JP2022187093A - toy - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a toy enabling various operations with a small number of batteries.SOLUTION: A toy 1 includes a toy body, a power supply unit 10 where multiple batteries can be installed, one and other motor parts 8, 17 operable by feeding from the power supply unit 10, an inclination sensor 27 for detecting inclination of the toy body, and an operation changeover part 25 for operating selectively one motor part 8 and the other motor part 17 according to existence/absence of detection of inclination of the toy body by the inclination sensor 27.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a toy provided with an electrically-operated part that can be operated by power supply from a plurality of batteries.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electric toys that operate using a battery as a power source are known. Electric toys often use two AA dry batteries and are driven at a voltage of 3V, for example. In such an electric toy, there is a need to create an electric toy using an audio output IC or an electric toy that switches operations with a sensor as means for increasing added value. For example, there is known an electric toy that uses a tilt sensor and outputs different sounds from an audio output IC according to the posture of the electric toy (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-219

However, in the case of an electric toy that uses an audio output IC to output a bark or that uses a motor to make different movements by adding and operating a sensor, the motor requires a large current during operation. As a result, when the motor operates, the current from the battery is drawn to the motor, causing the power supply voltage to drop sharply. There is a problem that the output IC may run out of control or be reset, and the operation becomes unstable, such that normal operation cannot be performed. Therefore, a power supply with a power supply voltage of 3V using two batteries can only be operated when the batteries are new and the battery voltage is close to 3V. It was necessary to use three batteries and set the power supply voltage to 4.5V.

On the other hand, electric toys are limited in size and cost, and it is desired that the 3V specifications of the two batteries remain unchanged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy capable of performing various operations with a small number of batteries.

A toy according to claim 1 comprises a toy main body, one and other electric parts operable by power supply from a plurality of batteries, a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt of the toy main body, and a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt of the toy main body. and an operation switching unit that selectively operates the one electric unit and the other electric unit depending on whether or not the tilt is detected.

The toy according to claim 2 is the toy according to claim 1, wherein the one electric part is a drive part that operates at least a part of the toy main body, and the other electric part is an audio output part that outputs sound. There is something.

A toy according to claim 3 is the toy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and other electric parts are operable by power supply from two batteries.

The toy according to claim 4 is the toy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation switching unit has a transistor, and the one electric unit and the other electric unit are switched according to on/off switching of the transistor. and are selectively operated.

The toy according to claim 5 is the toy according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an operation switching unit is provided according to whether or not the tilt sensor detects the tilt of the toy main body while the other electric parts are operating. It is provided with an operation limiter that does not cause switching due to.

According to the present invention, various operations can be performed with a small number of batteries.

It is a circuit diagram which shows typically the internal structure of the toy which concerns on one embodiment. It is a block diagram of an internal structure of a toy same as the above. Fig. 10 is a side view showing one usage state of the toy body of the same toy; Fig. 10 is a side view showing another use condition of the toy main body of the same toy;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

3 and 4, 1 is a toy. In this embodiment, the toy 1 is an animal toy provided with a toy main body 2 formed to imitate an animal.

The toy body 2 imitates a pet animal such as a quadruped, preferably a dog, a cat, or the like. The toy main body 2 has a hard skeleton made of synthetic resin or the like, a skin covering the skeleton, and the like. In the illustrated example, the toy body 2 has a head 3, a body 4, legs 5, a tail 6, and the like. The head 3, the legs 5, and the like are movable parts provided movably.

The movable parts such as the head part 3 and the leg parts 5 are operated by one electric part 8 shown in FIG. One electric section 8 can operate by power supply from the power supply section 10 . That is, the toy 1 is an electric animal toy that operates by power supply from the power supply section 10 .

In the present embodiment, one electric section 8 is a driving section. One electric part 8 operates continuously or intermittently by power supply from the power supply part 10 . In the illustrated example, one electric section 8 includes a motor 12 as an actuator that is one main body of the electric section, and a gear box 13 that is a motion conversion section that converts the rotation of the motor 12 into the motion of the movable section. have. The gear box 13 has cams and gears, and is configured such that the head 3, the leg 5, etc. (FIG. 3) periodically repeat predetermined operations as the motor 12 rotates. . As shown in FIG. 3, the toy 1 can walk by operating the legs 5. As shown in FIG. Further, as an example, as shown in FIG. 2, the gearbox 13 may include a whistle box 15 that is physically driven to output a sound simulating an animal bark. For example, when the toy main body 2 (FIG. 3) is modeled after a puppy, the whistle box 15 is configured to output a sound such as "can-can".

The toy 1 is also provided with another electric section 17 that operates differently from the one electric section 8 . The other electric portion 17 operates by power supply from the power supply portion 10 . The other electric section 17 is, for example, an audio output section that outputs electrically synthesized audio. The other electric portion 17 operates for a predetermined period of time by power supply from the electric portion 10 . The other electric part 17 has an audio output IC 20, which is the main body of the output part, a speaker 21, and the like. The audio output IC 20 is, for example, a general-purpose control element such as a microcomputer in which a program is written in advance.

The one electric portion 8 and the other electric portion 17 are selectively operated by the operation switching portion 25 . The operation switching section 25 selectively operates one electric section 8 and the other electric section 17 depending on whether or not the tilt sensor 27 detects the tilt of the toy body 2 (FIG. 3). That is, the power supply from the power supply unit 10 is selectively distributed to the one electric unit 8 and the other electric unit 17 by the operation switching unit 25 and the tilt sensor 27 . In this embodiment, the operation switching section 25 is integrally unitized with the tilt sensor 27 and the audio output IC 20 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tilt sensor 27 is attached to, for example, the toy main body 2. The toy main body 2 is placed on a horizontal installation surface (FIG. 3) and tilted when lifted from there (FIG. 3). The inclination of the toy main body 2 is detected by switching on and off between the states (FIG. 4).

Next, an example of the circuit configuration of the toy 1 including the operation switching section will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In the toy 1 , the power supply section 10 is configured by attaching a plurality of batteries 29 . That is, the toy 1 is battery-driven. For example, two batteries 29 are used. These batteries 29 are connected in series in the power supply section 10 . As an example, the battery 29 is a size AA battery set to a nominal rated voltage of 1.5V. That is, by using two batteries 29 in series, a voltage of 3 V is supplied from the power supply section 10 to each section. The battery 29 is detachably attached to a battery box or the like.

The power supply unit 10 is also provided with a power switch 30 . The power switch 30 is a main switch for switching between starting and stopping the operation of the toy 1 as a whole.

A motor 12 of one electric part 8 is electrically connected to the power supply part 10 . A switch element 32 forming at least a part of the operation switching unit 25 is electrically connected to the motor 12 . The switch element 32 is, for example, a transistor. In the illustrated example, the switch element 32 is an NPN bipolar transistor. The switch element 32 has an emitter grounded and a collector electrically connected to the motor 12 . A base, which is a control terminal of the switch element 32 , is electrically connected to a trigger terminal of the audio output IC 20 via a resistor 33 forming a part of the operation switching section 25 . A high-level or low-level trigger signal for switching the stop/operation of the audio output IC 20 from the base of the switch element 32 to the trigger terminal of the audio output IC 20 via the resistor 33 according to the on/off of the switch element 32. is entered.

Further, the base of switch element 32 is electrically connected to switch element 34 via resistor 33 . The switch element 34 is, for example, a transistor. In the illustrated example, the switch element 34 is a PNP bipolar transistor. The collector of switch element 34 is connected to the base of switch element 32 through resistor 33 and grounded through resistor 35 , and the emitter is electrically connected to power supply section 10 . A base, which is a control terminal of the switch element 34 , is grounded via a resistor 36 and electrically connected to the power supply section 10 via a tilt sensor 27 .

Furthermore, a switch element 37 is electrically connected to the base of the switch element 34 . The switch element 37 is, for example, a transistor. In the illustrated example, the switch element 37 is a PNP bipolar transistor. The switch element 37 has an emitter electrically connected to the power supply section 10 and a collector electrically connected to the base of the switch element 34 . Also, the base, which is the control terminal of the switch element 37, is electrically connected to the operating state output terminal of the audio output IC 20 of the other electric part 17 via the resistor . Depending on the operating state of the audio output IC 20, that is, whether or not synthesized speech is being output via the audio output IC 20, the operating state output terminal of the audio output IC 20 outputs signals to the base of the switch element 37 to operate the audio output IC 20. A low-level or high-level operating state signal indicating stop is input. Switch element 34, resistor 35 Switch element 37, resistor 38, and operation state output terminal of audio output IC 20, operation switching unit 25 according to the detection result of tilt sensor 27 when other electric unit 17 is operating An operation restricting unit 39 is configured that does not cause switching due to .

A power supply terminal of the audio output IC 20 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 10 . An input terminal of the audio output IC 20 is electrically connected to an audio ROM 40, which is an audio data storage section storing synthesized audio data. A power supply terminal of the voice ROM 40 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 10 .

An output terminal of the audio output IC 20 is a terminal for outputting audio data read from the audio ROM 40 . An output terminal of the audio output IC 20 is electrically connected through the filter section 41 to an input terminal of an audio amplifier 42 which is a signal amplifying section. A power supply terminal of the audio amplifier 42 is electrically connected to the power supply unit 10 . An output terminal of the audio amplifier 42 is electrically connected to the speaker 21 .

Next, the operation of one embodiment will be described.

When the battery 29 is attached to the power supply section 10 and the power switch 30 is turned on, power is supplied from the power supply section 10 to each section.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the toy 1 is placed on the installation surface such as the floor, the toy body 2 does not tilt, so the tilt sensor 27 does not react and remains off.

When the tilt sensor 27 shown in FIG. 1 is off, the base of the switch element 34 is at a low level grounded through the resistor 36, so the switch element 34 is turned on. Therefore, when the base of the switch element 32 electrically connected to the collector of the switch element 34 is electrically connected to the power supply section 10 via the switch element 34, the switch element 32 is turned on. As a result, a current flows from the power supply unit 10 to the motor 12, the motor 12 operates, and the movable unit operates via the gear box 13. As shown in FIG. That is, one electric part 8 operates. As a result, for example, the toy 1 repeats automatic walking motions such as walking, standing still, crying, lying down, and walking.

At this time, the trigger terminal of the audio output IC 20 receives the base voltage of the switch element 32, that is, the high-level trigger signal. Therefore, the audio output IC 20 does not operate and maintains a standby state based on the written program. That is, the other electric parts 17 have stopped operating. In addition, by outputting a high-level operating state signal from the operating state output terminal of the audio output IC 20 to the base of the switch element 37 via the resistor 38, the switch element 37 is turned off, and the tilt sensor 27 detects the movement of the toy body. 2 tilt detection is enabled.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, if the toy body 2 is tilted when the toy 1 is lifted, the tilt sensor 27 detects the tilt of the toy body 2 and is turned on.

When the tilt sensor 27 shown in FIG. 1 is on, the base of the switch element 34 is at a high level electrically connected to the power supply section 10, so the switch element 34 is turned off. Therefore, the base of the switch element 32 electrically connected to the collector of the switch element 34 is grounded via the resistor 35 to a low level. Power is cut off and the motor 12 stops operating. That is, one electric part 8 stops operating. In this embodiment, the cry mechanically generated by the moving parts such as the head 3 and the leg 5 of the toy body 2 and the whistle box 15 stops.

On the other hand, at this time, the base voltage of the switch element 32, that is, the low level trigger signal is input to the trigger terminal of the audio output IC2. Therefore, the audio output IC 20 starts operating to read predetermined audio data from the audio ROM 40 based on the written program. The audio data read from the audio ROM 40 is input to the input terminal of the audio output IC 20 and input to the audio amplifier 42 via the filter section 41 from the output terminal of the audio output IC 20 . The audio amplifier 42 amplifies the input signal and outputs it from the speaker 21 . That is, the other electric portion 17 operates.

In addition, when the audio output IC 20 starts the operation of outputting audio, the switch element 37 is turned on by inputting a low-level operation state signal from the operation state output terminal to the base of the switch element 37 via the resistor 38. state. Therefore, the switch element 34 is turned off by the high level of the base of the switch element 34 . The operation status signal from the audio output IC 20 maintains a low level while the audio output IC 20 continues its operation. The switch element 34 maintains the off state regardless of whether the detection is turned on or off. Therefore, until the sound output operation by the sound output IC 20 is finished, that is, until the operation of the other electric part 17 is finished, the motion limiter 39 ignores the detection result of the inclination of the toy main body 2 by the inclination sensor 27. Switching by the operation switching unit 25 does not occur, and the other electric unit 17 continues to operate, and the motor 12, that is, the one electric unit 8 maintains its non-operating state. Also, even if the operation of the other electric portion 17 is once terminated after a certain period of time, if the inclination sensor 27 detects the inclination of the toy main body 2 at that time, the other electric portion 17 operates again for the certain period of time. Therefore, while the tilt sensor 27 is detecting the tilt of the toy main body 2, the other electric portion 17 repeats the operation for a certain period of time.

Then, when the toy 1 is placed on the installation surface such as the floor again, the tilt sensor 27 is turned off. is switched so that the electric portion 8 of the other operates and the other electric portion 17 does not operate.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the operation switching section 25 selectively operates the one electric section 8 and the other electric section 17 depending on whether or not the tilt sensor 27 detects the tilt of the toy main body 2 . By doing so, it is possible to switch the distribution destination of the power supply from the plurality of batteries 29 according to the detection of the tilt sensor 27, and to avoid consuming power simultaneously in the one electric part 8 and the other electric part 17. - 特許庁Therefore, even if the number of batteries 29 is small, that is, even if the power supplied by the batteries 29 is relatively small, it is possible to switch one electric section 8 and the other electric section 17 to perform different operations. , it is possible to perform various actions.

In this embodiment, the first and other electric parts 8 and 17 can be operated by power supply from the two batteries 29, so that the power supply part 10 and the toy 1 (toy body 2) can be made small. Therefore, the amount of money for purchasing the battery 29, which is a consumable item, can be reduced, and the cost advantage for the user is also high.

For example, one electric part 8 is a driving part that operates at least a part of the toy main body 2, and the other electric part 17 is an audio output part that outputs sound, so that the one electric part 8 is operated. When the tilt sensor 27 does not detect the tilt of the toy body 2, at least a part of the toy body 2 moves. When the inclination of 2 is detected, at least a part of the toy main body 2 stops moving, and an operation of outputting a sound can be performed.

In particular, when the motor 12 is used for one of the electric parts 8 , when the motor 12 operates, the current from the power supply part 10 is drawn to the motor 12 and the voltage of the power supply part 10 drops sharply. When the audio output IC 20 is used, if one motorized section 8 and the other motorized section 10 are operated simultaneously, the voltage supplied from the power supply section 10 to the audio output IC 20 drops sharply and the operation becomes unstable. is concerned. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the tilt sensor 27 and the operation switching unit 25 are used to selectively operate either one of the one electric unit 8 and the other electric unit 10. To stably operate an audio output IC 20 of another electric part 10 without causing a sudden drop in voltage of a power supply part 10 accompanying operation of a motor 12 of one electric part 8 when operating the electric part 10. - 特許庁can be done.

When the toy body 2 is formed to imitate an animal, when the user picks up the toy 1, the operation of one electric part 8 is stopped and the operation of the other electric part 17 is started. The action of the toy 1 can be switched according to the user's natural behavior with respect to the animal playing, and the user can have a simulated experience of playing with the animal through the toy 1, thereby changing the play and improving the amusement.

For example, by operating the legs 5 of the toy main body 2 by one electric part 8, the movement of the legs 5 can make the animal walk on the installation surface, and the user can place the toy 1. When picked up from the surface, the operation of the leg part 5 stops due to the stop of one electric part 8, making it easier to pick up the animal, and the toy body 2 imitates the sound output when the other electric part 17 operates. In response to the user's request, the animal cries sweetly, for example, when the toy main body 2 is modeled after a puppy, it makes a cries such as "kumm... kumm." It can make you feel that "if you pick it up, it will happily spoil you."

Further, for example, by arranging a contact sensor such as a touch sensor on the head 3 of the toy main body 2, when the user picking up the toy main body 2 detects an action of stroking the head 3, the other electric part 17 By differentiating the voice data read out from the voice ROM 40 by the voice output IC 20, it is possible to produce the animal as if it reacts naturally according to the petting action of the user, and to improve the amusement.

Furthermore, the operation switching unit 25 has a switching element 32 which is a transistor, and selectively operates one electric part 8 and the other electric part 17 in accordance with on/off switching of the switching element 32 . Even if the number of the switches is small, that is, the power supply is small, the switching element 32 can be easily turned on and off, and the operation switching unit 25 can be configured inexpensively and easily.

By providing the operation limiter 39 that does not cause switching by the operation switching unit 25 according to whether or not the tilt sensor 27 detects the tilt of the toy main body 2 while the other electric unit 17 is operating, the other electric unit 17 is operated. Even if the posture of the toy main body 2 is changed while the motor 17 is operating, the operation of one motorized portion 8 is not switched until the other motorized portion 17 finishes a certain operation. The operation of the electric part 17 is not interrupted.

It should be noted that, in the above-described embodiment, switching on and off of the tilt sensor 27 is important, and the on and off may be reversed from the above description. In that case, the same configuration can be achieved by similarly reversing the ON/OFF operation of the switch element and the operation of the audio output IC 20 .

Also, each switch element may configure an equivalent circuit using other switch elements. For example, an equivalent circuit can be configured by replacing an NPN-type transistor with a PNP-type transistor.

The movement restricting unit 39 is configured to ignore the detection result of the tilt sensor 27 while the other electric parts 17 are operating. The configuration may be such that the detection operation itself of the sensor 27 is disabled.

In addition, the motion limiter 39 is not an essential component. The operation of the portion 17 may be stopped and the one electric portion 8 may be operated.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 toy 2 toy body 8 one electric part 17 other electric part 25 operation switching unit 27 tilt sensor 29 battery 32 switch element that is a transistor 39 operation limiter

Claims (5)

a toy body,
one and other motorized parts operable by power supply from a plurality of batteries;
a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt of the toy body;
an operation switching unit that selectively operates the one electric unit and the other electric unit according to whether or not the tilt sensor detects the tilt of the toy main body;
A toy characterized by comprising: The one electric part is a driving part that operates at least a part of the toy main body,
2. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the other electric part is an audio output part that outputs audio. 3. A toy according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the one and the other motorized parts are operable by power supply from two batteries. 4. The operation switching unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation switching unit has a transistor, and selectively operates one electric unit and the other electric unit according to on/off switching of the transistor. toy. 5. An operation limiter that prevents switching by the operation switching unit according to whether or not the inclination of the toy main body is detected by the inclination sensor when the other electric parts are operating is provided. or a toy according to

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