Charging system

Abstract

To provide a charging system, a robot, and a charging device capable of preferably charging a device such as a robot.SOLUTION: A charging system includes a device including a drive unit that drives a secondary battery and the device itself, and a charging device that charges the secondary battery in a state where the device is placed on a placement surface. When the device is placed on the placement surface of the charging device, the drive unit is driven to get contact between the driven part and the placement surface, whereby a force to a prescribed one direction is generated. Accordingly, the position of the device on the placement surface is set to a prescribed position for charging.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a charging system, a robot, and a charging device.

Background Art

[0002] In order to make a robot a familiar presence like a pet, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a robot provided with an exterior covering a main body portion.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Many such robots have a rechargeable secondary battery incorporated therein. And as a method of charging the secondary battery of the robot, it is conceivable to notify the user at the timing when the remaining charge amount of the robot decreases, and the user sets the robot to a dedicated charging station based on the notification. However, when charging such a robot by contact charging or non-contact charging, if the position set by the user is not an appropriate position, there is a possibility that efficient charging cannot be performed.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a charging system, a robot, and a charging device capable of suitably charging devices such as a robot.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The charging system according to the present invention is a device including a secondary battery and a drive unit that drives the own device, A charging device that includes a placement surface on which the device is placed and that charges the secondary battery when the device is placed on the placement surface. When the device is placed on the placement surface of the charging device, the drive unit is driven, and a force in a predetermined one direction is generated by contact between the driven portion and the placement surface, so that the position of the device on the placement surface becomes a predetermined position for charging.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a charging system, a robot, and a charging device that can suitably charge a device such as a robot.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to facilitate the understanding of the embodiments, the description will be made while appropriately referring to the front and rear in FIG. 1 and the up and down directions in FIG. 2.

[0010] (Embodiment) First, the configuration of the robot 200 according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 200 is a pet robot imitating a small animal. The robot 200 is provided with two decorative parts 202 having decorative parts imitating the eyes of a small animal on the front side. In this way, the front side of the robot 200 constitutes the face part of the small animal. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot 200 has a main body part 207 and an exterior 201 covering the main body part 207.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 2, the main body part 207 has a head part 204, a body part 206 provided behind the head part 204, and a connecting part 205 connecting the head part 204 and the body part 206. The main body part 207 is made of, for example, synthetic resin and may be colored in a light pink color so as not to give the user a mechanical impression.

[0012] The head 204 that forms part of the main body 207 corresponds to the head of the robot 200 that mimics a small animal. The body 206 has a shape that is long in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 2, a convex part 241 as a first engaged part is provided on the body 206. The convex part 241 as the first engaged part engages with a first engaging part (engaging plate) provided on the exterior 201. Note that a second engaged part similar to the first engaged part is also provided on the head 204 (not shown). By engaging the first engaging part and the second engaging part provided on the exterior 201 with the first engaged part attached to the body 206 and the second engaged part attached to the head 204, respectively, the exterior 201 can be moved in accordance with the operation of the main body 207. Hereinafter, when the first engaging part and the second engaging part are not particularly distinguished, they will be simply referred to as the engaging part. Also, when the first engaged part and the second engaged part are not particularly distinguished, they will be simply referred to as the engaged part.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting part 205 connects the rear end part of the head 204 and the front end part of the body 206. A vertical motor 222 for rotating the head up and down is provided on the connecting part 205. Although not shown, in addition to this, for example, a twisting motor may be provided. The twisting motor may be any motor that rotates the head 204 around an axis extending in the front-rear direction. By operating the head 204 in this way, the robot 200 that mimics the small animal shown in FIG. 1 can be made to perform an operation such as tilting its neck.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the up-down motor 222 rotates the head 204 in the direction indicated by arrow Y1 about the axis 103 parallel to the direction penetrating the figure. By operating the head 204 in this way, the robot 200 mimicking a small animal can be made to perform an operation such as a gesture of shaking the head up and down. The connecting portion 205 connects the head 204 and the body portion 206 so that the head 204 can be operated by the rotation axis of the up-down motor 222. When a twisting motor is provided, the connecting portion 205 may connect the head 204 and the body portion 206 so that the head 204 can be operated on two axes, namely, the rotation by the twisting motor and the rotation by the up-down motor 222.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 1, the exterior 201 is long in the front-rear direction and has a bag-like shape capable of accommodating the main body portion 207 (FIG. 2) inside. The exterior 201 is formed by sewing a sheet-like front material and a back material together at a plurality of locations in a state where they are overlapped with each other using a thread. In this way, by sewing both the sheet-like front material and the back material together at a plurality of locations using a thread, it is possible to handle them integrally without causing a shift between the front material and the back material. The front material is composed of an artificial pile fabric imitating the hair 203 of a small animal, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thereby, the texture of the robot 200 can be made similar to the texture of a small animal. The back material is composed of a woven fabric woven from synthetic fibers. The back material may also be composed of natural leather, artificial leather, a sheet material made of synthetic resin, a sheet material made of rubber, or a cloth made of natural fiber. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an engaging plate 260 as an engaging portion is provided inside the exterior 201.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, a wire fastener 208 is attached to the rear portion of the exterior 201. By sliding the slider 208a to close the state with the main body portion 207 (FIG. 2) accommodated inside the exterior 201, the state of accommodating the main body portion 207 (FIG. 2) is maintained. On the other hand, by sliding the slider 208a to open the wire fastener 208, the main body portion 207 (FIG. 2) accommodated inside can be taken out, or the main body portion 207 (FIG. 2) can be accommodated inside the exterior 201.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, by operating the exterior 201 in accordance with the operation of the main body 207 caused by driving the up-and-down motor 222, the robot 200 mimicking a small animal can be operated as if it were alive. For this purpose, the first and second engaging portions and the first and second engaged portions are used to appropriately lock the exterior 201 to the main body 207 so that the exterior 201 follows the movement of the main body 207.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, a convex component 241 as a first engaged portion that engages with the engagement plate 260 is attached to the body portion 206 that constitutes a part of the main body 207. Further, a power receiving coil 101 is provided in the body portion 206. The power receiving coil 101 is, for example, a planar coil wound in a spiral shape, and the coil surface is arranged to be parallel to the floor surface 302 of the charging device 300 described later. The power receiving coil 101 receives power by magnetic field coupling such as electromagnetic induction with a power transmission coil 102 provided in the charging device 300 described later. The power received by the power receiving coil 101 is output to a charging circuit (not shown). The charging circuit rectifies the AC power received by the power receiving coil 101 and converts it into a DC current to charge a secondary battery (not shown). Thereby, power can be supplied to the secondary battery of the robot 200 from the charging device 300 in a non-contact manner. Note that the power charged in the secondary battery serves as the driving power for the up-and-down motor 222. Further, the control unit 105 and the communication unit 106 described later function by consuming the power charged in the secondary battery. Hereinafter, the current supplied to the secondary battery is referred to as a charging current. In this embodiment, an example of a non-contact charging method using the power transmission coil 102 and the power receiving coil 101 is shown. However, for example, electrodes may be provided on each of the charging device 300 on the power transmission side and the robot 200 on the power receiving side, and a non-contact charging method may be performed by an electric field coupling method. Further, it is not limited to the electric field coupling method, and for example, non-contact charging by a magnetic field resonance method or a DC resonance method may be used.

[0019] In addition, the body portion 206 includes a control unit 105 as a functional unit that controls at least the driving of the up-and-down motor 222, and a communication unit 106 as a functional unit that communicates with a charging device 300 described later.

[0020] The control unit 105 is configured to include, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and a memory that stores various types of information. The control unit 105 includes a storage unit. The storage unit is a storage device such as a flash memory or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores various types of information in the drive control of the up-and-down motor 222 performed by the control unit 105.

[0021] Specifically, when the remaining amount of the charge capacity of the built-in secondary battery of the robot 200 according to this embodiment becomes equal to or less than a predetermined remaining amount, the robot 200 sends a message to the terminal owned by the user, outputs an alarm sound, or the like, and gives a notification to prompt the user to charge. Therefore, the storage unit stores the remaining amount of the charge capacity of the secondary battery that triggers the notification. The control unit 105 sends a message to the terminal owned by the user via the communication unit 106. When outputting an alarm sound, the control unit 105 may output the alarm sound via an input / output unit (not shown). The remaining amount of the charge capacity stored in the storage unit is an amount that enables an induction operation (an operation of moving the robot 200 to a suitable position in the charging device 300) to be performed. Note that the storage unit also stores the current value of the allowable charging current (allowable current value) (details will be described later).

[0022] Furthermore, the control unit 105 is capable of detecting the current value of the received power current. The charging efficiency varies depending on the position of the robot 200 on the charging device 300. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the position where the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided on the robot 200 overlaps with the center O' of the power transmitting coil 102 of the charging device 300 has the highest charging efficiency. That is, the closer the position where the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided on the robot 200 is placed to the center O' of the power transmitting coil 102 of the charging device 300, the higher the charging efficiency. Therefore, the allowable current value stored in the storage unit in advance is compared with the current value of the charging current actually detected by the control unit 105. When the detected current value of the charging current is less than the allowable current value, the control unit 105 determines that the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided on the robot 200 is separated from the center O' of the power transmitting coil 102 of the charging device 300, that is, the robot 200 is not placed in a suitable position on the charging device 300. In this case, the control unit 105 performs drive control of the up-down motor 222 by executing an induction operation process for performing an induction operation (an operation of moving to a suitable position on the charging device 300) described later, and moves the robot 200 to a suitable position. The allowable current value is the current value of the charging current when the charging efficiency satisfies a predetermined level and is set in advance. In this embodiment, the position where the detected current value of the charging current is equal to or greater than the allowable current value is defined as a suitable position for charging.

[0023] The communication unit 106 includes an interface for communicating with the communication unit 306 of the charging device 300 and the user's terminal by means of wireless communication such as radio waves or infrared rays. In this embodiment, the communication unit 106 performs wireless communication with the communication unit 306 of the charging device 300 by means of NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) to identify that the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300. Note that the method for identifying that the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300 is not limited to the method using wireless communication. For example, it may be identified by, for example, a predetermined voice input by the user to an input / output unit (not shown), by a light sensor, by a mechanical switch or a weight sensor, or any other method. Also, in this embodiment, in the robot 200, an induction operation process is constantly executed, and on the side of the robot 200, it is constantly determined whether or not the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300. Note that the entity for identifying that the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300 may be the side of the robot 200, the side of the charging device 300, or both.

[0024] The above is the configuration of the robot 200 according to this embodiment. Next, the configuration of the charging device 300 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a view showing the charging device 300 according to this embodiment from above. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the charging device 300 according to this embodiment with the robot 200 placed thereon from the side. As shown in FIG. 3, the charging device 300 has an elliptical shape and includes an outer frame 301, a floor surface 302, and a guide 305. The floor surface 302 includes an induction unit 304.

[0025] The outer frame 301 is composed of an insulating member such as plastic. The floor surface 302 is the surface on which the body part 206 of the robot 200 is placed, and is configured to be parallel to the power receiving coil 101 provided on the body part 206 when the robot 200 is placed. The floor surface 302 may be composed of a smooth member with little friction against the exterior 201 and the hair 203 of the robot 200, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), so as not to interfere with the induction operation of the robot 200.

[0026] Below the floor surface 302 and inside the charging device 300, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a power transmission coil 102 is provided. The power transmission coil 102 is, for example, a planar coil wound in a spiral shape, and the coil surface is arranged parallel to the floor surface 302. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the power transmission coil 102 is arranged to face the power receiving coil 101 in parallel. In this way, the charging device 300 is provided with a configuration for non-contact power transmission including the power transmission coil 102. In this embodiment, it is provided outside or inside the charging device 300, and converts the DC voltage supplied from an AC adapter connected to a household outlet into AC and transmits power from the power transmission coil 102.

[0027] The guiding part 304 is provided in front of the floor surface 302 and has a shape like a part of a Bernoulli curve (substantially a fan shape) centered on the center position of the charging device 300 as shown in FIG. 3. In the guiding operation described later, when the head 204 of the robot 200 moves up and down, as shown in FIG. 4, the outer cover 201 and the hair 203 at the tip part (the front tip part of the robot 200) of the robot 200 come into contact, and the cross section of the guiding part 304 is formed in a sawtooth shape such that the back blade 304B of the sawtooth faces the body direction (the backward direction) to ensure that the robot 200 retreats. Among the guiding part 304 with a sawtooth-shaped cross section, the part obliquely formed with respect to the floor surface 302 is called the front blade 304A, and the part formed perpendicular to the floor surface 302 is called the back blade 304B. Further, the guiding part 304 may be composed of a member with a large friction with the outer cover 201 and the hair 203 at the front tip part of the robot 200, such as rubber. Note that the guiding part 304 may be a sector shape instead of a substantially fan shape. Also, as long as the guiding part 304 can contact the front tip part of the robot 200, it may not be centered on the center position of the charging device 300 but centered on another position. Further, the front tip part of the robot 200 may be, for example, a part corresponding to the nose part if the robot 200 is a small dog robot.

[0028] Returning to FIG. 3, the guide 305 is a guiding plate for guiding the robot 200 to move to a suitable position in the charging device 300 in the guiding operation described below, that is, for guiding the center O of the power receiving coil 101 to approach the center O' of the power transmitting coil 102. Further, the guide 305 also has a function as a stopper to prevent the robot from moving further backward after the robot has moved to a position suitable for charging. In this embodiment, the operation of the robot 200 is stopped by detecting that the robot has moved to a position suitable for charging. However, even when the robot 200 is operated a predetermined number of times without detecting the position of the robot 200, the guide 305 can stop the robot 200 at an appropriate position. The guide 305 may be made of a smooth member with little friction against the exterior 201 and the hair 203 of the robot 200, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), so as not to interfere with the guiding operation of the robot 200. Note that the guide 305 is configured to be adjustable in the illustrated angle θ according to the size of the robot 200. According to this, even for robots 200 of different sizes, they can be suitably charged using the charging device 300.

[0029] Note that in the illustrated example, an example in which the charging device 300 has an elliptical shape, that is, an example in which the outer frame 301 has an elliptical shape is shown, but this is just an example and is not limited to the elliptical shape. For example, it may have a so-called oval shape in which the front is bulged more than the rear. In this case, since the rear is shrunk compared to the front, the inner wall of the charging device serves as a guiding plate and a stopper, and the charging device 300 may not be provided with the guide 305 separately.

[0030] Further, the charging device 300 includes a communication unit 306 as a functional unit for communicating with the robot 200. The communication unit 306 includes an interface for communicating with the communication unit 106 of the robot 200 by wireless communication means such as radio waves or infrared rays. Although not shown, a control unit is provided as a functional unit for controlling the communication with the communication unit 106 of the robot 200 via the communication unit 306 and for controlling the power to be transmitted. The control unit is configured to include, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, an FPGA, and a memory for storing various information.

[0031] The above is the configuration of the charging device 300 according to this embodiment. Subsequently, charging by the robot 200 and the charging device 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view shown from the side with the robot 200 placed on the charging device 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a state in which the robot 200 is placed at a suitable position in the charging device 300. Note that the combination of the robot 200 and the charging device 300 is also referred to as a charging system for the robot 200.

[0032] In this embodiment, the charging device 300 is provided outside or inside the charging device 300, converts a DC voltage supplied from an AC adapter connected to a household power outlet into AC, and transmits power from the power transmission coil 102 to the robot 200. Then, the power receiving coil 101 provided on the robot 200 receives power by magnetic field coupling such as electromagnetic induction, outputs the power to a charging circuit (not shown), and charges a secondary battery (not shown). Thereby, power is supplied to the secondary battery of the robot 200 from the charging device 300 in a non-contact manner. As described above, the position where the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided on the robot 200 overlaps with the center O' of the power transmission coil 102 of the charging device 300 has the highest charging efficiency. Therefore, the charging efficiency changes depending on the position of the robot 200 within the charging device 300 where it is placed.

[0033] As described above, since the charging efficiency changes depending on the position of the charging device 300 when charging the robot 200, in this embodiment, by performing a guiding operation to move the robot 200 to a suitable position in the charging device 300, it is possible to perform charging suitably. The guiding operation is performed by executing the guiding operation process shown in FIG. 5. The guiding operation process is a process that is constantly executed in the robot 200 as described above.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the guiding operation process. In the following, as shown in FIG. 6, the case where the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300 such that the tip portion of the robot 200 (hereinafter, the front tip portion of the robot 200) is at the position of X shown in the figure will be described as an example. Also, it is assumed that the current value of the charging current detected when the front tip portion of the robot 200 is at the position of X shown in the figure is less than the allowable current value stored in the storage unit.

[0035] When starting the guiding operation process shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 105 of the robot 200 determines whether or not the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300 by determining whether or not communication between the communication unit 106 and the communication unit 306 of the charging device 300 has been established (step S100). If communication between the communication unit 106 and the communication unit 306 is not established, that is, if it is determined that the robot 200 is not placed on the charging device 300 (step S100; No), the control unit 105 ends the guiding operation process as it is.

[0036] When communication is established between the communication unit 106 and the communication unit 306, that is, when it is determined that the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300 (step S100; Yes), the control unit 105 determines whether the current value of the actually detected charging current is equal to or greater than the allowable current value stored in the storage unit in advance (step S101). Specifically, in step S101, if the current value of the actually detected charging current is less than the allowable current value stored in the storage unit in advance, it is determined that the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided in the robot 200 is separated from the center O' of the power transmission coil 102 of the charging device 300, that is, the robot 200 is not placed at a suitable position in the charging device 300. On the other hand, if the current value of the actually detected charging current is equal to or greater than the allowable current value stored in the storage unit in advance, it is determined that the robot 200 is placed at a suitable position in the charging device 300. Note that the allowable current value may be changeable by the user. Also, in step S101, if it is determined that the current value of the detected charging current is equal to or greater than the allowable current value (step S101; Yes), the control unit 105 determines that it is placed at a suitable position and ends the induction operation process.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 6, when the front tip of the robot 200 is at the position of X shown in the figure, in the process of step S101, the control unit 105 determines that the current value of the detected charging current is less than the allowable current value (step S101; No), and shifts to the process of step S102 shown in FIG. 5.

[0038] Subsequently, the control unit 105 performs drive control of the up-down motor 222 to move the head 204 of the robot 200 up and down (step S102). That is, in the process of step S102, the up-down motor 222 is driven to perform an operation of shaking the head of the robot 200 imitating a small animal up and down. Specifically, in the process of step S102, by the drive control of the up-down motor 222, first, the head 204 of the robot 200 rotates in the direction of arrow Y2 shown in FIG. 7. As a result, as shown in the figure, the exterior 201 and the hair 203 at the front tip of the robot 200 come into contact with the guiding portion 304. Subsequently, by the drive control of the up-down motor 222, the head 204 of the robot 200 rotates in the direction of arrow Y3 shown in FIG. 8. As a result, a backward force is generated in the portion A shown in FIG. 7. Therefore, by executing the process of step S102 shown in FIG. 5, the head 204 of the robot 200 changes from the state shown in FIG. 7 to the state shown in FIG. 8, from downward to forward. At this time, receiving the backward force generated in the portion A of FIG. 7, as shown in FIG. 8, the robot 200 moves by the distance from X to Y. That is, an operation is performed to bring the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided in the robot 200 closer to the center O' of the power transmission coil 102 of the charging device 300.

[0039] Returning to FIG. 5, after executing the process of step S102, the control unit 105 returns to the process of step S101 and determines whether the current value of the detected charging current is equal to or greater than the allowable current value previously stored in the storage unit. Then, when the current value of the detected charging current is less than the allowable current value, the processes of step S101 and step S102 are repeated, such as executing the process of step S102 again, until the current value of the detected charging current becomes equal to or greater than the allowable current value. As a result, the robot 200 moves to a position where the current value of the detected charging current becomes equal to or greater than the allowable current value. Moving the robot 200 to a position where the current value of the charging current is equal to or greater than the allowable current value in this way is called an induction operation.

[0040] Note that FIG. 9 is a top view of the state in which the guiding operation process is executed and the robot 200 is performing the guiding operation in the state shown in FIG. 6. Since the guiding portion 304 is formed in a substantially fan shape as shown in the figure, even when the robot 200 is placed obliquely with respect to the front-rear direction, by executing the guiding operation process, the guiding operation is performed so that the center O of the power receiving coil 101 approaches the center O' of the power transmitting coil 102. Further, since the guide 305 is provided, the robot 200 can be guided to a more suitable charging position.

[0041] As described above, in this embodiment, when the robot 200 is not placed at a suitable position in the charging device 300, the guiding operation process is executed, and the guiding operation of the robot 200 is performed. As a result, the center O of the power receiving coil 101 approaches the center O' of the power transmitting coil 102, and charging can be suitably performed.

[0042] In this embodiment, in the process of step S101 in FIG. 5, by comparing the allowable current value and the charging current, it is determined whether the robot 200 is at a suitable position for charging, and the guiding operation is started and stopped. However, a method of not comparing the current values can also be adopted. For example, the guide 305 may be used as a stopper. Specifically, based on detecting that the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300, the robot 200 is made to perform an operation of shaking its head up and down a predetermined number of times, and the robot 200 is retracted in the same manner as above. At this time, the guide 305 is appropriately installed so that the robot 200 stops at a position suitable for charging. According to this, the robot 200 can be stopped at a position suitable for charging. Further, in this embodiment, an example of non-contact charging is shown, but contact charging may also be used. In this case, charging contact terminals may be provided on both the robot 200 and the charging device 300, and a guiding operation may be performed to guide the two contact terminals to contact each other.

[0043] In this case, the number of times the head 204 of the robot 200 is operated may be the number of times it can move to the preferred charging position when the robot 200 is placed at the tip of the charging device 300 (the position farthest from the preferred charging position). Even when the robot 200 is initially placed at the preferred charging position, the robot 200 operates, but the movement can be suppressed by installing the guide 305.

[0044] (Modification example) Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, the robot 200 and the charging device 300 do not necessarily have all the technical features shown in the above-described embodiments, and may have some of the configurations described in the above-described embodiments so as to solve at least one problem in the prior art. Also, for each of the following modification examples, at least a part thereof may be combined.

[0045] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the guide portion 304 having a sawtooth-shaped cross section is provided in a substantially fan shape in front of the floor surface 302 of the charging device 300, but this is merely an example. In the guiding operation process, if a backward force is generated at the contact portion between the front tip of the robot 200 and the floor surface 302 of the charging device 300 due to the vertical movement of the head 240 of the robot 200, the charging device 300 may not be provided with the guide portion 304. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, by providing the contact portion 299 at the tip portion of the robot 200 (the front tip of the robot 200), a backward force may be generated at the contact portion between the contact portion 299 and the floor surface 302 when the head 240 of the robot 200 moves up and down in the guiding operation process. The contact portion 299 may be, for example, an elastic member with a large friction such as rubber. When the contact portion 299 is provided at the front tip of the robot 200, the portion of the floor surface 302 of the charging device 300 that comes into contact with the contact portion 299 (the portion corresponding to the guide portion 304 in the above-described embodiment) may be made of a resin with a large friction with the contact portion 299. In addition, in combination with the above-described embodiment, the contact portion 299 may be provided at the tip portion of the robot 200 (the front tip of the robot 200), and the guide portion 304 having a sawtooth-shaped cross section may be provided in front of the floor surface 302 of the charging device 300. In this case, it is desirable that the size of the contact portion 299 is such that it can come into contact with the guide portion 304.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 10, the case where the robot 200 is placed on the charging device 300 and the guiding operation process is executed so that the contact portion 299 of the robot 200 is at the position X' shown in the figure will be described. Also, it is assumed that the current value of the charging current detected when the contact portion 299 of the robot 200 is at the position X' shown in the figure is less than the allowable current value.

[0047] When the process of step S102 in the induction operation process shown in FIG. 5 is executed, the robot 200 moves its head 204 up and down. Specifically, in the process of step S102, by driving and controlling the up-down motor 222, first, the head 204 of the robot 200 rotates in the direction of arrow Y2 shown in FIG. 11. As a result, as shown in the figure, the contact portion 299 of the robot 200 comes into contact with the floor surface 302. Subsequently, by driving and controlling the up-down motor 222, the head 204 of the robot 200 rotates in the direction of arrow Y3 shown in FIG. 12. As a result, a backward force is generated at the contact portion between the contact portion 299 of the robot 200 shown in FIG. 11 and the floor surface 302. Therefore, by executing the process of step S102 shown in FIG. 5, the head 204 of the robot 200 changes from the state shown in FIG. 11 to the state shown in FIG. 12, from downward to forward. At this time, the robot 200 receives the force generated between the contact portion 299 in FIG. 11 and the floor surface 302, and as shown in FIG. 12, the robot 200 moves a distance from X' to Y'. That is, an operation is performed to bring the center O of the power receiving coil 101 provided in the robot 200 closer to the center O' of the power transmission coil 102 of the charging device 300. According to this, the robot 200 can be induced to operate without providing the charging device 300 with the induction portion 304 having a sawtooth-shaped cross section. In addition, since it is only necessary to provide the robot 200 with the contact portion 299, the charging device 300 can be used to charge a plurality of types of robots 200.

[0048] Also, in the above-described embodiment, in the process of step S101 in FIG. 5, an example is shown in which the control unit 105 of the robot 200 determines whether it is placed at a suitable position in the charging device 300, and performs drive control of the up-and-down motor 222 when it is not placed at a suitable position. However, this is just an example. For example, whether the robot 200 is placed at a suitable position in the charging device 300 may be determined on the side of the charging device 300. In this case, the allowable current value only needs to be stored in the storage unit of the charging device 300. Specifically, the charging device 300 receives the current value of the charging current actually detected by the control unit 105 from the robot 200. Then, on the side of the charging device 300, it is determined whether the received current value is equal to or greater than the allowable current value stored in the storage unit, and it may be determined whether the robot 200 is placed at a suitable position. And when it is determined that it is not placed at a suitable position, a drive command for performing drive control of the up-and-down motor 222 may be transmitted to the control unit 105 of the robot 200 to execute the process of step S102 in FIG. 5.

[0049] Also, robot information indicating the type of the robot 200 may be associated with the current value of the charging current received by the charging device 300, and the allowable current values stored in advance on the side of the charging device 300 may be different allowable current values for each type of the robot 200. According to this, even when the allowable current values are different for each type of the robot 200, it is possible to determine whether it is a suitable position for different types of robots 200 with the same charging device 300.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the guiding operation is performed by the up-and-down movement of the head 204 of the robot 200. However, this is just an example. In addition to this, for example, the guiding operation may be performed by the left-and-right movement of the head 204 of the robot 200. In this case, guiding portions 304 having a sawtooth-shaped cross section may be provided on both side surfaces of the charging device 300 such that the guiding portion 304 contacts the front tip of the robot 200 when the head 204 is moved left and right.

[0051] In the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the robot 200 is moved to a suitable position in the charging device 300 by operating the robot 200. However, in addition to this, for example, a belt conveyor is provided on the side of the charging device 300, and when it is determined that the robot 200 is not placed in a suitable position on the side of the charging device 300, the robot 200 may be moved to a suitable position in the charging device 300 by operating the belt conveyor.

[0052] In this embodiment, an example of charging a small animal-shaped robot was shown. However, the device to be charged is not limited to a robot, and the present disclosure is applicable to any device having a driving unit. For example, when a toy car having wheels or a toy tank having a caterpillar detects that it is placed on a charging stand, it may drive the wheels or the caterpillar to be guided to an appropriate charging position. Furthermore, even a beauty instrument having a massage function by the movement of the driving unit may apply the present disclosure so that the driving unit and the charging device are appropriately in contact.

[0053] The present invention can be implemented in various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Also, the above-described embodiment is for explaining the present invention and does not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is indicated not by the embodiment but by the claims. And various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the meaning of the invention equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. The invention described in the original claims of the present application is appended below.

[0054] (Appendix 1) A device including a secondary battery and a driving unit for driving itself, A charging device including a mounting surface on which the device is mounted and for charging the secondary battery in a state where the device is mounted on the mounting surface, When the device is placed on the placement surface of the charging device, it drives the drive unit, and a force in a predetermined one direction is generated by contact between the driven part and the placement surface, so that the position of the device on the placement surface becomes a predetermined position for charging. A charging system characterized by this.

[0055] (Appendix 2) The charging device further includes an inner wall surface formed such that both inner surfaces gradually narrow in the one direction. The charging system according to Appendix 1.

[0056] (Appendix 3) The charging device further includes a guiding part for guiding the device in the one direction on a part of the placement surface on which the device is placed. The guiding part has a longitudinal cross-section formed in a sawtooth shape with the back edge of the sawtooth facing the one direction. The charging system according to Appendix 1 or 2.

[0057] (Appendix 4) The guiding part is formed on the placement surface in a fan shape when viewed from the direction facing the placement surface, and is provided such that the arc of the fan shape faces in the direction opposite to the one direction. The charging system according to Appendix 3.

[0058] (Appendix 5) The device further includes a placement position acquisition part for acquiring the position on the placement surface when the device itself is placed on the placement surface, and drives the drive unit when the placement position acquired by the placement position acquisition part satisfies a predetermined condition. The charging system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 4.

[0059] (Appendix 6) The device is a robot including a head and a body part, the drive unit drives the head, and the one direction is the direction from the head towards the body part when the robot is placed on the placement surface. The charging system according to any one of Appendices 1 to 5.

[0060] (Appendix 7) The charging system according to supplementary note 6, configured such that a force in the one direction is generated on the robot when the head to be driven comes into contact with the placement surface.

[0061] (Supplementary note 8) The charging device is the charging system according to any one of supplementary notes 1 to 7, which charges the secondary battery of the device by non-contact charging.

[0062] (Supplementary note 9) A robot including a head and a body part, An identifying part for identifying that the robot is placed on the charging device, A determination part for determining whether the position in the charging device is a position satisfying a predetermined condition when it is identified by the identifying part that the robot is placed on the charging device, An operating part for operating the head according to the determination result by the determination part, and comprising, The head is configured to come into contact with the charging device by the operation of the operating part, and a force in the direction from the head to the body part is generated, Robot.

[0063] (Supplementary note 10) A charging device on which a robot including a head and a body part is placed, An identifying part for identifying that the robot is placed, A determination part for determining whether the position of the robot is a position satisfying a predetermined condition when it is identified by the identifying part that the robot is placed, An instruction transmission part for transmitting an operation instruction for operating the head to the robot according to the determination result by the determination part, A floor surface part configured such that when an operation by the robot is performed based on the operation instruction, a force in the direction from the head to the body part is generated on the robot by coming into contact with the head, Charging device comprising.

Explanation of reference signs

[0064] 101 ··· Power receiving coil, 102 ··· Power transmission coil, 103 ··· Axis, 105 ··· Control unit, 106, 306 ··· Communication unit, 200 ··· Robot, 201 ··· Exterior, 202 ··· Decorative parts, 203 ··· Hair, 204 ··· Head, 205 ··· Connecting part, 206 ··· Trunk part, 207 ··· Main body part, 208 ··· Wire fastener, 208a ··· Slider, 222 ··· Up and down motor, 241 ··· Convex part, 260 ··· Engaging plate, 299 ··· Contact part, 300 ··· Charging device, 301 ··· Outer frame, 302 ··· Floor surface, 304 ··· Guide part, 304A ··· Front blade, 304B ··· Rear blade, 305 ··· Guide

Claims

1. A device including a secondary battery and a drive unit that drives the device itself; a charging device that includes a placement surface on which the device is placed and that charges the secondary battery while the device is placed on the placement surface, A charging system characterized in that, when the device is placed on the placement surface of the charging device, the drive unit is driven, and a force in a predetermined direction is generated by contacting the driven part with the placement surface, thereby positioning the device on the placement surface at a predetermined position for charging.

2. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein the charging device further comprises an inner wall surface formed so that both inner sides thereof become gradually narrower in the one direction.

3. the charging device further includes a guide portion for guiding the device in the one direction on a part of the placement surface on which the device is placed, The charging system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the induction portion has a longitudinal section formed in a sawtooth shape with a back edge of the saw facing in the one direction.

4. 4. The charging system according to claim 3, wherein the induction portion is formed on the placement surface in a fan-like shape when viewed from a direction facing the placement surface, and the arc of the fan-like shape faces in a direction opposite to the one direction.

5. The charging system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the device further includes a placement position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the device on the placement surface when the device is placed on the placement surface, and drives the drive unit when the placement position acquired by the placement position acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined condition.

6. 6. The charging system according to claim 1, wherein the device is a robot having a head and a torso, the drive unit drives the head, and the one direction is a direction from the head to the torso when the robot is placed on the placement surface.

7. The charging system according to claim 6 , wherein the force in one direction is generated in the robot by contacting the driven head with the placement surface.

8. The charging system according to claim 1 , wherein the charging device charges the secondary battery of the device by non-contact charging.

9. A robot including a head and a torso, An identification unit that identifies that the robot is placed on a charging device; a determination unit that, when the identification unit identifies that the robot has been placed on the charging device, determines whether or not the position of the robot on the charging device satisfies a predetermined condition; an operation unit that operates the head in response to a determination result by the determination unit, The operation of the operating unit causes the head to come into contact with the charging device, generating a force in a direction from the head to the torso. robot.

10. A charging device on which a robot including a head and a torso is placed, An identification unit that identifies that the robot has been placed; a determination unit that, when the identification unit identifies that the robot has been placed, determines whether or not the position of the robot is a position that satisfies a predetermined condition; a command transmission unit that transmits to the robot a movement command for moving the head in accordance with a result of the determination by the determination unit; a floor surface portion configured to generate a force in the robot in a direction from the head to the torso portion by contacting the head when the robot performs an action based on the action command; A charging device comprising:

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