JPH0318478B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a walking toy that walks by advancing its two legs alternately.

Conventional walking toys walk by converting the rotational force of a spring or the like into reciprocating motion using a crank mechanism or the like and transmitting it to two legs each made of a linear member. The shape and movement of both legs were far from that of humans and walking movements. In other words, in terms of form, in conventional walking toys, when lifting one leg, the other leg supports the toy so that it does not fall over, so the part of the leg that touches the floor is wide, and some of the legs touch each other. The shape of the foot is different from that of a human foot, as it extends inward. Furthermore, in terms of movement, when humans walk, they move their legs by smoothly bending their knees and ankles, whereas conventional walking toys simply move their straight legs up and down.

On the other hand, robots are machines that walk in a manner that most closely resembles that of humans. It has joints in both legs, and when walking, it can bend its knees and ankles and move forward one step at a time. However, such robots are equipped with complex drive mechanisms including multiple motors to drive each part, and these are controlled by microcomputers, and it is difficult to apply this to toys. is practically impossible.

An object of the present invention is to provide a walking toy that behaves much more like a human's way of walking than conventional walking toys without using a complicated mechanism.

The walking toy of the present invention includes an upper leg member swingably connected to a toy main body, a lower leg member rotatably connected to the lower end of the upper leg member, and a walking toy movable along the upper leg member. a first connecting member connected to the lower leg member so that the lower leg member rotates about the connection point with the upper leg member as a fulcrum, and a lower end of the lower leg member. The legs are rotatably connected to the toy body, the swinging frame is swingably attached to the toy body, and the upper and lower leg members are parallel to each other and rotatably connected to each other, with the upper end connected to the swinging frame and the lower end It consists of two connecting rods, upper and lower, which are rotatably connected to the legs, and a front-rear connecting rod installed between the connecting part of the upper and lower leg members and the connecting part of the upper and lower connecting rods. a second connecting member connected to the foot so as to cause the foot to rotate about a connection point with the lower leg member as a fulcrum; and a cam that converts the rotational movement into back and forth rocking of the upper leg member, A cam having a cam groove for moving the first connecting member on one surface and a cam groove for rocking the swinging frame of the second connecting member on the other surface is provided on the left and right sides of the toy main body, The robot is characterized in that it walks by rotating the left and right cams with a phase difference of 180 degrees using an appropriate rotation drive means, thereby moving the left and right upper and lower leg members forward alternately.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a walking toy according to the present invention. The illustrated toy consists of a main body 2 housing a rotational drive mechanism, and left and right legs 4L, 4R driven by the drive mechanism.

The main body 2 is divided into a front part 2a and a rear part 2b. A motor 6 as a power source and a battery (not shown) as a power source are arranged in the front part 2a, and a motor 6 is arranged in the rear part 2b. a gear mechanism 8 that reduces the rotation of the
A gear 10 is disposed that meshes with the worm 8a of this gear mechanism and thereby rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 at a predetermined speed. Cams 12L and 12R (only the left cam 12L is shown in the figure), which are coaxial with the gear 10, are attached to the left and right sides of the rear part 2b of the main body. A cam groove is formed in the cam groove for swinging the left and right leg portions 4L, 4R in the front and rear directions as the cam rotates.

Next, the legs will be explained, but since their structures are the same on the left and right sides, the structure of the left leg 4L will be explained below, and the explanation of the right leg 4R will be omitted.

The leg portion 4L first consists of two upper and lower leg members 16 and 18 that are rotatably connected to each other by a shaft pin 14.
Contains. The upper leg member 16 has an elongated hole 16a at its upper end, and a portion below the elongated hole 16a is rotatably connected to the inside of a swing frame 22, which will be described later, by a shaft 20.
The lower end of the upper leg member 16 is formed into an inverted U-shape when viewed from the front, and the upper end of the lower leg member 18 is received inside the lower end, and the front end of the connecting rod 24 arranged in the front-rear direction is connected to the upper end of the upper leg member 18. They are rotatably connected by a shaft pin 14.

The upper end of the lower leg member 18 is connected to the upper leg member 16.
The lower end protrusion 26a of the first coupling member 26 protrudes forward from the coupling part with the shaft pin 28, and is movably supported by the protrusion 18a along the inside of the upper leg member 16. are rotatably connected.

The first connecting member 26 is a rod-shaped member that is movably housed in the hollow portion of the upper leg member 16, and is moved downwardly via the lower end portion 26a by moving in the length direction of the upper leg member 16. The leg member 18 is rotated about the shaft pin 14 as a fulcrum.
The lower end portion 26a of the first connecting member 26 that protrudes forward is connected to the groove 16 provided in the upper leg member 16.
move along b. A coil spring 30 is stretched between the lower end portion 26a and the outer surface of the upper leg member 16, and applies an upward tensile force to the first connecting member 26. Furthermore, the first connecting member 26
At the upper end, there is a cam 1, which will be explained in detail later.
A protrusion 26b (see FIG. 3a) is provided that slides along a cam groove 12a formed on the outer surface of 2L.

The lower end of the lower leg member 18 has a flat foot portion 32L.
(32R on the right) are rotatably connected.
It has an opening 34 in its upper surface into which the lower ends of the leg member 18 and the second connecting member 36 are received and rotatably connected by axle pins 37 and 38 (FIG. 2). The bottom surface (contact surface) of the foot portion 32 is
The toy is tilted upward from the inside to the outside in order to move the center of gravity toward the other foot so that the toy does not fall over when one foot is raised during a walking motion, which will be described in detail later. Moreover, a rod-shaped projection 32a is provided at the tip of the foot portion 32L toward the outside.
This protrusion is also the last part that leaves the floor when lifting one leg during a walking motion, and allows the toy's center of gravity to smoothly move from one leg to the other.

The second connecting member 36 is for rotating the foot part around the connecting part with the lower leg member 18 during walking motion, and is connected to the swing frame 22 and the shaft pin 39 in parallel with the upper and lower leg members. It is composed of two upper and lower connecting rods 40 and 42 that are rotatably connected to each other, and a front-rear connecting rod 24. Upper connecting rod 40
is rotatably connected to the inside of the swing frame 22 by a shaft pin 44 at its upper end, while the lower connecting rod 4
2 connects its lower end to the opening 34 of the foot portion 32L.
It is rotatably connected inside. Further, the lower end of the upper connecting rod 40 is formed into an inverted U shape, and receives the upper end of the lower connecting rod 42 inside thereof, and also allows the rear end of the connecting rod 24 connected to the leg member to They are rotatably connected by a shaft pin 39.

The swing frame 22 is rotatably attached to the side wall of the rear body 2b by the aforementioned shaft 20, and has a flat upright portion 22a extending upward along the side wall of the rear body 2b at the front of the frame. and at its upper end,
Cam groove 12 formed on the main body side surface of the cam 12L
It is provided with a protrusion 22b that moves along the direction f (see FIG. 3b). Further, a spring 46 is stretched between the front surface of the swing frame 22 and the side wall of the main body, and the swing frame 22
The front part of 2 is pulled upward.

In this embodiment, the upper and lower leg members 16 and 18 constituting each of the above leg parts and the second connecting member 3
6 and the foot form two upper and lower parallelograms as shown in FIG.

2 of the cams 12L that drive the leg portions 4L having the above configuration.
The two sides are structured as follows. First, on the outer surface (left side of the toy), as shown in FIG. The outside of the cam groove is open, and the cam ridge 12b defining the inside of the cam groove protrudes outward. The protrusion of this cam mount has a long hole 1 of the upper leg member 16.
6a is provided with a protrusion 12c that is slidably fitted therein. On the other hand, the inside (main body side) surface of the cam 12L is
When viewed from the outside, as shown in FIG. 3b, a cam groove 12f is formed by a crescent-shaped cam ridge 12d and a modified heart-shaped cam ridge 12e.

The walking motion of the illustrated toy will be described below.

First, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, place the toy with the right leg 4R in front and the left leg 4L in the back.
It is assumed that walking starts from a state in which the inclined bottom surface of the left leg 32L is in contact with the floor (the center of gravity is on the left leg 4L). In this state, the protrusion 12c of the cam ridge of the left cam 12L is at the most forward position, and the protrusion 26b at the upper end of the first connecting member 26 slides along the cam groove 12a on the outer surface.
The protrusions 22b of the swing frame 22 that slide along the cam grooves 12f on the inner surface are located closer to the front. At this time, the right cam 12R, which has a symmetrical shape with the illustrated left cam 12L, is different from the left cam 12L.
The phase is shifted by 180° from the

Here, when the left and right cams rotate by the drive mechanism inside the main body (the left cam 12L rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 3a), the upper leg member 1
As the outer protrusion 12c of the cam 12L located in the elongated hole 16a of the cam 12L moves, the upper and lower leg members 16 and 18 begin to rotate forward, that is, clockwise about the shaft 20 as a fulcrum. At the same time, Figure 3b
As shown in , the protrusion 22b of the swing frame 22, which was located in the recess of the inner cam ridge 12e of the cam 12L, is pushed down by the rotating cam ridge 12e, and the swing frame 22 moves counterclockwise around the shaft 20. Rotate to. Therefore, the foot portion 3
2L heels are lifted. Then, as the left leg 4L rises using the protrusion 32a at the tip of the foot as a fulcrum, the toy body tilts from the left side to the right side as shown in Figure 3c, and the center of gravity gradually shifts from the left side to the right side. I'll follow you.

On the other hand, when the protrusion 26b of the first connecting member 26 located in the outer cam groove 12a of the cam 12L rotates to that position, the protrusion 26b of the cam ridge 12b rotates as shown in FIG. 4a. It is pushed down by this protrusion. As a result, the lower leg member 18 begins to rotate counterclockwise about the shaft pin 14 via the connecting member 26. Thus, the left leg 4L
is a form of stepping forward by bending the knees and lifting the heels.

When the cam 12L further rotates from the state shown in FIG. 4 and the most protruding part of the inner cam ridge 12e comes into contact with the protrusion 22b of the swing frame 22, the heel of the left foot 32L is at the highest position (see FIG. 5). ).

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the cam 12L is rotated 90 degrees from the angular position shown in FIG. 3, the upper leg member 16 becomes perpendicular to the floor surface. On the other hand, since the first connecting member 26 is pushed down the lowest, the lower leg member 18 is in the most bent state. Since the rear end of the swing frame 22 has been lowered before this, the tip 32a of the foot portion 32L is lifted, and the entire foot is separated from the floor surface.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the cam 12L rotates further and the swing frame 22 becomes parallel to the floor again, the left foot 32L also becomes parallel to the floor. At this time, cam 12
The most protruding portion of the outer cam ridge 12b of L is in contact with the upper end protrusion 26b of the first connecting member 26. Therefore, when the protrusion 26b climbs over the most protruding part of the cam crest 12b as the cam 12L rotates, the first connecting member 26 is pulled upward by the tensile force of the spring 30, and the lower leg member 18 is rotated forward until it is in line with the upper leg member 16. As a result, the left foot portion 32L moves forward (FIG. 8).

As the cam 12L further rotates, the upper and lower leg members 16 and 18 begin to rotate backward, that is, counterclockwise around the shaft 20 from the position shown in FIG. 8, and the cam 12L returns to the angular position shown in FIG. from
After rotating 180 degrees, the foot 32L comes into contact with the floor again. The toy thus moves forward by half a step, but at this time the center of gravity of the toy is still on the right side (Figure 9).

From this state, the right leg 4R is now
The same operation as the series of operations of L (FIGS. 3 to 9) is performed. Referring to FIGS. 9 to 12, as the left and right cams 12L and 12R further rotate, the left leg 4L stands upright with its foot 32L remaining in contact with the floor. While approaching the state in which the right leg 4R has a shape similar to that of the left leg 4L shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 9, the upper and lower leg members 16R and 18 of the right leg portion 4R
At the same time that R begins to rotate clockwise about the shaft 20, the right swing frame 22 rotates counterclockwise. Therefore, the heel portion of the right foot 32R is lifted up via the two upper and lower connecting rods 40 and 42 connected to the rear end of the swing frame 22. Along with this, the right leg 4R rises, so
The weight-bearing part of the toy body gradually shifts from the right side to the left side.

On the other hand, the protrusion 26a of the first connecting member 26 of the right leg 4R is connected to the outer cam ridge 12b of the right cam 12R.
By being pushed down by the connecting member 2
6, the lower leg member 18 begins to rotate counterclockwise about the shaft pin 14. In this way, the right leg 4R steps forward by bending the knee while raising the heel, and the inner cam ridge 1 of the cam 12R
When the most extreme part of foot 2e comes into contact with protrusion 22b of swing frame 22, the heel of right foot 32R is at the highest position (FIG. 10).

Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the left cam 12L
When the right cam 12R is rotated by 90 degrees from FIG. 9 (of course, the right cam 12R is also rotated by 90 degrees), the leg members 16 and 18 of the left leg portion 4L become perpendicular to the floor. On the other hand, the upper leg member 16 of the right leg portion 4 is perpendicular to the floor surface, but as explained with reference to FIG. The member 18 is in its most bent state. Since the rear end of the right swing frame 22 has been lowered before this, the tip 32a of the right foot portion 32R
is lifted and the entire foot is off the floor.

As the left and right cams 12L, 12R further rotate, the leg members 16 and 18 of the left leg 4L gradually tilt forward while the foot 32L remains in contact with the floor, while the right leg 4R tilts forward. It has the same shape as the left leg 4L shown in FIG. That is, when the protrusion 26a of the first connecting member 26 overcomes the most protruding part of the cam ridge 12b as the right cam 12R rotates, the first connecting member 26 is moved upward by the tensile force of the spring 30. The tension causes the lower leg member 18 to pivot forward until it is aligned with the upper leg member 16. As a result, the right leg 32
R moves forward and becomes as shown in FIG.

As the cam 12R further rotates, the upper and lower leg members 16 and 18 of the right leg 4R begin to rotate clockwise from the position shown in FIG.
When the right foot 32R has rotated 180 degrees from the state shown in FIG. 9, the right foot 32R comes into contact with the floor again. Therefore, the toy returns to the state shown in Figure 3, which means that it has taken a step forward.

The toy shown in FIG. 1 walks while skillfully moving the center of gravity of the toy by repeating the above-mentioned actions, and its movement is very similar to the way humans walk.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the first coupling member 26 for pivoting the lower leg member 18 is movably housed in the hollow portion of the upper leg member 16 in terms of installation space and appearance. However, it may be located outside the leg member 16. Further, the upper and lower connecting rods 40 and 42 of the second connecting member are made of rod-shaped members similar to the leg members, but any material may be used as long as it can transmit the movement of the swing frame 22 to the foot. ,
A wire-like straight material may also be used. Further, the foot portion 32 is inclined upward with the bottom facing outward, and this is the simplest means to move the center of gravity of the toy, but it is also possible to change the center of gravity by, for example, moving a weight. In that case, the bottom of the foot can be made flat.

As described above, the present invention comprises a rod-shaped member which is formed by two upper and lower leg members rotatably connected to the left and right legs of a walking toy and a foot part, and which is movably attached to the upper leg member. A first connecting member is connected to the lower leg member, and a second connecting member is connected to the foot, which rotates the foot by the swinging of a swinging frame that is swingably attached to the toy main body. A cam groove for moving the first connecting member is provided on one surface of the cam that converts rotational motion into forward and backward swinging of the upper leg member, and a cam groove is provided on the other surface for swinging the swinging frame of the second connecting member. By providing cam grooves for movement, the upper and lower leg members and feet can be moved simply by rotating the cams on each side of the toy.
Of course, its walking motion is much more similar to human movement than conventional toys, and the three components necessary for walking, the upper and lower leg members and the foot, are operated in a well-coordinated manner by a single component called a cam. Therefore, the structure is simple and suitable for realizing realistic walking motions of dolls, robot toys, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of the walking toy according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram specifically showing the internal drive mechanism, and FIGS. 3 to 12 are the configurations of the legs of the toy shown in FIG. 1 when walking. It is an explanatory diagram of operation showing a change. 2...Body, 4L, 4R...Legs, 6...Motor, 8...Gear mechanism, 10...Gears, 12L and 12R...Cam, 14...Axle pin, 16 and 18...Leg members, 22... Swing frame, 24... Connecting rod, 26... First connecting member, 30... Spring, 32L and 32R... Foot portion, 34... Opening, 40 and 42... Connecting rod, 46 ……spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An upper leg member pivotally connected to the toy main body, a lower leg member rotatably connected to the lower end of the upper leg member, and movable along the upper leg member. a first connecting member connected to the lower leg member so as to rotate the lower leg member about the connection point with the upper leg member as a fulcrum when the first connecting member is made of a freely attached rod-shaped member; and the lower leg member A foot part rotatably connected to the lower end of the toy, a swinging frame swingably attached to the toy body,
two upper and lower connecting rods that are parallel to each of the upper and lower leg members and rotatably connected to each other, the upper end of which is rotatably connected to the swing frame, and the lower end of which is rotatably connected to the foot;
and a longitudinal connecting rod attached between the connecting portion of the upper and lower leg members and the connecting portion of the upper and lower connecting rod, and the connecting point of the foot with the lower leg member is controlled by the swinging of the swinging frame. a second connecting member connected to the foot so as to rotate as a fulcrum, and a cam that converts rotational movement into back and forth rocking of the upper leg member, the first connecting member being attached to one side of the cam. a cam having a cam groove for moving the second connecting member, and a cam having a cam groove for swinging the swinging frame of the second connecting member on the left and right sides of the toy body; A walking toy characterized by walking by alternately moving the left and right upper and lower leg members forward by rotating the cams with a phase difference of 180 degrees. 2. The walking toy according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the foot section is inclined upward from the inside to the outside. 3. The walking toy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the foot has a protrusion at its outer tip.