JP2007167389A - Light emitting unit and luminous toy using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light emitting unit which permits a further development and improvement of intelligence and sensibility by changing brightness and colors in accordance with a spatial arrangement form, and a luminous toy using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The light emitting unit 1 has a light transmitting housing 2 to be a form component in a space. The housing 2 has a plurality of illuminance sensors 7 to detect the darkness of the exterior. A light source 3 and an optical member 5 are arranged in the housing 2. The light source 3 is made up of light emitting elements radiating a plurality of colors and has a control section which varies the color of the light source 3 on the basis of the detection output of the illuminance sensors 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a light-emitting unit in which a light source is provided in a housing and a light-emitting toy using the same, and more particularly to a light-emitting unit capable of obtaining a variety of changes in light emission and a light-emitting toy using the same. Is.

  It is known that it is important to develop sensitivity and intelligence by stimulating the five senses in order to develop a healthy mind and body of a child. As toys for the development of intelligence and sensibility of such infants and children, so-called block toys that form a spatial form by combining multiple pieces have been widely used, as represented by blocks and blocks. Is provided.

  Conventionally, as an improvement on this type of block toy, for example, by providing a game apparatus with a frame for placing blocks, it is possible to form a configuration that is impossible with conventional blocks, Even if it is tilted obliquely by forming irregularities, it is possible to learn to count the number of bars by allowing the upper building block to be held by the lower building block and enabling the insertion and removal of the rods in the building block Consideration has been proposed.

In addition, a block toy having a three-dimensional shape such as a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, or a cylinder composed of a light-transmitting material with a built-in light source has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).
According to this Patent Document 1, some of the conventional block toys have a predetermined shape that resembles a famous building or the like in the block body, and can emit light. It consisted of block bodies with a fixed shape. The patent of Patent Document 1 is a block toy that has been developed and adapted to the emergence of a block toy with further variability and unexpectedness.

  For this reason, the block toy of Patent Document 1 has a three-dimensional shape such as a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, a cylinder, etc., made of a translucent material with a built-in light source, and is composed of block bodies that can be joined to each other via a surface. It is disclosed.

In addition, a housing, a light source, an illuminance sensor, and a light emitting unit that emits light from the light source according to a value that is greater than a preset value of the illuminance sensor have been proposed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-25396

  However, the conventional block toy as disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 obtains variability and unexpectedness of the form and color when forming a three-dimensional assembly while considering the shape and color. It does not describe the variety of color changes.

  In addition, a light emitting unit that emits a light source according to a value measured by an illuminance sensor that is larger than a preset value does not emit light even in the dark environment or when multiple light emitting units are touched. There was a problem that it was not.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting unit capable of obtaining a variety of emission color changes and a light emitting toy using the same.

  In order to achieve the above object, a casing surrounded by an outer surface constituted by a plane or a curved surface, a light source that is arranged in the casing and emits a plurality of lights having different spectral distributions, and the outer surface A plurality of illuminance sensors provided in the illuminance sensor, and a control unit that causes the light source to emit light according to the illuminance sensor whose measured value of the illuminance sensor is smaller than a preset value and determines a spectral distribution of light from the light source It is characterized by having.

  The light emitting unit according to a second aspect of the present invention is the light emitting unit according to the first aspect of the invention, wherein the light source is a combination of a plurality of light emitting elements having different spectral distributions, and the light emitting element is set for each of the illuminance sensors. It is characterized by becoming.

  The light-emitting toy according to the invention described in claim 3 is characterized by using the invention of the configuration described in claim 1 or 2.

  According to the light emitting unit of the first aspect of the invention, the light source is caused to emit light according to the illuminance sensor whose measured value is smaller than a preset value. That is, when a plurality of light emitting units come into contact, the illuminance sensor provided on the contact surface cannot receive light, and among the plurality of illuminance sensors provided on the light emitting unit, those that can receive light (on the contact surface) (Not provided) and those that cannot receive light (provided on the contact surface as described above), and the light emission of the light source varies depending on this combination. In other words, a part of the environment measured by a plurality of illuminance sensors changes to a dark environment due to contact of the light emitting unit, etc., and in the illuminance sensor where the measured value of the dark environment is smaller than a preset value, A light source is caused to emit light according to the illuminance sensor. Therefore, it can be used for lighting, and the spectral distribution from the light source of the light-emitting unit changes, so that a variety of color changes is manifested, and when used as a toy, you can enjoy the variety of color changes, It is possible to improve the development of intelligence.

  Here, if an optical member is disposed between the outer surface of the housing and the light source, and the light from the light source is refracted and reflected by the optical member so as to reach other surfaces than the surface where the optical axes intersect, Samurai can be suppressed and the appearance can be improved.

  According to the light emitting unit of the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the illuminance sensor and the light emitting element correspond to each other one to one, so that wiring becomes easy.

  According to the light-emitting toy according to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of claim 1, it can function effectively as a toy.

[Embodiment 1]
1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a light emitting unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  The light-emitting unit 1 according to the first embodiment has a light-transmitting casing 2 that is a form component in space, and an LED serving as a light source 3 that emits light in a plurality of wavelength bands inside the casing 2. Is disposed on the surface of the circuit board 4 and the optical member 5 is disposed. Further, the housing 1 is provided with a power supply unit 6 for turning on the light source 3 and an illuminance sensor 7. This illuminance sensor is shielded from the inside so that the light receiving surface is limited to the outside of the housing, and therefore measures the brightness and darkness due to the light environment outside the light emitting unit 1. The brightness of 3 is not measured.

  Further, a control circuit is formed on the circuit board 4 to constitute a control unit.

  The casing 2 includes, for example, various light transmissive resins such as acrylic resin, polystyrene resin, and polyethylene resin, various light transmissive rubber substances such as urethane elastomer, olefin elastomer, and silicon rubber. Alternatively, a material such as glass can be applied.

  In this case, a part or the whole of the housing 2 is made translucent or colored, or fine irregularities are formed on the surface so that the light source 3, the optical member 5, the power supply unit 6 and the like cannot be directly seen from the outside. Scattering may be performed. Furthermore, a cover (not shown) that covers the light source 3, the optical member 5, and the power supply unit 6 can be provided inside the housing 2.

  The light source 3 is composed of a light emitting element, and is a point light source or a point light source, for example, an LED that generates white light or an LED of each color such as R, G, and B formed in a chip shape. is there. The position of the light source 3 is provided on the surface of the substrate 4 in this embodiment. As the power supply unit 6, a solar power generation type or a self-power generation type is preferably used, but a rechargeable type can also be applied.

  The optical member 5 is disposed between the light source 3 and the outer surface 2a of the housing 2 where the optical axes of the light source 3 intersect. The optical member 5 is formed in a quadrangular pyramid shape and has a surface that intersects the optical axis of the light source 3 to refract, reflect, and transmit light. Thus, light is evenly distributed to the other outer surface other than the outer surface 2a of the housing 2 by the surface intersecting the optical axis. As a result, uneven brightness on the other outer surface of the housing 2 is alleviated.

  As the shape of the optical member 5, various shapes such as a quadrangular pyramid, a polygonal cone, a cone, a trapezoid, a hemisphere, an ellipsoid, and the like lacking the top of these cones can be applied. There are no special restrictions. Further, the surface of the optical member 5 may be subjected to processing such as prism or mat processing.

  The optical member 5 includes, for example, various light transmissive resins such as acrylic resin, polystyrene resin, and polyethylene resin, and various light transmissive rubber substances such as urethane elastomer, olefin elastomer, and silicon rubber. Or materials, such as glass, can be applied and these may be colored. Further, the optical member 5 may be provided between the light source 3 and the optical member 5 by interposing a resin or a liquid substance.

  The control unit composed of a control circuit formed on the circuit board 4 receives the power supply from the power supply unit 6 and changes the color by selecting the wavelength band of the light source 3 based on the respective detection outputs of the illuminance sensor 7. To control.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality (4) of illuminance sensors 7 are arranged in the housing 2, and the illuminance sensors 7 are associated with the light emitting elements of white, R, G, B, etc. of the light source 3 in advance. Yes. When the detection output of each illuminance sensor 7 becomes smaller than the set value, each color such as white, R, G, B, etc. of the light source 3 is developed based on the illuminance sensor 7. That is, when the control unit determines that the detection output of the illuminance sensor 7 is smaller than the set value due to darkness, the light emission distribution corresponding to the illuminance sensor 7 is calculated, and the light emitting element of the light source 3 is caused to emit light accordingly.

  Therefore, when the light-emitting toy is used in combination with the light-emitting units 1, various color changes occur as the mutual positions of the light-emitting units 1 change, so the user can adjust the color in consideration of the regularity. Since it is necessary to do so, the number of elements of play increases and the difficulty level increases, which is effective in improving the development of sensitivity and intelligence more effectively.

  Further, when the light emitting unit 1 is placed in a dark environment, the inside of the housing 2 has various colors depending on the external darkness detected by the illuminance sensor 7 of each light emitting unit 1, so that the utility value as an indoor interior also arises. .

  In the present embodiment, the shape of the housing 2 is shown as a cube, but it may be a rectangular parallelepiped, and various shapes such as a sphere, a hemisphere, a polyhedron, a cone, and a cylinder can be applied. There is no special restriction on the shape of the housing 2.

  Further, although four illuminance sensors 7 are provided in the housing 2, the number of illuminance sensors 7 is of course not particularly limited. Further, the example of changing the color of the light source 3 inside the housing 2 in accordance with the darkness of the outside has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a power on / off switch is provided and the light source 3 is bright in use. Can be used by detecting the light intensity sensor 7 so as to emit light, and controlling it by the control unit to emit light.

  In FIG. 1, one light source 3 is provided in the housing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a larger number of light emitters can be arranged. In this way, as the types of light sources increase, a variety of emission color variations can be realized.

  Further, in the light emitting unit 1, a change in brightness accompanying a change in distance from other light emitting units and a change in the brightness of a light emitting body such as an external illumination lamp are detected by the illuminance sensor 7 and controlled accordingly. The unit may change the color of the light source 3.

  Furthermore, although the optical member has been described as an example of a quadrangular pyramid, a cone, a part of a sphere, a part of an ellipsoid, a truncated pyramid with a quadrangular pyramid and a top of the cone cut out may be used. Furthermore, although the relationship between the arrangement of the light source 3 and the optical member 5 is shown in the example in which the light source 3 and the optical member 5 are arranged on the surface of the substrate 4, they may be arranged apart from each other at the same level. May be arranged in isolation.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of an example of a light-emitting toy according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention, and is configured using the light-emitting unit according to Embodiment 1. Components corresponding to those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  The light emitting toy 10 can combine the light emitting units 1 or can combine the light emitting unit 1 and other objects. What is shown in FIG. 2 is a light-emitting toy composed of light-emitting units 1.

  The light source 3 of the light emitting unit 1 includes light emitting elements that emit light corresponding to the four illuminance sensors 7. As shown in FIG. 2A, in the light emitting unit 1, in the dark environment, all the illuminance sensors 7 detect surrounding darkness, and based on the output, the control unit determines that the light intensity is smaller than a predetermined value, and the light source 3 Control and turn on the light emitting element. When another light emitting unit 1 approaches, the light emitting element of the light source 3 corresponding to the illuminance sensor 7 whose light has become larger than a predetermined value is turned off (FIG. 2B). When the illuminance sensor 7 approaches and comes into contact or when one of the illuminance sensors 7 is covered and darkened, the light emitting element corresponding to the illuminance sensor 7 that detected the darkness is turned on. Also in the other illuminance sensors 7, the control unit turns on and off the light emitting elements of the light source 3 according to the detection change of the illuminance sensor 7 by the detection output of the darkness.

  Therefore, when the user combines the light emitting units 1 or arranges the light emitting units 1 and other objects in a spatial arrangement, the light emission color of the light source 3 inside the housing 2 depends on the mutual positional relationship between them. Since it changes, the whole collective form is formed while thinking about how the color changes. For this reason, vision is actively stimulated, and the number of thinking elements increases and the difficulty level increases, which is effective in improving the development of sensitivity and intelligence. In addition, a variety of play can be provided by changing the hue.

  Next, the operation in the bright environment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the light emitting unit 1, all illuminance sensors 7 detect ambient brightness in a bright environment, and the light source 3 is controlled by the control unit based on the output, and all the light sources 3 emit light. The element is turned off. Further, it is assumed that the plurality of light emitting units 1 are separated from each other, and the illuminance sensor 7 of each light emitting unit 1 detects light and is turned off. Then, when the plurality of light emitting units 1 come close to each other and partly come into contact with each other, the illuminance sensor 7 of each light emitting unit 1 detects the darkness by the other light emitting units 1 on the contact surface, and detects it. The light emitting element of the light source 3 corresponding to the illuminance sensor 7 is turned on to change the emission color of the light emitting unit 1.

  Therefore, in a bright environment, when a user combines the light emitting units 1 or arranges the light emitting units 1 and other objects to spatially shield the illuminance sensor 7, the mutual positional relationship between them Since the color of the light source 3 inside the housing 2 changes, the entire collective form is configured while thinking about how the color changes. For this reason, vision is actively stimulated, and the number of thinking elements increases and the difficulty level increases, which is effective in improving the development of sensitivity and intelligence. In addition, a variety of play can be provided by changing the hue.

It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the light emission unit in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining the effect | action of the light emission toy which combined the light emission unit. It is a perspective view explaining the other effect | action of the light emission toy which combined the light emission unit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Light emission unit 2 Case 3 Light source (light emitting element)
4 Substrate (control unit)
5 Optical member 7 Illuminance sensor 10 Luminous toy

Claims (3)

  A housing surrounded by an outer surface constituted by a plane or a curved surface, a light source that is disposed in the housing and emits a plurality of lights having different spectral distributions, and a plurality of illuminance sensors provided on the outer surface; And a controller that determines the spectral distribution of light from the light source and causes the light source to emit light according to the illuminance sensor whose measured value is smaller than a preset value. unit.   2. The light emitting unit according to claim 1, wherein the light source is a combination of a plurality of light emitting elements having different spectral distributions, and the light emitting elements are set for each of the illuminance sensors.   A light-emitting toy using the light-emitting unit according to claim 1.

Images