Apparatus

Abstract

To provide an apparatus and so on.SOLUTION: A robot 1, which performs communication by conversation, has a face 62 which faces a person, and the face 62 performs first rotation in a longitudinal direction together with a head 3 so as to be inclined around a virtual first axis which crosses the face 62 surface. The head 3 also performs second rotation around a second axis so as to bend in the longitudinal direction, and performs third rotation in a horizontal direction. Thus, a gesture of an apparatus becomes similar to humans in communication, and information, which can be transmitted to humans by the apparatus, can be easily and favorably received by humans.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to an interactive robot that communicates with people. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-3747 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional interactive robots of this type, the gesture ability during conversation was secondary to the control of the conversation content, and the gesture ability was not necessarily sufficient for communicating with people. The purpose of the present invention is not limited to this, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for configurations that aim to obtain effects from parts of the configurations disclosed in this specification and drawings, etc., through divisional applications, amendments, etc. For example, this specification discloses a problem in which the part described as "can be" in this specification is read as "the problem is to be." The problems are described as independent, and the applicant intends to obtain rights for the configurations for solving these problems alone through divisional applications, amendments, etc. Even if the problem is implicitly understood from the description in the specification, the applicant intends to include part of the configurations described in this specification in the scope of the patent claim by amendment or divisional application. Problems that combine these independent problems are also disclosed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] (1) It is preferable that the handheld terminal has a face that faces a person, and that the face is capable of a first rotation about an imaginary first axis that intersects with the face surface. This is because the face of the device can be made to move as if it were tilting its head, making the gestures of the device more human-like, and making it easier for people to favorably accept the information conveyed by the device. For example, it is useful to be able to rotate in this way when communication is taking place between a device and a person.

[0006] The "device" may, for example, have a communication function, for example, a function for communicating through dialogue. It is particularly preferable to have a configuration for communicating by sight or other senses, such as touch, in addition to voice. For example, it may have an interface for controlling a voice device by a computer and communicating. It may have a judgment means for executing communication. For example, it may be a robot that imitates a human or animal, or another anthropomorphic form. It may exist as a single device, or may be configured as a system that is networked via wires or wirelessly. For example, it may be configured to include a smartphone, tablet terminal, smart speaker, smart camera, etc. As an interface for communication with the "human (user)", it is advisable to have an input device such as a microphone for acquiring voice data via voice, an input device such as a keyboard, and an optical character recognition (OCR) function for reading characters and converting them into data. As an interface on the output side (device side), for example, for audio, a speaker device, earphones, etc. may be provided, and for visual, a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display (PDP), an organic electroluminescence display, a cathode ray tube, etc. Also, for example, a function for outputting printed matter may be provided.

[0007] The "face" is best configured, for example, as a face imitating the head of an actual human, animal, or anthropomorphic form with eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. It may be a "part that is judged to be the face" from the whole device, rather than an actual face shape. This is because the human brain can flexibly judge something as a "face" even if it is not an actual face. For this reason, for example, a "face" part may be configured in a "head" part, or a "face" part may be provided in a "torso" part. Also, even if the "face" is not clearly formed on the head, as long as elements that constitute a face, such as "eyes," are formed, that part can be interpreted as part of the face. The "face" may have a display screen on which a face is displayed. The display screen may have "eyes" whose shape may change. The "first imaginary axis line intersecting the face surface" is preferably a straight line extending from the person facing the face toward the back of the face when the person faces the face. When the face is a flat display screen, this straight line should be perpendicular to the surface. The means for rotating the device is preferably a rotary drive device, such as a motor. The motor may be, for example, a stepping motor or a servo motor as an electric motor. Alternatively, a cylinder device, such as a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, may be used as a drive device other than a motor.

[0008] (2) It is preferable that the facial region has a portion that is visually recognized as having a circular shape with the intersection of the facial region and the first axis line as its center or approximate center, and that the components that constitute the facial region are included within the portion recognized as having a circular shape. Since the facial elements can be rotated around the first axis without rotating the facial elements themselves, and the boundary is circular and the circle rotates around the intersection of the first axis and the face, the circle itself does not appear to rotate, giving the impression that the facial elements themselves are rotating within the circle. Furthermore, when rotating around the second axis or the third axis, the circle itself moves, so it is easy to know that the facial elements are rotating around the relevant axis. The face may include, for example, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as components of the face. It is also possible to not include at least one selected from the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. This is because the human brain can flexibly judge a "face" even if it is not an actual face. It is preferable to have at least two eyes as components of the face.

[0009] (2-1) It is preferable to provide a rectangular display section inside the circular portion, display facial components on the rectangular display section, and have the function of changing the facial expression by changing the display content of the facial components. Being able to change facial expressions allows for a wide variety of expressions when combined with gestures such as tilting the head. The display may be, for example, a conventional rectangular dot matrix display, which can be inexpensively constructed and can give the impression that the facial features are rotating. (2-1-1) The circular portion is provided with a masking means on the front side of the rectangular display section, which allows the display contents to be seen through and makes the outline of the display section difficult to see. For example, it can be constructed inexpensively and still be able to communicate with people without feeling like a machine.

[0010] (2-2) It is preferable that the facial components themselves are not rotated around the first axis. Even if the face is rotated, the above-mentioned components of the face are displayed in their basic positions. For example, by rotating only the head, it is possible to give the impression that only the outer periphery of the face is rotating independently, creating a mysterious impression. (2-3) It is preferable to use different colors for the circular portions and the circular portions. It can draw attention to circular areas. (2-4) It is preferable that the circular portion be flat and the outer portion of the circular portion be curved. The circular part can be made to stand out, and a flat, hard display device can be used for the display section. Also, by making it a curved surface, it is possible to eliminate a gap between the display section and the housing section in which the head is housed when the display section is rotated in the first or second direction. (2-4-1) It is preferable that the plane direction of the circle of the circular portion and the joint portion where the circular portion joins with other portions of the outer portion be parallel to each other. If the joint is parallel, then during the first rotation the joint does not move at all and appears in a fixed position on the head surface, maintaining an equal distance from the circular part, so that a person will not notice that the joint is rotating when they look at the joint on the head. (2-5) A portion that allows the rotation to be visually confirmed along with the rotation around the first axis is provided outside the circular portion. (8) If the part is circular, it is difficult to tell that the first rotation is occurring, but if such a part is present, it is possible to confirm that the rotation is occurring. (2-5-1) The part that allows the rotation around the first axis to be visually recognized is the part that corresponds to the ear. This is because ears do not look unnatural when placed around the face.

[0011] (3) It is preferable that the device is capable of rotating in a direction different from the first rotation. By combining the first rotation with a rotation in a direction different from the first rotation, it is possible to cause the face to perform more complex movements, thereby increasing the number of gesture patterns available for the device and enabling a variety of movements in response to the information conveyed from the device to the person. (4) The face portion may be capable of a second rotation about an imaginary second axis that intersects with the first axis. By combining the first rotation and the second rotation, it is possible to cause the face to perform more complex movements, increasing the number of gesture patterns for the device and enabling a variety of movements in response to the information conveyed from the device to the person. Here, the "virtual second axis intersecting with the first axis" may be perpendicular to the first axis or at an angle other than perpendicular. If it is perpendicular, it is easier to specify the coordinates on a plane, so it is better for the calculation of position control to be perpendicular. The first rotation and the second rotation may be performed independently, the two rotations may be performed simultaneously, or each rotation operation may be performed separately and continuously instead of simultaneously.

[0012] (5) The second rotation may be a rotation between a position in which the face faces obliquely upward and a position in which the face faces obliquely downward. The face can be made to tilt its head or nod, so by using both "head tilt" and "nod," subtle expressions that cannot be expressed by either alone are possible. For example, by combining a nodding motion with a tilting motion, a simple nodding motion can be made to seem meaningful, or a subtle nod that is difficult to clearly say "yes" can be made to seem subtle.

[0013] (6) It is preferable that the face portion is capable of a third rotation about an imaginary third axis line intersecting the first axis line and the second axis line. Since the first and second rotations can be combined with a third rotation to perform more complex movements of the face, the gesture patterns of the device are significantly increased, and various movements are possible according to information transmitted from the device to a person. The first, second, and third rotations may be performed independently, or the three rotations may be performed simultaneously, or the third rotation may be performed simultaneously with either the first or second rotation. Furthermore, each rotation may be performed separately and consecutively instead of simultaneously. (7) It is preferable that the first axis, the second axis, and the third axis are mutually perpendicular. Since each axis is mutually orthogonal, it is easy to specify three-dimensional coordinates, and therefore easier to control. do.

[0014] (8) The device preferably has a head, the face being formed on an outer surface of the head, and the head making the second rotation together with the face. (9) The device preferably has a head, the face is formed on an outer surface of the head, and the head makes the first rotation together with the face. By forming the face on the outside of the head, the image becomes closer to that of a real person, animal, or character based on them, and is more likely to be favorably received by people than a robot that rotates without a head. Also, it may be possible to accommodate a mechanism for moving the face inside the head. As the opposite of (7) and (8), the face does not have to be formed on the head up to (6). For example, the face may exist alone or may be attached to the torso.

[0015] (10) The device preferably has a body, and the head is disposed on top of the body and rotates relative to the body. If the head is on top of the torso and the head and face rotate together, the movement feels more human-like than if only the face rotates, and people are more likely to accept the movement favorably. (10-1) It is preferable that the first and second axes are located on the head side, and the third axis is located on the body side. If the rotation axes are separated between the head side and the body side in this way, the head side can perform its own rotation operation, and the first and second rotations can be performed mechanically independently of the third rotation, so that even if the mechanism can rotate on three axes, the mechanism does not become complicated. (10-2) It is preferable that the upper part of the torso is provided with a wide area in front of the head where the fingers can be placed. If an area where fingers can be placed is provided in such a position when carrying the device, users will naturally be inclined to place their fingers on this surface. This is convenient because users can use this wide area to pinch and lift the body. Also, since the head is no longer held, the possibility of applying force when holding the head is reduced. (The head has an axis, so it is desirable not to apply force as there are a first axis and a second axis.)

[0016] (11) It is preferable that the head has a portion having a spherical outer peripheral surface, and the body has a container portion at an upper portion of the body having an inner peripheral surface that matches or nearly matches the curve of the spherical outer peripheral surface, and the spherical outer peripheral surface of the head is contained within the container portion. When the head is accommodated in the housing of the body with a curve that creates a concave-convex relationship between the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the sphere, there is no large gap between the head and the housing when the head is rotated in various directions, making it difficult for foreign objects to get into the gap. In addition, the head is always supported from the periphery inside the housing, which contributes to the stability of the appearance. (12) It is preferable that a wall surface of the storage portion facing the head portion is formed with an air hole communicating with the inside and outside. Since various heat-generating components are stored inside the device, it is desirable to release the heat that builds up inside. In particular, the mechanism for rotating the head is stored inside the body, which is prone to heat buildup. For this reason, it is desirable to provide a vent hole. However, providing the vent hole in a position visible from the outside of the body can spoil the appearance of the device and interfere with the design. In this way, the wall surface of the storage part facing the head is hidden by the head, so it is desirable to form the vent hole in a position that cannot be seen from the outside. (13) It is preferable that the face is not hidden by the torso when rotating. For example, when communicating with a person (user), the face is always completely visible to the person and is not hidden, so there is no risk of visual information obtained from the face going unnoticed.

[0017] (14) The face portion has an outer periphery consisting of a circle or a part of a circle, and a notch is formed in the upper part of the body portion as an inner periphery that coincides or nearly coincides with the curve of the outer periphery that is curved so as to be concave upward, and the outer periphery of the face portion is preferably arranged along the inner periphery of the notch. By positioning the outer periphery of the face part along the inner periphery of the cutout, when the face part is rotated in a first direction, the outer periphery moves along the inner periphery of the cutout, and the face part can be rotated in a first direction without being hidden behind the cutout.

[0018] (15) The device preferably has a head, the face being formed on an outer surface of the head, and the head making the third rotation together with the face. By forming the face on the outer surface of the head, the image becomes closer to that of a real person, animal, or character imitating them, and is more likely to be favorably accepted by people than a robot that rotates without a head. In addition, it is possible to accommodate the mechanism for moving the face inside the head. (16) The device preferably has a body, the head is disposed on an upper portion of the body, the body is divided into an upper portion and a lower portion, and the upper portion, together with the head, makes the third rotation relative to the lower portion. This allows a mechanism for the third rotation to be provided between the upper and lower parts of the torso, and also allows mechanisms specialized for the first and second rotations to be provided in the head, making it possible to rotate around three complicated axes. (17) It is preferable that the upper portion of the body performs the third rotation, and the lower portion is placed on a placement surface and does not move. Although it is a non-mobile device, it can perform delicate movements around three axes, so people (users) can communicate with it without getting bored. This is particularly useful for users who are sick or in need of care and do not move around much from one place.

[0019] (18) The device preferably has a means for restricting rotation to prevent rotation beyond a predetermined limit. This prevents the device from rotating more than necessary, eliminating the risk of the device breaking down due to excessive rotation. The "means for restricting the rotational movement" may be, for example, a member that collides with the relative rotation of the members, such as a protrusion formed at a predetermined position between the members that rotate relative to each other. (19) It is preferable that the detection means detects the means for restricting the rotational movement during the rotational movement, and the initial value of the drive source for executing the rotational movement is updated based on the detection information. This makes it possible to cause the detection means to detect a predetermined rotational position, and based on the detection signal, the initial position of the drive source can be updated, thereby making it possible to correctly maintain the rotational reference position of the device. The "detection means" may be a position sensor such as a limit switch, a microswitch, or a proximity switch, or a rotation sensor that detects the number of rotations of a motor. The "driving source" may be, for example, a stepping motor or a servo motor. (20) The device may have a speaker, and the speaker may be disposed in a location that does not rotate. This prevents the direction of sound output from the speaker from changing, and ensures that the sound pressure level output from the device remains constant.

[0020] (21) The device may perform a predetermined rotational motion when the content of the communication satisfies a certain condition. This increases the convenience of communication since gestures are made according to the content of communication between the devices. For example, when a user (person) sends a voice message containing certain words, When a user speaks a certain word and the speech is recognized, a corresponding facial rotation action is performed. The "predetermined words" are, for example, the user's birthday, the user's child's name, a nickname for the device, the name of a company, a specific advertising catchphrase, etc. The "rotation action" can be, for example, a first rotation, a second rotation, and a third rotation, either singly or in any combination. (22) It is preferable that the face portion includes a display portion and has a display function for changing the display mode on the display portion according to the communication. This allows the display of the face to change depending on the content of communication with the device, improving convenience when communicating. For example, when a user (person) speaks a certain word as a form of voice communication and the speech is recognized, the face part will perform a corresponding display operation on the display unit. The "certain word" and "rotation operation" are the same as those described above.

[0021] (23) It is preferable that an image of an eye is displayed on the display unit. By displaying an image of eyes on the face, it is more clearly impress upon the viewer that it is a "face" and the display is more likely to be favorably received by people during communication. (24) The device may have a position recognition function for recognizing a person's position, and may have a function for directing the face in a direction recognized by the position recognition function. By having the face facing the user's position, the user can experience a pseudo sensation of actually talking to a person, which increases the desire to communicate with the device and increases the usefulness of the device. (25) The position recognition function may be a sound source direction identification function including three microphones arranged at the vertices of a triangle, and an identification unit that identifies a sound source direction from a position of the sound source projected onto a plane including the triangle along a direction perpendicular to the plane including the triangle based on a difference in arrival time of sound from the sound source to each of the three microphones, toward a reference position inside the area enclosed by the triangle on the plane. This allows the direction of the sound source to be identified using three microphones. If the direction of the sound source can be identified, the device can be directed in that direction when the user speaks, giving the user the feeling that they are communicating through dialogue. (26) It is preferable that a microphone for acquiring human voices for speech recognition be provided in addition to the three microphones. By disposing a microphone for recognizing human voices separately from a microphone for recognizing the position of a sound source, it becomes possible to reliably communicate with people through voice. (27) It is preferable that the communication be by voice. When communicating by voice, people naturally turn to face the device when speaking, so rotating the face as described above encourages the person to actively engage in dialogue when communicating with the device, which is effective in promoting communication.

[0022] The inventions shown in (1) to (25) above can be arbitrarily combined. For example, at least a portion of the configuration of at least one of the inventions from (2) onwards may be added to all or a portion of the configuration of the invention shown in (1). In particular, it is preferable to add at least a portion of the configuration of at least one of the inventions from (2) onwards to the invention shown in (1). In addition, any configuration may be extracted from the inventions shown in (1) to (25) and the extracted configurations may be combined. The applicant of this application intends to obtain rights to the inventions including these configurations. Furthermore, even if there is a statement such as "in the case of" or "when", this is not intended to describe the configuration as being limited to that case or time. Configurations other than these cases or times are also disclosed, and the applicant intends to obtain rights. Furthermore, the statements are made in order, The order of the parts is not limited to this. We also disclose configurations in which some parts have been deleted or the order has been changed, and we intend to obtain the rights to such configurations. Effect of the Invention

[0023] The face of the device can be made to move as if it were tilting its head, making the gestures of the device more human-like in communication, and making it easier for information conveyed from the device to be favorably received by people. The effects of the invention of this application are not limited to this, and effects obtained from the configuration disclosed in the specification and drawings, etc. are also disclosed, and the intention is to obtain rights to the configuration that achieves the effects by divisional applications, amendments, etc. For example, in this specification, the phrase "can" is a description that clearly indicates the effect that is achieved, and there are also parts that show the effect even without the phrase "can." Also, there are effects that can be understood from the configuration even without such a description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a front view of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1A is a left side view and FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1A is a plan view of a robot according to the same embodiment, and FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the robot according to the embodiment as viewed from below. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the robot according to the embodiment taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the robot according to the same embodiment taken along line BB in FIG. 2(a). [Figure 7] 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the inside of the body shown in FIG. 4 with the body indicated by virtual lines. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the fixed part side of the body of the robot according to the same embodiment. [Figure 9] (a) is a front perspective view of the movable part, and (b) is a back perspective view. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a mechanism on a head side of the robot according to the same embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the head side of the robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams illustrating the configuration of a robot according to the same embodiment, which can swing left and right. [Figure 13] 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams illustrating forward and backward swing of the robot according to the same embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a rear view of the robot body according to the embodiment, seen from above the fixed portion side. [Figure 15] 1A is an explanatory diagram illustrating the structure of the horizontal rotation gear and bearing set that form the base for the third rotation, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram illustrating the structure of the facial rotation gear and bearing set that form the base for the first rotation. [Figure 16] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 17] 6A to 6D are explanatory diagrams showing examples of certain expressions on a facial screen displayed on a touch panel unit of a robot according to the same embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] In the following, a robot 1, which is a communication robot that converses with humans, will be described as one embodiment of the invention. 1 to 6, the robot 1 includes a body 2 made of plastic, and a head 3 made of the same plastic material as the body 2 and disposed on the body 2. The body 2 and head 3 form a housing for the robot 1. 1. About Body 2 as the case and its surroundings The body 2 is divided into a fixed part 2A and a movable part 2B. First, the fixed part 2A will be described. The fixed part 2A is a member that is placed on the installation surface and does not move when the robot 1 rotates. The fixed part 2A is formed in a bowl-like appearance that opens from bottom to top. The fixed part 2A is composed of a circular bottom plate part 4 and a wall part 5 that rises from the periphery of the bottom plate part 4, and is a part of the casing of the body 2. The fixed part 2A has a circular upper edge 6 on the same plane. A pair of opposing left and right side surfaces of the fixed part 2A are provided with slits 7 serving as sound outlets for a speaker device 56 (described later). A power switch 8 and an up switch 9 and a down switch 10 for adjusting the volume of the speaker device 56 are provided at the upper positions adjacent to one of the slits (here, the left one). As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, a recess 12 is formed at the rear position of the fixed part 2A, and a terminal 13 for USB OTG (On-The-Go), a jack 14 for a DC 12V power supply, and a socket (reader) 15 for a micro SD card are provided at the rear position. A pad 16 is provided on the back surface of the bottom plate 4 of the fixed part 2A as a non-slip means and a means for improving cushioning.

[0026] Next, the movable part 2B side will be described. The movable part 2B, which is the upper half of the body 2, is a part of the housing of the body 2 that is equipped with the head 3 and can rotate horizontally together with the head 3 relative to the fixed part 2A as shown by the arrow in Fig. 3(a). This horizontal rotation is rotation around the third axis R shown in Fig. 4, which is the third rotation. The movable part 2B is combined with the fixed part 2A to form a housing that houses the lower side devices of the robot 1, and the head 3 is disposed at the upper position of the housing. Note that the body 2 is formed by the fixed part 2A and the movable part 2B, but if viewed as a base for installing the fixed part 2A, only the movable part 2B may be considered as the body (torso). As shown in Figures 5, 6, 9(a)(b), 14, etc., the movable part 2B is a case composed of an outer wall part 21 and an inner wall part 22 formed so as to overlap the inner side of the outer wall part 21. The outer wall part 21 and the inner wall part 22 are configured to have the same thickness. The upper end of the outer wall part 21 and the upper end of the inner wall part 22 are integrated (connected) to form the upper end part 23 of the movable part 2B. The lower edge 24 of the outer wall portion 21 of the movable part 2B is configured as a perfect circular curve with the same curvature as the upper edge 6 of the fixed part 2A. The ends of the lower edge 24 are on the same plane. A ring-shaped guide rail 26 extending downward is formed near the inner periphery of the lower edge 24. When the movable part 2B is placed on the fixed part 2A, the guide rail 26 advances toward the fixed part 2A and guides the movable part 2B as it rotates on the fixed part 2A. Holes 27 for collecting sound from a microphone 42 for user position recognition, which will be described later, are formed in three positions at the same height and 120 degrees apart from each other on the front left and right sides of the outer wall 21 and at the rear center position of the outer wall 21.

[0027] A recess 28 is formed in front of the outer wall 21. The recess 28 is formed so as to be cut out in a semicircular shape from the end face of the upper end 23 on the same plane of the movable part 2B. The curvature (curve) of the inner circumference of the recess 28 approximately matches the outer circumference curvature of the face part 62 formed on the head 3 described later. The recess 28 is wider toward the lower side because the inner wall part 22 is formed as a spherical surface and is spaced away from the outer wall part 21 toward the lower side, and appears as a crescent shape with a wider center in a plan view as shown in FIG. 3(a). An insertion slot 29 for accommodating a module 46 of the microphone 42 is formed on the back side of each through hole 27 of the outer wall part 21. The outer surface of the outer wall 21 of the movable part 2B and the outer surface of the wall 5 of the fixed part 2A form a curved surface that is continuous in three dimensions, and when the movable part 2B is placed on the fixed part 2A, the outer surface of the body 2 is designed to have a nearly cylindrical upper shape that continues from a semispherical lower shape. The body 2 is configured with the largest diameter at the connection part between the fixed part 2A and the movable part 2B, and narrows in the vertical direction at this connection part.

[0028] 5 and 6, the inner wall 22 of the movable part 2B is formed into a spherical surface that is concave outward. The curvature (curve) of this spherical surface approximately matches the curvature of the outer surface of the head 3, which will be described later. The inner wall 22 is formed with slits 30 as vent holes that communicate with the inside and outside. The internal spatial region surrounded by the inner wall 22 is the accommodation region S in which the head 3 is accommodated. As shown in FIG. 9(a), a connection portion 31 is formed at the center of the bottom of the inner wall portion 22, and serves as a base for rotating the movable portion 2B and a base for supporting the head 3. The connection part 31 is composed of uneven shapes and screw holes for connecting various mechanisms, through holes for cables for power supply and data transmission and reception, etc. An accommodating recess 32 for fixing a head holder 61 described later is formed on the upper surface of the connection part 31. A screw hole 33 for connecting an inner bearing 45a of a bearing set 45 described later is formed on the back surface of the connection part 31. A counterweight mounting seat 48 is formed on the rear surface of the inner wall portion 22 for mounting a counterweight (balancing weight) 55, which will be described later.

[0029] 2. Mainly about the internal mechanism of Body 2 Next, the mechanism inside the body 2, such as the lower side device, will be described with reference to Figures 5 to 8, 14, etc. Note that the internal wiring is omitted in the drawings. FIG. 7 shows the state of the mechanism arrangement in the fixed part 2A with the body 2 removed. An aluminum alloy base frame 35, which also serves as a heat sink, is fixed to the fixed part 2A with screws (not shown). The base frame 35 has a disk-shaped outer shape, and a number of cooling fins 36 are integrally formed on its outer periphery. A plurality of device control boards are arranged on the front and back of the base frame 35. A first board 38 on which a controller MC, a wireless LAN device 37, etc. are mounted is arranged at a position in contact with the back surface of the base frame 35. A second board 39, which serves as a power supply board on which a battery, etc. are mounted, is arranged below the first board 38. A modular 52 on which a Doppler sensor 34 is mounted is arranged on the back surface of the first board 38. A third board 40 for detecting sounds to recognize the user's position is arranged at a position adjacent to the base frame 35 above the base frame 35. The wireless LAN device 37 protrudes outward from the side from a position where the fins 36 of the base frame 35 are cut out in order to improve the sensitivity of the antenna portion. A fourth board 41 including the terminal 13, power jack 14, micro SD card socket 15, etc. is disposed on the side of the base frame 35. A position recognition microphone 42 and its module 46 are housed in the insertion slot 29. A first motor 43 is disposed on the back surface of the base frame 35. The first motor 43 is a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation. As shown in FIG. 8, a motor shaft 43a of the first motor 43 protrudes above the base frame 35. A pinion 44 is fixed to the tip of the motor shaft 43a.

[0030] A plastic bearing set 45 is disposed on the base frame 35. As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 15(a), the bearing set 45 is composed of an inner bearing 45a and an outer bearing 45b. The inner bearing 45a is disposed inside the outer bearing 45b, and the two are capable of relatively smooth rotation due to the relationship between the inner and outer circumferential surfaces (grease is applied between the two to provide greater smoothness). The outer bearing 45b is mounted on the base frame 35 so as not to rotate with a screw (not shown). A plastic horizontal rotation gear 47 is attached to the bearing set 45. The horizontal rotation gear 47 is connected only to the inner bearing 45a with a screw 49 so that the rotation shafts are coaxial. In other words, the inner bearing 45a and the horizontal rotation gear 47 rotate coaxially as a unit, and are placed on the base frame 35 so as to be freely rotatable with respect to the base frame 35. The horizontal rotation gear 47 is engaged with the pinion 44 of the motor shaft 43 a of the first motor 43 . The inner bearing 45a is fixed to the back surface (lower surface) of the connection portion 31 of the movable part 2B. The inner bearing 45a is connected to the screw hole 33 on the movable part 2B side shown in FIG. 9(b) by a screw 49 shown in FIG. 8. The rotation center of the inner bearing 45a coincides with the center position of the movable part 2B. In other words, the movable part 2B and the inner bearing 45a are connected so that their rotation axes are coaxial. The rotation axis direction of the horizontal rotation gear 47 coincides with the axis direction of the third axis R shown in FIG. 4. In this configuration, when the first motor 43 is driven, its rotational force is transmitted from the pinion 44 to the horizontal rotation gear 47, and then to the inner bearing connected to the horizontal rotation gear 47. The rotational force is transmitted to the inner bearing 45a. Furthermore, the rotational force is transmitted to the movable part 2B to which the inner bearing 45a is fixedly connected. By this drive transmission mechanism, the movable part 2B of the robot 1 rotates in the horizontal direction relative to the fixed part 2A. At that time, the lower edge 24 of the movable part 2B, which has the same diameter as the fixed part 2A, is placed on the upper edge 6 of the fixed part 2A, and the movable part 2B moves freely in the left and right directions while being prevented from falling off by the guide rail 26 as a kind of monorail.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 8, a first engagement protrusion 50 is formed on the base frame 35 at an outer position of the horizontal rotation gear 47 facing upward. As shown in FIG. 9(b), a second engagement protrusion 51 is formed on the rear surface of the movable part 2B at a position equidistant from the rotation center to the first engagement protrusion 50. When the movable part 2B is placed on the fixed part 2A and in the default position (i.e., when the recess 28 of the movable part 2B is disposed on the front side of the fixed part 2A), the first engagement protrusion 50 and the second engagement protrusion 51 are disposed at positions with a phase shift of 180 degrees (i.e., facing positions sandwiching the rotation center). When the movable part 2B is rotated nearly 180 degrees, the first engagement protrusion 50 and the second engagement protrusion 51 collide with each other, preventing further rotation. As shown in FIG. 8, two sensor projections 53 are formed on the base frame 35 at positions adjacent to each other that are equidistant from the rotation center of the horizontal rotation gear 47 at positions outside the first engagement projection 50. As shown in FIG. 14, one microswitch 54 is disposed as a rotation position detection means at a position equidistant from the rotation center to the projection 53 on the rear surface of the third substrate 40. The microswitch 54 is disposed at a position that is 180 degrees out of phase with the projection 53 (i.e., at a position facing each other across the rotation center). The microswitch 54 rotates about 180 degrees left or right together with the movable part 2B (actually, about 175 degrees because the two projections 53 are 10 degrees apart) and the dog detects the projection 53, thereby updating the value of the left-right rotation initial position of the first motor 43. The default position can be updated based on the updated initial position value. 5, a counterweight 55 made of a square washer is disposed on the counterweight mounting seat 48. A plurality of (here, two) speaker devices 56 are disposed on the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 4 of the fixed portion 2A.

[0032] "Effects mainly related to Body 2" (1) The body 2 is installed on the installation surface by the fixed part 2A, and does not move from the installed position. However, since the part above the movable part 2 including the movable part 2 can rotate around three axial directions, it can perform many gestures while staying in the same place, and since it can move delicately despite being a non-mobile robot, the user can have a conversation with it without getting bored. This is particularly useful when the user is a sick person or a person who needs care and does not move around the place much. (2) Because the sound from the speaker device 56 is output from the slits 7 in the fixed part 2A of the body 2 to which it is fixed, the sound is always transmitted to the user from a fixed direction even when the robot 1 performs various actions, and there is no problem in that the sound suddenly becomes hard to hear, becomes distant, or becomes too loud. In addition, because the sound is output from the slits 7 on both sides facing each other on the left and right, the sound can be diffused over a wider area than when there is only one sound outlet, making it easier to hear from any direction. (3) Components that need to be attached from the outside of the housing, such as terminals 13, power jack 14, and micro SD card socket (reader) 15, are positioned within recess 12, which is surrounded on all sides, so that they will not be accidentally contacted. (4) Slits 30 are formed in the inner wall portion 22, and are primarily used to release heat from devices inside the body 2 (heat from the head 3 can also be released through holes below the head 3). The slits 30 are not visible from the outside when the head 3 is attached, so the presence of the slits 30 does not mar the appearance, and there is no need to provide ventilation holes around the outer periphery of the body 2 for the purpose of releasing heat, which is advantageous in terms of design because there is no need to take ventilation holes into consideration when designing.

[0033] (5) Since the through hole 27 for the microphone 42 for recognizing the user's position is formed in the movable part 2B which mounts the head 3 and rotates horizontally together with the head 3 (i.e., since the microphone 42 is stored in the movable part 2B), when the user's position is recognized based on the voice obtained from the microphone 42 in response to the user's speech, it is possible to rotate the movable part 2B horizontally to point the head 3 in that direction. (6) Since a rotation prevention means is provided to prevent excessive rotation, the movable part 2B will not rotate excessively. (7) The value of the initial rotation position in the left or right direction of rotation of the first motor 43 can be updated by the microswitch 54. This makes it possible to correct a deviation from the default position, for example, by controlling the microswitch 54 to be touched from time to time. (8) As shown in Fig. 5, the counterweight 55 is disposed at the front position. This position is provided because, when considering the weight balance, the heavy members are concentrated on the rear side of the rotation center. By disposing the counterweight 55 in this way, the movable part 2B rotates smoothly without rattling when it rotates horizontally. (9) The upper surface of the recess 28 is wider toward the lower side, and is wider toward the center of the lower side in a plan view. Therefore, when the user holds the robot 1 and moves it, the user is naturally led to place his / her fingers on the recess 28. This wide portion is convenient because the user can use it to pinch and lift the body 2.

[0034] 3. Head 3 as a case and its surroundings The head 3 (the portion exposed to the outside of the storage area S) is configured in a spherical cutout shape that is the remainder of a sphere cut on a single plane. The cut-out front portion appears as a circle and constitutes the face 62 of the robot 1. The head 3 is supported by a head holder 61 and is rotatably erected on the movable part 2B. The head 3 is divided into front and rear parts at a roughly central position parallel to the surface direction of the face 62, that is, near the diameter of the sphere, and each of the parts is designated as a front case 3A and a rear case 3B. The head 3 is supported by the head holder 61 on the front case 3A side, and all of the upper side equipment except for the counterweight 55 is disposed in the front case 3A. The rear case 3B is detachably fixed to the front case 3A by screws 60.

[0035] First, the front case 3A will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the front case 3A has a flat portion 63 for forming a face portion 62 on the front side. A rectangular opening 64 is formed in the center of the flat portion 63. A through hole 65 for a camera is formed above the opening 64. A small through hole 66 serving as a sound acquisition port for a microphone is formed below the opening 64. A touch panel portion 67 as a display portion made of a liquid crystal display (LCD) is disposed within the opening 64. A thin, disc-shaped transparent cover plate 68 is disposed on the flat portion 63. With the cover plate 68 disposed on the touch panel portion 67, the face portion 62 is formed on the front side of the head 3. The cover plate 68 is a smoky opaque panel other than the portion overlapping with the touch panel portion 67 (i.e., the periphery of the touch panel portion 67), and the entire face portion 62 is a unified dark background together with the background of the touch panel portion 67 (however, it is depicted without being filled in in the drawing). A transparent panel 71 is disposed at a position corresponding to the position of the camera through-hole 65 on the upper part of the cover plate 68. A small through-hole 72 serving as a sound acquisition port for a microphone corresponding to the small through-hole 66 formed in the flat part 63 is formed at the lower part of the cover plate 68. A first housing section 73 and a second housing section 74 that bulge outward from the case are formed at upper left and right diagonal positions flush with the flat surface section 63 of the front case 3A. An illuminance sensor 77 is housed in the first housing section 73, and a high-brightness white LED 78 is housed in the second housing section 74. The first housing section 73 and the second housing section 74 are also parts that look like "ears" and "horns" when the head 3 is viewed from the front side.

[0036] Next, the rear case 3B will be described. 7, 11 to 13, etc., the rear case 3B, which is configured to have a semispherical appearance, has a large cutout 79 formed on the lower side. The head holder 61 protrudes downward from the cutout 79 (passes through the cutout 79 and stands on the movable part 2B). A counterweight mounting seat 80 for mounting the counterweight 55 is formed at an upper position on the back surface of the rear case 3B. The counterweight mounting seat 80 is formed at a position where it does not interfere with the head holder 61 and the mounted counterweight 55. Such a head 3 is accommodated in the accommodation area S of the movable part 2B. In the accommodated state, the position of the upper end 23 of the outer wall part 21 is located exactly at the diameter position of the spherical head 3. The curvatures of the inner wall part 22 constituting the accommodation area S and the head 3 are approximately the same, and the two are close to each other, forming a small gap between them.

[0037] 4. Mainly about the mechanism inside head 3 Next, the internal mechanism of the head 3 will be described with reference to Figures 5, 6, 10 to 13, etc. Note that in the drawings, internal wiring is omitted. First, the mechanism for rotation about the second axis Q shown in Figure 4 and Figure 12(b) will be described. The rotation about the second axis Q is a swinging rotation operation of the head 3 in the front-rear direction as shown by the solid line and the virtual line in Figure 13. The rotation about the second axis Q is the second rotation. The head holder 61 that supports the head 3 is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped base 61a, long legs 61b extending upward from the base 61a, and a pair of left and right parallel bearing plates 61c formed on the upper ends of the legs 61b. The base 61a of the head holder 61 is disposed in the accommodation recess 32 of the body 2 (movable part 2B), and the head holder 61 is fixed to the movable part 2B via the base 61a by screws (not shown) from the rear side of the movable part 2. A bearing hole 82 is formed near the front of the bearing plate 61c. A base frame 83 is disposed in front of the head holder 61 . The base frame 83 includes a disk-shaped body 83a that is substantially circular, and a pair of arms 83b that extend rearward from the body 83a. As shown in Fig. 6, each arm 83b has a shaft 84 that protrudes from the outer side near the rear end. As shown in Fig. 6, the base frame 83 is rotatably supported by the head holder 61 by fitting the shafts 84 of the left and right arms 83b into bearing holes 82 of the bearing plate 61c.

[0038] Meanwhile, a second motor 85 is disposed inside the bearing plate 61c of the head holder 61 located on the right side as viewed from the front side of the device (left side in FIG. 6). The second motor 85 is a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation. As shown in FIG. 10, a motor shaft 85a of the second motor 85 protrudes outside the bearing plate 61c. A pinion 86 is fixed to the tip of the motor shaft 85a. A cam device 87 is disposed on the outer surface of the bearing plate 61c to which the second motor 85 is attached. The cam device 87 is equipped with a sector gear 88. The sector gear 88 is engaged with a pinion 86. As shown in Figures 6 and 10, the cam device 87 is fixed to the shaft portion 84 of the arm 83b by a screw 105. That is, the screw 105 is in the axial direction of the camshaft and coincides with the shaft portion 84 of the arm 83b. This direction becomes the axial direction of the second axis Q. In this configuration, when the second motor 85 is driven, its rotational force is transmitted from the pinion 86 to the sector gear 88, causing the camshaft (screw 105) to rotate. The screw 105 and the shaft portion 84 rotate together, and the base frame 83 rotates (or swings because the rotation is within a narrow range) in conjunction with the rotation of the shaft portion 84.

[0039] Here, two engagement projections 90 are formed below the screw 105 of the cam device 87. A microswitch 91 is disposed as a rotation position detection means at a position where it interferes with the engagement protrusion 90 as the cam device 87 swings. The two engagement protrusions 90 are disposed corresponding to the maximum and minimum swing width positions according to the amount of swing of the cam device 87. When the engagement protrusion 90 moves with the swing of the cam device 87 (i.e., the swing of the base frame 83), a dog of the microswitch 91 detects the position, thereby protecting the base frame 83 from swinging too much. In addition, the drive control of the second motor 85 is performed from time to time to cause the microswitch 91 to detect the engagement protrusion 90, thereby updating the default position of the initial vertical rotation position of the second motor 85.

[0040] Next, the mechanism for rotation around the first axis P shown in Figs. 4 and 13 will be described. Rotation around the first axis P is a clockwise swing rotation, which is the first rotation. The first axis P passes through the center of the face part 62. Rotation around the first axis P swings the head 3 between a state in which it is rotated to the leftmost position as shown in Fig. 12(a) and a state in which it is rotated to the rightmost position as shown in Fig. 12(c). The head 3 swings to the left and right at equal angles (15 degrees in this embodiment) from the non-rotated state shown in Fig. 12(b). It is also possible to swing it more greatly by controlling the third motor 92. A third motor 92 is disposed on the rear surface of the base frame 83. The third motor 92 is a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation. As shown in Figures 5, 10, etc., a motor shaft 92a of the third motor 92 protrudes forward from the base frame 83. A pinion 97 is fixed to the tip of the motor shaft 92a. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, a bearing set 93, a facial rotation gear 94, a case holder 95, a fifth base plate 96, etc. are arranged in overlapping relation in front of the base frame 83 in this order from the base frame 83 side. 6, the case holder 95 is connected and fixed to the front case 3A by screws 100. A face recognition camera 98 is disposed at an upper position of the case holder 95. The position of the lens of the face recognition camera 98 coincides with the through hole 65 for the camera. The fifth board 96 is equipped with a conversation microphone 99 and controls the touch panel unit 67, the illuminance sensor 77, the face recognition camera 98, etc. The fifth board 96 is attached to the front case 3A.

[0041] 5, 6 and 15(b), a drive transmission mechanism that transmits the drive from the third motor 92 to the case holder 95 via the bearing set 93 and the face portion rotating gear 94 will be described. A plastic bearing set 93 is disposed on the front surface of the base frame 86. The bearing set 93 is composed of an inner bearing 93a and an outer bearing 93b. The inner bearing 93a is disposed inside the outer bearing 93b, and the two are capable of relatively smooth rotation due to the relationship between their inner and outer circumferential surfaces (grease is applied between the two to provide greater smoothness). The outer bearing 93b is fixed to the base frame 86. A plastic face rotation gear 94 is attached to the front surface of the bearing set 93. The facial portion rotating gear 94 is connected to the inner bearing 93a and the case holder 95 via a screw 98. In other words, the inner bearing 93a and the facial portion rotating gear 94 rotate coaxially as a unit, and are rotatable relative to the base frame 35 via the outer bearing 93b. The facial portion rotating gear 94 is engaged with a pinion 97 of the motor shaft 92a of the third motor 92. In this configuration, when the third motor 92 is driven, its rotational force is transmitted from the pinion 44 to the facial portion rotation gear 94. Since the facial portion rotation gear 94 is integrally connected to the inner bearing 93a and the case holder 95, this rotational force is transmitted to the case holder 95. Since the case holder 95 is connected and fixed to the front case 3A by the screw 106, the rotation of the facial portion 62 of the case holder 95 (rotation to the left and right in the clockwise direction) This results in a rotational motion as if the head 3 is tilted (first rotation).

[0042] 6 and 11, two first engagement protrusions 101 are formed at the upper left and right positions on the front surface of the base frame 83. Meanwhile, one second engagement protrusion 102 is formed between the two first engagement protrusions 101 on the rear surface of the case holder 95 facing the front surface of the base frame 83. The case holder 95 rotates clockwise with respect to the fixed base frame 83, but the second engagement protrusion 102 collides with the inside of the first engagement protrusion 101 and is prevented from rotating further. In other words, the base frame 83 swings within a narrow range (an angle of 30 degrees in this embodiment) restricted by the two first engagement protrusions 101. 5, 10, etc., a microswitch 103 serving as a rotational position detection means is disposed on the upper portion of the base frame 83. As shown in Fig. 5, an engagement piece 104 serving as a pair of left and right reinforcing ribs is formed at an upper position inside the front case 3A (only one of the engagement pieces 104 is shown since Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view). The microswitch 103 rotates clockwise to the left or right together with the head 3 (together with the case holder 95), and the dog detects the engagement piece 104, thereby updating the value of the initial (default) position of the clockwise rotation of the third motor 92. Furthermore, the dog detects the engagement piece 104, preventing further rotation. The default position can be updated based on this updated initial position value. The spacing between the engagement pieces 104 is slightly narrower than that of the first engagement protrusion 101, and the microswitch 103 detects the engagement piece 104 before the first engagement protrusion 101 and the second engagement protrusion 102 collide with each other. Therefore, unless an external force is applied during normal use, the first engagement protrusion 101 and the second engagement protrusion 102 do not collide with each other.

[0043] "Effects mainly related to head 3" (1) The head 3 can simultaneously or separately rock back and forth relative to the movable part 2B, as if bowing or nodding (second rotation), and tilt its head clockwise (first rotation). Together with the horizontal rotation (third rotation), the robot 1 can perform three rotational movements. (2) The forward / backward swing (second rotation) and the clockwise swiveling rotation (first rotation) can be performed by controlling the second motor 85 and the third motor 92, respectively. Furthermore, as described above, the third rotation can also be performed by controlling the first motor 43, so that the rotation around three intersecting axes can be freely controlled. (3) The first axis P passes through the center of the facial portion 62, and the facial portion 62 rotates as a first rotation about the first axis P. At this time, since the facial portion 62 has a perfect circular shape and rotates at the center of the facial portion 62, the facial portion 62 can always rotate without distorting its circular outer shape, making the facial portion 62 easier to view. (3) Since the head 3 can perform the first rotation and the second rotation mechanically independently of the rotation (third rotation) of the movable part 2B relative to the fixed part 2A (because the head 3 can perform the rotational operation independently), the mechanism is not complicated even though it has a mechanism capable of rotating on three axes. 4, the first axis P and the second axis Q are orthogonal to each other and exist on the same plane. Similarly, the third axis R and the second axis Q are orthogonal to each other and exist on the same plane. The third axis R is also orthogonal to the direction of the first axis P. Since the three axes are arranged in an orthogonal relationship in this way, it is easier to grasp the relationship between the posture of the robot 1 and the control amount in the control of the first to third motors 43, 85, 92 by the controller MC described later, which is advantageous in designing the program.

[0044] (4) Since the rotation prevention means is provided to prevent excessive rotation in both the first rotation and the second rotation, the head 3 will not rotate excessively. (5) When the head 3 is accommodated in the accommodation area S, the curvatures of the inner wall portion 22 constituting the accommodation area S and the outer circumferential surface of the head 3 are nearly the same and close to each other, so that no matter how the head 3 is rotated, there is no gap between the two. Since there is no large gap, dust and foreign matter are less likely to enter, and problems caused by these are less likely to occur. (6) The head 3 is accommodated in the accommodation area S so that the lower half of the diameter of the sphere fits therein. Therefore, the vertical dimension of the robot 1 as a whole is shortened, and the installation is stable. On the other hand, a semicircular recess 28 is formed in the front of the movable part 2B that accommodates the head 3, and the face part 62 on the front of the head 3 is not hidden by the outer wall part 21 of the movable part 2B no matter how the head 3 rotates within the allowable range. Therefore, the user can always see the face part 62 of the robot 1 and have a conversation with the robot 1, and therefore does not feel unnatural or uncomfortable because the face is not visible during the conversation. In addition, the face part 62 is configured in a circular shape, and the recess 28 is configured in a curve corresponding to the curvature of the circle, so that the face part 62 is not hidden by the outer wall part 21 of the movable part 2B even when the head 3 performs the first rotation. (7) The face 62 of the head 3 has a uniform dark background across the entire face 62, and is colored a different dark color compared to the relatively light white color of the other parts of the housing. In other words, the boundary between the face 62 and its exterior is divided into different colors. Therefore, when the user looks at the robot 1, the user's gaze is naturally drawn to the face 62, which has a different color, creating an atmosphere that is conducive to dialogue (communication) with the user.

[0045] (8) Since the face portion 62 is circular, it is difficult to tell that the head 3 is rotating even when it rotates in the first direction. However, since the first storage portion 73 and the second storage portion 74 protrude from the head 3, it is possible to tell that the head 3 is rotating. Therefore, by looking at this protruding portion, it is possible to confirm that the rotational movement is occurring. (9) Even when the head 3 performs the first rotation and the second rotation, the rotation range of the head 3 is restricted, so that the head 3 does not rotate excessively, and the notch 79 formed at the lower position of the head 3 is not exposed above the outer wall portion 21 or the recess 28 of the movable part 2B. (10) The values ​​of the initial (default) rotation positions of the second motor 85 and the third motor 92 can be updated by the microswitches 91 and 103. This makes it possible to correct deviations from the default positions, for example, by controlling the microswitches 91 and 103 to be in contact from time to time. (11) Since the upper equipment of the head 3 is arranged in the front case 3A, the weight is biased toward the front. However, since the counterweight 55 is attached to the upper position of the back surface of the rear case 3B, the weight is not biased and the motor is not easily strained when the head 3 rotates. (12) The rear case 3B is removable, and the upper equipment is disposed in the front case 3A. Therefore, the inside can be exposed by removing only the rear case 3B from the head 3, facilitating inspection of the upper equipment. (13) As shown in Fig. 5, the counterweight 55 is disposed at the rear of the head 3. This position is provided in consideration of the weight balance during the second rotation, and is provided because heavy members are concentrated on the front side of the rotation center. By arranging the counterweight 55 in this manner, the load on the second motor 85 when the head 3 rotates in the forward and backward directions is reduced.

[0046] 5. Electrical configuration of Robot 1 Next, the electrical configuration of the robot 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The controller MC, which serves as a control means, is connected to the above-mentioned first to third motors 43, 85, 92, Doppler sensor 34, position recognition microphone 42, dialogue microphone 99, touch panel unit 67, illuminance sensor 77, high-brightness white LED 78, face recognition camera 98, speaker device 56, wireless LAN device 37, terminal 13, micro SD card socket 15, micro switches 54, 91, 103, etc.

[0047] The controller MC is composed of a known CPU, ROM, RAM, memory as a storage means such as SSD, a bus, a real-time clock (RTC), etc. Various programs for executing various functions of the robot 1 are stored in the ROM of the controller MC. The various programs include, for example, a dialogue program for controlling dialogue with the user via the microphone 99 and the speaker device 56, a face recognition program for face recognition using the face recognition camera 98, a display change / gesture program for controlling the touch panel unit 67 and the first to third motors 43, 85, and 92 to change the facial expression and movement of the robot 1 during dialogue with the robot 1, a screen display program for displaying different screens and images on the touch panel unit 67 based on dialogue with the user and operation of the touch panel unit 67, a sound source position calculation program for calculating the direction of a sound source based on an electric signal obtained from the position recognition microphone 42, a data transmission / reception program for processing, for example, camera images and e-mails from smartphones and the like obtained on the robot 1 side with other computers and smartphones, an absence setting program for watching over the user when the user is absent, an OS for operation, management, and operation of GUI functions, Internet connection functions, process management, and the like, and the like are stored in the RAM. Input / output data and calculated values ​​in dialogue and face recognition are temporarily stored in the RAM. Each program realizes functions such as dialogue, face recognition, gestures, etc. in a multitasking manner in cooperation with other programs or independently.

[0048] The touch panel unit 67 has an input operation function that allows input by touching its surface. The touch panel unit 67 can selectively display a plurality of different screens, and in an interaction mode described later, the controller MC can display a face screen 107 on which eye objects are displayed, for example, as shown in Fig. 17(a) to (d). A plurality of eye objects are provided, and the controller MC controls to display different face screens 107 or other screens depending on the content of the interaction. The illuminance sensor 77 detects the brightness of the environment in which the robot 1 is installed. The bright white LED 78 is automatically turned on when the light intensity is insufficient for the face recognition camera 98 to take a picture based on the value detected by the illuminance sensor 77. The dialogue microphone 99 is a voice input means for acquiring the user's speech during dialogue with the user. The microSD card socket 15 reads and rewrites data from and to an inserted microSD card. The wireless LAN device 37 is a device for wirelessly connecting the robot 1, which is a Wi-Fi compatible device, to the Internet. In this embodiment, the wireless LAN device 37 is compliant with the international standard IEEE802.11b. The Doppler sensor 34 is a sensor that uses microwaves, and detects whether an object (person) is moving by emitting microwaves and comparing the frequency of the reflected microwaves with the frequency of the emitted radio waves. It utilizes the fact that the frequency of the reflected waves changes when an object (person) is moving due to the Doppler effect. For example, it is a device used to detect abnormalities around the robot 1, such as the presence or absence of a suspicious person when the user is absent. Furthermore, the controller MC controls the first to third motors 43, 85, 92 based on detection signals from the microswitches 54, 91, 103, and updates the initial positions of the head 3 and the movable part 2B relative to the fixed part 2A by applying a predetermined pulse power to these motors.

[0049] The microphone 42 for position recognition is a direction detection means that can specify the direction of a sound source by the difference in the arrival time of sound between the three microphones 12 arranged at the vertices of a triangle, by simultaneously using these microphones. The principle of specifying the direction of a sound source by the microphone 42 for position recognition will be outlined below. In principle, multiple microphones can be used to determine the direction of a sound source based on the time difference Tdiff between the arrival of sound from the sound source (here, the user's speech). Sound is considered to be a plane wave. Two microphones are also possible, but using three microphones that are not on the same line is more efficient. It is more accurate to use three microphones 42 for position recognition arranged in a horizontal plane in an equilateral triangle in this embodiment. This arrangement is preferable for calculating the direction of the sound source. In this embodiment, the controller MC obtains the arrival time difference Tdiff from the phase difference of the electric signals acquired by each microphone 42. The controller MC calculates the sound source angle with respect to the reference direction based on the arrival time difference Tdiff. The controller MC executes the calculation routine at a fixed repetition timing. When the direction of the sound source is determined in this manner, the controller MC drives the first motor 43 to control the face 62 to face the direction of the sound source.

[0050] Moreover, the controller MC executes a dialogue program to control dialogue communication with the user. Here, the dialogue program is 1) A subprogram for issuing a request to the cloud server for user speech data (voice data) acquired from the microphone 12, and responding with the user speech data (character string data) that has been converted to text using a server-side voice recognition engine. 2) Built-in scenario subprogram that executes built-in scenario dialogue based on user utterances (character string data) 3) A subprogram for transferring speech data, which requests the cloud server again to send back speech data (character string data) when the user's speech does not correspond to the built-in scenario, and uses a dialogue API (application programming interface) to have the dialogue engine create response data (character string data) for the robot 1. 4) A character string data display subprogram for displaying the response data (character string data) on the touch panel unit 67 as a display unit. 5) A voice data subprogram for converting the response data (character string data) into voice data by a voice synthesis engine and outputting the voice data as an utterance from the robot 1 side through the speaker device 56. 6) A display mode / operation change subprogram for changing the display mode on the touch panel unit 67 and the operation of the robot 1 based on the user side character string data and the robot 1 side character string data, etc.

[0051] 6. Gestures of Robot 1 during interaction The controller MC controls the first to third motors 43, 85, and 92 at various times as described below to change the posture of the robot 1. The gestures of the robot 1 may be combined with the display on the touch panel unit 67 (face unit 62). The gestures described above may be combined in response to the change in the shape of the eyes of the face unit 62, for example, on the face screen 107, which is displayed through dialogue. The gestures described above may be made alone without the face unit 62 being displayed. This is because the face unit 62 is not displayed at the time of startup or shutdown, for example. The following is an example.

[0052] 1) At startup: If the face portion 62 of the head 3 is not facing forward or if the head 3 is tilted, the first to third motors 43, 85, and 92 are controlled to return it to the default position facing forward (as shown in Figures 1 to 3). 2) When the screen is touched: Same as 1) (to face the face recognition camera 10 directly to the user) 3) When the trigger "Hey Yupibo" is spoken: Same as 1) (to face the face recognition camera 10 directly to the user) 4) When the direction of a sound is detected: The first motor 43 is controlled to turn the face part 6 of the head 3 in that direction. 5) As a special emotional utterance, for example, when the user is happy, the head 3 is turned so that the face part 62 faces the user. The third motor 92 is controlled so that the head is tilted left and right (clockwise and counterclockwise) while being held down. A corresponding face screen 107 is displayed on the face portion 62. 6) As a special utterance, for example when the user is sad, the second motor 85 is controlled so that the head 3 remains stationary while nodding for a while, and then returns to the default position. 7) When an emotion is expressed as an utterance, for example, a greeting utterance such as "Good morning," "Hello," "Good evening," or "Hello," the second motor 85 is controlled to bow the head 3. A corresponding face screen 107 is displayed on the face portion 62. 8) When a simple positive communication term such as "I see," "I got it," "That's right," or "Yup!" is spoken as a non-special emotional utterance, the second motor 85 is controlled to make the head 3 nod. A corresponding face screen 107 is displayed on the face unit 62. In 6 to 8), it is advisable to change the speed and time of the second motor 85 so that sadness, bowing, and nodding are differentiated. 9) When a simple negative communication term such as "No," "I can't," or "No way" is spoken as a non-special emotional utterance, the first motor 43 is controlled to rotate the movable part 3 left and right several times. The corresponding face screen 107 is displayed on the face part 62. 10) In response to special or non-special emotional utterances and various conversations, various gestures, such as rotating the head 3 left and right (clockwise and counterclockwise) or back and forth, rotating the entire movable part 3 left and right, and rotating it in a large or small nodding motion, are controlled by combining the first to third motors 43, 85, and 92.

[0053] "6. Effects of Robot 1's Gestures During Dialogue" (1) By making the robot 1 perform these gestures, the user feels familiar with the robot 1 and can enjoy interacting with the robot 1 while also enjoying the pleasure of actively interacting with the robot 1. In addition, by controlling the first to third motors 43, 85, and 92 in combination, the robot 1 can express various behaviors, and various gestures can be prepared according to the content of the conversation. (2) Since the face part 62 has a perfect circular shape and rotates (first rotation) around the face part 62, the face part 62 always maintains a circular outer shape, but for example, the face screen 107 appears to rotate by the first rotation. This gives the user the impression that the face part 62 does not move and only the face screen 107 moves within the face part 62, which increases the enjoyment of the conversation. In addition, since the curve of the recess 28 is formed along the outer shape of the face part 62, the outer wall part 21 of the movable part 2B does not obstruct the face part 62 regardless of the rotation position.

[0054] <Modifications of the embodiment> (1) The shape of the head 3 and the shape of the facial part 62 are not limited to those described above. In the above, the facial part 62 is in the form of a "screen" on which an image is displayed on the flat touch panel part 67, but it may be an actual three-dimensional face with eyes, nose and ears instead of an image. The shape of the facial part 62 is preferably circular as described above, but it does not have to be circular. An illuminance sensor 77 and a high-luminance white LED 78 may be disposed within the facial part 62. (2) The above-mentioned housing shape of the fixed part 2A and the movable part 2B that constitute the body 2 is merely an example, and it is possible to configure it in other shapes. (3) Driving means other than stepping motors may be used as the first to third motors 23 to 25. Examples of the driving means include servo motors, hydraulic cylinders, and pneumatic cylinders. (4) The first housing portion 73 and the second housing portion 74 are understood as if they are "ears" or "horns" when the head 3 is viewed from the front side, but for example, the face portion 62 may not be circular, but a part of the circular portion may be provided that protrudes diagonally upward, and the part may be regarded as an "ear" and configured on the same plane as part of the face portion 62. In other words, the face portion 62 and the "ears" do not need to be separate. (5) The illuminance sensor 77 and the high-brightness white light L housed in the first housing section 73 and the second housing section 74 The ED 78 may be disposed within the facial portion 62 of the head 3 or at a different position outside the head 3, and the head 3 may not be provided with protrusions such as the first storage portion 73 and the second storage portion 74, making it difficult to notice that the facial portion 62 is rotating. (6) Although the three axes are perpendicular to each other, they do not have to be perpendicular to each other. The first axis P and the second axis Q do not have to be on the same plane. The third axis R and the second axis Q do not have to be on the same plane. (7) The face part 62 rotates in the first direction together with the head 3, but it is also possible to control the eyes displayed on the face screen 107 not to rotate during this rotation. In other words, when the controller MC controls the third motor 92, it may control the display of the face screen 107 to tilt according to the amount of rotation so that the eyes are always positioned horizontally. This allows the "eyes" themselves, which are a component of the face part 62, to be displayed in the basic position even if the face part 62 rotates. This gives the impression that only the head 3 is rotating independently. (8) The direction of a sound source may be determined using a number of microphones other than three. (9) As detection means other than the microswitches 54, 91, and 103, for example, a limit switch or a proximity switch may be used. (10) In the above, the head 3 itself rotates about two axes, but the head 3 itself may be configured to move about three axes. (11) A spherical portion may be provided below the head 3 inside the body 2, and the spherical portion may be moved around two or three axes by a curved motor. (12) For example, a curved linear motor may be used to levitate the head 3 and move it freely left and right and up and down. The ON / OFF, S / N inversion, and magnetic force strength of each electromagnet may be controlled. (13) The head 3 may be rotationally driven by a link or a string, or may be cam-driven. The head 3 may be rotated by spherical joint control, particularly wide-angle spherical joint control. (14) In the case of a helicopter stabilizer, the rotation surface of the main wing may be the direction of rotation of one axis of the head 3 (for example, the diameter surface of the head 3). It is recommended to use a sturdy servo horn and rod end ball end. To achieve smoother movement, it is recommended to use a servo horn that is as long as possible structurally possible. The diameter surface of the head is preferably made of metal parts. However, since various parts are packed in, it does not need to be circular. In addition to the servo horn, rod end ball end, and diameter surface, force is applied to the rotating shaft of the servo motor or stepping motor, so it is recommended to provide a mechanism to support the rotating shaft. It is difficult to align the concave spherical surface of the fuselage with the convex spherical surface of the head, so it is better to separate the fuselage and the head by 1 to 2 mm. With a helicopter structure, in addition to tilting the head up and down and left and right, it is also possible to rotate the head.

[0055] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configurations expressly described in the specification, but includes combinations of various aspects of the present invention disclosed herein. The configurations of the present invention for which a patent is sought are specified in the appended claims, but it is the intention of the present inventors to include in the claims any configurations disclosed in this specification that are not currently specified in the claims. The present invention is not limited to the configurations described in the above-mentioned embodiments. The components of each of the above-mentioned embodiments and variations may be arbitrarily selected and combined. Any component of each of the embodiments and variations may be arbitrarily combined with any component described in the means for solving the invention or any component embodying any component described in the means for solving the invention. We intend to acquire rights to these as well through amendments to this application or divisional applications, etc. Furthermore, even if there is a statement such as "in the case of..." or "when...", this is not intended to describe a configuration that is limited to that case or time. Configurations that are not these cases or times are also disclosed, and we intend to acquire rights to them. Furthermore, parts that are described in order are not limited to this order. Some parts may be deleted or the order changed. The Company has also disclosed the configuration thereof and intends to acquire the rights thereto. In addition, we intend to obtain rights to the overall design or partial design by filing a conversion application to a design application. The drawings depict the entire device in solid lines, but they include not only the overall design but also partial designs claimed for some parts of the device. For example, it is a drawing that includes some parts of the device as partial designs, regardless of the parts, as well as a drawing that includes some parts of the device as partial designs. A part of the device may be a part of the device, or it may be a part of that part. We intend to obtain rights to not only the overall design, but also partial designs in which any part of the solid line parts of the drawings is drawn as a dashed line part. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1...Robot as a device, 62...Screen as the face.

Claims

1. A device having a function of moving a facial part to perform a predetermined gesture and a function of displaying information on the facial part, The face part is provided with a function for making the gesture without displaying the gesture. An apparatus comprising:

2. A function for displaying eyes as the display of the facial part and performing the gesture action in response to the change in the shape of the eyes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 .

3. The face part is moved by rotation, and when the face part is moved by rotation, the display of the face screen is tilted according to the amount of rotation so that the eyes are always positioned horizontally.

3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that

4. The display unit for displaying the image is located inside a circular area, and has a function of displaying the components of a face on a rectangular display unit, and changing the display content of the components of the face to change the facial expression on the face unit.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

5. The face portion and the outer side of the face portion are divided into different colors at the boundary.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

6. The face mask is provided with a flat surface portion for forming the face portion, and a portion that bulges outward is formed at a predetermined position that is flush with the flat surface portion.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that

7. A program for causing a computer to realize the functions of the device of claims 1 to 6.

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