JP7413592B2 - Control systems, seats and toy systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to control systems, seats and toy systems.

There is a sheet printed with a pattern that encodes positional information. A moving device placed on the sheet reads a pattern printed on the sheet, and its operation is controlled based on the position recognized by the pattern.

Patent Document 1 discloses that a pattern printed on a mat is recognized and a self-propelled device runs on the mat based on the position indicated by the pattern.

International Publication No. 2018/025467

By placing a piece printed with a pattern encoded with positional information on the sheet, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in controlling the movement of the mobile device. The inventors are considering using a card as this piece. For example, unlike stickers, cards are easy to move, but they are likely to cause problems in running, such as the card being displaced when a moving device passes over the card.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a sheet on which a pattern in which positional information is encoded is printed, on which a self-propelled device runs on a sheet on which pieces are arranged. The aim is to reduce the occurrence of problems.

In order to solve the above problems, a control system according to the present invention includes a sheet on which a pattern in which position information is encoded is printed and includes a plurality of depressions, a planar shape corresponding to the depressions, and a sheet having a planar shape corresponding to the depressions. a moving device having a card that can be placed on the sheet, a moving unit that runs over the card that is placed on the sheet and the recess, and a camera that photographs a pattern printed on the sheet; and control means for controlling the mobile device based on the position of the mobile device detected based on the detected pattern.

Further, the sheet according to the present invention includes a recess having a shape in which a card can be placed, and a pattern printed on the surface and encoded with positional information, and the sheet above the recess has a shape in which the card is placed. Regardless, a mobile device that photographs the pattern and travels according to position information from which the photographed pattern is decoded can travel.

Further, the toy system according to the present invention includes a card and a sheet, the sheet includes a recess and a pattern printed on the surface in which position information is encoded, and the card is placed in the recess. It has a planar shape corresponding to the above, and can be placed on the recess, and the above-mentioned recess is capable of photographing the pattern regardless of whether the card is placed thereon, and decoding the photographed pattern. A mobile device that travels according to the location information provided can travel.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of problems when a self-propelled device runs on a sheet on which a pattern in which positional information is encoded is printed and on which pieces are arranged.

In one form of the invention, the depth of the recess may be less than the thickness of the card.

In one form of the invention, the pattern may be printed on the surface of the recess and on the outside of the recess.

1 is a diagram showing an example of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a control system. It is a figure showing an example of a trolley. It is a figure showing an example of a sheet. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a sheet on which pieces are arranged. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example of sheets on which pieces are arranged. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of region allocation to a coordinate space. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the control system. It is a flow diagram showing an example of processing of a control system.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. Among the components that appear, those having the same functions are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted. In an embodiment of the invention, a self-propelled moving device runs over the seat and the pieces on the seat.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control system according to the present invention includes a device control device 10, carts 20a and 20b, a controller 17, and a cartridge 18. The trolleys 20a and 20b are self-propelled mobile devices having a camera 24, and both have the same functions. In the following, these carts 20a and 20b will be referred to as a cart 20 unless there is a particular need to distinguish between them. The device control device 10 controls the trolley 20 via wireless. The device control device 10 has a recess 32 , and when the cart 20 is fitted into the recess 32 , the device control device 10 charges the cart 20 . The controller 17 is an input device that obtains user operations, and is connected to the device control device 10 via a cable. Cartridge 18 contains non-volatile memory.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The device control device 10 includes a processor 11 , a storage section 12 , a communication section 13 , and an input/output section 14 . The trolley 20 includes a processor 21 , a storage section 22 , a communication section 23 , a camera 24 , and two motors 25 . The device control device 10 may be a dedicated device optimized for controlling the trolley 20, or may be a general-purpose computer.

The processor 11 operates according to a program stored in the storage section 12, and controls the communication section 13, the input/output section 14, and the like. The processor 21 operates according to a program stored in the storage section 22 and controls the communication section 23, camera 24, motor 25, and the like. The program is provided stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flash memory in the cartridge 18, but may also be provided via a network such as the Internet.

The storage unit 12 includes a DRAM and nonvolatile memory built into the device control device 10, a nonvolatile memory inside the cartridge 18, and the like. The storage unit 22 is composed of DRAM, nonvolatile memory, and the like. The storage units 12 and 22 store the above programs. Furthermore, the storage units 12 and 22 store information and calculation results input from the processors 11 and 21, the communication units 13 and 23, and the like.

The communication units 13 and 23 are composed of integrated circuits, antennas, and the like for communicating with other devices. The communication units 13 and 23 have a function of communicating with each other according to, for example, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) protocol. Under the control of the processors 11 and 21, the communication units 13 and 23 input information received from other devices to the processors 11 and 21 and the storage units 12 and 22, and transmit the information to the other devices. Note that the communication unit 13 may have a function of communicating with other devices via a network such as a LAN.

The input/output unit 14 includes a circuit that acquires information from an input device such as the controller 17, and a circuit that controls output devices such as an audio output device and an image display device. The input/output unit 14 acquires an input signal from an input device, and inputs information obtained by converting the input signal to the processor 11 and the storage unit 12. The input/output unit 14 also outputs audio to a speaker and outputs an image to a display device under the control of the processor 11 and the like.

The motor 25 is a so-called servo motor whose rotation direction, rotation amount, and rotation speed are controlled by the processor 21 . One wheel 254 is assigned to each of the two motors 25, and the motor 25 drives the assigned wheel 254.

The camera 24 is arranged so as to photograph the lower part of the truck 20, and photographs the pattern printed on the sheet 31 or piece 33 (see FIGS. 4 and 15) on which the truck 20 is placed. In this embodiment, a pattern recognized in the infrared frequency region is printed on the sheet 31 and the piece 33, and the camera 24 captures an infrared image of the pattern.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the trolley 20. FIG. 3 is a diagram of the truck 20 viewed from below. Truck 20 further includes a power switch 250, a switch 222, and two wheels 254.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the sheet 31. As shown in FIG. On the sheet 31, an image that can be visually recognized by the user is printed, and a pattern that can be read by the camera 24 is also printed. The sheet 31 includes a plurality of recesses 41 and a frame region 42 that contacts each of the recesses 41 at their peripheral edges in a plan view. The bottom of the recess 41 on the seat 31 is at a lower level than the frame area 42. In the example of FIG. 4, the plurality of depressions 41 are arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions. A plurality of sheets 31 may be arranged in a plane. In this case, an engaging part and an engaged part may be provided on the outer periphery of the seat 31 in order to fix another seat 31 next to it.

The piece 33 can be placed in the depression 41. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the sheet 31 on which the pieces 33 are arranged, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 5. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the piece 33 is a plate-shaped card having a thickness t, and the outer shape of the piece 33 corresponds to the inner periphery of the recess 41 in plan view. More specifically, in plan view, the outer shape of the piece 33 is similar to the inner circumference of the recess 41, the size of the piece 33 is slightly smaller than the recess 41, and when the piece 33 is placed on the recess 41, In addition, the size of the piece 33 is determined so that the distance between the end of the piece 33 and the inner periphery of the recess 41 is smaller than a predetermined value (for example, the radius of the wheel 254). The trolley 20 can run on the depression 41 regardless of whether the piece 33 is placed or not.

The bottom of the depression 41 is flat, and the depth Dp of the bottom is approximately constant. When the piece 33 is placed in the recess 41, the flat part of the bottom contacts the back side of the piece 33. The depth Dp is smaller than the thickness t of the piece 33. Here, the height difference s (size of step) between the frame region 42 and the piece 33 is (t-Dp).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example of a sheet 31e on which a piece 33e is arranged. In the example of FIG. 7, the sheet 31e has a flat shape and does not include the recess 41. In this case, since there is nothing that prevents the piece 33e from moving in the horizontal direction, the position of the piece 33 is likely to shift when the cart 20 runs on the sheet 31e and the piece 33e. On the other hand, in this embodiment, by arranging the piece 33 in the recess 41, it is possible to avoid shifting the position of the piece 33 when the trolley 20 runs thereon.

In the example of FIG. 7, the thickness t of the piece 33 is the size of the step when the cart 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to above the piece 33e. In this embodiment, since the depth Dp of the recess 41 is smaller than the thickness t of the piece 33, the size s of the step when the cart 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to above the piece 33e is (t-Dp ), and the step difference can be made smaller. Furthermore, if the depth Dp is the thickness t, the height difference when the cart 20 moves from the top of the sheet 31e to the top of the piece 33e will be minimal, but if the height difference is The size of the step when the trolley 20 enters is the thickness t (same as the depth Dp). Assuming that the thickness t of the piece 33 is constant, this step will be larger than in this embodiment.

By providing the recess 41 and making the depth Dp of the recess 41 smaller than the thickness t of the piece 33, there is no difference in level when the cart 20 moves from above the sheet 31e to the top of the piece 33e, and when the piece 33 is arranged. It is possible to reduce the difference in level when the cart 20 enters a hollow 41 that does not exist. This makes it possible to ensure the thickness t of the piece 33 even if the cart 20 has a low ability to cross steps due to constraints such as the size of the wheels 254, for example.

Here, the patterns printed on the sheet 31 and the pieces 33 will be explained in more detail. On the sheet 31 and the piece 33, unit patterns of a predetermined size (for example, 0.2 mm square) are arranged in a matrix. Each unit pattern is an image in which the coordinates of the position where the pattern is placed are encoded.

The sheet 31 and the piece 33 are assigned an area corresponding to the size of the sheet 31 and the piece 33 in the coordinate space that can be expressed by encoded coordinates.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of area assignment to the coordinate space. In the example of FIG. 8, the coordinate area assigned to the sheet 31 and the coordinate area assigned to the piece 33 are different. Furthermore, consistent coordinate areas are assigned to the frame area 42 and the bottom of the recess 41 so that discontinuity of coordinates does not occur during running.

In the control system according to this embodiment, the camera 24 of the truck 20 photographs a unit pattern printed on the sheet 31 or the like, and the truck 20 or the device control device 10 decodes the unit pattern to obtain coordinates. Thereby, the position of the trolley 20 on the seat 31 etc. is recognized. Further, the trolley 20 or the device control device 10 also calculates the orientation of the trolley 20 by detecting the orientation of the unit pattern in the image photographed by the camera 24.

In this embodiment, by using the pattern printed on the sheet 31 etc., the position of the trolley 20 on the sheet 31 etc. can be recognized with high accuracy without using other devices such as a stereo camera.

Here, since the coordinate area assigned to the sheet 31 and the coordinate area assigned to the piece 33 are different, when the cart 20 moves from the sheet 31 to the piece 33, the obtained coordinates move discontinuously, and the cart 20 moves discontinuously. control. The operation of the control system to reduce the occurrence of this problem will be described below.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing functions realized by the control system. The control system functionally includes a current position acquisition section 51, a coordinate conversion section 52, and a travel control section 53. These functions are mainly realized by the processor 11 included in the device control device 10 executing a program stored in the storage unit 12 and controlling the trolley 20 via the communication unit 13. In addition, some of the functions such as the current position acquisition unit 51 are performed by the processor 21 included in the trolley 20 executing a program stored in the storage unit 22 and exchanging data with the device control device 10 via the communication unit 23. This is realized by controlling the camera 24 and motor 25.

The current position acquisition unit 51 recognizes a pattern in which coordinates are encoded from the image taken by the camera 24, and detects the coordinates where the cart 20 is located and the direction of the cart 20 from the coordinates indicated by the pattern.

When the detected coordinates of the trolley 20 are not within the sheet 31, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the coordinates into coordinates based on the sheet 31 based on the conversion rule, and also converts the orientation based on the conversion rule. Convert.

Travel control section 53 controls the operation of truck 20 based on the coordinates and orientation of truck 20.

The processing executed by this control system will be explained in more detail below. FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing an example of processing of the control system.

First, the current position acquisition unit 51 acquires (detects) the current coordinates and orientation of the truck 20 based on a pattern photographed by the camera 24 of the truck 20 (step S201).

Next, the coordinate conversion unit 52 determines whether the coordinates detected based on the pattern are coordinates on the sheet 31 (step S202). If the detected coordinates are coordinates on the sheet 31 (Y in step S202), the processing of the coordinate conversion unit 52 is ended without converting the coordinates. On the other hand, if the coordinates are not on the sheet 31 (N in step S202), the coordinate conversion unit 52 specifies the piece 33 to which the area including the acquired coordinates is allocated (step S203).

Then, the coordinate transformation unit 52 determines whether a coordinate transformation rule has already been determined (step S204). For example, the coordinate conversion unit 52 may determine that the coordinate conversion rule has not been determined when the previously detected coordinates are on the sheet 31 and the currently detected coordinates are on the piece 33. .

If the coordinate conversion rule has not been determined (N in step S204), the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the coordinates on the piece 33 into a sheet based on the coordinates on the most recent sheet 31 and the current coordinates on the piece 33. 31 is determined (step S205). Note that if the coordinate conversion rule has already been determined for this piece 33 (Y in step S204), the process in step S205 is skipped.

The determination of the conversion rule in step S205 will be further explained. In the following, it is assumed that the movement source coordinates are the coordinates on the sheet 31 detected last, and the movement destination coordinates are the coordinates on the piece 33 acquired first. The coordinate conversion unit 52 temporarily converts the image on the sheet 31 based on the position indicated by the source coordinates, the orientation of the trolley 20, and the amount of rotation of the motor 25 from when the source coordinates are acquired until when the destination coordinates are acquired. Find the predicted coordinates of the current position when driving. The coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the piece 33 to the sheet 31 so that the position indicated by the predicted coordinates matches the position indicated by the destination coordinates, and is calculated based on the change in direction from the direction at the source coordinates to the direction at the destination coordinates. A coordinate conversion formula is generated so that the inclination is reflected, and the conversion formula is determined as a conversion rule.

Once the conversion rule is determined, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the current coordinates into coordinates on the sheet 31 based on the determined conversion rule (step S206).

When the processing by the coordinate conversion unit 52 is completed, the travel control unit 53 controls the travel of the truck 20 based on the transformed coordinates and orientation of the truck 20 (step S207).

By the process shown in FIG. 10, when the cart 20 is on the piece 33, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the coordinates on the piece 33 acquired by the current position acquisition unit 51 to the coordinates on the sheet 31, and the converted The travel control unit 53 inputs the coordinates obtained as coordinates used to control movement of the trolley 20. This allows the travel control section 53 to appropriately control travel. For example, even when traveling on the piece 33, it is possible to control the movement of the trolley 20 in consideration of other objects on the seat 31.

Here, the conversion rule determination in step S205 may be performed using other methods. For example, since the relative position and orientation of the piece 33 are limited by the shapes of the depression 41 and the piece 33, the coordinate transformation unit 52 uses the parameters of the transformation formula based on the source coordinates and destination coordinates. The conversion rule may be determined by selecting . For example, the coordinate conversion unit 52 determines the coordinates of the reference position within the piece 33 as a parameter of the conversion formula corresponding to the piece 33, depending on which piece 33 the destination coordinates are assigned, and further determines the coordinates of the reference position within the piece 33 as a parameter of the conversion formula corresponding to the piece 33. The direction of the end of the piece 33 may be detected, and based on the detected end, coordinates and orientation conversion parameters for resolving the difference in the orientation in which the piece 33 is fitted may be determined.

In the explanation of FIG. 8, a unified coordinate area is assigned to the bottom of the depression 41 and the frame area 42, but even if an area that is not continuous with the frame area 42 is assigned to the bottom of the depression 41, good. In this case, if the coordinates read by the trolley 20 are the coordinates of the bottom of the recess 41, the coordinate conversion unit 52 converts the fixed value on the sheet 31 by changing or decreasing a fixed value with respect to the coordinate value. You can convert it to coordinates.

Claims (4)

A card on which a plurality of patterns are printed, each of which is an image on which the coordinates of its own position are encoded;
a sheet having a recess for placing the card, on which an image visible to the user is printed;
a moving device having a moving part that runs over a card placed above the recess, and a camera that photographs a pattern printed on the card;
the coordinates indicate its own position within the card;
Traveling of the mobile device is controlled based on the coordinates of the mobile device detected based on the photographed pattern.
control system. The control system according to claim 1,
Traveling of the mobile device is further controlled based on the orientation of the mobile device detected based on the photographed pattern.
control system. The control system according to claim 1 or 2,
The card is assigned a region in a coordinate space, and the plurality of patterns are printed with coordinates in which coordinates of corresponding positions within the region are encoded.
control system. card and
a sheet having a recess for placing the card, on which an image visible to the user is printed;
The card has a plurality of patterns printed on its surface, which are images encoded with coordinates indicating positions within the card ;
A mobile device that photographs the pattern and travels according to coordinates at which the photographed pattern is decoded is movable on the card disposed on the recess;
toy system.

Images