JP2003320175A - Quadruped running toy - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a quadruped running toy which does not require a complicated mechanism, and can perform a direction-changing running as well in addition to a straight running while being compact. <P>SOLUTION: This quadruped running toy runs by turning front leg members 2 and hind leg members 3 which are turnably provided at the front and the rear of a body part 1 in the longitudinal direction. The front leg members 2 and the hind leg members 3 turn in the opposite directions from each other. On the hind leg member 3, a wheel 36 which always is in contact with the running surface, and a restricting member B which restricts the rotation of the wheel 36 are arranged. The restricting member B is constituted of a first restricting member 40 which allows the forward rotation of the wheel 36 and prevents the wheel 36 from reversing, and a second restricting member 41 which prevents the rotation itself of the wheel 36 from occurring. Then, on the body part 1, a driving mechanism A which turns the front leg members 2 and the hind leg members 3, and a control part 68 which controls the restricting member B are arranged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a four-legged vehicle that travels straight or changes direction in the left-right direction by rotating a front leg member and a rear leg member, which are rotatably moved forward and backward on a body, in the forward-backward direction. Regarding walking toys.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various four-legged walking toys have been proposed and put into practical use.

[0003]

However, in order to change the direction of the four-legged walking toy, the left and right front leg members or rear leg members must be individually actuated and controlled, which complicates the control mechanism and causes the toy itself to move. It became difficult to measure the miniaturization of toys because the shape of the toy became large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and to provide a quadrupedal toy which does not require a complicated mechanism and is compact and capable of not only straight running but also direction changing running. To do.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, in a four-legged traveling toy according to the present invention, a front leg member and a rear leg member, which are provided on a body portion so as to be rotatable front and rear, rotate in a front and rear direction. The vehicle is characterized by having the following requirements for traveling by being driven. (A) The left and right rear leg members rotate in the same direction at the same time. (B) The left and right front leg members rotate in the same direction at the same time, and the rotation direction thereof is opposite to the rotation direction of the rear leg member. (C) Wheels are arranged on the feet of the rear leg member, and the wheels are always in contact with the running surface. (II) Rotation of the wheel on the rear leg member. A restriction member for restricting the rotation of the wheel is arranged, and the restriction member includes a first restriction member that allows the wheels to rotate forward and blocks the wheels from rotating backward, and a second restriction member that blocks the rotation of the wheels themselves. (E) A drive unit that rotates the front leg member and the rear leg member and a control unit that controls the restricting member are arranged in the body portion. The following requirements may be provided.

[0006]

4. The following requirements are provided,
The four-legged traveling toy according to claim 1. (A) A gear is provided coaxially with the wheel. (B) The second restricting member is composed of a swing member that is swingably disposed in the rear leg member. A claw portion that meshes with the gear is formed at one end of the, and a magnetized body is provided at the other end. (C) An electromagnet is disposed in the rear member so as to face the magnetized body. Depending on whether or not the magnetized body is magnetized by an electromagnet, the rocking of the rocking member is controlled to engage and disengage the gear and the claw portion of the rocking member. When changing the traveling direction of the four-legged traveling toy, the electromagnet of the rear leg member on the side to be turned is operated to restrict the rotation of the wheels of the rear leg member. Further, the drive mechanism and the restricting member are remotely controlled. Preferably.

[0007]

1 shows a side view of a four-legged traveling toy according to the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a side view showing the outline of the internal configuration, and FIG. 3 shows a four-legged traveling toy. An exploded perspective view is shown. This four-legged running toy is formed in the shape of a racing horse on which a jockey is placed, and a front leg member 2 and a rear leg member 3 are provided on a body portion 1 so as to be rotatable back and forth, and a front leg member 2 and a rear leg member 3 are provided. By rotating and, it is possible to change the traveling direction to either left or right while traveling.

The body portion 1 is divided into a left body portion and a right body portion from the center, and a drive mechanism A for rotating the front leg member 2 and the rear leg member 3 back and forth by using the motor 10 as a driving force is arranged inside. Has been done. The motor 10 and the rechargeable lithium-ion battery 11 are housed inside a case 12, and a connector 13 used when the lithium-ion battery 11 is charged.
Is exposed below the case 12. Reference numeral 14 indicates rotation / stop of the motor 10 and an electromagnet 45 (45a, 45a, which will be described later).
45b) shows a substrate provided with a control unit for controlling 45b).

The drive mechanism A includes a pinion gear 15 fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor 10, a spur gear 18 rotating via a plurality of gears 16 and 17, and a cam 19 coaxial with a support shaft 18a of the spur gear 18. , Link 20, and spur gear 1
The eccentric shaft 21 formed in 8 penetrates the opening 22 of the body portion 1 and engages with the long hole 23 formed vertically in the left rear leg member 3a, and the engaging hole of the left rear leg member 3a. Since 25 is engaged with the support shaft 26 formed on the case 12, when the spur gear 18 rotates, the left rear leg member 3a rotates back and forth around the support shaft 26.

The right rear leg member 3b has a long hole 2 in which an eccentric shaft 27 formed in a cam 19 coaxial with the spur gear 18 is vertically formed.
8 and the cam 19 rotates, the right rear leg member 3b rotates back and forth simultaneously with the left rear leg member 3a.

A link 2 is provided above the right rear leg member 3a.
By connecting the rear end portions of the rear leg member 0 and rotating the rear leg member 3 back and forth, the rear leg member 3 reciprocates in the direction opposite to the rotating direction.

A drive shaft 30 is attached to the tip of the link 20, and both ends of the drive shaft 30 are front leg members 2a.
When the link 20 is reciprocally moved back and forth by engaging with bearings 31 and 32 formed in 2b, the front leg members 2a and 2b are rotated back and forth around the support shafts 33 and 34 formed in the case 12. Has become. Rear leg member 3 of the link 20
Since the attachment positions of a and the front leg member 2a are upside down with respect to the support shafts 26 and 33 that pivotally support the front leg member 2a and the rear leg member 3a, the rear leg member 3a is attached.
When the front pivots forward, the link 20 moves rearward, and the front leg member 2a located at the front end of the link 20 pivots rearward about the support shaft 33, so that the front leg members 2a and 2b and the rear leg member. The rotation directions of 3a and 3b are opposite to each other.

By the way, a wheel 36 having a rubber ring 35 on its peripheral surface is provided at the foot portion at the tip of the rear leg members 3a, 3b.
Are attached to the rear leg member 3 and a part of the wheel 36 is attached to the rear leg member 3.
It is exposed from the tip of and is always grounded to the running surface. The wheels 36 are free wheels and are not driven by the motor 10. A gear 37 is integrally formed on the inner surface of the wheel 36, and a restricting member B arranged in the rear leg member 3 is linked to the gear 37.

The restriction member B is composed of a first restriction member 40 that allows the wheels 36 to rotate forward and prevents them from rotating backward, and a second restriction member 41 that blocks the rotation of the wheels 36 themselves. ing.

The first restricting member 40 is composed of a ratchet pawl arranged above the gear 37, and the gear 37 rotates so as to push the ratchet pawl 40 away when the wheel 36 rotates forward (FIG. 4 (a)). When the wheel 36 tries to roll backward, the ratchet pawl 40 meshes with the gear 37 to prevent the gear 37 (wheel 36) from rolling backward (see FIG. 4B).

On the other hand, the second restricting member 41 is the rear leg member 3
An oscillating plate 41 is arranged inside of the oscillating plate 46 so that the oscillating plate 41 is rotatable in the left-right direction. The upper part is always rotated outward (the lower part is inward) by a magnetic force generated between the iron piece 43 arranged on the inner wall surface of the member (see FIG. 4C). At the lower end of the swing plate 41, the wheel 3
6, a claw 41a that meshes with the gear 37 of
Is rotating in the direction in which the iron piece 43 is attracted to the claw 41.
a moves to a position deviated from the orbit of the gear 37 and the gear 3
Since the state where the claw 41a meshes with the wheel 7 does not occur, the wheel 3
The rotation of 6 is restricted only by the first restricting member 40.

4A and 4B, the claw 41a is actually visible, but as shown in FIG. 4C, the claw 41a is visible.
Since a does not mesh with the gear 37, the claw 41a is omitted.

An electromagnet 45 is arranged on the inner wall surface of the rear leg member 3 at a position facing the magnet 42 of the oscillating plate 41.
5 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 5A, the electromagnet 45 attracts the magnet 42 and the upper part of the oscillating plate 41 rotates toward the electromagnet 45, so that the lower end rotates in the direction of the wheel 36. Is located on the orbit of the gear 37, and the claw 41a of the oscillating plate 41 bites into the gear 37 to completely prevent the gear 37 from rotating, so that even if the rear leg member 3 rotates back and forth. Wheel 3
6 does not rotate (see FIG. 5 (b)).

It should be noted that the grounding surface that is grounded to the running surface at the tip of the front leg members 2a, 2b is always grounded to the running surface. Therefore, the front leg member can be smoothly rotated while sliding on the ground contact surface in association with the rotation of the rear leg members 3a and 3b.

FIG. 6 shows a controller 50 for remotely controlling the above-mentioned four-legged traveling toy, and reference numeral 51 is a power switch for selecting power ON / power OFF / charging. Reference numeral 52 is a forward key, 53 is a left direction key, 54 is a right direction key, 55 is a turbo key for increasing the traveling speed, and the state of the forward key 52, the left direction key 53, the right direction key 54, and the turbo key 55 is a control signal. Converted and antenna 5
It will be sent from 6. Incidentally, reference numeral 57
Shows a charging connector used when charging an internal battery of a four-legged traveling toy.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of the controller for remotely controlling the four-legged toy. The forward key 52, the left direction key 53, the right direction key 54, and the turbo key 5 are shown.
The state of the switch of No. 5 is converted into a control signal by the transmission control / encoder unit 58, and the oscillation / modulation / amplification unit 59 transmits the control signal to the four-leg running toy.

Reference numeral 60 denotes a charge control unit, which when the charging connector 57 is inserted into the connector 13 of the four-legged traveling toy and the power switch 51 is set to charge, the voltage detection unit 61 detects the voltage of the charging battery. , When the voltage of the rechargeable battery is discharged until it reaches a predetermined voltage, the current control unit 62 is controlled to start charging the rechargeable battery 11, and when the predetermined time has elapsed, it is determined that the charging is completed and charging is performed. finish.

The power source unit 63 selects whether to operate the controller or power the rechargeable battery 11 according to the slide position of the power switch 51, and powers the selected device.

8 (a) and 8 (b) are plan and bottom views of a four-legged running toy. Reference numeral 1 is a body portion, 2a and 2b are front leg members, 3a and 3b are rear leg members, and 36 is a wheel. 37 is a gear integrally formed with the wheel, 13 is a charging connector, and 73 is a power switch.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the electrical construction of the four-legged running toy. The control radio wave transmitted from the controller 50 is received by the antenna 65, demodulated by the demodulator 66 into a digital signal, and then amplified by the amplifier 67. The motor 10 is rotated and stopped by the reception control / decoder unit 68 which is amplified and is a control unit.
It is converted into a control signal for turning on / off the electromagnet 45, and each control signal enables the drive units 69 to 71.
0, either of the electromagnets 45a and 45b can be operated. The power supply 72 is a power switch 7
It is possible to select whether to connect the voltage of the rechargeable battery 11 to the charge connector 13 or to use the drive power source for the control circuit or the like by switching the switch 3.

Next, a traveling mode of the four-legged traveling toy will be described.

Turn on the power switches of the controller and the four-legged toy. When the control button is not operated, the four-legged traveling toy is in a stopped state (see FIG. 10 (a)), and when the forward key is pressed, the motor 10 is rotated and the drive mechanism is activated to cause the rear leg member 3 to move. Rotate back and forth.
The rotation of the rear leg member 3 is performed by the link 20 via the front leg member 2
And the front leg member 2 also rotates back and forth. At this time,
The front leg member 2 and the rear leg member 3 rotate in opposite directions, and have the same running form as a running racehorse.

When the rear leg member 3 rotates forward, the ratchet pawl 40 does not prevent the rotation of the gear 37 of the wheel 36, so that the wheel 36 rotates forward with the rotation of the rear leg member 3 and the front leg member 2 rotates. Since there is no wheel 36 in the vehicle, the friction between the front foot member and the running surface is greater than the friction between the wheel 36 and the running surface, and therefore the front leg member 2 pivots backward so as to scratch the running surface, so that the body portion is relatively moved. 1 moves forward, and the wheels 36 of the rear leg member 3 move forward while rotating forward.

After the rear leg member 3 pivots to the maximum forward, the rear leg members 3 pivot rearward. At this time, the wheels 36 roll backward (clockwise in FIGS. 10 (c) and 10 (d)). As soon as it starts, the ratchet pawl 40 bites into the gear 37,
7 (wheel 36) is prevented from rolling backward, so that wheel 36 is locked (see FIG. 10 (c)). Since the wheel 36 does not rotate even if the rear leg member 3 rotates rearward, the friction between the wheel 36 and the traveling surface is larger than the friction between the front leg member 2 and the traveling surface, so that the front leg slides forward on the traveling surface. The body part 1 is relatively sent out forward as the body part 1 rotates (see FIG. 10D).

When the body portion 1 is maximally fed forward, the rear foot member rotates forward. At this time, since the wheels 36 are not locked, the rear leg member 3 rotates forward while the position of the body portion 1 moves forward due to the friction between the front leg member 2 and the traveling surface, and when the rear leg member 3 rotates rearward, The state in which the part 1 is sent forward is continuously performed, and while the forward key is pressed, the four-legged running toy runs straight without rest.

On the other hand, when either the left or right direction key is pressed while pressing the forward key, the electromagnet 45 corresponding to the pressed direction key is excited and the magnet 42 of the rocking member is attracted, so that the rocking member. The upper portion of 41 rotates in the direction of the excited electromagnet, and the claw 41a at the lower end is rotated by the gear 3 of the wheel 36.
It moves on the orbit of No. 7 and bites into the gear 37.

For example, when the right direction key is pressed, the electromagnet 45b of the right rear leg member 3b is excited and the rocking member 41 is excited.
The magnet 42 is attracted to the electromagnet 45b, the swinging member 41 rotates in the direction in which the claw 41b is engaged with the gear 37, and the wheel 36 of the right rear leg member 3b is locked. In this state, the rear leg member 3 and the front leg member 2 rotate in the front-rear direction, but since the wheels 36 of the right rear leg member 3b are in the locked state, the right front leg member 2a cannot scratch the traveling surface and travels. Rotate while slipping on the surface. On the other hand, since the friction of the left front leg member 2a is greater than the friction between the wheels 36 (unlocked state) of the left rear leg member 3a and the traveling surface, the left front leg member 2a rotates while scratching the traveling surface. Therefore, the body portion 1 changes its direction to the right around the wheel 36 of the right rear leg member 3b, and the direction can be changed to the right. Similarly, if the left direction key is pressed, the wheels 36 of the left rear leg member 3a are
Is locked and the wheels 36 of the right rear leg member 3b are not locked, so that the body portion 1 can be turned to the left by the rotation of the front leg member 2.

As described above, the front leg member 2 and the rear leg member 3
By simultaneously rotating the wheels in opposite directions and restricting the rotation of the wheels 36 provided on the rear leg member 3, it is possible to arbitrarily control straight traveling and left / right direction changing traveling, and further rotate the motor 10. With a simple mechanism that controls whether or not to energize the magnets 42 while moving, the four-legged traveling toy can be moved straight, changed direction, or freely changed in direction.

Although the wheel 36 is provided only on the rear leg member 3 in the above-described four-legged traveling toy, the wheel 36 may be provided on the front leg member as well as the first restricting member 40. As a result, the wheels are locked when the front leg member and the rear leg member are rotated rearward, so that it is possible to improve the traveling performance when going straight.

[0035]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the front leg member and the rear leg member are rotated in opposite directions, and straight traveling is performed depending on whether or not the rotation of the wheels provided on the rear leg member is restricted. Since it is possible to freely change the direction of travel and does not require complicated mechanisms and controls such as forward / reverse rotation of the motor and separately operating the left and right legs, the toy can be downsized. It is possible to run in a small space such as on a table, and it is possible to provide the user with enjoyment that cannot be enjoyed with a large four-legged toy.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the gear is provided coaxially with the wheel, and the rocking member provided with the pawl that meshes with the gear is rocked by the control of the electromagnet. The rotation of the gear is locked by engaging with the wheel to lock the rotation of the wheel, and when the wheel is swung to the other side, the engagement of the claw with the gear is disengaged and the rotation restriction of the gear can be released. It is possible to change the direction of the four-legged running toy simply by controlling.

According to the invention of claim 3, the four-legged traveling toy can be run by remote control, and the running mode can be freely changed.
You can enjoy driving by competing with other four-legged toys or running while avoiding obstacles.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a four-legged traveling toy according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the outline of the internal configuration of the four-legged traveling toy.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the four-legged traveling toy.

4A to 4C are explanatory views showing the relationship between the rotation direction of the rear leg member and the first restricting member.

5A and 5B are explanatory views showing a relationship between a wheel of a rear leg member and a second restriction member.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the remote controller.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the remote controller.

8A and 8B are a plan view and a bottom view of a four-legged traveling toy.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a four-legged traveling toy.

10 (a) to 10 (d) are explanatory views of a traveling state of the four-legged traveling toy.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 torso 2 Front leg member 3 Rear leg member 36 wheels 40 First regulating member 41 Second regulating member 68 Control unit A drive mechanism B Control member

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tadayuki Watanabe             3-31 Yushima 3-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo             Company Cente Creations (72) Inventor Minoru Sugiyama             3-31 Yushima 3-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo             Company Cente Creations (72) Inventor Hiroshi Takayanagi             3-31 Yushima 3-1-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo             Company Cente Creations F-term (reference) 2C150 CA02 DA05 DA28 DK02 EG12                       EG15

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A four-legged traveling toy having the following requirements for traveling by rotating a front leg member and a rear leg member, which are provided on a body portion so as to be rotatable forward and backward, in a forward and backward direction. (A) The left and right rear leg members rotate in the same direction at the same time. (B) The left and right front leg members rotate in the same direction at the same time, and the rotation direction thereof is opposite to the rotation direction of the rear leg member. (C) Wheels are arranged on the feet of the rear leg member, and the wheels are always in contact with the running surface. (2) The rear leg member restricts rotation of the wheel. A restricting member is disposed, and the restricting member is composed of a first restricting member that allows the wheel to rotate forward and prevents the wheel from rotating backward, and a second restricting member that blocks the rotation of the wheel itself ( E) A drive mechanism for rotating the front leg member and the rear leg member and a control unit for controlling the regulating member are arranged in the body portion. 2. The following requirements are provided,
The four-legged traveling toy according to claim 1. (A) A gear is provided coaxially with the wheel. (B) The second restricting member is a swinging member that is swingably arranged in the rear leg member. A claw portion that meshes with the gear is formed at one end of the, and a magnetized body is provided at the other end. (C) An electromagnet is disposed in the rear member so as to face the magnetized body. Depending on whether or not the magnetized body is magnetized by an electromagnet, the rocking of the rocking member is controlled to engage and disengage the gear and the claw portion of the rocking member. When changing the traveling direction of the four-legged traveling toy, the electromagnet of the rear leg member on the side to be turned is operated to restrict the rotation of the wheels of the rear leg member. 3. The four-legged walking toy according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism and the regulating member are remotely controlled.