JP2000148056A - Random control type mannequin or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase customer gathering effect by attracting customer's attention by placing the motion of a movable mannequin used to gather customers at a store, an exhibition, etc., into irregular and more complicated motion without any large increase in cost. SOLUTION: Motors 51, 53, 57, 61, and 67 are provided for a neck 11, a left arm 13, a right arm 17, the waist, and a right leg 27 as respective movable part as the dummy 100, etc., and the respective movable parts are driven according to a random control instruction made by a total controller equipped with a random-number generating device. Signal generating devices for voice, music and light are attached to the mannequin and their signal generation is added to the driving of the respective movable parts to attract more customer's attention. The mannequin is formed into a customer participation type by providing an input device for instructing mannequin operation by a customer and then customer's participation intention can be increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a movable mannequin used in a store or an exhibition hall for the purpose of attracting pedestrians and visitors.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Mannequins, dolls, stuffed toys and the like, such as humans, animals, or popular characters in moving images, for the purpose of promoting publicity or attracting visitors in stores, exhibition halls, etc. Are collectively referred to as "mannequins"). There are fixed and stationary types where mannequins are simply placed, but it is thought that mannequins have been moved to attract more visitors and increase the effect of attracting customers. These use a mechanism such as a link mechanism, a gear mechanism, and a cam mechanism, and cause a driving device such as a motor to perform a predetermined movement. For example, there are various things such as life-size dolls hitting the drums of customers, bowing and hand movements to invite customers, and in the case of animals, crab-shaped signs move limbs. Have been.

[0003]

As a human psychology, a person who is moving is more interested in a movement than a non-moving person, and if he has the same movement, he is interested in one having a more complicated movement than a simple movement. . For this reason, it is preferable to make the mannequins move complicatedly and irregularly for the purpose of attracting the audience's attention.However, if it is attempted to make the movement more complicated than a certain extent, a special mechanism like a robot , Which results in an extreme increase in costs. This is a constraint, and it is relatively easy with conventional drive-type mannequins,
It was limited to those that performed simple and repetitive actions, and thus the audience's interest level was somewhat limited.

[0004] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mannequin for attracting customers, which can be used in stores and exhibition halls, does not require a large amount of money, and can make irregular movements which are difficult to predict. is there.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a mannequin in which a plurality of components are movably connected to each other, in which all or some of these components are driven relatively to another component. Connected to a drive source, and the drive source
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problem by controlling to drive in an irregular mode based on a random number output from a random number generator and giving unpredictable movement to mannequins. The independent movement of each of the above-mentioned parts (hereinafter, referred to as a drive part) connected to the drive source, or a series of movements combining a predetermined part or all of the drive parts, can be used for random number generation. Based on random selection, and further, by adding signal generators for voice, music, light, etc., these operations are also subject to random number control, so that more complicated movements can be given to mannequins. . The signal generator described above,
It can also be operated in synchronization with one or more drive parts. Further, an external instruction input device for performing a fixed operation in combination with a part or all of the driving parts pre-programmed on the mannequins based on the external instruction,
The mannequins can be displayed as a spectator-participated display by devising a fixed operation programmed according to an instruction from the external instruction input device over another random control instruction operation by the control unit.

[0006]

1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a mannequin according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. In this embodiment, although the whole body of the mannequin is schematically represented by a flat plate in the drawings, it can be a mannequin having the appearance of a life-size person with a thickness and roundness. The mannequin main body 100 is supported by a pedestal 3 rotatably installed on the base 1 and a support bar 5 fixed to the pedestal 3. Of the constituent parts of the mannequin 100, the neck 11, the left arm 13 and the left elbow 15, the right arm 17 and the right elbow 19, the waist 21, the left leg 23 and the left knee 25, and the right leg 27
And the right knee 29 are provided with a neck hinge 31, a left arm support pin 33 and a left elbow support pin 35, a right arm support pin 37 and a right elbow support pin 39, a waist hinge 41, and a left leg support pin 43, respectively.
And it is rotatably supported by a left knee support pin 45, a right leg support pin 47 and a left knee support pin 49.

In this embodiment, the neck 11, the left arm 13, the right arm 17, the waist 21, the right leg 27
Are driven, and in order to drive these, motors 51, 53, 57, 6 which are independent of each other
1, 67 are respectively attached. Among them, the drive mechanism 70 of the neck will be described as an example. In FIG. 2, a disk 71 is attached to a rotation shaft 52 of a motor 51 installed on the back of the mannequin. An eccentric pin 73 is fixed at a position eccentric from the eccentric pin, and the eccentric pin 73 rotatably supports the connecting rod 75. On the other hand, a lever 77 extends rearward from the neck 11 in a direction perpendicular to the neck 11, and a lever pin 79 is fixed to the extended end, and the other end of the connecting rod 75 is rotatably supported by the lever pin 79. I have. Its behavior is
When the motor 51 rotates, the eccentric pin 73 drives the connecting rod 75 in the vertical direction in the drawing, whereby the lever pin 79
Causes the lever 77 to move up and down in an arc about the neck hinge 31, so that the neck (face) 11 swings back and forth.

[0008] Other drive motors 53, 57, 61,
The same mechanism as described above is also provided on 67, and drives the left arm 13, right arm 17, waist 21, and right leg 27, respectively.
In this embodiment, both elbows 15 and 1 without a driving device are attached.
9, and the left leg 23 and the left knee 25
According to 9, 43, and 45, they are tightened and fixed at an arbitrary angle. However, it is of course possible to provide a driving device in the same manner as described above in consideration of cost and effect. Also, the rotatable pedestal 3 can be driven if necessary.

In this embodiment, a motor is used as a driving device. However, other driving devices, such as an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, and a solenoid, may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the movable portion of the component is rotatably supported. However, any other support method, for example, a slidable support may be used. be able to.

FIG. 3 shows an electric configuration diagram of a control mechanism of the present apparatus. The general control unit 101 controls each drive motor 5
1, 53, 57, 61, 67, the motor driver 103
To control the operation of these motors. The motor driver 103 is connected to a power supply. Based on an instruction from the general control unit 101, for example, by changing the frequency of an AC power supply, or by changing the voltage of a DC power supply, the motor driver 103 Change the operating speed.

The general control unit 101 is further coupled to each of the audio / music / light signal generators 107, 109 and 111, and controls the generation of each signal. Calls, product introductions, songs, music performances, and the like can be pre-injected into the sound / music generators 107 and 109. When operating the music generator 109,
It is also possible to program in advance so that each driving portion is moved in a predetermined combination. In the light generation device 111, use of an electric light, a strobe, a laser, or the like is conceivable.
Regarding the operation of each of these signal generators, it is possible to provide a mechanism that responds to, for example, the voice of the audience by providing a separate sensor or the like.

The general control unit 101 is also coupled to an external input device 113 for the audience. This audience input device 1
The significance of providing 13 is that the operation of each movable part or each signal generating device, or a combination thereof is instructed to the audience by a button and the operation of the mannequin 100 is controlled to the audience participation type. By causing the mannequin 100 to perform the movement based on the spectator's instructions, the degree of interest of the spectator is increased, and it is possible to expect a greater effect of attracting customers, especially for children.

The general controller 101 further includes a random number generator 1
15. The operations of the movable device and the signal generator according to the control instruction of the general control unit 101 described above are based on the input instruction from the random number control unit. Therefore, as a result of these movements being subjected to random control, the movement of the mannequin can be made a non-repeated, unpredictable movement. By adding this random number generator, a simple and repetitive motion, which has been seen in stores and the like, can be dramatically changed without adding a large-scale device.

In this embodiment, the operation of the input instruction by the audience input device 113 is prioritized over the operation by the random control. That is, when an instruction is input from a spectator, first, a motion that is randomly selected from among the fixed operations programmed based on the instruction is performed. This is for raising the interest and participation consciousness of the spectator. However, depending on the situation, it is possible to make the input instruction by the spectator not a priority and also to perform the random control.

Although the movement of each movable part is controlled independently, it is also possible to control a part or all of them in combination as needed. For example, a motion of performing a series of motions of kicking a soccer ball with the right foot, a motion of dancing to music from the music generation device as described above, and the like are programmed in advance, and by selecting the program, each driving part is selected. It can be commanded as a predetermined movement related to the navel combination. The movement of this combination is set in advance in a program and input to the ROM, and is extracted by the integrated control device 101. In addition to moving each driving part independently and randomly, by including the above-mentioned combination of movements as targets for random selection, a more realistic series of movements that are balanced throughout the body at a certain time of the day are displayed on the mannequin. To increase the audience's interest.

As described above, in the drawings, the human body is schematically represented in a plate shape, but in practice, the human body is given a roundness like a mannequin, giving an impression as a more realistic human movement. be able to. The object is not limited to the human body, and it is possible to select an exhibit that is popular especially for children, such as animals such as monkeys and bears, and characters in moving images, and has a high effect of attracting customers. In the case of generating a signal such as sound or light, the mannequin may be provided with a musical instrument, a transmitter, or the like to give a sense of realism.

[0017]

An embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, each drive motor uses a variable speed reversible motor by voltage control of a DC power supply. Each drive unit is provided with two fixed position detection dogs, and a plurality of stop position operations can be set by this combination. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the distribution of random numbers to be generated. The whole is composed of 16 bits (0-15 in the figure, the same applies hereinafter). In the conceptual diagram, the speed setting is 4 from the right.
Bit (0-3), that is, 16-step operation speed setting is possible. The next two bits (4, 5) are assigned to the operation mode, and as shown in FIG.
Four types of settings, reverse rotation and all axis stop, can be selected. The next 4 bits (6-9) are program operation instructions, from which 16 types of programs to which a series of preset combination operations are input can be selected. Dances and the like can be included. The next three bits (10-12) are allocated to the selection of a part to be driven, and can include up to eight driving parts in total. In this embodiment, a total of six locations including the neck, both hands and feet, and the waist are targeted for driving. However, as in the example of the above-described embodiment, voice, music, and light generation are provided at five locations except for the left foot. A total of eight locations including the device can be targeted. Of the above random numbers, 11 bits (0-10) are redundantly assigned to the operation time. If one unit is set to 10 milliseconds, an arbitrary time up to about 20 seconds can be obtained by this combination. Random control can be performed as the operation time of each target driving portion.

FIGS. 5 to 7 show the present apparatus (manikins)
4 shows a flowchart of the operation. From the top of FIG. 5, after starting at step 120, the audience switch is verified first at step 122, and if it is ON, the process proceeds directly downward in the flowchart of FIG. That is, here
The input instructions from the spectators are prioritized over the instructions from the other integrated control devices. If the audience switch is pressed, a random number is obtained in step 126, and based on this, one operation is selected from the 16 types of programmed fixed operations. At this time, which of the 16 operations has been selected can be displayed on the switch board by a lamp or the like. The flowchart shown in FIG. 5 is based on the assumption that the soccer ball is kicked. Each movable part is returned to the initial position in step 130, and its stop is confirmed in step 136. In step 138, it is detected whether the soccer ball has returned to the foot. In this embodiment, a space is provided in front of the mannequin, the floor of which is a slope, and the kicked ball naturally returns to the foot of the mannequin. By providing a sensor at this foot position, the ball can be easily detected.

In step 142, the ball kicking operation is started. This series of motions is programmed in advance as follows. Right arm: front → rear left arm: rear → front waist: vertical → vertical (immobile) right leg: rear → front neck: downward → upward Although not shown in the drawing, it is necessary to fly the ball farther If so, a power assist device combining, for example, a motor and a spring may be separately provided under the floor, and the ball may be hit in accordance with the movement of the right leg of the mannequin. After the above operation is completed, step 14
After keeping the posture after kicking at 8 for a short time, the process returns to the start at the next step 150.

At step 124, the audience switch is turned off.
If it is confirmed that the above is true, the process proceeds to the random control of FIG. Here, if it is confirmed that there is no instruction to stop all the movable parts up to Step 156, first, Step 16
By selecting a random number at 0, which driving unit is to be moved is selected (from the figure), and then the process proceeds to each corresponding part in FIG. If, for example, the neck movement is selected, it is first checked in step 162 whether the neck is already operating, and if so, another part is selected again. If the operation is not in progress, the process proceeds to the lower side of the flowchart of FIG.
In step 4, a random number is acquired, the speed of the drive, forward rotation / reverse rotation / stop, is set, and the operation is started based on the setting instruction.

After the start of the neck, the flow returns to the start at step 170 to confirm the audience switch again.
If it has not become N, the acquisition of the next random number starts, and the drive unit and its drive conditions are set again and activated. As a result of this being repeated, each drive unit gives a random instruction (including a stop instruction), including an overlapping movement with another drive unit.
Is given, and the mannequins continue to move in an irregular and complex combination. Although not shown in the drawings, as described above, a device for generating music, sound, and light can be provided, and these operations can be included in the targets of random control and operated. In the drawing,
16 types of programmed fixed motions such as kicking a ball are targeted when there is an input instruction from the spectator, but may be included in the target of random motion selection even when there is no spectator's instruction. .

[0022]

According to the present invention, the mannequins can be added to the conventional movable mannequins by adding a relatively inexpensive and simple control mechanism including a random number generator to the conventional mannequins without requiring an expensive device. Complex and irregular movements can be given. By utilizing the mannequins according to the present invention, it is possible to use a psychology of an audience who is more interested in more complex movements than simple movements, irregular movements than regular movements, and to attract a large number of advertisements at a small additional cost. The effect can be expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a front view and a side view of a mannequin according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed side view of the driving device in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an electrical configuration diagram of the mannequin according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of random number distribution according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an integrated control unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a general control unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an integrated control unit according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: Base 3: Base 5: Prop rod 11: Neck 13: Left arm 17: Right arm 21: Waist 23: Left leg 27: Right leg 51: Neck drive motor 53: Left arm drive motor 57: Right arm drive motor 61: Waist drive Motor 101: general control device 107: sound generator 109: music generator 111: light generator 113: audience input device 115: random number generator

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mannequin comprising a plurality of constituent parts, each constituent part being connected to another constituent part via a connecting part so as to be relatively movable, and at least a part of the constituent part. Is connected to a driving source so as to be driven relatively with another component, and a control unit that controls the driving source, based on a random number received from a random number generation unit connected to the control unit, sets the at least Mannequins characterized in that some components are driven in an irregular mode via a drive source. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said part of said part connected to a drive source (hereinafter referred to as a drive part) has an independent movement and a series of movements combining a predetermined part or all of said drive parts. The mannequins according to claim 1, wherein an arbitrary movement is selected and driven based on random number generation. 3. The mannequins according to claim 1, further comprising a signal generator for voice, music, light, and the like, and driven in an irregular mode including generation of these signals. 4. An external instruction for operating a drive and signal generation of each of the above-mentioned drive parts individually or in a series of predetermined combinations of all or all of them based on an external instruction. 2. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising an input device.
Mannequins according to any of 1 to 3.