JPH01228899A - writing robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To write on the basis of information by driving moving means and writing means of the basis of transmitted operating information in a robot which is controlled by a radio communication. CONSTITUTION:A picture information obtained by tracing picture drawn on a sheet by a mechanical mouth 31 is converted to an electric signal, and output to a host computer 32. The computer 32 forms a control command for instructing the operations of the sections of a robot 11, and the command is transmitted at a transceiver 33. The transceiver 33 digital-modulates a carrier, and radiates it from an antenna 34. A transceiver 35 produces the command, and outputs it to a central processing unit (CPU) 37. The rotating direction and speed of a DC motor 16 are controlled on the basis of an operation signal output from the CPU 37. Thus, the robot 22 moves linearly and rotates on a sheet and freely turn its direction. Thus, the robot 11 moves on the sheet, and moves a writing instrument 13 elevationally and laterally to draw a picture.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a robot suitable for helping children understand the functions and roles of computers, and in particular, the present invention relates to a robot suitable for helping children understand the functions and roles of computers, and in particular, for drawing pictures, characters, etc. on paper, etc. This invention relates to a writing robot that can print characters, etc.

(Prior Art) In recent years, computers have made rapid progress, and their fields of use and users have expanded widely. Furthermore, there are more opportunities for children to come into contact with computers from an early age, and it is now necessary for children at school and at home to understand the functions and roles of computers.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, it is difficult for teachers and parents to make children understand the functions and roles of computers, and children themselves may not be interested in computers. Therefore, there is a need for a toy that can attract children's interest and help them understand the functions and roles of computers during play.

The present invention has been made in response to the above needs,
The purpose is to provide a writing robot that can attract children's interest and help them easily understand the functions and roles of computers during play.

(Means for Solving the Problem) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a written information input means for inputting written information in a robot controlled by wireless communication, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. , an information converting means 2 for converting the written information inputted from the written information input means 1 into motion information, an information transmitting means 3 for transmitting the motion information to the robot by wireless communication, and a a traveling means 4 for driving the robot;
It is characterized by comprising a writing means 5 that is driven based on the operation information.

(Function) According to such a writing robot, when writing information is input, this writing information is converted into robot operation information and transmitted to the robot by wireless communication. Then, the robot drives the traveling means and the writing means based on this motion information, and performs writing work based on the writing information.

In this specification, "writing work" means not only the work of drawing a character, figure, picture, etc. using a writing instrument, but also the work of printing a single character, etc.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

2 to 6 show a writing robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a side view, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a traveling mechanism.

As shown in the figure, a writing robot (hereinafter referred to as “robot”)
) 11 is provided with a pair of left and right arm parts 12, 12 that curve and extend from the sides to the front part, and the tip of each arm part 12, 12 has a substantially concave shape similar to that of a human hand. A holding part 14.14 for holding the writing instrument 13 is provided. Further, the arm portions 12, 12 are configured to move in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by a direct current motor (hereinafter referred to as an rDC motor), which will be described later. By moving the arms 12, 12 in the vertical direction, the tip of the writing instrument 13 can be brought into contact with the running surface or separated from the running surface.

At the bottom of the robot 11, as shown in FIG.
5 is provided, and the driving force of the DC motors 16, 16 is transmitted to the driving wheels 15.15 via a gear reduction gear 17.17. Also, before and after the bottom of Ropop) 11,
Slave shafts 18, 18 that support the robot 11 are provided, and in this embodiment, ball casters are used as the slave shafts ta, ta. And DC motor 16,1
6, when the left and right driving wheels 15.15 are rotated in the same direction and at the same speed, the robot II moves straight forward or backward, and when the left and right driving wheels 15.15 are rotated in opposite directions, The robot 11 rotates on the spot to change direction. Furthermore, when the left and right driving wheels 15.15 are rotated in the same direction at different speeds, the robot 11 moves forward or backward in an arc.

As described above, the robot 11 is placed on a predetermined paper surface, the tip of the writing instrument 13 is brought into contact with this paper surface, and the robot 11 is placed on a predetermined paper surface.
When 1 is moved straight forward or backward, the robot) 11
If you draw a line segment on the paper and move the robot) 11 forward or backward in an arc, the robot) 11 will become
You will be drawing an arc on the paper. Furthermore, if the tip of the writing instrument 13 is separated from the paper surface and the robot 11 is run, the robot 11 can be moved to a predetermined position without drawing anything on the paper.

Light emitting diodes 20 and 20 are provided in the left and right 019 degrees 19 provided on the upper part of the robot 11, and are driven to blink while the robot tt is in operation.

Further, the head of the robot 11 is provided with a speaker 21 for outputting a sound to notify the robot 11 of the start of the operation, the end of the operation, and other necessary information. , an antenna described later is provided.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained based on FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the operating state of the robot, and FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the operation of the robot.

11 on the paper surface 51, and the paper surface 51 J
The work of drawing the picture 52 on : is performed as follows.

In this embodiment, a mechanical mouse 31 is used as an input device for inputting painting information for drawing the painting 52.

First, when the mechanical mouse 31 traces each line constituting a picture previously drawn on a sheet of paper, the mechanical mouse 31 converts this picture information into an electrical signal and outputs it to the host computer 32 .

The host computer 32 is
From the picture information conversion program stored in the storage means in the host computer 32, a control command is created to instruct the operation of each part of the robot 11 in order to draw the picture 52 based on the electrical signal, and The control command is outputted to the transmitting/receiving section 33 by the information transmission program stored and held in the storage means.

The transmitting/receiving unit 33 digitally modulates a carrier wave of a predetermined frequency using this control command, and radiates this modulated wave from the antenna 34.

The operation of the robot 11 will be explained below.

The transmitting/receiving unit 35 digitally demodulates the modulated wave received via the antenna 36, extracts a control command, and outputs it to a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as rcPUJ) 37. The transmitting/receiving sections 33 and 35 are configured to be able to simultaneously transmit and receive the above control command and a response signal to this control command, which will be described later.

The CPU 37 translates the control commands and controls the traveling section D.
C motor control circuit 38, arm DC motor control circuit 39,
Operation signals are output to each part of the light emitting diode drive circuit 40 and the voice synthesis synthesizer 41. Furthermore, each time a predetermined operation of the robot 11 corresponding to one control command is completed, the CPU 37 outputs a response signal to the control command to the transmitting/receiving section 35, and this response signal is sent to the transmitting/receiving section 35.33. The data is transmitted to the host computer 32 via the host computer 32.

The operation of the robot 11 based on control commands sequentially transmitted from the host computer 32 will be explained.

First, the light emitting diode drive circuit 40 controls the light emitting diode 20.
At the same time, the voice synthesis synthesizer 41 causes the speaker 21 to output the start of the operation of the robot 11 as a sound based on the operation signal output from the CPU 37 .

Next, the traveling section DC motor control circuit 38.

Based on the operation signal output from the CPU 37.

Controls the rotational direction and rotational speed of the DC motors 16, 16. As a result, the robot) 11 can freely move in a straight line, rotate, and change direction on the paper surface 51.
The motor control circuit 39 controls the rotation direction of the DC motor 42 based on the operation signal output from the CPU 37. Thereby, the arms 12, 12 move the writing instrument 13 up and down. Further, the arm DC motor control circuit 39 has a CP
The rotation direction of the DC motor 43 is controlled based on the operation signal output from U37. As a result, the arm portions 12,1
2 moves the writing instrument 13 left and right. In this way, the robot 11 uses the CPU 37 to translate control commands sequentially transmitted from the host computer 32, runs on the paper surface 51 based on operation signals output from the CPU 37, and moves the writing instrument 13 vertically and horizontally. to draw a picture 52, and when the robot (ropo) 11 is running,
The rotational speeds of the DC motors 16, 16 are converted into electrical signals by pulse encoders 44, 44, and this electrical signal is fed back to the CPU 37 to control the running of the robot 11 by feedback control.

Then, when the creation of the painting 52 by the robot II is completed, the light emitting diode drive circuit 40.

Based on the operation signal outputted from the CPU 37, the driving of the light emitting diodes 20 and 20 is stopped, and the voice synthesis synthesizer 41 outputs the end of the operation of the robot 11 as a sound based on the operation signal outputted from the CPU 37. output from the speaker 21.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, when painting information is input using the mechanical mouse 31, a painting creation control command is created by the painting information conversion program in the host computer 32, and this painting creation control command The operation of the robot 11 is controlled based on the information, and the robot 11 moves on the paper surface 51 and draws a picture 52. Therefore, the child can control the robot 11 on the paper surface 51 based on the picture information input by himself. The user can directly see with his own eyes how the computer is drawn while running on the computer, and the user can gain an interest in computers and understand the functions and roles of computers through play.

Further, according to this embodiment, the control commands output from the host computer 32 are input to the CPU 37 mounted on the robot 11 and then sent to the traveling section DC motor control circuit 38, the arm section DC motor control circuit 39, etc. Converted into an operation signal. In this way, the operation of Ropop) 11 is performed using a dedicated C
Since it is controlled by the PU 37, a plurality of robots can be controlled by one host computer 32, and the system can be upgraded.

In this embodiment, the mechanical mouse 31 is used as the handwritten information input means l, but the handwritten information may also be input using an input device such as a keyboard. Furthermore, the child can create a program for controlling the operation of the robot 11 in advance, input the program, and check whether the robot 11 actually moves according to instructions.

The writing means 5 is composed of arms 12, 12, a writing implement 13, DC motors 42, 43, etc., and a printer is built into the robot 11 as the writing means 5. It is also possible to print characters, etc. on paper using a printer.

Further, although control commands and response signals to the control commands are transmitted between the host computer 32 and the robot 11 using radio waves, infrared rays may be used to transmit control commands and response signals to the control commands. You can also do it.

Further, although the information conversion means 2 for converting written information into operation information of the robot 11 is provided separately from the robot 11 (host computer 32), this information conversion means 2 may be mounted on the robot 11. can.

Further, a DC motor 42 is provided for driving the arm portions 12, 12.
43, and DC motors 16, 16 are used to drive the driving wheels 15.15, but the arm portions 12.12. Driving wheel 15
．． A stepping motor can also be used for the 15 drive.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a robot can be made to perform a writing task simply by inputting writing information to the writing information input means. Therefore, children can directly see with their own eyes how the robot performs writing tasks based on the written information that they have inputted, and they can gain interest in computers and learn about the functions and roles of computers during play. I can understand.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 show a writing robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a front view of the robot, Figure 3 is a side view of the robot, Figure 4 is a configuration diagram showing the robot's traveling mechanism, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the operating state of the robot, and Figure 6 is a diagram of the robot. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram for explaining the operation. In the drawings, 1 is a written information input means, 2 is an information conversion means, 3 is an information transmission means, 4 is a traveling means, 5 is a writing means, 1
2.12 is the arm, 13 is the writing instrument, 15.15 is the driving wheel, 1
6.16 is a DC motor, 31 is a mechanical mouse, 32
33.35 is a transmitting/receiving unit; 42. is a host computer;
43 is a DC motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A robot controlled by wireless communication, comprising: a written information input means for inputting written information; an information conversion means for converting the written information input from the written information input means into motion information; A writing robot comprising: an information transmitting means for transmitting information by wireless communication; a running means for causing the robot to travel based on the motion information; and a writing means for driving the robot based on the motion information. (2) A robot controlled by wireless communication, comprising: a written information input means for inputting written information; an information transmission means for transmitting the written information input from the written information input means to the robot by wireless communication; The robot is characterized by comprising: information converting means for converting transmitted writing information into motion information; running means for causing the robot to travel based on the motion information; and writing means for driving based on the motion information. Writing robot. (3) In a robot controlled by wireless communication, a motion information input means for inputting motion information of the robot; and an information transmission means for transmitting motion information input from the motion information input means to the robot by wireless communication; A writing robot, comprising: a running means for driving the robot based on the motion information; and a writing means for driving the robot based on the motion information.