
identification information pieces relating to the divided video/motion 
information sections read by the information read unit and stops a read 
operation of the information read unit when the divided identification 
information pieces monitored are different from the respective, divided 
identification information pieces specified by the information select 
unit. 
It may be possible for the information select unit to sequentially specify 
a predetermined number of divided identification information pieces 
relating to the divided video/motion information sections which are to be 
read. 
It is preferable that the information select unit sets a different 
specifying order of the divided identification information pieces relating 
to the video/motion information which is to be read each time the 
video/motion information is read. 
According to an aspect of the present invention comprising the above 
structure, video information and motion information synchronizing a motion 
in images formed by the video information are stored in a storage medium 
having a large storage capacity, such as an optical disk in such a manner 
that the video information and motion information synchronized with the 
video information can be simultaneously read out therefrom. A plurality of 
pieces of such video information and a plurality of such motion 
information are stored in the storage medium, and a desired video/motion 
information piece can be easily read out therefrom, so that a variety of 
video images and motions synchronized therewith can be realized. 
That is, the information select unit selects, from among the video/motion 
information pieces, a desired video/motion information piece which is to 
be read, and informs the information read unit of the identification 
information about the desired video/motion information piece. The 
information read unit reads information contained in the video/motion 
information related to the specified identification information. The video 
information contained in the readout information is sent to the display 
unit, and simultaneously the motion information contained therein is sent 
to the motion unit. Images formed by the video information are displayed 
on the display unit, and a predetermined motion based on the motion 
information is made in the motion unit. The monitor unit obtains the 
identification information specified by the information select unit, and 
monitors the identification information included in the video/motion piece 
read by the information read unit. Then the monitor unit stops a read 
operation of the information read unit when the identification information 
included in the video/motion piece is different from the identification 
information specified by the information select unit. 
By providing a housing unit for housing a plurality of storage media and 
selectively reading the video/motion information pieces from the storage 
media by means of the information select unit, variability can be 
increased. 
Variability can be further increased by dividing each video/motion 
information into a plurality of sections and providing divided section 
identification information pieces so that the information select unit and 
the information read unit can operate for each divided video program 
section. 
The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be more 
clearly apparent from the following detailed description with respect to 
preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the 
accompanying drawings briefly described below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
A description will now be given of the principle of the present invention 
with reference to FIG. 1. 
An apparatus having a video display and display-synchronizing motion 
mechanism according to the present invention is composed of a storage 
medium M, information select means 1, information read means 2, display 
means 3, motion means 4, and monitor means 5. The storage medium M stores 
a plurality of video/motion information pieces S1-Sn. Each of the 
video/motion information pieces includes at least, video information, 
motion information relating to the video information and identification 
information for identifying one video information piece. The information 
select means 1 specifies the identification information of a video/motion 
information piece which is to be read from the video/information pieces 
S1-Sn. The information read means 2 reads out the video/motion information 
piece specified by the information select means 1 from the storage medium 
M. The display means 3 displays the video information contained in the 
video/motion information piece read out by the information read means 2. 
The motion means 4 carries out a predetermined motion based on the motion 
information included in the video/motion information piece read out by the 
information read means 2. The monitor means 5 monitors the identification 
information included in the video/motion information piece read out by the 
information read means 2, and stops the read operation of the information 
read means 2 when the identification information does not coincide with 
the identification information specified by the information select means 
1. 
In the structure described above, the information select means 1 selects 
the video/motion information piece to be read out from the video/motion 
information pieces S1-Sn, and informs the information read means 2 of the 
selected video/motion information piece. The information read means 2 
reads information pieces contained in the video/motion information piece 
related to the specified identification information. Out of the readout 
information pieces, the video information is output to the display means 
3, and simultaneously the motion information is output to the motion means 
4. Video images formed by the video information are displayed on the 
display means 3. The predetermined motion based on the readout motion 
information is made by the motion means 4 so that the predetermined motion 
is synchronized with the video images displayed on the display means 3. 
The monitor means 5 receives the identification information specified by 
the information select means 1 as well as the identification information 
read out by the information read means 2, and determines whether or not 
the video/motion information to be read has been correctly read out by 
comparing the above identification information pieces. When it is 
determined that video/motion information different from the specified 
video/motion information is read, the monitor means 5 stops the read 
operation of the information read means 2. 
A description will now be given of preferred embodiments of the present 
invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
The embodiments described below use, as the storage medium M, a laser 
vision disk (hereinafter simply referred to as LD) which is a video disk 
and stores information which is read by projecting a laser beam spot onto 
the video disk. In the LD, there are stored video information containing 
audio information, and a variety of information recorded in an information 
section (vertical blanking) corresponding to predetermined scan lines 
arranged in the vertical interval of the video signal, such as a frame 
number, a chapter number, a control code and motion information. In one LD 
sheet, a plurality of video programs, each amounting to a few minutes to 
tens of minutes and being assigned the chapter number serving as the 
identification information. 
The recorded video programs are, for example, video images taken on a 
Jet-coaster or a boat going down a mountain stream, an SFX (special 
effect), computer graphics and moving pictures like animation. In 
synchronism with motions in the images, motion information which is 
measured or calculated beforehand is converted into oil pressure control 
information, which is to be sent to an oil pressure servo mechanism. For 
the jet-coaster, for example, the motion information shows various motions 
of the mechanism based on a real ascent or descent of the jet-coaster, 
such as upward and downward motions, acceleration, and motions or tilts in 
the back, forth, right and left directions. The converted oil pressure 
control information is recorded in the information area corresponding to 
the aforementioned vertical interval of the video signal. 
FIRST EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of the present 
invention. Referring to FIG. 2, an LD player 11 reproduces information 
recorded on the LD. An automatic LD changer 12 houses a plurality of LDs, 
and executes loading and unloading operations on the specified LD. A 
control device 13 stores, beforehand, the title, disk number and chapter 
number of each of the LDs housed in the automatic LD changer 12, and has a 
front panel on which there are provided a setting input key area 131, a 
guidance display screen 132, and a card reader/writer 133. In the setting 
key area 131, there are arranged a video program select key, a start 
switch, a repeat setting key, a random select key and so on. A variety of 
guidance information is displayed on the guidance display screen 132. The 
card reader/writer 133 carries out read and write operations on a 
detachable memory card such as an IC card and a magnetic card as shown in 
FIG. 2A, in which a detachable memory card M' (constituting the storage 
medium M of FIG. 1) is depicted detachably set in a card reader/writer 
133A (constituting the information read means 2 of FIG. 1). The control 
device 13 executes various control procedures, as will be described later. 
A video display device 14 which corresponds to the aforementioned display 
means 3, displays video information played back by the LD player 11. An 
audio device 15 functioning as an audio reproduction means outputs audio 
information reproduced by the LD player 11. A capsule 17 houses a seat 16, 
the video display device 14 and the audio device 15. A capsule moving 
device 18, which corresponds to the aforementioned motion means 4, moves 
the capsule 17 in all directions, and has a driving shaft (not shown) 
supporting the capsule 17, and an oil pressure mechanism (not shown) for 
controlling the motion of the driving shaft. According to an oil pressure 
signal reproduced by the LD player 11, the capsule moving device 18 moves 
and tilts the capsule 17 in the front, back, left, right, up and down 
directions within a predetermined range. The LD player 11, the automatic 
LD changer 12 and the control device 13 in the above-mentioned structure 
form the housing means, information read means, the information select 
means and the monitor means. Although the video display device 13 may be 
an ordinary television set, but it is preferable to use a projection 
television set in order to use a wide display plan and increase feelings 
as if real. 
In the above-mentioned structure, a person who will board the capsule 17 
inserts a prepaid card, such as a magnetic card or an IC card, into the 
card reader/writer 133. The control device 13 executes an accounting 
procedure and other necessary procedures. A list of the video programs 
recorded on the LDs is displayed on the guidance display screen 132 of the 
control device 13. The passenger selects a favorite video program via the 
video program select key disposed in the setting input key area 131. In 
response to this key operation, the control device 13 sends, to the 
automatic LD changer 12, the disk number of the LD on which the selected 
video program recorded, and loads the LD in the LD player 11. Then, the 
control device 13 outputs the chapter number of the selected video program 
to the LD player 11, which reproduces information of the selected video 
program. The reproduced information is decoded by the control device 13. 
The video information contained in the reproduced information is sent to 
the video display device 14, and the audio information therein is sent to 
the audio device 15. Further, the motion information contained in the 
reproduced information is sent to the capsule moving device 18. Thereby, 
the passenger seated on the seat 16 enjoys the video images displayed on 
the video display device 14 while being moved together with the seat 16 in 
synchronism with motions in the images by means of the capsule moving 
device 18. In this manner, the person in the capsule 17 can enjoy the 
video program. 
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system in the above-mentioned 
structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the LD player 11 comprises a spindle motor 
11a turning the LD, a turn table 11b which is fixed to a rotary shaft of 
the spindle motor 11a and which carries the LD, an optical pickup 
mechanism 11c which includes an optical pickup for emitting and receiving 
a laser beam and various servo mechanisms and which reads information 
recorded on the LD, an amplifier 11d amplifying a read signal from the 
optical pickup mechanism 11c, a pickup control motor 11e which controls a 
slider (not shown) supporting the optical pickup and moving it in the 
radial direction of the LD, and a motor driving circuit 11f that drives 
the spindle motor 11a and the pickup control motor 11e. When data showing 
the chapter number is input to the motor driving circuit 11f, the motor 
driving circuit 11f controls the pickup control motor 11e so that the 
optical pickup is moved to a starting track position of the chapter 
number. Then a read control of the recorded information specified by the 
input chapter number is started, and an amplified read signal is output 
from the amplifier 11d. 
The automatic LD changer 12 comprises a magazine 12a, a disk change 
mechanism 12b, a disk change motor 12c and a disk change driving circuit 
12d. The magazine 12a houses a plurality of LDs (D.sub.1, D.sub.2, . . . , 
D.sub.N-1, D.sub.N), which are sequentially arranged at predetermined 
pitches. The disk change mechanism 12b transports the specified one of the 
LDs in the magazine 12a to the turn table 11b and clamps it thereon. 
Further, the disk change mechanism 12b takes the LD on the turn table 11b 
and places it in position. The disk change motor 12c is a driving source 
of the disk change mechanism 12b. The disk change driving circuit 12d 
drives the disk change motor 12c. The disk change driving circuit 12d 
receives data showing the disk number of the LD, and controls the disk 
change motor 12c so that the LD having the input disk number is selected 
after another LD is returned to the magazine 12a if it has been set in the 
LD player 11, and is transported to and placed on the turn Gable 11b. 
The control device 13 comprises a controller 13a, a decoder 13b, a setting 
input circuit 13c, a display control circuit 13d and a card write/read 
circuit 13e. The controller 13a is implemented with a microcomputer having 
a processor (MPU), a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access 
Memory). The decoder 13b includes an FM demodulating circuit and a digital 
information separation circuit, and decodes the read signal from the LD 
player 11 into a video signal Ps, an audio signal Ss, an oil pressure 
signal Os and the chapter number, which is digital information. Then the 
decoder 13b outputs the video signal Ps, the audio signal Ss and the oil 
pressure signal Os to the video display device 14, the audio device 15 and 
the capsule moving device 18, respectively. The setting input circuit 13c 
manages the inputting of the setting input keys 131. The display control 
circuit 13d controls a display on the guidance display screen 132. The 
card write/read circuit 13e controls the card reader/writer 133. The 
controller 13a has a memory which stores, management information, the 
titles, disk numbers and chapter numbers of all the video programs 
recorded on the LDs housed in the automatic LD changer 12. 
The capsule moving device 18 includes an oil pressure mechanism 18a, which 
drives a driving shaft (not shown) supporting the capsule 17. The oil 
pressure mechanism 18a receives the oil pressure signal Os output from 
the decoder 13b, and controls the driving of the driving shaft in 
accordance with the oil pressure signal Os. 
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a video program playback control process executed 
by the controller 13a. A description will now be given of the video 
program playback process with reference to FIG. 4. 
The controller 13a makes a list of the video programs stored in the 
built-in memory, and displays the list on the guidance display screen 132 
(S401 and S402). In this manner, the controller 13a calls a passenger's 
attention to the key inputting. When a video program is selected by the 
video program select key in the setting input key area 131, the controller 
13a stores the information about the selected video program, and checks 
the inputting via the start switch or the repeat setting switch (S403 and 
S404). When it is determined, in step S404, that the repeat setting switch 
has been operated, the controller 13a stores subsequent data showing the 
number of times that the video program is repeatedly played back. 
When it is determined that the start switch has been operated, the 
controller 13a outputs to the disk change driving circuit 12d the disk 
number of the LD on which the selected video program is recorded (S406), 
and has the selected LD loaded in the LD player 11. After the selected LD 
is loaded in the LD player 11, the controller 13a outputs the chapter 
number of the selected video program to the motor driving circuit 11f 
(S407). With this operation, information about the selected video program 
can be read out from the selected LD. The controller 13a receives, via the 
decoder 13b, the chapter number of the video program from the readout 
information, and decides whether or not the selected video program is 
being played back (S408 and S409). If a video program different from the 
selected video program is being played back, the controller 13a executes a 
stop procedure for the motor driving circuit 11f, and subsequently 
displays a playback error on the guidance display screen 132 (S410 and 
411). Then the controller 13a ends the process. 
When the selected video program is being played back correctly, the 
controller 13a reads the chapter number from the decoder 13b, and 
determines whether or not the playback of the selected video program has 
been completed (S412 and S413). When it is determined that the playback of 
the selected video program has been completed, the controller 13a discerns 
whether or not the repetitive playback of the video program has been 
requested (S414). When the repetitive playback of the video program has 
not been requested, the controller 13a ends the program. When the 
repetitive playback of the video program has been requested, the video 
program is repeatedly played back by the number of times specified in step 
S404. Each time the video program is played back, data showing the number 
of times that it is repeatedly played back is updated (S415). When it is 
determined, in S416, that the video program has been repeatedly played 
back by the specified number of times, the controller 13a ends the 
process. On the other hand, when it is determined that the video program 
has not yet been repeatedly played back by the specified number of times, 
the controller 13a returns to step 407 in which step the chapter number of 
the video program is output to the motor driving circuit 11f again. 
In the manner as described above, according to the present embodiment, a 
desired video program can be selected, via the video program select key, 
from among the video programs recorded on the LDs housed in the automatic 
LD changer 12, and in response to this selection, the automatic LD changer 
12 and the LD player 11 start to operate automatically, so that the 
desired video program is automatically selected and played back. Further, 
the motion information recorded together with the video program is read at 
the same time as the video information, so that the images are reproduced 
while the capsule 17 is moved in all directions in synchronism with the 
motions in the images. Furthermore, it is possible to freely set the 
repetitive playback of the video program and automatically play back the 
video program repeatedly. Moreover, since the chapter number of the video 
program played back by the LD player 11 is monitored, the playback of the 
video program can be automatically stopped if a video program different 
from the selected video program is played back. 
With the above structure, it becomes possible for the passenger to select a 
desired video program from among the various video programs and easily 
enjoy a pseudo-experience repeatedly as if real. 
In the above embodiment, the automatic LD changer 12 is used in order to 
easily enjoy a larger number of video programs. It is alternatively 
possible to manually replace the LD by another one without the automatic 
LD changer. If video programs, each having a playback time equal to 10 to 
20 minutes, are recorded on both sides of an LD having a total recording 
time of two hours, 5 to 10 video programs can be recorded on the LD. 
Hence, it is possible to enjoy various video programs even by one LD. 
SECOND EMBODIMENT 
A description will be now given of the second embodiment of the present 
invention. 
FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the recording status of video programs 
recorded on an LD used in the second embodiment of the present invention, 
and the third and fourth embodiments of the present invention which will 
be described later. As shown in FIG. 5A, each of the video programs 
recorded on the LD used in the second through fourth embodiments of the 
present invention is divided into a plurality of sections, each of which 
is assigned a chapter number. It is thus possible to access each of the 
divided video program sections at random. The video program of the 
jet-coaster is divided into, for example, a plurality of stages, such as 
an ascent or descent stage, a loop stage and a 
descent/water-obstacle/ascent stage. It is possible to arbitrarily 
determine the order of playback of the divided video program sections and 
hence program different series of stories. 
The structure of the second embodiment of the present invention is the same 
as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the 
description previously given with reference to these figures holds true 
for the second embodiment. The controller 13a, which manages the LDs on 
which the video programs are recorded according to the second embodiment, 
stores management information as shown in FIG. 5B. For each of the video 
programs, the management information contains, as program section 
identifying information, the chapter numbers of a series of stories which 
are to be played back. 
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a video program playback control process executed 
by the controller 13a of the second embodiment. A description will now be 
given of the video program playback process with reference to FIG. 6. 
The controller 13a displays a list of the video programs stored in the 
built-in memory on the guidance display screen 132 in order to call the 
passenger's attention to the key inputting. In response to the key input, 
the controller 13a stores, in the memory, information about a video 
program selected by the key inputting in the memory, and waits for the key 
operation of the start switch (S601 and S602). 
When the start switch is operated, the controller 13a generates random 
numerals, and determines the order of playback of the divided video 
program sections to be played back (hereinafter each of the program 
sections is also referred to as a "story") (S604 and S605). For example, 
the controller 13agenerates random numbers in the range of 0 to 9, and 
arranges the chapter numbers in the order of occurrence of random numerals 
1 to 4 if the chapter numbers of the divided video program sections 
contained in the video program information are 1 to 4. The playback order 
of the stories thus determined is stored as an arrangement of chapter 
numbers. 
The controller 13a outputs the disk number of the LD on which the selected 
video program is recorded to the disk change driving circuit 12d, which 
loads the specified LD in the LD load player 11. After the specified LD is 
set in the LD player 11, the controller 13a outputs to the motor driving 
circuit 11f the chapter number of the first story (divided video program 
section) of the selected video program (S606 and S607). Then, the first 
story is played back. The controller 13a reads, via the decoder 13b, the 
chapter number of the played-back story contained in the reproduced 
information, and waits for the completion of playback of the story (S608 
and S609). 
When the playback of the story has been completed, the controller 13a 
compares the order of the stories determined in step S605 with the chapter 
number of the story which was being played back, and determines whether or 
not the playback of the last story has been completed (S610). When the 
result in step S610 is YES, the controller 13a ends the process. When the 
result in step S610 is NO, the controller 13a selects the chapter number 
of the next story, and outputs it to the motor driving circuit 11f (S611 
and S612). Then, the controller 13a returns to step S608 and waits for the 
completion of playback of the story selected in step S611. The above 
procedure is repeatedly carried out until all the stories have been 
reproduced. 
As described above, the second embodiment of the present invention uses an 
LD in which one video program is divided into a plurality of sections 
which can be accessed at random, and determines the order of playback of 
the stories by using the random numerals at the time when the video 
program is selected. If a video program is divided into four sections as 
shown in FIG. 7A, there are 24 different orders of playback. Each time the 
video program is selected, any one of the 24 combinations is selected at 
random by using the random numerals. Even if the same video program is 
selected again, there is an extremely little possibility that the same 
story pattern as the previous one is determined. Hence, the passenger will 
have an impression different from the previous one even if the same video 
program is selected again, and can repeatedly enjoy the same video program 
without getting tired of it. The second embodiment of the present 
invention is particularly effective to a case where there is a small 
number of video programs which can be selected or the passenger has a 
limited liking for video programs regarding, for example, vehicles. 
Regarding the playback of the video program having the divided program 
sections, it is not necessary to play back all the divided video program 
sections, but possible to select a predetermined number of video program 
sections from among all the sections and hence create a new story pattern. 
For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, it is possible to select three of the 
four divided video program sections and create a story pattern consisting 
of the three divided video program sections. In this manner, it becomes 
possible to provide a larger number of story patterns and hence provide a 
wider variety of the video program. It is also possible to give a much 
wider variety to the single video program by storing the previously 
played-back story patterns and creating a story pattern consisting of a 
number of stories different from the numbers of the previously played-back 
story patterns each time the same video program is selected. It is also 
possible to create and store a plurality of story patterns beforehand and 
select one of the stored story patterns at random. 
THIRD EMBODIMENT 
A description will now be given of the third embodiment of the present 
invention. 
As in the case of the second embodiment of the present invention, the third 
embodiment uses an LD in which each video program is divided into a 
plurality of sections, each of which is assigned the chapter number in 
order to access the divided sections at random. 
The third embodiment has the same structure as that shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, 
and the description given with reference to these figures holds true for 
the third embodiment. The controller 13a used in the third embodiment 
stores the management information about each video program comprised of 
divided sections in the same manner as the controller 13a of the second 
embodiment. 
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a video program playback control process executed 
by the controller 13a according to the third embodiment of the present 
invention. The video program playback process of the third embodiment will 
now be described with reference to FIG. 8. 
Step S801 is a process identical to that executed in the steps S401-S406 of 
the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4. That is, the controller 13a displays 
a list of the video programs stored in the built-in memory on the guidance 
display screen 132 in order to call the passenger's attention to key 
inputting. In response to a program selection via the program select key, 
the controller 13a stores, in the built-in memory, information containing 
the chapter numbers of the divided sections of the selected video program, 
and checks whether or not the start switch or the repeat setting switch 
has been operated. If the repeat setting switch has been operated, the 
controller 13a stores information indicative of a requested number of 
times that the video program should be repeatedly played back. Then the 
controller 13a outputs to the disk change driving circuit 12d the disk 
number of the LD on which the selected video program is recorded, and the 
selected LD is loaded in the LD player 11. 
Thereafter, regarding the selected video program, a desired story order in 
which the divided video program sections are sequentially played back, is 
set (S802). The setting of the story order can be carried out by 
sequentially reading a plurality of predetermined story orders prepared 
beforehand or selecting one of the predetermined orders at random. 
After the story order is set, the controller 13a outputs the chapter number 
of the first story (divided video program section) to the motor driving 
circuit 11f (S803), and then the first story of the selected video program 
is played back. The controller 13a reads the chapter number of the 
played-back story from the output signal of the decoder 13b, and 
determines whether or not the readout chapter number coincides with the 
chapter number used in step S803 (S803 and S804). Then, the controller 13a 
waits for the completion of playback of the first story. 
When the story has been completely played back, the controller 13a 
determines whether or not the last story has been completed by comparing 
the chapter number the story which was being played back with the story 
order set in step S802 (S806). When the result obtained in step S806, the 
controller 13a receives the chapter number of the next story, and outputs 
it to the motor driving circuit 11f (S807 and S808). Then, this story is 
played back. The controller 13a proceeds to step S804 in which step the 
controller 13a waits for the completion of playback of this story. The 
above-mentioned procedure is repeatedly carried out until all the 
specified stories have been played back. 
When all the stories have been completely played back, the controller 13a 
determines whether or not the repetitive playback has been requested 
(S809). When the repetitive playback has not been requested, the 
controller 13a ends the control process. When the repetitive playback has 
been requested, the controller 13a updates the number of times that the 
selected video program has been repeatedly played back (S810, S811). When 
the video program has not yet been repeatedly played back the requested 
number of times, the controller 13a returns step S804 in which step the 
story order is set. When the video program has been played back the 
requested number of times, the controller 13a ends the control process. 
In the third embodiment described above, by setting the number of times 
that the selected video program should be repeatedly played back, the same 
video program is automatically played back repeatedly. In this case, each 
time the selected video program is repeatedly played back, a different 
story order is determined by using the chapter numbers assigned to the 
divided video program sections. In this manner, a different story derived 
from the single video program can be created each time it is repeatedly 
played back. As a result, the passenger can repeatedly enjoy the single 
video program the requested number of times and will have different 
impressions since a different story order is determined each time the 
selected video program is repeatedly played back. 
FOURTH EMBODIMENT 
A description will now be given of the fourth embodiment of the present 
invention. 
As in the case of the second and third embodiments, the fourth embodiment 
uses an LD in which each video program is divided into a plurality of 
sections, each of which is assigned the chapter number in order to access 
the divided sections at random. 
The fourth embodiment has the same structure as that of the first 
embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the related description thereof holds 
true for the fourth embodiment. The controller 13a holds management 
information about the video programs. In the fourth embodiment, an IC card 
is used as the prepaid card. When the IC card is issued, an ID of the user 
and data indicating prepaid money or the remainder thereof are recorded 
thereon. In addition, a story area for recording information about a video 
program which has been executed and a story order of the executed video 
program is formatted on the IC card. 
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a video program playback control. process executed 
by the controller 13a according to the fourth embodiment of the present 
invention. The video program playback process of the present embodiment 
will now be described with reference to FIG. 9. 
The controller 13a reads out the ID of the user, the remainder of the 
prepaid money, and if any, information about the video programs which have 
been executed and the story orders thereof from the prepaid card inserted 
into the card reader/writer 133 (S901). 
Next, the controller 13a displays, in the form of the list, information 
about the video programs stored in the memory on the guidance display 
screen 132 (S902). Then the controller 13a waits for selection of the 
video program by the passenger (S903). When one of the video programs is 
selected, the controller 13a stores information about the selected video 
program, and waits for inputting by the start switch (S904). 
After the start switch is operated, the controller 13acompares the video 
program currently selected with the video programs which were previously 
played back (S905). Then the controller 13a determines whether or not the 
currently selected video program is the same as one of the previously 
selected video programs (S906). When the video program currently selected 
is different from the previously selected video programs, the controller 
13a sets the story order of the currently selected video program at random 
(S907). When the video program currently selected is the same as one of 
the previously selected video programs, the controller 13a refers to the 
story order of the previously selected video program and sets a story 
order different from the previous one at random (S908). 
After setting the story order of the selected video program, the controller 
13a outputs, to the disk change driving circuit 12d, the disk number of 
the LD on which the selected video program is recorded, and has the above 
LD loaded in the LD player 11 (S909). Then, the controller 13a outputs the 
chapter number of the first divided section of the story order set in step 
S907 or S908 to the motor driving circuit 11f (S910), so that the first 
story of the selected video program is played back. The controller 13a 
reads the chapter number cf the played-back story from the played-back 
information via the decoder 13b (S911). Then, the controller 13a 
determines whether or not the divided program section has been completely 
played back while referring to the chapter number (S912). 
When it is determined that the story has been completely played back, the 
controller 13a determines that the last story has been completely played 
back (S913). When playback of the last story has not yet been completed, 
the controller obtains the next chapter number and outputs it to the motor 
driving circuit 11f and has the next story played back (S914 and S915). 
The controller 13a returns to step S911, and waits for completion of 
playback of the story selected in step S914. This sequence is repeatedly 
carried out until the last story has been completely played back. 
When all the stories have been played back, the controller 13a updates data 
indicative of the remainder of the prepaid money recorded on the prepared 
card and records information indicating the story order of the video 
program selected this time on the prepaid card (S916). 
As has been described above, according to the fourth embodiment, it is 
checked whether or not the selected video program is the same as one of 
the previously selected video programs, and a story order different from 
the previously selected story order is determined. Since the previously 
selected story order is recorded on the prepaid card, even if the same 
video program as previously selected is selected, the passenger will enjoy 
the video program with different impressions. 
FIFTH EMBODIMENT 
A description will now be given of the fifth embodiment of the present 
invention. 
FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control system of the fifth embodiment of 
the present invention. The fifth embodiment has a structure identical to 
that shown in FIG. 2 and the description thereof holds true for the fifth 
embodiment. The control system of the fifth embodiment differs from that 
shown in FIG. 3 in that the controller 13a receives oil pressure data Od 
obtained by decoding oil pressure control information read by the LD 
player 11 and outputs, to the oil servo mechanism 18, an oil pressure 
signal Os obtained by executing a predetermined operation on the oil 
pressure data Od. The other structural parts of the fifth embodiment are 
the same as those shown in FIG. 3. In the fifth embodiment, a degree of 
motion of the capsule 17 dependent on the weights and ages of the 
passengers is registered in a motion-degree table formed in the controller 
13a beforehand, and the capsule 17 is controlled by adjusting the oil 
pressure data to be supplied to the capsule moving device 18 so that the 
capsule 17 is moved in all directions at a degree of motion suitable for 
input data showing the weight and age of the passenger. 
FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of video program playback control process 
executed by the controller 13a according to the fifth embodiment of the 
present invention. The video program playback process according to the 
present embodiment will now be explained by referring to the flowchart. 
The controller 13a displays the list of the video programs (SA01), and 
determines whether or not a video program has been selected out of them 
(SA02). The controller 13a controls the guidance display screen 132 so 
that a message requesting to input the weight and age of the passenger is 
displayed thereon. The controller 13a stores the weight and age input by 
the setting input keys 131 in the built-in memory (SA03). Then, the 
controller 13a waits for inputting via the start switch (SA04). 
Subsequently, the controller 13a outputs, to the disk change driving 
circuit 12d, the disk number of the LD on which the selected video program 
is recorded (SA05). The disk change driving circuit 12d loads the 
specified LD in the LD player 11. When the setting of the LD in the LD 
player 11 has been completed, the controller 13a outputs the chapter 
number of the selected video program to the motor driving circuit 11f, so 
that information about the selected video program is reproduced (SA06). 
The controller 13a reads the oil pressure data via the decoder 13b, and 
selects the degree of motion corresponding to the input weight and age 
from the motion-degree table (SA07). The controller 13a adjusts the oil 
pressure data on the basis of the degree of motion, and outputs adjusted 
oil pressure data to the oil pressure servo mechanism 18a (SA08). The 
controller 13a reads the chapter number via the decoder 13b (SA09) and 
determines, on the basis of the read chapter number, whether or not the 
selected video program has been completely played back (SA10). A sequence 
starting from step SA07 is repeatedly carried out until the selected video 
program has been completely played back. 
As described above, according to the fifth embodiment of the present 
invention, information about the motion recorded on the LD is adjusted on 
the basis of the weight and age of the passenger, and adjusted information 
is output to the oil pressure servo mechanism 18a. Hence, for a person who 
heavy, an increased degree of motion is used in order to cancel a decrease 
in the degree of motion. For a person who is light, and a reduced degree 
of motion is used in order to prevent an excessive degree of motion. When 
a low-age child or an advanced-age person boards the apparatus, the degree 
of motion is reduced to provide comfortable riding. Meanwhile, an 
increased degree of motion can be presented to a person who likes a 
violent motion. In this manner, the present embodiment changes the degree 
of motion on the basis of the weight and age which cause different motion 
feelings, and presents desired motion feelings requested by the boarding 
individuals. 
In the above fifth embodiment, the weight and age are input by the setting 
input key panel 131. Alternatively, it is possible to read data about the 
weight and age of the passenger recorded on the prepaid card beforehand. 
It is also possible for the passenger to input a desired degree of motion 
by the setting input key 131 or record it on the prepaid card beforehand. 
As has been described above, the present invention is made so that it is 
possible to provide for a variety of video and motion information by means 
of a storage means, such as the automatic LD changer, easily select 
desired video and motion information and play back a selected video 
program with a corresponding motion of the seat on which the passenger 
sits. With the above structure, it becomes possible to easily enjoy 
various video programs as if the passenger is really present in the scene 
being played back. 
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing 
from the spirit of essential characteristics thereof. The present 
embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative 
and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the 
appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes 
which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are 
therefore intended to be embraced therein.