JPH0354785Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an improvement of a rotating ball device that can be widely used in play equipment, etc., and in particular, a rotating ball device configured so that the direction of rotation can be freely controlled. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

BACKGROUND ART A ball rolling device is known in which a support frame having a weight attached thereto is rotatably supported in a hollow spherical casing, and the casing is rotated by a motor provided in the support frame.

Although this type of ball is just a sphere with no special appearance, it rolls on the ground without being subjected to any external force, giving viewers a strange feeling and arousing a great deal of curiosity. Therefore, it can be used as a demonstration device that is suitable for attracting spectators at various event venues and amusement parks.

However, in conventional ball rolling devices, it is not possible to control the moving direction of the ball, and the ball simply continues to roll in a fixed direction as the motor rotates, and the device itself As such, it lacked interest.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

The present invention was developed based on the above-mentioned viewpoint, and its purpose is to externally control not only the rolling speed of the balls in the ball rolling device but also the rolling direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball device which can be configured to obtain a ball device and can be used in many fields including game devices.

[Means for solving problems]

The above purpose is to provide a hollow spherical casing, a central shaft provided in the casing, a supporting frame rotatably supported on the central shaft, and a motor or a motor attached to the supporting frame. A clockwork drive device, a mechanism that transmits the rotation of the output shaft of the drive device such as the motor to the central shaft, and a weight attached to one end and swingably attached to the support frame, and the a steering member capable of changing the central axial position of the center of gravity of the internal mechanism of the casing; a steering device that controls the swinging angle of the steering member; a drive device such as the motor in response to a control signal applied from the outside; This is accomplished by means of a rotating ball device comprising a device for controlling the operation of the steering device.

Thus, signals from the outside are given as radio wave, magnetic, light, or sound wave signals.

[Effect]

By configuring as described above, not only the rolling speed of the ball but also the rolling direction can be freely controlled from the outside, so that it can be widely used as a ball game device and the like.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the details of the present invention will be specifically explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a rotating ball device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a control device portion of the device.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 1 is a hollow spherical casing, 1a is a fixed part formed inside the casing 1 and fixes the central shaft 2, and 3 is a support rotatably supported on the central shaft 2. Frame, 4 and 5 are bearings,
6 is a servo motor attached to the support frame 3;
7 is a pulley attached to the shaft 6a of the servo motor 6, 8 is a pulley fixed to the central shaft 2, 9 is a belt suspended between the pulleys 7 and 8, and 10 has a weight 11 at one end. A steering member is attached to the support frame 3 and is swingably supported in a plane parallel to the central axis 2, 12 is a pin, 13 is a servo motor attached to the support frame 3, and 14 has one end. A first link is fixed to the shaft 13a of the servo motor 13, and the other end is rotatably attached to the second link 16, 15 is a pivot, 17 is the servo motor 6, 13 and the servo motor 6, A dry battery 1 that supplies voltage to a radio control receiver 18 that controls the operation of 13;
9 is a floor, 20 is a receiving antenna, 21 is a preamplifier, 22 is a demodulation circuit, 23 is a servo control circuit 24
25 is a polarity switching circuit, 26 is a radio control transmitter, 27 is a steering wheel, 28 is a gear, 29 is a brake, 30 is an accelerator, 31 is a control signal circuit,
32 is a modulation circuit, and 33 is a transmitting antenna.

Fixed parts 1a, 1a are formed in the center of the spherical casing 1, and a pulley 8 is attached to the fixed parts 1a, 1a.
Both ends of the central shaft 2 to which are attached are fixed.

Servo motors 6 and 13 are attached to the support frame 3, and a steering member 10 is supported by a pivot shaft 15 so as to be swingable within a plane parallel to the central axis 2. Therefore, the support steering member 1
0 is rotatably supported on the center shaft 2 from the support frame 3 via bearings 4 and 5, and
The center of gravity of the assembly consisting of the support frame 3 and the components mounted thereon is pivoted around the central axis 2.
can be moved in the longitudinal direction, and when the casing 1 is placed on a horizontal floor surface, the casing 1 is always located within a vertical plane that includes the central axis 2 and one diameter above the grounding point of the spherical casing 1. become.

A pulley 7 is attached to the shaft 6a of the servo motor 6, and a belt 9 is stretched between the pulley 7 and a pulley 8 attached to the central shaft 2.

Further, the servo motor 13 is connected to the steering member 1
One end of the first link 14 is fixed to the shaft 13a of the servo motor 13, and the other end is connected to the shaft 13a of the servo motor 13.
The second link 16 is rotatably supported via one end of the link 16 and a shaft, and the other end of the second link 16 is fixed to the steering member 10 via a pin 12.

A dry battery 17 is installed at one end of the steering member 10.
A weight 11 for adjusting the center of gravity and a radio control receiver 18 are fixed, and under normal conditions, the steering member 10 is supported while maintaining a state perpendicular to the central axis 2. When the tilt angle of the steering member 10 is controlled by the rotation, the steering member 10 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the central axis 2 of the internal mechanism.

The radio control receiver 18 includes a receiving antenna 20 that receives signals from the radio control transmitter 26.
and a preamplifier 21 that amplifies the received signal.
and a demodulation circuit 22 that demodulates the amplified signal.
and a servo control circuit 23 that sends control signals to the servo motors 6 and 13 via polarity switching circuits 24 and 25 based on the signal from the demodulation circuit 22 to control them.

The radio control transmitter 26 also includes a steering wheel 27 for controlling the rolling direction of the spherical casing 1, a gear 28 for controlling the rolling speed of the casing 1, an accelerator 30, and a brake 29 for stopping the rolling of the casing 1. a control signal circuit 31 that generates a control signal based on the operation of the operation section, a modulation circuit 32 that modulates the control signal output from the control signal circuit 31, and a transmission antenna 33. There is.

The steering member 10, which has a radio control receiver 18, a dry cell battery 17, and a weight 11 for adjusting the center of gravity attached to one end of the support frame 3, is attached to the pivot shaft 15.
Therefore, even if the servo motor 6 starts rotating, the center of gravity within the casing 1 is always maintained within the vertical plane that includes the central axis 2 and on one diameter passing through the grounding point. The internal mechanism does not rotate as the support frame 3 sags, and on the contrary, the spherical casing 1 of the support frame 3 rolls as the servo motor 6 rotates.

Thus, when the steering member 10 is in the neutral position shown in FIG. 1, that is, when one diameter passing through the grounding point is perpendicular to the central axis 2,
When the servo motor 6 starts rotating, the casing 1 moves straight on the floor 19 in a direction perpendicular to the central axis 2 and the diameter.

Furthermore, the rolling direction of the casing 1 can be changed by rotating the servo motor 13 to change the inclination angle of the steering member 10, which is swingably supported by the support frame 3 in a plane parallel to the central axis 2. I can do it. That is, when the upper part of the steering member 10 is tilted to the right in the figure, the center of gravity inside the casing 1 moves to the left due to the movement of the weight 11, the dry battery 17, etc., so that the direction of movement of the casing 1 changes from the above-mentioned linear course to the left. If the casing 1 had been moving straight from the front side to the other side perpendicular to the plane of the drawing until then, as the center of gravity shifts to the left as described above, the casing 1 will move on a circular orbit from above. If the upper part of the steering member 10 is tilted to the left in the drawing, the casing 1 can be rotated in the opposite direction.

Since the rotational direction and speed of the servo motor 6 are controlled by a known remote control means, these and the above-mentioned steering member 1
By using this together with zero inclination angle control, complex motion can be given to the spherical casing 1.

This ball device is interesting just by moving a single ball on the floor, but by using multiple balls, it can be used for escape games from mazes, etc.
Games such as soccer games, golf, sumo wrestling, ball games, chase games, and gateball, as well as figure skating and dancing, can be played, allowing for interesting games and attractions. Furthermore, in addition to the game, if a small computer is housed in the ball and the computer is configured to roll the ball along a guide path according to a predetermined program, a visually impaired person can play the ball. It is possible to reach a predetermined location by following the sound of rolling wheels, and it can also be used as a guide or guidance device in hospitals, factories, etc.

As described above, the present invention operates the remote control transmitter 26 provided outside the casing 1 to control the servo control circuit 23 built in the casing 1 based on the signal emitted from the transmitter 26. Since the rolling direction and speed of the ball are controlled, the ball device becomes even more interesting.

[Effect of idea]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the rolling speed and rolling direction of the ball in the rotating ball device can be freely controlled from the outside, making it more interesting as a game device and a product. The value can be greatly increased, and a highly safe device suitable for use as a guidance robot for route guidance etc. can be provided.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. That is, for example, in this embodiment, in order to rotate the rotatably supported supporting frame, a belt is passed between a pulley attached to the central shaft and a pulley attached to the shaft of the servo motor. However, it may also be rotated by a gear or the like. In addition, the inclination angle of the steering member can be adjusted from the servo motor to the first link and the second link.
However, an eccentric cam may be attached to the shaft of the servo motor, and the tilt angle of the steering member may be controlled by moving the steering member with the eccentric cam. Also,
Remote control from the outside can be performed not only by radio waves, but also by applying magnetic, optical, and sound wave signals, and the ball itself can detect external guidance devices, etc. It is also possible to configure the vehicle so that the direction of travel can be determined by a computer or the like.

In addition, in the device of the present invention, the outer shape of the casing only needs to be spherical in the part that may come into contact with the floor, and the other parts can have any shape as long as it does not impede rotational movement. Furthermore, the portion that contacts the floor may not be a perfect spherical surface, but may have an oval rugby ball-like cross section or a flat disk-like cross section. Furthermore, in the embodiments described above,
We have shown an example of using a dry cell battery as a power source, but in this case, a socket is provided at one end of the central shaft, and
It is recommended that a charging circuit be provided which leads from this socket to the power supply batteries so that these batteries can be charged from the outside.

Further, in the above embodiment, a motor was used as the prime mover to rotate the ball, but this may be configured to be driven by a spring type drive device, in which case the spring is wound externally with a screw. Alternatively, the ball may be held in the hand and moved in a small circle in a plane perpendicular to the central axis, and the mainspring may be automatically wound up by rotating the built-in device around the supporting frame. good. Furthermore, as the steering member, in addition to the mechanism shown in the above embodiment, it is also possible to use a solenoid or the like to move the weight in the central axis direction.

The shape of the steering member, the mounting position of the weights, the method of controlling each part, etc. can be freely changed within the scope of the purpose of the present invention, and the present invention encompasses all of them. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a rotating ball device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a control device portion of the device. 1... Hollow spherical casing, 2... Central shaft,
3... Support frame, 4, 5... Bearing, 6, 13...
... Servo motor, 7, 8 ... Pulley, 9 ... Belt, 10 ... Steering member, 11 ... Weight, 12 ... Pin, 14 ... First link, 15
... Axis, 16 ... Second link, 17 ... Dry battery, 18 ... Radio control receiver, 19 ... Floor, 2
0...Receiving antenna, 21...Preamplifier, 22
... Demodulation circuit, 23 ... Servo control circuit, 24,
25...Polarity switching circuit, 26...Radio control transmitter, 27...Steering, 28...Gear, 29
... Brake, 30 ... Accelerator, 31 ... Control signal circuit, 32 ... Modulation circuit, 33 ... Transmission antenna.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. A hollow spherical casing, a central shaft fixed within the casing, a support frame rotatably supported by the central shaft, a prime mover fixed to the support frame, A mechanism for transmitting the rotation of the output shaft of the prime mover to the center shaft; A rotating system comprising: a steering member that can change its axial position; a steering device that controls the tilting angle of the steering member; and a device that controls the operation of the prime mover and the steering device in response to external signals. ball device. 2. The rotating ball device according to claim 1, wherein the prime mover is a DC motor. 3. The rotating ball device according to claim 1, wherein the prime mover is a drive device driven by a spring. 4. The rotating ball device according to claim 3, wherein the mainspring is wound by an automatic winding device.