Travel system and travel path

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system (100) comprising a travel path (10) and a travel device (20) that travels on the travel path (10). The travel path (10) includes: a mirror surface (11); a film (12) which is provided on the mirror surface and which blocks light of a specific wavelength outside the visible range; and a guide line (13) which is provided on the film (12) and which reflects light of the specific wavelength. The traveling device (20) includes: a sensor which detects the guide line (13) by emitting light of the specific wavelength; and a travel control means that travels along the guide line (13) on the basis of detection information from the sensor.

Description

Traveling system and route

[0001] The present invention relates to a system including an autonomous traveling device and a traveling path that guides the traveling device. The present invention also relates to the traveling path itself.

[0002] Conventionally, there have been known running toys that autonomously travel along a track drawn on a running surface (for example, Patent Document 1). The running toy described in Patent Document 1 includes a photosensor (optical sensor) for detecting the track drawn on the running surface, and is configured to optically detect the track based on light reflected from the running surface using the photosensor. Patent Document 1 also states that the track on the running surface may be, for example, a line drawn with a marker or tape attached to the running surface.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-181241

[0004] The applicant of the present application is considering creating a system in which a guide wire is drawn on the mirror surface and a traveling device automatically moves along the guide wire. By making the traveling device move along the mirror surface in this way, it is thought that viewers will be able to see the traveling device as if it were floating in the air.

[0005] However, in such a system using a mirror surface, when a photosensor is mounted to detect guiding lines, as in the traveling device disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the photosensor is likely to erroneously detect guiding lines because light reflected from the mirror surface is directly incident on the light-receiving element of the photosensor. In other words, light emitted from the light-emitting element of the photosensor is likely to be reflected on the mirror surface and enter the light-receiving element while maintaining its strong optical energy, or external light is likely to be reflected on the mirror surface and enter the light-receiving element, making it difficult for the photosensor of the traveling device to accurately detect guiding lines on the mirror surface.

[0006] Furthermore, if the guide lines are drawn directly on the mirror surface with an oil-based marker or the like, there is a problem that when the travel route of the traveling device is changed or the guide lines are removed, the guide lines on the mirror surface must be completely erased, which is time-consuming. The same applies when forming guide lines by sticking tape or the like on the mirror surface, and when the travel route of the traveling device is changed or the guide lines are removed, the tape must be removed from the mirror surface. For this reason, it can be said that drawing guide lines directly on the mirror surface is not preferable.

[0007] Furthermore, in a system using a mirror surface, if the guide lines of the traveling device are drawn with an oil-based marker or the like as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the guide lines will be visually conspicuous, making it difficult to give viewers the impression that the traveling device is floating in the air, and there is a problem that the aesthetics of the entire system will be impaired. Also, if the guide lines are drawn with an oil-based marker or the like, viewers will be able to easily predict the movement path of the traveling device, making it difficult to surprise viewers.

[0008] Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to solve at least one of the above-mentioned problems in a system in which a traveling device travels autonomously on a mirrored surface.

[0009] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a travel system 100. The travel system 100 according to the present invention includes a travel path 10 and a travel device 20 that travels on the travel path 10. The travel path 10 includes a mirror surface 11, a film 12, and guide lines 13. The mirror surface 11 is a planar member that reflects light. Note that a half mirror may also be used as the mirror surface 11. The film 12 is provided on the mirror surface 11 and blocks light of a specific wavelength outside the visible range (approximately 380 to 800 nm). Note that "blocking" light means preventing light from passing through by absorbing or diffusing light, and includes not only completely blocking light transmission but also attenuating a portion of the light energy. Therefore, in the area of ​​the mirror surface 11 where the film 12 is attached, light of a specific wavelength is blocked by the film 12 and does not reach the mirror surface 11, or even if it is reflected by the mirror surface 11, the film 12 barely transmits the light. While the film 12 is preferably attached to the entire mirror surface 11, this is not a limitation and the film 12 may be attached to the mirror surface 11 at least near the travel path of the traveling device 20. The guide lines 13 are provided on the film 12 and are configured to reflect light of a specific wavelength. In other words, when light of a specific wavelength is irradiated onto the guide lines 13 provided on the film 12, the light is reflected only by the guide lines 13 and is hardly reflected in the area where the film 12 is attached. Note that "reflecting light of a specific wavelength" as used herein broadly means receiving light containing a specific wavelength component and emitting light of a certain wavelength. Specifically, "reflection" as used herein is not limited to reflecting light of a specific wavelength as is, but also includes absorbing light of a specific wavelength and emitting light of a different wavelength, or reflecting only light of a specific wavelength from light containing different wavelength components, such as natural light. Meanwhile, the traveling device 20 includes a sensor 27 and traveling control means 21-26. The sensor 27 detects the guide lines 13 on the mirror surface 11 by irradiating light of a specific wavelength. The light emitted from the sensor 27 only needs to contain a component of the specific wavelength, and may also contain other wavelength components. The travel control means 21 to 26 include various elements for traveling along the guide wire 13 based on the detection information of the sensor 27.

[0010] As in the above configuration, by attaching the film 12 that blocks (absorbs or diffuses) light of a specific wavelength onto the mirror surface 11 and providing the guide wire 13 that reflects light of a specific wavelength on top of that, it is possible to prevent the sensor 27 of the traveling device 20 from erroneously detecting the guide wire 13 even when the traveling device 20 travels on the mirror surface 11. Furthermore, in the present invention, the guide wire 13 is not formed directly on the mirror surface 11, but the film 12 is provided on the mirror surface 11 and the guide wire 13 is then formed on top of that. Therefore, the guide wire 13 can be easily changed or removed by peeling off the film 12.

[0011] In the traveling system 100 according to the present invention, the guide wire 13 preferably receives light of a specific wavelength and emits light of another wavelength. For example, the guide wire 13 may contain a fluorescent pigment. The guide wire 13 containing a fluorescent pigment absorbs light energy of a specific wavelength and emits light of a different wavelength (longer than the specific wavelength). Specifically, the fluorescent pigment contained in the guide wire 13 may be one that absorbs ultraviolet light and emits visible light. This makes it easier for the sensor 27 of the traveling device 20 to detect the guide wire 13. In particular, if the fluorescent pigment for the guide wire 13 has a powder color close to white, the guide wire 13 will be less noticeable to viewers even when drawn on the mirror surface 11. This prevents the overall aesthetic appearance of the system from being detracted from that of the guide wire 13, as compared to drawing the guide wire 13 with a permanent marker or the like, and ultimately gives viewers the impression that the traveling device 20 is floating in the air.

[0012] In the traveling system 100 according to the present invention, the film 12 is preferably a transparent or translucent film that transmits light in the visible light range, so that even when the film 12 is attached to the mirror surface 11, the film 12 does not impair the aesthetic appearance of the mirror surface 11.

[0013] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a track 10 for running a running device 20. As described above, the track 10 includes a mirror surface 11, a film 12 provided on the mirror surface 11 and blocking light of a specific wavelength outside the visible light range, and a guide line 13 provided on the film 12 for guiding the running of the running device 20 by reflecting light of the specific wavelength.

[0014] According to the present invention, a system can be provided in which a traveling device autonomously travels on a mirror surface.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a traveling device that travels autonomously on a mirrored surface of a traveling path. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the traveling path. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the components of the traveling path. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the components of the traveling device. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of a mechanism for detecting guide lines on the traveling path by a sensor of the traveling device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the components of a control device of the traveling device.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, but also includes appropriate modifications of the embodiments below within the scope obvious to those skilled in the art.

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a traveling device 20 traveling on the mirrored surface of a traveling path 10. Note that FIG. 1 illustrates an extracted portion of the traveling path 10 with the traveling device 20 at the center; normally, the traveling path 10 extends to the front, rear, left, and right of the traveling device 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling device 20 according to this embodiment is substantially entirely covered by a hemispherical cover 30. The traveling surface of the traveling path 10 is mirrored, and the hemispherical traveling device 20 is reflected in this mirrored surface. Therefore, when the actual traveling device 20 and its mirror image reflected on the traveling path 10 are viewed together, a viewer sees an approximately spherical object floating in the air. Note that the traveling device 20 is equipped with a light-emitting element inside the cover 30, and light emitted from this light-emitting element passes through the cover 30. Therefore, the traveling device 20 traveling on the traveling path 10 can be seen even in the dark.

[0018] 1 and 2, guide lines 13 are formed on the running path 10 using inconspicuous paint or tape. As will be described in detail later, the running device 20 detects the guide lines 13 using a sensor and performs autonomous control so as to run along the guide lines 13. This, combined with the fact that the running device 20 runs on a mirrored surface, makes the running path of the running device 20 difficult to predict, which can attract the interest of viewers.

[0019] First, an example configuration of the track 10 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the track 10 includes a mirror surface 11, a film 12, and a guide wire 13, which are stacked in this order from top to bottom. That is, the film 12 is attached to the mirror surface 11, and the guide wire 13 is formed on this film 12. Although not shown, the track 10 may also include a base (made of metal, plastic, wood, etc.) below the mirror surface 11 to support the mirror surface 11.

[0020] The mirror surface 11 can be a general mirror that reflects light (specifically, visible light). For example, the mirror surface 11 can be a polished mirror in which the surface of a metal such as stainless steel is mirror-polished, or a vapor-deposited mirror in which a highly reflective metal such as silver or aluminum is vapor-deposited on one side of a transparent plate such as glass or acrylic. The mirror surface 11 can be a general mirror with a light reflectance of 80 to 100%, or a half mirror with a light reflectance of less than 80% and a light transmittance of 10 to 50%. Note that when the incident light is 100%, the sum of the reflectance, transmittance, and absorptance is 100%. A general half mirror has a reflectance of 20 to 40%, a transmittance of approximately 20 to 40%, and the remainder is absorptance.

[0021] The film 12 is a transparent film attached to the mirror surface 11. The film 12 does not necessarily need to be attached to the entire mirror surface 11; it need only be attached to the mirror surface 11 near the travel path of the traveling device 20, more specifically, in the area where light emitted from the traveling device 20's sensor hits. The film 12 transmits visible light but has the property of blocking (absorbing or diffusing, etc.) light of specific wavelengths outside the visible range. Specifically, it is preferable to use a general ultraviolet light blocking film as the film 12. The ultraviolet light blocking film transmits visible light while blocking ultraviolet light (light with a wavelength of 380 nm or less), thereby preventing ultraviolet light from passing through the film. The structure of the ultraviolet light blocking film is not particularly limited, but for example, a laminate formed by bonding transparent plastic films with an adhesive layer containing an ultraviolet light absorber can be used. By using a transparent film 12 in this way, the aesthetic appearance of the traveling path 10 is not impaired even when the film 12 is attached to the mirror surface 11.

[0022] The guide wire 13 is a line formed on the film 12, and is detected by the traveling device 20. The guide wire 13 preferably reflects light of a wavelength blocked by the film 12. For example, if a film that blocks ultraviolet light is used as the film 12, the guide wire 13 should at least reflect ultraviolet light. Specifically, the guide wire 13 may contain a fluorescent pigment that has the property of becoming excited by ultraviolet light and emitting visible light when returning to the ground state (photoluminescence). It is particularly preferable to use a fluorescent pigment that has a white powder color and a colored emission color such as blue, yellow, green, red, or orange. Note that "white" refers to the color of the fluorescent pigment in the CIE-L ＊ a ＊ b ＊ L in color system ＊The color has a value of 60 or more, particularly 80 or more, and "colored" means a color other than white. The guiding lines 13 can be drawn on the film 12 by applying paint containing such a fluorescent pigment. Alternatively, the guiding lines 13 can be formed by applying tape containing such a fluorescent pigment to the film 12. In particular, by forming the guiding lines 13 using a fluorescent pigment whose powder color is white, the guiding lines 13 on the mirror surface 11 become inconspicuous unless exposed to ultraviolet light (black light). Therefore, the guiding lines 13 do not detract from the aesthetic appearance of the running path 10.

[0023] Next, an example configuration of the traveling device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 . As shown in FIG. 4 , the traveling device 20 includes a control device 21 and two motors 22 and 23. Each motor 22 and 23 is electrically connected to the control device 21 via an electronic board or the like and is controlled by the control device 21. Each motor 22 and 23 is independently attached to a wheel 24 or 25. The wheels 24 and 25 rotate when power is supplied from a battery (not shown) to drive the motors 22 and 23. The wheels 24 and 25 then come into contact with the road surface of the traveling path 10, providing the traveling device 20 with propulsion force. In this embodiment, the traveling device 20 employs a rear-wheel drive system, and the motors 22 and 23 are mounted at the rear of the chassis of the traveling device 20. In the illustrated example, the first motor 22 rotates the first wheel 24 on the right side, and the second motor 23 rotates the second wheel 25 on the left side, relative to the traveling direction of the traveling device 20. The traveling device 20 is not limited to a rear-wheel drive type, but may be a front-wheel drive type.

[0024] Known motors 22, 23 may be used. Specifically, each motor 22, 23 includes a rotating unit including a stator and a rotor, and an output shaft for outputting the rotational force generated by the rotating unit to the outside. Known wheels 24, 25 may also be used. Specifically, each wheel 24, 25 includes a metal or plastic wheel member and a high-friction rubber tire member attached to the outer periphery of the wheel member. Since the tire member is a consumable item, it can be removed from the wheel member and replaced as needed. In this embodiment, the wheel member of each wheel 24, 25 is directly fixed to the output shaft of each motor 22, 23. The wheel member and the output shaft may be fixed by friction generated between them, or by known fixing methods such as adhesive or welding. However, the motor output shaft and the wheel member may also be interlocked by using an intermediate part such as a gear or a shaft.

[0025] 4, the traveling device 20 includes one or more driven wheels 26 that come into contact with the road surface of the traveling path 10, in addition to the wheels 24, 25 (drive wheels) fixed to the motors 22, 23. The driven wheels 26 are not connected to a drive source such as a motor, but are wheels that assist the traveling of the traveling device 20. In this embodiment, the driven wheels 26 are disposed at two locations, one on the left and one on the front side of the chassis of the traveling device 20. The number of driven wheels 26 can be increased or decreased depending on the size of the traveling device 20, etc.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 4 , the traveling device 20 also includes a sensor 27 for detecting the guide wires 13 on the traveling path 10. This sensor 27 is connected to the control device 21 and transmits detection information to the control device 21. As described above, the guide wires 13 reflect light of a specific wavelength. Therefore, the sensor 27 may be a photoelectric sensor that can detect the guide wires 13 by projecting light of a specific wavelength onto the guide wires 13 and receiving the reflected light. Specifically, the sensor 27 has a light-projecting unit 27 a and a light-receiving unit 27 b. When fluorescent pigment is used for the guide wires 13, the light-projecting unit 27 a of the sensor 27 irradiates ultraviolet light (black light) around the guide wires 13, and the light-receiving unit 27 b receives the ultraviolet light and then receives visible light emitted from the fluorescent pigment of the guide wires 13. When the light receiving section 27b receives visible light from the fluorescent pigment of the guide wire 13, it converts information relating to the relative position of the guide wire 13 with respect to the light receiving section 27b into an electrical signal and transmits it to the control device 21.

[0027] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates how light emitted from the light-emitting unit 27a of the sensor 27 is received by the light-receiving unit 27b. The light-emitting unit 27a of the traveling device 20 emits ultraviolet light toward the traveling path 10. As described above, the traveling path 10 has a film 12 provided on the mirror surface 11, and the guide wire 13 is formed on top of the film 12. The guide wire 13 contains a fluorescent pigment, and when exposed to ultraviolet light from the light-emitting unit 27a, it becomes excited and emits visible light when returning to its ground state. The light-receiving unit 27b of the sensor 27 detects the position of the guide wire 13 by receiving the visible light emitted from the fluorescent pigment. Meanwhile, the ultraviolet light from the light-emitting unit 27a is also irradiated onto portions of the traveling path 10 other than the guide wire 13. Here, the traveling path 10 has a film 12 attached to the mirror surface 11 that blocks ultraviolet light. Therefore, ultraviolet light irradiated onto areas other than the guide lines 13 is blocked by the film 12 and does not reach the mirror surface 11, or even if it reaches the mirror surface 11, it is blocked again by the film 12, and most of its light energy is attenuated. Therefore, as schematically shown in FIG. 5 , ultraviolet light irradiated onto areas of the travel path 10 other than the guide lines 13 does not reach the light-receiving unit 27b of the sensor 27, or even if it does reach the light-receiving unit 27b, it does not have enough light energy to be detected by the sensor 27. If the ultraviolet light irradiated from the light-projecting unit 27a is reflected by the mirror surface 11 and directly enters the light-receiving unit 27b, there is a concern that the optical energy of the ultraviolet light will be too strong and the light-receiving unit 27b will not be able to detect the guide lines 13 or will erroneously detect the position of the guide lines 13. In contrast, by attaching the film 12 that blocks ultraviolet light to the mirror surface 11, as in the present invention, the ultraviolet light irradiated from the light-projecting unit 27a can be prevented from directly entering the light-receiving unit 27b. Therefore, the light receiving portion 27b of the sensor 27 can detect the position of the guide wire 13 more reliably and accurately.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4 , the traveling device 20 may further include one or more light-emitting elements 28. The light-emitting elements 28 are electrically connected to the control device 21 via an electronic board or the like and are controlled by the control device 21. The cover 30 of the traveling device 20 is transparent or translucent, so that when the light-emitting elements 28 emit light, the light passes through the cover 30 and is visible from the outside. The cover 30 may be made of, for example, a known polycarbonate material or silicone material. Furthermore, the cover 30 may be made of a half mirror. A half mirror transmits light traveling from the inside to the outside and reflects light traveling from the outside to the inside. In this case, a half mirror film may be attached to the inner surface of the cover 30, which is made of, for example, a silicone material.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a control system centered around the control device 21. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the control device 21 includes a processor 21a, a memory 21b, a communication module 21c, a drive control circuit 21d, a sensor control circuit 21e, and a light emission control circuit 21f. Examples of the processor 21a include a known CPU or other control circuit. The processor 21a performs predetermined arithmetic processing according to programs and data stored in the memory 21b, and executes various control processes while writing the arithmetic results to the working space of the memory 21b. The memory 21b is composed of, for example, a volatile memory such as a random access memory (RAM) or a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and is used for the arithmetic processing by the processor 21a. In this embodiment, the processor 21a reads the programs stored in the memory 21b and performs processing to drive the motors 22 and 23 and to cause the light-emitting elements 28 to emit light according to the programs.

[0030] The communication module 21c is a communication device for wireless communication with external devices. The communication module 21c may communicate wirelessly using known wireless communication standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or NFC, other proprietary standards, frequencies such as the sub-GHz band, or P2MP or Mesh communication other than WLAN. For example, the control device 21 communicates with an external server device (not shown) via the communication module 21c. In this case, the control device 21 can control the drive states of the motors 22 and 23 and the light-emitting states of the light-emitting elements 28 based on instructions and commands received from the external server device. The control devices 21 of multiple traveling devices 20 can also communicate with each other via the communication module 21c. In this case, the multiple traveling devices 20 may share information to control the drive states of the motors 22 and 23 and the light-emitting states of the light-emitting elements 28. For example, the multiple traveling devices 20 may share position information and adjust their traveling speeds on the traveling path 10 to prevent collisions. Furthermore, for example, position information may be shared among multiple traveling devices 20, and the light emitting state of each light emitting element 28 may be changed according to the distance between them. Each traveling device 20 can identify or estimate its own position information using the communication module 21c from an NFC tag, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) beacon, or the like placed on the lane.

[0031] The drive control circuit 21d is a circuit that supplies power from the battery to each of the first motor 22 and the second motor 23 so that the first motor 22 and the second motor 23 are driven under predetermined rotation conditions (rotational speed, rotational direction, etc.) based on control commands from the processor 21a. Note that by switching the rotational direction of each of the motors 22 and 23, it is also possible to switch between forward and reverse movement of the traveling device 20. Furthermore, the drive control circuit 21d can control the first motor 22 and the second motor 23 independently.

[0032] Specifically, to move the traveling device 20 straight, the rotational speeds of the left and right motors 22, 23 should basically be equal. On the other hand, to move the traveling device 20 toward the right, the rotational speed of the first motor 22 provided on the right side of the chassis is made slower than the rotational speed of the second motor 23 provided on the left side of the chassis (only the first motor 22 may be stopped). Alternatively, the traveling device 20 can be turned clockwise by rotating the first motor 22 provided on the right side of the chassis in the reverse direction and the second motor 23 provided on the left side of the chassis in the forward direction. Similarly, to move the traveling device 20 toward the left, the rotational speed of the first motor 22 provided on the right side of the chassis is made faster than the rotational speed of the second motor 23 provided on the left side of the chassis (only the second motor 23 may be stopped). Alternatively, the traveling device 20 can be turned counterclockwise by rotating the first motor 22 provided on the right side of the chassis in the forward direction and the second motor 23 provided on the left side of the chassis in the reverse direction. In this way, by independently controlling the rotation speed and rotation direction of each of the motors 22 and 23, the traveling direction of the traveling device 20 can be adjusted.

[0033] The sensor control circuit 21e is a circuit that supplies power from a battery to the light-emitting unit 27a and the light-receiving unit 27b to control the on / off of the sensor 27 based on a control command from the processor 21a, and transmits information (electrical signals) obtained by the light-receiving unit 27b to the processor 21a. The processor 21a generates control commands to drive the first motor 22 and the second motor 23 based on position information of the guide wire 13 on the travel path 10 detected by the light-receiving unit 27b, and outputs the control commands to the drive control circuit 21d.

[0034] In this embodiment, the traveling device 20 is caused to travel along the guide line 13 of the traveling path 10 based on detection information from the sensor 27. Therefore, the processor 21a generates control commands for the motors 22, 23 so that the center of the traveling device 20 moves along the guide line 13. For example, when the position of the guide line 13 coincides with the center of the traveling device 20, the traveling device 20 is allowed to travel straight, and therefore the rotational speeds of the first motor 22 and the second motor 23 are set to be equal for a predetermined time. On the other hand, when the position of the guide line 13 is to the right of the center of the traveling device 20, the traveling device 20 needs to travel to the right, and therefore the rotational speed of the first motor 22 is set to be slower than that of the second motor 23 for a predetermined time. Similarly, when the position of the guide line 13 is to the left of the center of the traveling device 20, the traveling device 20 needs to travel to the left for a predetermined time, and therefore the rotational speed of the first motor 22 is set to be faster than that of the second motor 23. If the path of the guide wire 13 is curved sharply, the traveling device 20 can be turned by reversing the rotation direction of either the first motor 22 or the second motor 23. In this way, the traveling device 20 can be made to travel along the path of the guide wire 13 by adjusting the rotation speed and rotation direction of each motor 22, 23 based on the detection information from the sensor 27.

[0035] The light emission control circuit 21f is a circuit that supplies power from the battery to each light emitting element 28 so that each light emitting element 28 emits light under predetermined light emission conditions (e.g., light emission color, brightness, etc.) based on a control command from the processor 21a. This light emission control circuit 21f can control each light emitting element 28 independently.

[0036] Additionally, the traveling device 20 includes a battery (not shown). The battery may be a primary battery or a secondary battery. However, a secondary battery is preferable because repeatedly rechargeable batteries provide higher operational efficiency. The battery power is supplied to, for example, the control device 21, the motors 22 and 23, the sensor 27, and the light-emitting element 28.

[0037] In the above description of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings in order to express the contents of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and includes modifications and improvements that are obvious to those skilled in the art based on the matters described in the present specification.

[0038] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the travel control means for the travel device 20 employs a means for adjusting the traveling direction of the travel device 20 by independently controlling the two motors 22, 23. However, the travel control means for the travel device 20 is not limited to this. For example, in addition to the two motors that rotate the drive wheels (rear wheels), a steering motor for rotating the direction (yaw angle) of one or more driven wheels (front wheels) can be provided, and the direction of the driven wheels can be controlled using this steering motor to adjust the traveling direction of the entire travel device 20. In this case, the two motors that rotate the drive wheels (rear wheels) do not need to be independently controlled; they can simply be set to the same rotation speed and direction. The traveling direction of the travel device 20 is determined by the direction of the driven wheels. Other known travel control means can be employed for the travel device 20.

[0039] 10...Runway 11...Mirror surface 12...Film 13...Guide wire 20...Running device 21...Control device 21a...Processor 21b...Memory 21c...Communication module 21d...Drive control circuit 21e...Sensor control circuit 21f...Light emission control circuit 22...First motor 23...Second motor 24...First wheel 25...Second wheel 26...Driven wheel 27...Sensor 27a...Light emitting unit 27b...Light receiving unit 28...Light emitting element 30...Cover 100...Running system

Claims

1. A system comprising a running path and a traveling device that runs on said running path, wherein said running path includes a mirror surface, a film that is provided on said mirror surface and blocks light of a specific wavelength outside the visible range, and a guide line that is provided on said film and reflects light of the specific wavelength, and said traveling device includes a sensor that detects said guide line by irradiating it with light of the specific wavelength, and a traveling control means that runs along said guide line based on detection information from said sensor.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the induction wire receives light of the particular wavelength and emits light of another wavelength, and the sensor detects the light of the other wavelength.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the guide wire contains a fluorescent pigment.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the film is a transparent or translucent film that transmits light in the visible range.

5. A running path for a traveling device to travel on, comprising: a mirror surface; a film provided on said mirror surface that blocks light of a specific wavelength outside the visible range; and a guide line provided on said film that reflects light of the specific wavelength and serves to guide the traveling device.

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