JP2006181241A - Traveling toy - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traveling toy capable of not only simply tracing a track comprising a line but also performing actions other than tracing by forming different marks. <P>SOLUTION: The traveling toy 1 which self-travels along the track of a traveling surface by driving left and right drive wheels comprises: left and right sensors 41 and 43 provided facing the traveling surface; a traveling control means for performing steering by individually controlling the rotation of the left and right drive wheels 11 and 13 on the basis of the detection signals of the left and right sensors 41 and 43 to travel the traveling toy 1 along the track; and an operation control means for discriminating an action generating mark formed on the traveling surface on the basis of the detection signals from the sensors and controlling the operation of the traveling toy corresponding to the action generating mark. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a traveling toy that self-propels along a predetermined track.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a moving toy (running toy) is known that has an energization detecting means including at least three elements at the lower part of the toy body and drives the motor by the energized state between the elements. This moving toy moves on a conductive trajectory such as a trajectory (trajectory) formed in advance on a sheet surface with a flaky metal member or a trajectory formed with water on a floor surface (see Patent Document 1). .
JP 2003-320176 A

However, the conventional traveling toy of this type is not interesting because it simply traces the track composed of lines. This is even more so if the track is pre-formed and cannot be changed.
The present invention has been made in view of such points, and it is intended to provide a traveling toy that not only simply traces a trajectory composed of lines, but also can perform actions below tracing by forming another mark. It is aimed.

  The traveling toy according to claim 1 is a traveling toy that drives the left and right drive wheels to self-travel along the track of the traveling surface, the left and right sensors provided facing the traveling surface, Travel control means for steering the traveling toy along the track by individually rotating and controlling the left and right drive wheels based on detection signals of the left and right sensors, and an action occurrence mark formed on the traveling surface And an operation control means for controlling the operation of the traveling toy according to the action occurrence mark.

  The “track” and “mark” in this case may be formed in advance by printing or other methods, or may be affixed to the floor or sheet like a seal. In addition, the “track” may be formed in advance by printing or other methods or may have a seal structure, and the “mark” may be retrofitted by the user. Further, the “track” and “mark” may be arbitrarily drawn by the user, or may have a seal structure that can be retrofitted. The “orbit” or “mark” may be a line or mark drawn with a magic or the like, or any of those that can be detected optically or electrically, such as a conductive line of water or special ink.

  Further, in order to perform steering by controlling the rotation of the left and right drive wheels, the drive wheel on the side whose direction is desired to be changed may be decelerated or stopped relative to the other drive wheels.

  The traveling toy according to claim 2 is a traveling toy that drives the left and right drive wheels to self-travel along the track of the traveling surface, the left and right sensors provided facing the traveling surface, Steering by controlling the directions of the left and right steering wheels based on the detection signals of the left and right sensors to cause the traveling toy to travel along the track, and an action occurrence mark formed on the traveling surface. It is characterized by comprising an operation control means for determining based on a detection signal from the sensor and controlling the operation of the traveling toy according to the action occurrence mark.

  The “track” and “mark” in this case may be formed in advance by printing or other methods, or may be affixed to the floor or sheet like a seal. In addition, the “track” may be formed in advance by printing or other methods or may have a seal structure, and the “mark” may be retrofitted by the user. Further, the “track” and “mark” may be arbitrarily drawn by the user, or may have a seal structure that can be retrofitted. The “orbit” or “mark” may be a line or mark drawn with a magic or the like, or any one that can be detected optically or electrically, such as a conductive line of water or special ink.

  The traveling toy according to claim 3 is the traveling toy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation control means changes a traveling state according to the action occurrence mark detected by the sensor. To do.

  Here, the “running state” means, for example, a running stop of a running toy, a change in running speed, a direction change, or the like.

  The traveling toy according to claim 4 is the traveling toy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising sound output means, wherein the operation control means is a type of the action occurrence mark detected by the sensor. The sound output from the sound output means is controlled according to the above.

  According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the traveling toy can be made to travel along the track by controlling the driving wheel or the steering wheel based on the detection signals of the left and right sensors. Further, when the traveling toy passes over the action occurrence mark, the operation of the traveling toy can be controlled in accordance with the passed action occurrence mark. Furthermore, since the trajectory and the action occurrence mark are detected by the same left and right sensors, the structure is simple and an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed as much as possible.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the traveling state of the traveling toy can be changed according to the passed action occurrence mark. For example, the traveling toy can be temporarily stopped, or the traveling toy that has moved forward can be moved backward.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to control the sound output from the sound output means in accordance with the passed action occurrence mark.

  Hereinafter, a traveling toy to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview of the traveling toy 1. The traveling toy 1 is a toy that imitates the form of a train, for example, and autonomously travels along a trajectory drawn on a sheet surface such as paper. A power switch 5 is attached to the upper part of the traveling toy 1.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the traveling toy 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when the traveling toy 1 is placed on the sheet S on which the track L is drawn and the power switch 5 is operated to turn on the power, the traveling toy 1 moves along the track L at a predetermined speed. Advance.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the track L is a line segment that intersects the track L, and includes action occurrence marks M1, M3, M5, and M7, the types of which differ depending on the number of line segments. Is passed over the action occurrence marks M1, M3, M5, M7, a predetermined action corresponding to the type of the action occurrence mark that has passed is generated. Although details of the generated action will be described later, for example, stop of traveling of the traveling toy 1, a predetermined sound output from a speaker (not shown), and the like.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the traveling toy 1 and shows a state where the inside of the housing of the traveling toy 1 is seen through. As shown in FIG. 3, the traveling toy 1 includes a pair of left and right drive wheels 11 and 13 (hereinafter, the left drive wheel 11 is referred to as “left wheel 11” and the right drive wheel 13 is referred to as “right wheel 13”). Left wheel drive unit 20 and right wheel drive unit 30 that rotate each of these drive wheels 11 and 13 independently, driven wheels 61, 63, 65, and 67 that are driven to rotate as the traveling toy 1 travels, and the seat surface Are provided with photosensors 41 and 43 serving as trajectory detection sensors for detecting the trajectory L depicted in FIG. 2 and a control device 50 for comprehensively controlling the operation of the traveling toy 1.

  The left wheel driving unit 20 includes a left wheel driving motor 21 for rotating the left wheel 11 and a gear 23 for transmitting the driving force of the left wheel driving motor 21 to the left wheel 11. On the other hand, the right wheel drive unit 30 includes a right wheel drive motor 31 for rotationally driving the right wheel 13 and a gear 33 for transmitting the driving force of the right wheel drive motor 31 to the right wheel 13. .

  The photosensors 41 and 43 are provided opposite to the traveling surface (seat surface) of the traveling toy 1 at positions separated from each other in the left-right direction at the bottom of the traveling toy 1, and receive reflected light from the traveling surface that has received light. Based on this, the trajectory L is optically detected. In FIG. 3, the photosensors 41 and 43 are disposed in the vicinity of the driven wheels 61 and 63, respectively. Hereinafter, the left photosensor 41 is referred to as “left sensor 41”, and the right photosensor 43 is referred to as “right sensor 43”.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the length of the action occurrence mark (the action occurrence mark M1 in FIG. 3) that is a line segment intersecting the track L is such that the traveling toy 1 passes over the action occurrence mark (M1). At this time, it is necessary to set both the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43 to such a length that the action occurrence mark (M1) can be detected.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of main functional blocks of the traveling toy 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, the traveling toy 1 includes a left sensor 41, a right sensor 43, a control device 50, a left wheel drive motor 21, a right wheel drive motor 31, a speaker 70, and a storage device 80. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43 are provided so as to face the traveling surface. When the track L on the traveling surface is detected, the detection signal (ON signal) is transmitted to the control device 50. Output to.

  The control device 50 is configured by a CPU or the like, and performs overall control of the traveling toy 1 by giving instructions to each functional unit constituting the traveling toy 1 and transferring data. Specifically, a processing program corresponding to detection signals and the like input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43 is read from the storage device 80 and executed, and the processing result is appropriately stored in the storage device 80.

  The speaker 70 outputs a sound signal input from the control device 50.

  The storage device 80 is configured by various IC memories such as ROM and RAM such as a flash memory or a hard disk drive, and stores various processing programs related to the operation of the traveling toy 1 and data such as processing results by the processing programs. In particular, in order to realize this embodiment, a travel control program 81, an action generation program 83, an action table 85, and output sound data 87 are stored.

  The traveling control program 81 is a program for causing the traveling toy 1 to travel along the track L. The control device 50 executes a travel control process according to the travel control program 81. Specifically, the control device 50 outputs a drive signal to the left wheel drive motor 21 and the right wheel drive motor 31 to rotate the left wheel 11 and the right wheel 13 at a constant speed to start the traveling toy 1. And the control apparatus 50 controls the rotation speed of the left wheel drive motor 21 and the right wheel drive motor 31 based on the detection signal input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43, and travels the traveling toy 1 along the track L. Control to make it happen.

  Here, the traveling control process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the travel control process.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, when only the right sensor 43 detects the track L while the traveling toy 1 is traveling, the control device 50 is set in advance according to the traveling speed of the traveling toy 1. By decelerating the right wheel 13 for the time, the traveling direction of the traveling toy 1 is corrected so as to follow the track L (control mode C process). Similarly, when only the left sensor 41 detects the track L, the control device 50 corrects the traveling direction by decelerating the left wheel 11 (control mode A process).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the trajectory L is curved or the like, the control device 50 exceptionally outputs only the left sensor 41 from “ON” to “OFF”. Determines that the traveling toy 1 has deviated from the track L and turns the traveling toy 1 by stopping the rotation of the left wheel 11 for a predetermined time set in advance according to the traveling speed of the traveling toy 1. Subsequently, the control device 50 restarts the rotation of the left wheel 11 and monitors again until the output of the left sensor 41 changes from “ON” to “OFF” and passes on the track L, whereby the traveling toy 1 is tracked. Return to the top (control mode B processing). Similarly, when only the output of the right sensor 43 is changed from “ON” to “OFF”, the control device 50 stops the right wheel 13 and then restarts the rotation of the right wheel 13 and the right sensor 43. The toy 1 is returned to the track L by monitoring until the output of “ON” changes from “ON” to “OFF” (control mode D process).

  In addition, the control device 50 executes action generation processing according to the action generation program 83. Specifically, the control device 50 detects an action occurrence mark based on detection signals input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43, and determines the type of the detected action occurrence mark. Specifically, the control device 50 determines that the traveling toy 1 has passed over the action occurrence mark when detection signals are simultaneously input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43, and then the left side within a predetermined time. The type of action occurrence mark is determined based on whether or not detection signals are simultaneously input from the sensor 41 and the right sensor 43.

  Then, the control device 50 reads an action pattern corresponding to the determined type of action occurrence mark from the action table 85, and generates a corresponding action according to the read action pattern.

  The action table 85 stores an action pattern that is generated when the traveling toy 1 passes over the action occurrence mark. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the action table 85. As shown in FIG. 6, the action table 85 is a data table in which the types of action occurrence marks and action patterns are associated with each other, and various action patterns such as the running operation of the running toy 1 and the output operation of sound data, respectively. Operation start / stop timing and operation sequence are defined.

  For example, when the traveling toy 1 passes over an action occurrence mark (action occurrence mark M1 shown in FIG. 2) that is a single line, the control device 50 reads the action pattern shown in the record L11. And the control apparatus 50 outputs the sound data of a whistle sound to the speaker 70. FIG.

  Moreover, the control apparatus 50 reads the action pattern shown in the record L13, when the traveling toy 1 passes on the action generation mark (action generation mark M3 shown in FIG. 2) comprised by two lines. Then, the control device 50 outputs the sound data of the crossing sound to the speaker 70.

  Further, when the traveling toy 1 passes over the action occurrence mark (action occurrence mark M5 shown in FIG. 2) constituted by three lines, the control device 50 reads the action pattern shown in the record L15. Then, the control device 50 stops the output of drive signals to the left wheel drive motor 21 and the right wheel drive motor 31, and then outputs sound data of a stop announcement sound to the speaker 70.

  Further, when the traveling toy 1 passes over the action occurrence mark (action occurrence mark M7 shown in FIG. 2) constituted by four lines, the control device 50 reads the action pattern shown in the record L17. Then, the control device 50 stops outputting drive signals to the left wheel drive motor 21 and the right wheel drive motor 31 and then outputs sound data of a sudden brake sound to the speaker 70. Then, after waiting for a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds), the control device 50 outputs a drive signal to the left wheel drive motor and the right wheel drive motor 31 to restart the traveling toy 1.

  Various sound data such as the above-mentioned whistle sound, crossing sound, stop announcement sound, and sudden brake sound are stored in the output sound data 87. Note that the sound data to be output is not limited to the above, but various sound data relating to the traveling of the train such as sound announcement sound and signal sound, traveling sound of the traveling toy 1, and the like are appropriately stored in the output sound data 87. In addition, it may be output according to the type of the detected action occurrence mark.

  Next, the flow of processing executed by the control device 50 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the processing described here is realized by the control device 50 reading and executing the travel control program 81 and the action generation program 83.

  When the power of the traveling toy 1 is turned on, the control device 50 outputs driving signals to the left wheel driving motor 21 and the right wheel driving motor 31 to start traveling of the traveling toy 1, and then performs the processing shown in FIG. Run repeatedly. That is, when the output of the left sensor 41 changes from “OFF” to “ON” and the output of the right sensor 43 remains “OFF” (step s10: YES), The control mode is entered and control mode A processing is started (step s20).

  As this control mode A process, the control device 50 performs the deceleration control of the rotational speed of the left wheel drive motor 21 according to a preset deceleration amount for a predetermined time. As the control mode A process, the control device 50 may perform acceleration control of the rotation speed of the right wheel drive motor 31 in accordance with a preset acceleration amount. When the control mode A process is completed, the control mode is canceled.

  Further, the control device 50 is a case where the output of the left sensor 41 is changed from “ON” to “OFF”, and the output of the right sensor 43 remains “OFF” (step s30: YES). It is determined whether or not the control mode is in effect. When the control device 50 is not in the control mode (step s40: NO), the control device 50 determines that the traveling toy 1 has deviated from the track L, shifts to the control mode, and starts the control mode B process (step s50). .

  As the control mode B process, the control device 50 stops outputting the drive signal to the left wheel drive motor 21 for a predetermined time. Subsequently, the control device 50 resumes outputting the drive signal to the left wheel drive motor 21, and the traveling toy 1 returns to the track L position when the output of the left sensor 41 changes from “ON” to “OFF”. The control mode D process is terminated. When the control mode B process is completed, the control mode is canceled.

  On the other hand, when the output of the right sensor 43 is changed from “OFF” to “ON” and the output of the left sensor 41 remains “OFF” (step s60: YES), The control mode is entered and control mode C processing is started (step s70).

  As the control mode C process, the control device 50 performs the deceleration control of the rotation speed of the right wheel drive motor 31 according to a preset deceleration amount for a predetermined time. As the control mode C process, the control device 50 may perform acceleration control of the rotational speed of the left wheel drive motor 21 in accordance with a preset acceleration amount. When the control mode C process is completed, the control mode is canceled.

  Further, the control device 50 is a case where the output of the right sensor 43 is changed from “ON” to “OFF”, and the output of the left sensor 41 remains “OFF” (step s80: YES). It is determined whether or not the control mode is in effect. When the control device 50 is not in the control mode (step s90: NO), the control device 50 determines that the traveling toy 1 has deviated from the track L, shifts to the control mode, and starts the control mode D process (step s100). .

  As the control mode D process, the control device 50 stops outputting the drive signal to the right wheel drive motor 31 for a predetermined time. Subsequently, the control device 50 resumes outputting the drive signal to the right wheel drive motor 31, and the traveling toy 1 returns to the track L position when the output of the right sensor 43 changes from “ON” to “OFF”. The control mode D process is terminated. When the control mode B process is completed, the control mode is canceled.

  Further, when the detection signals are simultaneously input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43 (step s110: YES), the control device 50 determines that the traveling toy 1 has passed over the action occurrence mark, and action generation processing Execute.

  That is, the control device 50 first determines the type of the action occurrence mark (step s120). Specifically, the control device 50 determines how many lines the action occurrence mark is configured based on whether detection signals are simultaneously input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43 within a predetermined time, and the action Determine the type of generated mark.

  Subsequently, the control device 50 reads an action pattern corresponding to the determined type of action occurrence mark from the action table 85, and generates a corresponding action according to the read action pattern (step s130).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the trajectory L drawn on the sheet surface only needs to be detectable by the photosensor, it is not necessary to perform special processing on the sheet, and the left sensor 41 And based on the detection signal of the right side sensor 43, the traveling control of the traveling toy 1 along the start L drawn on the seat surface can be easily realized.

  Further, not only the traveling toy 1 is mechanically traveled along the track L, but also the traveling state of the traveling toy 1 is changed according to the type of the action occurrence mark when passing over the action occurrence mark, Since an action of performing a predetermined sound output from the speaker 70 can be generated, the interest of the traveling toy 1 can be improved.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  For example, the action occurrence mark is not limited to the action occurrence marks M1, M3, M5, and M7 described with reference to FIG. 2, but is a line segment that intersects the trajectory L, depending on the thickness of the line segment. Different types of line segments may be used as action occurrence marks.

  In this case, the thickness of the action occurrence mark is detected, and different actions are generated according to the detected thickness. Specifically, the control device 50 determines that the traveling toy 1 has passed over the action occurrence mark when detection signals are simultaneously input from the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43, and the left sensor 41 and the right sensor 43 are The type of the action occurrence mark (that is, the thickness of the line segment) is determined according to the time of the ON state.

  Further, the action pattern is not limited to that shown in FIG. 6 and may be set as appropriate. For example, it is good also as setting the action pattern for changing the driving | running | working condition of the driving | running | working toy 1, such as a change of driving speed and a direction change. Alternatively, a headlight configured to include, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) is provided on the traveling toy 1, and the headlight is turned on for a predetermined time when the traveling toy 1 passes over a predetermined action occurrence mark. An action pattern for controlling the lighting / extinguishing operation may be set.

  The traveling toy 1 may be sold as a set with a sheet on which a track including an action occurrence mark is printed in advance. Moreover, you may comprise the action generation | occurrence | production mark with the seal-like thing which can be peeled again on a sheet | seat. In this case, the user can change the position and type of the action occurrence mark on the trajectory, and freely change the location where the action is generated and the content of the action to be generated.

  Or it is also possible for the user to travel on a sheet such as paper on which the trajectory and the action occurrence mark are written using a writing instrument such as a marker.

Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated the case where the two photosensors were provided in the position left | right to the left-right direction of the traveling toy 1 bottom part, it is good also as a structure provided with three or more photosensors.

  As a specific example, for example, four photosensors 91, 93, 95, and 97 may be arranged side by side in the left-right direction of the bottom as in the traveling toy 1b shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 1, the traveling toy 1 b is caused to travel along the track L based on detection signals from the two central photo sensors 91 and 93. That is, the control device 50 decelerates the left wheel 11 or accelerates the right wheel 13 for a predetermined time when the output of the photo sensor 91 changes from “ON” to “OFF” while the traveling toy 1b is traveling, and the photo sensor When the output of 93 is changed from “ON” to “OFF”, the traveling direction of the traveling toy 1 b is corrected to follow the track L by decelerating the right wheel 13 or accelerating the left wheel 11 for a predetermined time. On the other hand, when the detection signals are simultaneously input from the photosensors 95 and 97 that are provided to the left and right, it is determined that the traveling toy 1b has passed over the action occurrence mark (M1).

  With this configuration, the trajectory L can be detected by the two central photosensors 91 and 93, and the action occurrence mark can be detected by the left and right photosensors 95 and 97. For example, the trajectory L is curved. Even when the action occurrence mark is drawn at the curve position, the action occurrence mark can be reliably detected.

  In the above embodiment, the steering is performed by controlling the rotation of the driving wheel, but the steering may be performed by changing the direction of the steering wheel. In the above embodiment, the photosensor is used to detect the “trajectory” and the “mark”, but other sensors can be used. For example, when the “track” or “mark” is a conductive line such as water or special ink, a conductive sensor can be used.

The figure which shows the example of an outline of a traveling toy. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of a traveling toy. The top view of a running toy. The figure which shows the structural example of the main functional block of a traveling toy. The figure for demonstrating a travel control process. The figure which shows the data structural example of an action table. The flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process which a control apparatus performs. The figure which shows the modification of a traveling toy.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Running toy 41 Left side sensor 43 Right side sensor 50 Control apparatus 21 Left wheel drive motor 31 Right wheel drive motor 70 Speaker 80 Memory | storage device 81 Travel control program 83 Action generation program 85 Action table 87 Output sound data 11, 13 Drive wheel

Claims (4)

  A traveling toy that drives left and right drive wheels and travels along a trajectory of a traveling surface, the left and right sensors provided facing the traveling surface, and the left and right sensors based on detection signals of the left and right sensors Based on the detection signal from the sensor, the traveling control means for steering the traveling wheel by individually controlling the rotation of the driving wheels to travel the traveling toy along the track, and the action occurrence mark formed on the traveling surface. A traveling toy comprising: an operation control means for determining and controlling the operation of the traveling toy according to the action occurrence mark.   A traveling toy that drives left and right drive wheels and travels along a trajectory of a traveling surface, the left and right sensors provided facing the traveling surface, and the left and right sensors based on detection signals of the left and right sensors Based on a detection signal from the sensor, a traveling control means for steering the traveling toy to travel along the track by controlling the direction of the steering wheel, and an action occurrence mark formed on the traveling surface A traveling toy comprising an operation control means for controlling the operation of the traveling toy according to the action occurrence mark.   The traveling toy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation control means changes a traveling state in accordance with the action occurrence mark detected by the sensor.   4. A sound output means is provided, and the operation control means controls the sound output from the sound output means in accordance with the type of the action occurrence mark detected by the sensor. The traveling toy according to one item.

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