JPH09205733A - Charging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charging device which can bring the charging terminal and the power supply terminal of a self-propelled movable body into stable contact. SOLUTION: A charging mechanism part 240 includes a fixed board 252, a movable board 254 which rotates around a supporting shaft 256, a spring 258 which is fitted at the supporting shaft 256, and a solenoid 264. Power supply terminals 280a, 280b are fitted at the top of the fixed board 252. When the solenoid 264 starts to be energized, the rear end part of the movable board 254 is attracted by the solenoid 264 and the interval between the top part of the fixed board 252 and that of the movable board 254 is made wider. When energization to the solenoid is stopped after moving a movable body 10 to a prescribed position, the fixed board 252 and the movable board 254 bring charging terminals 44a, 44b and the power supply terminals 280a, 280b of the movable body 10 into contact, while clamping a part 15 to be clamped of the movable body 10 and fixing it.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a charging device for charging a secondary battery of a self-propelled mobile body such as a robot in game machines and industrial machines.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a remote control device such as a radio controlled car, a self-propelled vehicle is operated by radio transmission from a control means. This self-propelled vehicle has a secondary battery, and operates by being supplied with power from the secondary battery. Conventionally,
When the secondary battery of the self-propelled mobile body is used up, the operator needs to charge the secondary battery of the self-propelled mobile body by using the charging device.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional charging device, after fixing the self-propelled moving body with a magnet,
There is a method of charging a secondary battery. In such a charging device, the self-propelled moving body is temporarily disengaged from the magnet due to external vibration or shock, and the contact between the charging terminal of the self-propelled moving body and the power supply terminal of the charging device is stable. There was a problem not to do.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a charging device capable of stably contacting the charging terminal and the power supplying terminal of a self-propelled vehicle. To do.

[0005]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a charging device, which comprises: a power supply terminal for supplying power to a secondary battery of a self-propelled vehicle; A power supply terminal is provided, the power supply terminal and the charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body are brought into contact with each other to sandwich the part of the self-propelled mobile body, thereby allowing the self-propelled mobile body to be held. The fixing means for fixing and the operation for fixing the self-propelled mobile body by the fixing means, and the self-propelled body through the power supply terminal after the fixing means fixes the self-propelled mobile body. And a control means for charging the secondary battery of the mobile unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a charging device according to a second aspect of the present invention is provided with a power supply terminal for supplying power to a secondary battery of a self-propelled mobile body, and the power supply terminal. Fixing means for fixing the self-propelled mobile body by bringing the power supply terminal and the charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body into contact with each other and pressing the self-propelled mobile body from above; The fixing means controls the operation of fixing the self-propelled mobile body, and the secondary means of the self-propelled mobile body via the power supply terminal after the fixing means fixes the self-propelled mobile body. And a control means for charging the battery.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the charging device according to the first or second aspect, the fixing means movably supports the fixing member, a movable member, and the fixing member. A supporting portion, a biasing member that normally biases at least one tip of the fixed member and a tip of the movable member corresponding to the tip so that they approach each other, and a solenoid. The control means pulls the movable member toward the solenoid against the force of the biasing member by energizing the solenoid to separate at least the tip of the movable member from the fixed member, and then to the solenoid. The charging device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the self-propelled mobile body is fixed by stopping the energization of the battery.

[0008]

According to the invention described in claim 1, the fixing means makes the power supply terminal and the charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body contact with each other to sandwich a part of the self-propelled mobile body. As a result, the moving body can be reliably fixed, and the charging terminal and the power supply terminal can be brought into stable contact with a sufficiently high contact pressure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the fixing means brings the power supply terminal and the charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body into contact with each other and presses the self-propelled mobile body from above. The movable body can be securely fixed, and the charging terminal and the power supply terminal can be brought into stable contact with a sufficiently high contact pressure. According to the invention described in claim 3, the fixing means has at least the fixing member, the movable member made of a ferromagnetic material, the support portion movably supporting the movable member on the fixing member, and the fixing member at all times at all times. The control unit includes a solenoid and a biasing member that biases one of the tip end portions and a tip end portion of the movable member corresponding to the tip end portion, and the solenoid. The movable member is attracted to the solenoid against the force of, and at least the tip of the movable member is separated from the fixed member, and then the self-propelled moving body is fixed by stopping the energization of the solenoid. When the self-propelled mobile body is fixed, the electric current is passed through the solenoid only when the self-propelled mobile object is fixed, so that power saving can be achieved.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a remote control device including a charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a game machine to which the remote control device is applied, and FIG. 3 is a tablet of the remote control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the board, and FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of the position detection circuit of the communication controller of the remote control device.

In the first embodiment, a case where the charging device is provided in the remote control device will be described. The remote control device shown in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of moving bodies 10, a tablet board 60, a communication controller 70, and a controller 1.
10, an operation panel 120, a display device 130, and a constant current power source 140 that is a power source for charging the secondary battery of the moving body 10.
And a charging dock 200. In this remote control device, a radio wave is sent from the communication controller 70 to the moving body 10, and electromagnetic induction between the oscillation coils 38a and 38b provided on the moving body 10 and the loop coil group 64 provided on the tablet board 60 is performed. By using
By transmitting a signal from the mobile unit 10 to the communication controller 70, a signal is transmitted and received between the mobile unit 10 and the controller 110 to control the operation of the mobile unit 10. Further, the moving body 10 has a secondary battery 22 and operates by being supplied with electric power from the secondary battery 22.

In the first embodiment, a case where such a remote control device is applied to a game machine will be considered. As shown in FIG. 2, this game device has four player moving bodies 10a, 10b, 10 placed on a tablet board 60.
c and 10d respectively on the operation panels 120a and 120
b, 120c, 120d to move freely,
Four operators divided into two teams play a ball game. The operator of each team controls his or her own player moving body to push the ball moving body 10e into the goal of the opponent team to compete for a score. In addition, each moving body 1
When the secondary battery of 0a to 10e drops below a predetermined voltage value, it is necessary to charge the secondary battery.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the tablet board 60 has a flat plate 62 and a loop coil group 64. The flat plate 62 is, for example, 80 cm long and 10 cm wide.
Use a table size of 0 cm. On the flat plate 62, a picture of a field as a stadium according to the content of the game is drawn. The loop coil group 64 is the flat plate 6
Two oscillating coils 38a, 3 of the moving body 10 on
It is used to detect the position of 8b, and includes an x-direction loop coil group 64a and a y-direction loop coil group 64a.
b. The x-direction loop coil group 64a and the y-direction loop coil group 64b are formed by arranging a large number of loop coils adjacent to each other on the flat plate 62 along the x direction (horizontal direction) and the y direction (vertical direction). Here, 200 loop coils are provided in the x direction and 160 loop coils are provided in the y direction, and each loop coil is wound once. The loop coil arranged in the x direction and the loop coil arranged in the y direction each have a width in the arrangement direction of about 5 mm. Further, each loop coil in the x direction is sequentially numbered from 1 to 200, and each loop coil in the y direction is sequentially numbered from 1 to 160. The x and y coordinates above are set. In FIG. 3, in order to make the description easy to understand, adjacent copper wires of the adjacent loop coils are drawn so as to be separated from each other, but in reality, for example, the adjacent first loop coil is arranged along the x direction. Regarding the second loop coil, the copper wire 1R on the right side of the first loop coil and the copper wire 2L on the left side of the second loop coil overlap, and the same applies to other loop coils. In addition, as the loop coil group 64, a film sheet on which a loop coil pattern is printed, or a sheet obtained by connecting several flat cables may be used.

The operation panel 120, as shown in FIG.
It has a joystick 122 and two button type switches 124a and 124b. The joystick 122 can be tilted in a total of 8 directions from x = 0 to π / 4 in the xy coordinate system set as described above, and each of the player moving bodies 10a to 10d is flat plate 62.
The joystick 122 moves upward in the tilting direction. Further, by pushing the button type switches 124a and 124b, the player moving bodies 10a to 10d are accelerated and decelerated. The display device 130 displays the score of each team and the remaining play time. Here, a 7-segment LED is used for score display, and a bar graph made of bicolor LEDs is used for remaining play time display.

The controller 110, as shown in FIG. 1, has a control section 112, a ROM 114, and a RAM 116.
And a charging timing detection means 118. ROM114
The game program, the charging program for the mobile unit 10, and the like are stored in the. The RAM 116 temporarily stores the latest position information, orientation information, and speed information for each of the moving bodies 10a to 10e. The control unit 112 creates an operation command for each of the moving bodies 10a to 10e and outputs the operation signal to the communication controller 70. Also,
The positions and orientations of the moving bodies 10a to 10e are calculated based on the position information of the oscillation coils 38a and 38b of the moving bodies 10a to 10e, or the newly calculated position information of the moving bodies 10a to 10e and the previous calculation. The speed of the moving bodies 10a to 10e is calculated based on the position information. Here, the operation signal includes a mobile body ID signal for identifying the mobile bodies 10a to 10e, a command signal, and the like.

The charging time detecting means 118 detects the time when the moving body 10 is charged. In fact, mobile 10
Most of the electric power consumed in driving the motor is used for driving the motor. Therefore, in the first embodiment, as the charging timing detection means 118, one having a timer for measuring a substantial time (play time) during which the moving body 10 is operating is used. Then, the charge timing detection means 118 detects that the mobile body 10 is at the charge timing when the operation time reaches a predetermined time, and outputs a signal S ₁ to that effect to the control unit 112.
Output to The control unit 112 uses the charging timing detection means 1
When the signal S ₁ from 18 is received, the charging program is started.

As shown in FIG. 1, the communication controller 70 includes a DPRAM (dual port RAM) 72, a transmission / position detection control unit 74, a transmission unit 76, a transmission antenna 78, and a tablet board 60. Mobile 1 in
The position detection circuit 82 for detecting the positions of the oscillation coils 38a and 38b of 0a to 10e. DPRAM 72 is
It stores operation commands sent from the control unit 112 to the moving bodies 10a to 10e, position information about the oscillation coils 38a and 38b of the moving bodies 10a to 10e detected by the position detection circuit 82, and the like. The transmission and position detection control unit 74 uses the moving bodies 1 stored in the DPRAM 72.
The operation commands for 0a to 10e are passed to the transmitting unit 76, or the moving bodies 10a to 10e detected by the position detection circuit 82 are detected.
position information about the oscillation coils 38a and 38b
It writes in PRAM72. The transmitting unit 76 is configured to transmit each moving body 10 a transmitted from the transmitting and position detecting control unit 74.
The operation signal for 10e to 10e is FSK (frequency shift
keying) modulation, and a 10.7 MHz radio wave is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 78.

The position detection circuit 82 is used for the moving bodies 10a-10.
of the moving bodies 10a to 10e based on the signals emitted from the oscillating coils 38a and 38b.
38b, the x-direction analog switch group 91a and the y-direction analog switch group 91b, the first amplifier circuit 93a and the second amplifier circuit 93b, and the first amplifier circuit 93b A / D conversion circuit 95a and second A / D conversion circuit 95b, and first latch circuit 97
a and the second latch circuit 97b, and a counter 99. The x-direction analog switch group 91a has a large number of analog switches, and each analog switch is connected to each loop coil in the x-direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the x-direction analog switch group 91a sequentially switches the connection of each loop coil in the x-direction based on the control signal S from the transmission and position detection control unit 74. As a result, signals emitted by the oscillation coils 38a and 38b of the moving body 10 are detected. Then, the y-direction analog switch group 91b is similarly configured.

The first amplification circuit 93a and the first A / D conversion circuit 95a, and the second amplification circuit 93b and the second A / D conversion circuit 95b are respectively composed of an x direction analog switch group 91a and an x direction analog switch group 91a.
The AC signal obtained from the y-direction analog switch group 91b is amplified and converted into a pulse signal. The counter 99 counts the numbers from 1 to 200 in accordance with the control signal S based on the clock signal C from the transmission and position detection control unit 74, and outputs this count information to the first latch circuit 97a.
Output to the second latch circuit 97b. Further, the first latch circuit 97a, based on the count information of the counter 99,
The count value obtained by capturing the pulse signal sent from the first A / D conversion circuit 95a is stored. Similarly, based on the count information of the counter 99, the second latch circuit 97b stores a count value obtained by capturing the pulse signal sent from the second A / D conversion circuit 95b. The count value stored in the first latch circuit 97a becomes the x coordinate of the oscillation coil of the moving body, and the count value stored in the second latch circuit 97b becomes the y coordinate of the oscillation coil of the moving body.

Next, the moving body 10 and the charging device will be described. 5 is a schematic external view of the moving body, FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the internal structure of the moving body, FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a secondary battery of the moving body, and FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of the charging device and the moving body. ,
FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a charge amount control unit of the charging device, FIG.
0 is a schematic configuration diagram of the charging mechanism portion of the charging device, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the charging mechanism portion of the charging device.

First, the moving body 10 will be described. The moving body 10 is a self-propelled robot that moves along the surface of the tablet board 60 by the operation of the operation panel 120, and two types in total of five are provided here. That is, four player moving bodies 10a to 10d and one ball moving body 10e. Each mobile body 10a-10e
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the cover 12a or 12b
, The secondary battery 22, the mechanism section 24, the built-in receiving antenna 32, the receiving section 34, the control section 36, the two oscillating coils 38a and 38b, the oscillator 42, and the charging terminal 44a, 44b. Player moving body 10
As shown in FIG. 5A, the cover 12a of a to 10d has a body having a substantially cylindrical shape and a head having a substantially spherical shape, and a player's drawing according to the content of the game is drawn on the surface. .
On the other hand, the cover 12b of the ball moving body 10e is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), it has a substantially cylindrical shape. Regarding the dimensions of each of the moving bodies 10a to 10e, the bottom surface diameter is about 8 cm and the height is about 10 cm. In addition, the player moving body 10a
The cover 12a of 10d and the cover 12b of the moving body 10e for balls are provided with recesses 13a and 13b on their side surfaces near the left side and the right side of the front surface of the moving body. The front portion of the moving body sandwiched between the two recesses 13a and 13b serves as a sandwiched portion 15 that is sandwiched by the charging mechanism portion 240 described later. Each moving body 10a-10e
Are different in the covers 12a and 12b, and are exactly the same in other structures and performances and functions such as maximum speed.

The covers 12a of the moving bodies 10a to 10e,
The internal structure when 12b is removed is shown in FIG. FIG.
6A is a schematic front view of the inside of the moving body, and FIG. 6B is a schematic side view of the inside of the moving body. At the center of the inside of the moving body, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped battery mounting portion 52 for mounting the secondary battery 22.
Are formed. A board 54 is attached to the left and right side surfaces of the battery mounting portion 52. Further, as the secondary battery 22, a lithium ion battery as shown in FIG. 7 is used. 7 (a) is a schematic plan view of the lithium-ion battery, FIG. 7 (b) is a schematic front view of the lithium-ion battery,
FIG. 7C is a schematic side view of the lithium ion battery.
The lithium ion battery has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and three battery contacts 23 are provided on the upper surface as shown in FIG. 7A and two battery contacts 23 on one side as shown in FIG. 7B. ing. Each of the moving bodies 10a-1
In the case of mounting on the battery mounting unit 0e, the lid 56 on the bottom surface of the moving body shown in FIG. 5C is removed and then inserted into the battery mounting portion 52.

The charging terminals 44a and 44b are respectively connected to the + battery contact and the − battery contact of the secondary battery 22, and one side surface of the clamped portion 15 provided on the covers 12a and 12b, in this case, FIG. As shown in a) and (b), they are arranged side by side vertically on the left side surface when viewed from the front. Mechanical part 24
6, a red LED and a green LED (not shown) and two stepping motors 25 are provided.
a, 25b, two drive circuits for driving the stepping motors 25a, 25b, and two wheels 27a, 27b.
And As shown in FIG. 6A, the stepping motor 25a and the wheel 27a are provided on the left side of the battery mounting portion 52, and the stepping motor 25b and the wheel 27b are provided on the right side of the battery mounting portion 52. The wheels 27a are driven by the stepping motor 25a, and the wheels 27b are driven by the stepping motor 25b. The rotation speed of each wheel 27a, 27b is determined by the pulse frequency given to each stepping motor 25a, 25b from the control unit 36. Here, the information about the pulse frequency is created by the control unit 112 of the controller 110,
It is included in the command signal in the operation signal transmitted from the communication controller 70 to the mobile unit 10. Moving object 10
Can move back and forth, rotate clockwise or counterclockwise, and turn left and right. For example, both wheels are normally rotated when moving forward, and both wheels are reversed when moving backward. When rotating, one wheel is rotated forward and the other wheel is rotated reversely. Further, when turning right while moving forward, the pulse frequency given to the right stepping motor is adjusted to an appropriate lower value than the pulse frequency given to the left stepping motor.

The oscillation coils 38a and 38b are connected to the oscillator 42.
A magnetic field is generated by passing an alternating current from the device. As shown in FIG. 5C, the oscillating coil 38 a includes the moving body 10
And the oscillation coil 38b is provided on the bottom surface of the moving body 10 and on the right side in FIG. The interval between the oscillation coil 38a and the oscillation coil 38b is about 5 cm, and the midpoint of a line connecting the center of the oscillation coil 38a and the center of the oscillation coil 38b is:
It is located on the central axis of the moving body 10. Thus, the two oscillating coils 38a, 38b
By providing the controller 10, the controller 110 controls the oscillation coil 38a, even when the moving body 10 is stationary.
Based on the position of 38b, the position of the moving body 10 can be detected as the center of those positions, and the vector is rotated by 90 ° from the position of the oscillation coil 38b to the position of the oscillation coil 38a. The body orientation can be detected. Therefore, the controller 11
0 can easily finely adjust the direction of the moving body 10 when the moving body 10 enters the charging dock 200 based on the information on the direction of the moving body 10, for example.

The receiving antenna 32 is for receiving the radio wave transmitted from the transmitting antenna 78 of the communication controller 70. The receiving unit 34 performs FSK demodulation on the radio wave received by the receiving antenna 32 and extracts an operation signal from the radio wave. The control unit 36 controls the mobile unit 10 as a whole. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the signal is addressed to itself based on the moving object ID signal in the operation signal obtained by the receiving unit 34. If it is addressed to itself, the AC current from the oscillator 42 is applied to the oscillation coils 38a,
8b. In addition, the stepping motors 25a and 25b are driven or L based on the command signal in the operation signal.
It controls the light emission of the ED. Further, at the time of charging, the circuit of the secondary battery 22 is switched. Here, each IC and the like of the control unit 36 are mounted on a substrate 54 provided on the left and right of the battery mounting unit 52, as shown in FIG. 6B.

Next, the charging device of the first embodiment will be described. The charging device includes a charging dock 200 and a controller 110. Charging dock 200
Is a device for charging the moving body 10, and is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the charge amount control unit 220, the charging mechanism unit 240 as a fixing unit, and the power supply terminals 280a, 28
0b and. Here, the control unit 112 and the charge amount control unit 220 play a role as control means for charging the secondary battery 22 of the moving body 10. In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, five charging docks 200 are arranged side by side at one end of the tablet board 60 according to the number of moving bodies 10.

As shown in FIG. 9, the charge amount control section 220 includes a voltage monitor 222, a timer 224, and a microcomputer 2.
26, a switch circuit 228, and a transistor 232. The voltage monitor 222 monitors the voltage value of the secondary battery 22 when the mobile body 10 is charged, and the timer 224 counts when a certain time has elapsed since the mobile body 10 was charged. . The microcomputer 226
Based on the information about the voltage value from the voltage monitor 222, it is determined whether or not the charging of the secondary battery 22 is completed,
When it is determined that the charging is completed, the switch circuit 22
8 is controlled to turn off the transistor 232 to stop the charging operation. Further, the microcomputer 226 uses the voltage monitor 2
The charging operation is similarly stopped when a signal indicating that a predetermined time has elapsed is received from the timer 224 before it is determined that the charging of the secondary battery is completed based on the information from 22. In this way, the timer 224 is provided so that, for example, when the voltage monitor 222 fails, if the secondary battery 22 is overcharged, the secondary battery 22 generates heat and eventually bursts. Because there is. The microcomputer 22
6 receives the signal S ₂ from the control unit 112 to start charging, charges the moving body 10 and controls the signal S ₃ to that effect when it is determined that charging is completed. It is output to the unit 112.

The charging mechanism section 240 fixes the movable body 10 by sandwiching the sandwiched portion 15 of the movable body 10 from the left and right, and as shown in FIG.
A movable plate 254, a support shaft 256 for supporting the rotation of the movable plate 254, and a coil-shaped spring 2 provided on the support shaft 256.
58, a stopper 262, a solenoid 264 having a movable shaft 265, and a drive circuit 266. At the rear end of the movable plate 254, a long hole 255 is formed.
Is provided. The movable shaft 26 is inserted into the elongated hole 255.
The movable plate 254 and the movable shaft 265 are fixed to each other by inserting the split pin 269 into the hole of the movable shaft 265 through the distal end thereof. The spring 258 is
The movable plate 254 is rotated around the support shaft 256, and the tip of the movable plate 254 is urged against the fixed plate 252. Here, the spring 258 may be a leaf spring. The stopper 262 is provided near the tip of the movable plate 254 and prevents the movable plate 254 from contacting the fixed plate 252.
The rotation of 54 is blocked in place. Solenoid 264
Causes a current to flow through a coil provided inside, pulls in the movable shaft 265 against the force of the spring 258 by the attractive force of the electromagnet, and pulls the rear end of the movable plate 254, whereby the tip of the movable plate 254 is pulled. Is separated from the fixing plate 252. Here, the distance that the solenoid 264 moves the movable shaft 265 is about 5 mm, and the force with which the solenoid 264 attracts the movable shaft 265 is 1 kg.
It is heavy. At the time of charging, as shown in FIG. 11A, first, the solenoid 264 is energized to retract the movable shaft 265, whereby the tip of the movable plate 254 is separated from the fixed plate 252. Next, after moving the moving body 10 to a predetermined position near the charging mechanism section 240,
By turning off the power supply to the solenoid 264, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the tip of the movable plate 254 rotates toward the fixed plate 252 by the force of the movable shaft 265 returning to the original position and the force of the spring 258, and the force of the spring 258 causes the fixed plate 252 to rotate. The movable body 10 is fixed by sandwiching the sandwiched portion 15 of the movable body 10 from both sides with the movable plate 254. The drive circuit 266 controls ON / OFF of energization of the solenoid 264 based on the signal S ₄ sent from the control unit 112.

The power supply terminals 280a and 280b contact the charging terminals 44a and 44b of the moving body 10 to supply power to the secondary battery 22 of the moving body 10, respectively. Each of the power supply terminals 280a and 280b is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, the fixed plate 252 is attached to the tip of the fixing plate 252 side by side vertically. Therefore, when the charging mechanism section 240 clamps the moving body 10, the power supply terminal 2 of the fixing plate 252 is held.
80a, 280b and charging terminals 44a, 4 of the moving body 10.
4b and the fixed plate 252 and the movable plate 2 at the same time.
With 54, the sandwiched portion 15 of the moving body 10 is sandwiched and fixed. In particular, here, the fixed plate 252 and the movable plate 2
When the sandwiched portion 15 of the moving body 10 is sandwiched between the moving body 1 and the moving body 54, the power supply terminals 280a and 280b are respectively moved to the moving body 1.
The strength and the like of the spring 258 are determined so as to surely make contact with the charging terminals 44a and 44b of 0 with a necessary and sufficient contact pressure. In the first embodiment, the necessary and sufficient contact pressure is 30
It is designed to have a weight of 0 g / mm ² or more.

Next, the operation of detecting the position of the moving body in the remote control device will be described. First, the control unit 112 of the controller 110 creates an operation command for a moving body based on the information input from the operation panel 120 and the like, and outputs the operation command to the DPRAM 7 of the communication controller 70.
Write to 2. The transmission and position detection control unit 74 uses the DPR
The operation command stored in the AM 72 is sent to the transmitting unit 76, and the transmitting unit 76 FSK-modulates this operation signal and sends out a radio wave from the transmitting antenna 78. All the mobile units receive the radio wave with the receiving antenna 32 and the receiving unit 34
An operation signal is extracted by K demodulation. Control unit 36 for each mobile unit
First determines whether the signal is addressed to itself based on the ID signal in the operation signal. If it is not addressed to itself, it does not recognize the subsequent command signal portion and executes the previously sent operation command again. On the other hand, when it is determined that the signal is addressed to itself (here, it is addressed to the mobile unit 10a), the subsequent command signal portion is recognized, the command is interpreted, and the process according to the command is performed. To do. For example, based on a command signal, a pulse for motor control is generated and sent to a drive circuit, or a predetermined LED is turned on. In addition, the moving body 10a, which recognizes that the signal is addressed to itself, performs the processing in parallel with the oscillation coil 3 on the left side.
After the alternating current is supplied to 8a for a certain period, the alternating current is supplied to the oscillation coil 38b on the right side for a certain period. As a result, the corresponding loop coils on the tablet board 60 are sequentially
Induction current flows. After that, the mobile unit 10a returns to the reception state in which it receives a new operation signal.

On the other hand, the communication controller 70 detects the positions of the two oscillating coils 38a and 38b by specifying the positions of the two loop coils in which these induced currents flow. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the transmission and position detection control unit 74 first sets x during the period in which the alternating current is flowing in the oscillation coil 38a on the left side of the moving body 10a.
The control signal S is sent to the direction analog switch group 91a and the y direction analog switch group 91b, and the respective analog switches are sequentially turned on from the 1st to the 200th.
When an analog switch corresponding to a loop coil in which the left oscillation coil 38a is located is turned on, an induced current flows through the loop coil, so that a signal from the left oscillation coil 38a is generated. Each of the analog switches 91a and 91b is extracted as an AC signal. These AC signals are amplified by the first amplification circuit 93a and the second amplification circuit 93b, respectively, and then are amplified by the first A / D conversion circuit 95a and the second A / D conversion circuit 95.
It is converted into a pulse signal at b. First latch circuit 9
7a and the second latch circuit 97b each capture the value of the count information from the counter 99 at the timing when the pulse signal is input. These count values are sent to the transmission and position detection control unit 74 as xy coordinate positions (position information) of the left oscillation coil 38a, and the transmission and position detection control unit 74 writes this position information into the DPRAM 72. Next, the transmission / position detection control unit 74 controls the mobile unit 1.
By operating each analog switch group 91a, 91b within a period in which an alternating current is flowing in the oscillation coil 38b on the right side of 0a, the oscillation coil 38 on the right side is similarly operated.
The xy coordinate position of b is detected. Then, the controller 1
The control unit 112 of 10 determines the position and orientation of the moving body 10a based on the positions of the oscillation coils 38a and 38b.

Next, the operation of charging the moving body in the remote control device having the charging device of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the charging operation of the mobile body. Here, consider the case where one mobile body is charged. When the player starts the game and the charged mobile body 10 starts to operate again,
The charging time detection means 118 operates (step 12). Then, the control unit 112 of the controller 110 determines whether or not the operation time of the moving body 10 has reached a predetermined time based on the signal S ₁ from the charging timing detection means 118 (step
14), when it is determined that the operation time of the mobile unit 10 has reached the predetermined time, the charging program is activated. When such a charging program is executed, first, the control unit 112 outputs a signal S ₄ to the drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism unit 240 to turn on the energization of the solenoid 264. Drive circuit 2
When 66 starts energizing the solenoid 264 based on this signal S ₄ , the rear end of the movable plate 254 is attracted to the solenoid 264, and as shown in FIG.
The distance between the tip of the fixed plate 252 and the tip of the movable plate 254 increases (step 16). Then, the control unit 112 issues a predetermined operation command to the moving body 10 and guides the moving body 10 to a predetermined position near the charging dock 200 (step 18). After that, the control unit 112 controls the drive circuit 26 of the charging mechanism unit 240.
6, a signal S ₄ indicating that the energization of the solenoid 264 is turned off.
Is output, and the drive circuit 266 stops energizing the solenoid 264 (step 22). As a result, the tip of the movable plate 254 rotates toward the fixed plate 252, and as shown in FIG. 11B, the force of the spring 258 causes the fixed plate 252 and the movable plate 2 to move.
The movable body 1 is sandwiched between the movable body 1 and the sandwiched portion 15 of the movable body 10.
0 is fixed, and charging terminals 44a of the moving body 10 are
44b and the power supply terminal 280a of the charging dock 200,
280b is brought into contact with a predetermined contact pressure.

Next, the controller 112 controls the charge amount controller 22.
A signal S ₂ indicating that charging is started is sent to the microcomputer 226 of 0, and the microcomputer 226 charges the moving body 10 (step 2
Four). After that, the microcomputer 226 determines whether the charging is completed based on the information from the voltage monitor 222 or the timer 224 (step 26). When the microcomputer 226 determines that the charging of the moving body 10 is completed, the microcomputer 226 stops the charging and sends a signal S ₃ indicating that the charging is completed to the control unit 112. When the control unit 112 receives the signal S ₃ , the control unit 112 causes the drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism unit 240 to control the solenoid 2
A signal S ₄ indicating that the energization of 64 is turned on is sent to start energization of the solenoid 264 (step 28). This allows
The fixed state of the moving body 10 by the charging mechanism section 240 is released. Then, the control unit 112 sends a predetermined operation command to the moving body 10, moves the moving body 10 to a predetermined position (step 32), and then turns off the energization of the solenoid 264 to the drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism unit 240. Send a signal S ₄ to that effect,
The energization of the Solenoid 264 is stopped (step 34). In this way, the charging operation of the moving body 10 is completed, and the moving body 10 is
It can be operated by the operation panel 120.

In the charging device of the first embodiment, a power supply terminal is provided on the fixed plate of the charging mechanism section, and the power supply terminal is brought into contact with the charging terminal provided on the portion to be clamped of the moving body for charging. Since the fixed plate and the movable plate of the mechanism section clamp the held portion of the moving body by the force of the spring, the moving body can be reliably fixed and the charging terminal and the power supply terminal are sufficiently high. Stable contact can be achieved with contact pressure. In particular, since the moving body is mechanically clamped and fixed, the moving body can be easily separated from the charging mechanism during the charging period of the secondary battery of the moving body, even if it receives external vibration or shock. There is no end. Further, in reality, the charging time is about 30 minutes, but in the charging device of the first embodiment, the current is passed through the solenoid when the moving body is fixed and when the charging of the secondary battery is completed. It is only when releasing the moving body, and it is not necessary to supply current to the solenoid during the charging period, so that power saving can be achieved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a charging device and a moving body according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a charging mechanism portion of the charging device, and FIG. 15 shows an operation of the charging mechanism portion of the charging device. It is a figure for explaining. The main difference of the charging device of the second embodiment from that of the first embodiment is that a charging mechanism 240a is used to fix the moving body 10 by pressing it from above, and a position sensor 290 is used. That is the point. Therefore, the moving body 10
Also, the mounting positions of the charging terminals 44a and 44b are slightly different from those of the first embodiment. Incidentally, in the charging device of the second embodiment, and in the remote control device using the charging device, those having the same functions as those of the first embodiment will be described in detail by giving the same reference numerals. Omit it.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The charging terminals 44a and 44b of the ball moving body 10e are
They are provided side by side on the upper surface of the moving body 10 and on the front side thereof. Although not shown in the figures for the player moving bodies 10a to 10d, the charging terminals 44a and 44b are
They are provided side by side on the upper surface of the body and on the front side thereof. Further, a reflecting portion 46 that reflects light is provided on the side surface of each of the moving bodies 10a to 10e and on the front side thereof.
The reflection part 46 may be provided with a reflection sticker or may be provided with a reflection mark by paint.

Charging dock 20 of the charging device of the second embodiment
0a is, as shown in FIG. 13, a charge amount control unit 220,
The charging mechanism unit 240a as a fixing unit, the power supply terminals 280a and 280b, and the position sensor 290 are provided. As shown in FIG. 14, the charging mechanism section 240a includes a fixed plate 252a, a movable plate 254a, and a movable plate 25.
4a, a support shaft 256 for supporting rotation, a coiled spring 258a provided on the support shaft 256, and a stopper 262a.
And a solenoid 264 having a movable shaft 265,
And a driving circuit 266. The movable plate 254a is disposed above the fixed plate 252a, and the tip of the movable plate 254a projects far more forward than the tip of the fixed plate 252a. Power supply terminals 280a and 280b are provided side by side on the lower surface of the tip of the movable plate 254a. The spring 258a rotates the movable plate 254a around the support shaft 256 and urges the tip of the movable plate 254a to be pressed downward. The stopper 262a is provided at the tip of the fixed plate 252a, and regulates the rotation of the movable plate 254a so that the movable plate 254a does not contact the fixed plate 252a. As shown in FIG. 15A, when a current is applied to the coil of the solenoid 264, the solenoid 264
Draws in the movable shaft 265, and the rear end of the movable plate 254a is attracted to the solenoid 264, whereby the tip of the movable plate 254a separates from the fixed plate 252a. Then, after moving the moving body 10 to a predetermined position near the charging mechanism section 240a, by turning off the energization to the solenoid 264, the tip of the movable plate 254a is moved downward as shown in FIG. 15 (b). To the power supply terminals 280a and 280b and the charging terminal 44a of the moving body 10,
At the same time when the movable body 10 is brought into contact with 44b, the moving body 10 is pressed from above and fixed.

The position sensor 290 is used to align the moving body 10 when the moving body 10 is charged. Here, a reflection type photointerrupter is used as the position sensor 290, and is provided on the lower surface of the tip portion of the fixed plate 252a. The reflection type photo interrupter has a light emitting element and a light receiving element juxtaposed at a predetermined angle. When the moving body 10 is located in the vicinity of the charging mechanism section 240a, the light emitted from the light emitting element is reflected by the reflecting section 46 of the moving body 10,
Light enters the light receiving element. At this time, the control unit 112 slightly moves and rotates the moving body 10 while checking the reflectance of the light from the light emitting element reflected by the reflecting unit 46 based on the signal S ₅ sent from the light receiving element, and reflecting the light. The moving body 10 is stopped at the position where the rate reaches the peak. At the position where the reflectance reaches a peak, when the moving mechanism 240a fixes the moving body 10, the charging terminals 44a and 44b of the moving body 10 and the power supply terminals 280a and 280b of the charging device surely come into contact with each other. It is the position to do.

Next, the operation of charging the moving body in the remote control device having the charging device of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the charging operation of the mobile body. Here, consider the case where one mobile body is charged. When the player starts the game and the charged mobile body 10 starts to operate again,
The charging time detection means 118 operates (step 52). Then, the control unit 112 of the controller 110 determines whether or not the operation time of the moving body 10 has reached a predetermined time based on the signal S ₁ from the charging timing detection means 118 (step
54), when it is determined that the operation time of the mobile unit 10 has reached the predetermined time, the charging program is activated. When the charging program is executed, first, the control unit 112 causes the drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism unit 240a to cause the solenoid 264 to operate.
A signal S ₄ indicating that the energization to ON is output. When the drive circuit 266 starts energizing the solenoid 264 based on this signal S ₄ , the rear end of the movable plate 254a is attracted to the solenoid 264, and as shown in FIG. 15A, the tip of the movable plate 254a. The department moves up (step 56). Next, the control unit 112 issues a predetermined operation command to the moving body 10 and guides the moving body 10 to a predetermined position near the charging dock 200a (step 58). Then, the control unit 112 aligns the moving body 10 based on the signal S ₅ from the position sensor 290 (step 62). After that, the control unit 112
Outputs to the drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism section 240a a signal S ₄ indicating that the energization of the solenoid 264 is turned off, and the drive circuit 266 stops energization of the solenoid 264 (st
ep64). As a result, the tip of the movable plate 254a rotates downward, and as shown in FIG. 15B, the movable plate 254a presses and fixes the moving body 10 from above by the force of the spring 258a. Charging terminals 44a, 44b
And power supply terminals 280a and 280 of the charging dock 200
It contacts with b with sufficient contact pressure.

Next, the control unit 112 controls the charge amount control unit 22.
A signal S ₂ indicating that charging is started is sent to the microcomputer 226 of 0, and the microcomputer 226 charges the moving body 10 (step 6
6). After that, the microcomputer 226 determines whether charging is completed based on the information from the voltage monitor 222 or the timer 224 (step 68). When the microcomputer 226 determines that the charging of the moving body 10 is completed, the microcomputer 226 stops the charging and sends a signal S ₃ indicating that the charging is completed to the control unit 112. Control unit 112 receives such a signal S _3, sends a signal S ₄ to the effect that turning on the power supply to the solenoid 264 to drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism 240a, starts energizing the solenoid 264 (STEP 72). As a result, the fixed state of the moving body 10 by the charging mechanism section 240a is released. Then, the control unit 112 sends a predetermined operation command to the moving body 10 to move the moving body 10 to a predetermined position (step 74), and then the drive circuit 266 of the charging mechanism unit 240a.
To the solenoid 264 by sending a signal S ₄ indicating that the energization of the solenoid 264 is turned off, and the energization of the solenoid 264 is stopped (step 7
6). In this way, the charging operation of the moving body 10 is completed, and the moving body 10 can be operated by the operation panel 120.

In the charging device of the second embodiment, the power supply terminal is provided on the fixed plate of the charging mechanism section, and the power supply terminal is brought into contact with the charging terminal provided on the upper surface of the moving body to charge the charging mechanism section. The movable plate presses the moving body from above with the force of the spring, so that the moving body can be securely fixed, and the charging terminal and the power supply terminal are brought into stable contact with a sufficiently high contact pressure. be able to. Other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. For example, in the above-described first embodiment, a case has been described in which the moving body is fixed by sandwiching the sandwiched portion of the moving body from the left and right with the fixed plate and the movable plate of the charging mechanism unit.
The charging mechanism unit may be configured such that the sandwiched portion of the moving body is vertically sandwiched between the fixed plate and the movable plate.

In the charging device of the first embodiment,
The position sensor used in the second embodiment may be provided. In general, whether or not such a position sensor is provided depends on whether or not the remote control device can guide the moving body to a predetermined position with high accuracy. If the mobile body can be accurately guided to a predetermined position, it is not necessary to provide the position sensor. On the other hand, if the mobile body cannot be guided to the predetermined position very accurately, the position sensor is provided to charge the mobile body. To ensure that the charging terminal of the moving body and the power supply terminal of the charging device are in contact with each other when the mechanism section fixes the moving body,
It is necessary to align the moving body.

Further, in the above first and second embodiments,
Although the case where the solenoid having the movable shaft is used as the solenoid of the charging mechanism has been described, the solenoid having no movable shaft may be used as the solenoid. In this case, a ferromagnetic material such as iron is used for the material of the movable plate, and
By passing a current through the solenoid, the rear end of the movable plate is directly attracted by the attractive force of the electromagnet, and the tip of the movable plate is separated from the fixed plate.

Further, the charging mechanism may be constructed so that the movable plate moves substantially parallel to the fixed plate. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG.
A groove 274 is provided in a connecting portion 272 between the 4b and the fixed plate 252b, and a support shaft 256 is attached to the groove 274. And
A plurality of coiled springs 258b are attached between the fixed plate 252b and the movable plate 254b. Also, the solenoid 264
In a, a current is caused to flow through a coil provided inside, and the rear end of the movable plate 254b is directly attracted by the attraction force of the electromagnet against the force of the spring 258b, whereby the tip of the movable body 254b is fixed. It is separated from 252b. When a current is applied to the solenoid 264a, the movable plate 254b is guided by the groove 274 while being kept substantially parallel to the fixed plate 252b as shown in FIG.
attracted to a. On the other hand, when the flow of current to the solenoid 264a is stopped, the movable plate 254b moves to the fixed plate 252.
While being kept substantially parallel to b, the spring 258b pulls it back to the fixed plate 252b side.

[0046]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, the fixing means brings the power supply terminal and the charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body into contact with each other, and By sandwiching the portion, it is possible to provide a charging device capable of reliably fixing the moving body and stably contacting the charging terminal and the power supply terminal with a sufficiently high contact pressure. .

Further, as described above, according to the invention of claim 2, the fixing means brings the electric power supply terminal and the charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body into contact with each other to raise the self-propelled mobile body. It is possible to provide a charging device that can reliably fix the moving body by pressing from the above and can stably contact the charging terminal and the power supply terminal with a sufficiently high contact pressure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a remote control device including a charging device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a game device to which the remote control device is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a tablet board of the remote control device.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a position detection circuit of a communication controller of the remote control device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic external view of a moving body of the remote control device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the internal structure of the moving body.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a secondary battery of the moving body.

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram of a charging device and a moving body according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a charge amount control unit of the charging device.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a charging mechanism portion of the charging device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the charging mechanism section of the charging device.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a charging operation of a moving body in a remote control device having the charging device.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a charging device and a moving body according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a charging mechanism portion of the charging device.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the charging mechanism section of the charging device.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining a charging operation of a moving body in a remote control device having the charging device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining another example of the charging mechanism section of the charging device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10a to 10e Moving body 12a, 12b Cover 13a, 13b Recessed portion 15 Clamped portion 22 Secondary battery 23 Battery contact 24 Mechanism portion 25a, 25b Stepping motor 27a, 27b Wheel 32 Receiving antenna 34 Receiving portion 36 Control portion 38a, 38b Oscillation coil 42 Oscillators 44a, 44b Charging terminal 46 Reflecting part 52 Battery mounting part 54 Substrate 56 Lid 60 Tablet board 62 Flat plate 64 Loop coil group 64a x-direction loop coil group 64b y-direction loop coil group 70 Communication controller 72 DPRAM 74 Control unit for transmission and position detection 76 Transmission unit 78 Antenna for transmission 82 Position detection circuit 91a x direction analog switch group 91b y direction analog switch group 93a First amplification circuit 93b Second amplification circuit 95a First A / D conversion time 95b 2nd A / D conversion circuit 97a 1st latch circuit 97b 2nd latch circuit 99 Counter 110 Controller 112 Control part 114 ROM 116 RAM 118 Charging time detection means 120, 120a-120d Operation panel 122 Joystick 124a, 124b Button type switch 130 display device 140 constant current power source 200, 200a charging dock 220 charge amount control unit 222 voltage monitor 224 timer 226 microcomputer 228 switch circuit 232 transistor 240, 240a charging mechanism unit 252, 252a, 252b fixed plate 254, 254a, 254b movable plate 255 Slotted hole 256 Spindle 258, 258a, 258b Spring 262, 262a Stopper 264, 264a Solenoid 265 Movable shaft 266 Drive circuit 69 split pin 272 coupling portion 274 grooves 280a, 280b power supply terminal 290 position sensor

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication H01M 10/46 H01M 10/46

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A power supply terminal for supplying power to a secondary battery of a self-propelled mobile body, the power supply terminal is provided, and the power supply terminal and a charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body. And fixing means for fixing the self-propelled mobile body by holding a part of the self-propelled mobile body by contacting with, and controlling the operation of fixing the self-propelled mobile body by the fixing means. And a control unit configured to charge the secondary battery of the self-propelled mobile body through the power supply terminal after the fixing unit fixes the self-propelled mobile body. . 2. A power supply terminal for supplying power to a secondary battery of a self-propelled mobile body, the power supply terminal is provided, and the power supply terminal and a charging terminal of the self-propelled mobile body. And a fixing means for fixing the self-propelled mobile body by pressing the self-propelled mobile body from above by contacting with, while the fixing means controls the operation of fixing the self-propelled mobile body, And a control unit configured to charge the secondary battery of the self-propelled mobile unit via the power supply terminal after the fixing unit fixes the self-propelled mobile unit. 3. The fixing means comprises a fixing member, a movable member, a support portion for movably supporting the movable member on the fixing member, and at least one tip portion and the tip portion of the fixing member at all times. And a solenoid for biasing the tip of the movable member so as to approach the movable member, and the controller controls the force of the biasing member by energizing the solenoid. Then, the movable member is attracted to the solenoid and at least the tip of the movable member is separated from the fixed member, and then the self-propelled moving body is fixed by stopping energization of the solenoid. The charging device according to claim 1 or 2.