JP2002032045A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device which is excellent in visibility and does not require a cost. SOLUTION: Codes P1 to P9 indicate the positions of tail parts 18 by each of the specified time. Accordingly, the tail parts 18 are tilted back and forth between the positions P1 and P2 around one end 18A. The black dots of the tail parts 18 indicate respective light emitting parts 20 and the light emitting parts 20 enclosed by white dots indicate a lighting state and the light emitting parts 20 having no white dots indicate a put-out state, respectively. The light quantities of the respective light emitting parts 20 are controlled, and in this example, controlled in flickering, while cooperating with the movements between the positions P1 to P9 of the respective light emitting parts 20 so that a character 'A' is displayed by the moving loci of the respective light emitting parts 20 accompanying the movements of the tail parts 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a display device suitable for, for example, a pet-type robot device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a pet-type robot apparatus that imitates a pet such as a dog, and such a robot apparatus is provided with a display device for displaying information on the robot apparatus. As such a display device, for example, a display panel attached to a robot device or an L
There is an ED element. It is also conceivable to provide a projector in the robot apparatus and to project information from the projector onto an object serving as a screen.

[0003]

When the display panel is provided in the robot device as described above, the size of the display panel is limited, so that the display surface is narrow and the display must be performed near the robot device. There is a disadvantage that the contents cannot be visually recognized. Further, when the display panel is a liquid crystal display, there is a disadvantage that the display contents are difficult to visually recognize if the surrounding environment is too dark or too bright. When an LED element is used, the LED element is turned on,
Information is shown by changing the emission color of the ED element.
Since the place where the element is provided is a part of the robot apparatus (for example, a face part), the space is limited, and it is difficult to display a large area. Further, the projector cannot be used unless the surrounding environment is dark, and has a drawback that the power consumption increases. An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem of the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a display device which is excellent in visibility and inexpensive.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a display device attached to a robot body for displaying figures, characters, and the like, comprising: a holder attached to the robot body; A light emitting unit that emits light to the outside of the holding body, a control unit that controls the light amount of the light emitting unit, and a driving unit that moves the holding body with respect to the robot main body. The light quantity of the light emitting section is controlled by the control means in conjunction with the movement of the holding body, and the light quantity is displayed based on the movement locus of the light emitting section with the movement of the holding body.

For this reason, the light quantity of the light emitting section is controlled by the control means while the figure or the character is interlocked with the movement of the holding member,
Since the display is performed based on the movement trajectory of the light-emitting unit in accordance with the movement of the holder, figures, characters, and the like can be displayed in a wide space unlike the related art, and the display can be easily visually recognized even from a distance. Further, unlike the case where a projector or the like is used, the cost of the light emitting unit can be reduced.

The present invention is also a display device attached to a movable robot body for displaying figures, characters, etc., wherein the holder is attached to the robot body, and the holder is A light emitting unit that emits light to the outside of the holding body, a control unit that controls the amount of light of the light emitting unit, and a moving unit that moves the robot main body. The light amount of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control means in conjunction with the movement of the robot, and is displayed based on the movement locus of the light emitting unit accompanying the movement of the robot body.

For this reason, the light quantity of the light-emitting unit is controlled by the control means while the figure or character is interlocked with the movement of the robot body, and is displayed by the movement locus of the light-emitting unit accompanying the movement of the robot body. Graphics and characters can be displayed in a large space, and the display can be easily viewed even from a distance. Further, unlike the case where a projector or the like is used, the cost of the light emitting unit can be reduced.

Further, the present invention is a display device attached to a robot body for displaying figures, characters, and the like,
A holder attached to the robot body, a light emitting unit provided on the holder for emitting light to the outside of the holder, a driving unit for moving the holder with respect to the robot body, and the driving unit. And a drive control unit for controlling, wherein the figure or the character is configured to be displayed by a movement trajectory of the light emitting unit accompanying the movement of the holding body controlled by the drive control unit. .

[0009] Therefore, since figures and characters are displayed by the locus of movement of the light-emitting portion in accordance with the movement of the holder controlled by the drive control means, the figures and characters are displayed in a wide space unlike the related art. The display can be easily viewed from a distance. Further, unlike the case where a projector or the like is used, the cost of the light emitting unit can be reduced.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view showing a robot apparatus to which the display device of the first embodiment is applied, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a tail portion in the first embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a view of the display device of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display operation showing an example in which a character A is displayed in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot body 10 is configured to imitate a dog, and includes a torso 12, a head 14 movably connected to the torso 12, and a torso. The front and rear legs 16 are movably connected to the body 12, and the tail 18 is movably connected to the body 12. Tail 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes a holding body attached to the robot body 10, which is formed in an elongated column shape in this example.
One end 18A is connected to a drive shaft of a motor 400 (FIG. 3) built in the body 12, and is configured to be tilted about the one end 18A when the motor 400 is driven. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the tail portion 18 is provided with a plurality of light emitting portions 20 arranged linearly at intervals in the length direction. Each light emitting unit 20 is configured by, for example, an LED element and configured to emit light to the outside of the tail portion 18.

As shown in FIG. 3, the display device 10
00 is the CPU 100, the LED driver 200, the motor driver 300, the motor 400, the tail 18,
Each light emitting unit 20 is provided. CPU 100
And a control means for controlling the light amount of each light emitting unit 20 by the LED driver 200. The CPU 100, the motor driver 300, and the motor 400 constitute driving means for moving the tail part 18 with respect to the robot body 10.

The CPU 100 controls the LED driver 20 corresponding to the figures and characters to be displayed by the display device 1000.
By controlling 0, the light amount of each light emitting unit 20 is controlled. The control of the light quantity by the CPU 100 may be simply two kinds of lighting and extinguishment, or the light quantity may be arbitrarily controlled between lighting and extinguishment. Also, CP
The U100 controls the rotation of the motor 400 by controlling the motor driver 300 to tilt the tail 18. That is, tail 1
8 is moved in a direction crossing the direction in which the light emitting units 20 are arranged. Further, the CPU 100 is configured to control the amount of light of each light emitting section 20 in conjunction with the movement of the tail section 18 tilted by the motor 400. That is, by controlling the amount of light of each light emitting unit 20 while interlocking with the movement of the tail 18, a figure or a character is displayed according to the movement locus of each light emitting unit 20 accompanying the movement of the tail 18.

Next, a display operation by the display device 1000 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the tail portion 18 is reciprocated in the left-right direction about the one end portion 18A and tilted. Symbols P1 to
P9 indicates the position of the tail 18 at regular intervals.
Therefore, the tail portion 18 is tilted back and forth between the positions P1 and P9 about the one end portion 18A. The black circles on the tail 18 indicate the respective light emitting units 20, and the light emitting units 20 surrounded by white circles.
Indicates a lighting state, and the light emitting unit 20 without a white circle indicates a light-off state. As shown in FIG.
Each light emitting unit 20 is linked to the movement between the positions P1 to P9.
Is controlled, in this example, blinking control, the character “A” is displayed by the movement locus of each light emitting unit 20 accompanying the movement of the tail 18.

According to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. Since figures, characters, and the like are displayed according to the movement locus of each light emitting unit 20 accompanying the movement of the tail part 18, the display can be visually recognized even from a position far away. The display can be performed in any direction by changing the direction in which the tail 18 is tilted. The robot body 10 includes a CPU 100, a tail 18, a motor driver 3
00, motor 400, etc., L
Since it is only necessary to add relatively inexpensive components such as the ED driver 200 and the respective light emitters 20, no cost is required. By controlling the LED driver 200, each luminous body 2
By adjusting the light amount of 0, the display can be easily viewed regardless of the brightness of the surrounding environment.

Further, the following configuration can be adopted. The number of the light emitting units 20 may be one or plural. In the case of providing a plurality, two or more rows may be arranged like the above embodiment. The tail portion 18 is used as a holding member, but the leg portion 16 that moves with respect to the trunk portion 12 is used.
May be provided as a holder to provide a light emitting unit.

The light emitting portions 20 provided on the tail portion 18 need not be arranged in a straight line. The light emitting unit 20 is not limited to the LED, and any light emitting element can be used. The light emitted from the light emitting unit 20 may be a single color, or may be configured to emit a plurality of colors, and may be configured to control the color of the light emitted from the light emitting unit. . In this way, multicolor display is possible. Further, a light source and an optical path forming means for guiding the light from the light source to the light emitting unit may be provided, and the light amount of the light emitting unit may be controlled by controlling the light amount of the light guided from the light path forming means to the light emitting unit. Good. In this case, the amount of light guided from the optical path forming means to the light emitting section may be controlled using a mirror or a shutter.

The state and emotions of the robot body 10 can be expressed by changing the light emission pattern of the light emitting section 20. For example, when the user is excited, the pattern may be such that red flashes quickly. On the other hand, when sleeping, only the light-emitting portion 20 at the end of the tail portion 18 is green and has a pattern in which the light-emitting portion 20 gradually becomes bright or dark. And it is also possible to combine these light emission patterns and the movement of the tail part 18. Further, when the light emitting units 20 are provided on the tail part 18, since many light emitting parts are arranged in a line, the flow of light can be expressed, and the display can be performed while moving the tail part 18 as described above. Further, the tail portion 18 is not easily affected by the posture and the motion of the robot main body 10 and can be made to stand out by raising the height. In addition, animals such as dogs express their emotions by shaking their tails. By displaying the emotions by emitting light from the light emitting unit provided on the tails, the expression function as a pet-type robot becomes versatile and its value increases. In addition, the expression by the tail has the effect that less discomfort is required for animals such as dogs.

In the first embodiment, figures and characters are displayed on the basis of the movement trajectory of each light emitting section 20 accompanying the movement of the tail section 18. However, in the case of the second embodiment described below. As shown in the figure, figures and characters can be displayed in a state where the tail 18 is not moved, that is, in a state where the tail 18 is fixed to the body 10. That is, in the second embodiment,
The robot body 10 displays the figures, characters, and the like on the legs 16.
The amount of light of the light-emitting unit 20 is controlled by the CPU 100 and the LED driver 200 while being linked to the movement of the robot 10 by the movement of the robot, and is displayed based on the movement locus of the light-emitting unit 20 accompanying the movement of the robot body 10. Robot body 1
The moving means is constituted by the leg 16 for moving the zero. In this case, the movement of the robot body 10 is
It must be a direction that intersects the length direction. In this case, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained.

Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a display operation according to the third embodiment. In this case, the tail part 18 is moved in a star shape to each of the positions P10 to P14 while the light emitting part 20 at the end of the tail part 18 remains lit (vector scan). Thereby, a star-shaped figure can be displayed. In this case, a drive mechanism (not shown) connected to the drive shaft of the motor 400 is provided so that the tail part 18 can be moved in a direction corresponding to the above-described figure, and the motor 400 and the drive mechanism are controlled. Thus, a drive control means for controlling the movement of the tail 18 is provided. Here, the motor 4
00 and a driving mechanism constitute driving means. The figures and characters are displayed by the movement locus of the light emitting unit 20 accompanying the movement of the tail 18 controlled by the drive control unit. In the third embodiment, the same operation and effect as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0022]

As described above, the present invention relates to a display device attached to a robot main body for displaying figures, characters, etc., wherein a holding member attached to the robot main body, A light-emitting unit that emits light to the outside of the holder, a control unit that controls the light amount of the light-emitting unit, and a driving unit that moves the holder with respect to the robot main body, wherein the figure or the character is The light amount of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control unit while being interlocked with the movement of the holding body, and is displayed based on the movement locus of the light emitting unit accompanying the movement of the holding body. Therefore, the light quantity of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control unit while the figure or the character is interlocked with the movement of the holding body, and is displayed by the movement locus of the light emitting unit along with the movement of the holding body. Figures and characters can be displayed, and the display can be easily viewed even from a distance. Further, unlike the case where a projector is used, the cost of the light emitting unit can be reduced.

The present invention also relates to a display device attached to a movable robot body for displaying figures, characters, etc., wherein the holder is attached to the robot body, and the holder is A light emitting unit that emits light to the outside of the holding body, a control unit that controls the amount of light of the light emitting unit, and a moving unit that moves the robot main body. The light amount of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control unit while interlocking with the movement of the robot, and is displayed based on the movement locus of the light emitting unit accompanying the movement of the robot body. Therefore, since the light quantity of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control means while the figure or the character is interlocked with the movement of the robot main body and is displayed by the movement locus of the light emitting unit along with the movement of the robot main body, unlike the conventional case, the space is large. Figures and characters can be displayed, and the display can be easily viewed even from a distance. Further, unlike the case where a projector is used, the cost of the light emitting unit can be reduced.

The present invention is also a display device attached to a robot body for displaying figures, characters, and the like.
A holder attached to the robot body, a light emitting unit provided on the holder for emitting light to the outside of the holder, a driving unit for moving the holder with respect to the robot body, and the driving unit. And a drive control unit for controlling the control unit, wherein the figure or the character is displayed by a movement locus of the light emitting unit in accordance with a movement of the holder controlled by the drive control unit. Therefore, since the figures and characters are displayed by the movement trajectory of the light-emitting unit accompanying the movement of the holder controlled by the drive control means, the figures and characters can be displayed in a wide space unlike the related art, The display can be easily viewed from a distance. Further, unlike the case where a projector is used, the cost of the light emitting unit can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view illustrating a robot apparatus to which a display device according to a first embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a tail in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a display device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a display operation showing an example in which a character A is displayed in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a display operation according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 robot body, 18 tail (holding body), 20
... Light-emitting unit, 100, CPU, 200, LED driver, 300, motor driver, 400, motor,
1000 Display device.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A display device attached to a robot body for displaying figures, characters, and the like, comprising: a holder attached to the robot body; A light emitting unit that emits light to the light source; a control unit that controls the amount of light of the light emitting unit; and a driving unit that moves the holding body with respect to the robot main body. The display device is further configured such that the light amount of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control unit, and is displayed based on a movement locus of the light emitting unit in accordance with the movement of the holder. 2. A display device attached to a movable robot body for displaying figures, characters, and the like, comprising: a holder attached to the robot body; and a light provided on the holder. A light emitting unit that emits light to the outside of the holding body; a control unit that controls the light amount of the light emitting unit; and a moving unit that moves the robot body. The figures and characters are interlocked with the movement of the robot body. While the light amount of the light emitting unit is controlled by the control means,
A display device configured to be displayed based on a movement trajectory of a light emitting unit following movement of the robot main body. 3. A display device attached to a robot body for displaying figures, characters, and the like, comprising: a holder attached to the robot body; A driving unit for moving the holding body with respect to the robot body; and a driving control unit for controlling the driving unit, wherein the figures and characters are controlled by the driving control unit. A display device, which is configured to be displayed based on a movement trajectory of a light emitting unit following movement of a holding body. 4. The holder has a length, and a plurality of the light emitting units are provided on the holder at intervals in a length direction of the holder, and the driving unit moves the holder. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the movement is a movement in a direction crossing a length direction of the holding body. 5. The holder has a length, and a plurality of the light emitting units are provided on the holder at intervals in a length direction of the holder, and the driving unit moves the holder. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the movement is a movement of tilting the holder with a part of the holder as a fulcrum. 3. 6. The holder has a length, and a plurality of the light emitting units are provided on the holder at intervals in a length direction of the holder. 3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the movement is in a direction crossing a length direction of the display device. 7. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitted from the light emitting section is monochromatic. 8. The light emitting unit according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is configured to emit a plurality of colors, and the control unit is configured to control a color of light emitted from the light emitting unit. 3. The display device according to 1 or 2. 9. The holder has a length, and a plurality of the light emitting units are provided on the holder at intervals in a length direction of the holder, and the light emitting units are arranged in one or two rows. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device includes the above-described columns. 10. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting section is configured by a single light source. 11. A light source, and an optical path forming unit for guiding light from the light source to the light emitting unit, wherein the control of the amount of light of the light emitting unit by the control unit is a light guided from the optical path forming unit to the light emitting unit. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display is performed by controlling the amount of light. 12. The display device according to claim 11, wherein the control of the amount of light guided from the optical path forming unit to the light emitting unit by the control unit is performed using a mirror or a shutter. 13. The robot device is configured to imitate an animal, and has one trunk, one tail, and a plurality of legs, and the holding body is configured to be the legs. 4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is constituted by any one of a tail portion.