- Number
- 10092850
- Published
- 2018-10-09
- Filed
- 2017-07-12
- Assignee
- Disney Enterprises, Inc.; The California Institute of Technology
- Inventors
- Smoot; Lanny S.; Niemeyer; Gunter D.; Ames; Aaron D.; Christensen; David Loyal
- CPC
- A63B41/00; A63B43/00; A63H29/22
- Verdict
- High Hardware
- Source
- Google Patents · FreePatentsOnline
The keeper's note
Robotic bouncing ball toy.
Abstract
A robot with an elastic, spherically-shaped body with controlled bouncing locomotion. This robot may be called “a robotic bouncing ball.” The robotic bouncing ball can be used to provide a new class of robotic characters that are ball-like, and these new robotic characters bounce in place and from one location to another. The spherical body will typically be formed with a thin wall of elastic material such as a rubber or the like, and a drive or actuator assembly along with a local controller and a power source are positioned in the interior space of the hollow body. The controller controls the drive assembly to cause the spherical body to bounce up and down vertically and to provide horizontal/lateral movement of the spherical body through the applications of deforming and/or reforming forces on the elastic outer wall.
Background
BACKGROUND1. Field of the Description(1) The present description relates, in general, to robots and robotic devices having locomotion and, more particularly, to a robot with a spherical body (or a “robotic bouncing ball”) with controllable locomotion including a controllable amount of bounce or movement in the Z-direction (vertical movement) or bouncing to a selectable height. The robotic bouncing ball is also preferably steerable in desired X and Y directions (lateral or horizontal movement).2. Relevant Background(2) Robotics is a rapidly expanding branch of engineering and science that includes mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and other disciplines. Robotics involves the design, construction, operation, and use of robots as well as computer systems, sensory feedback, and information processing to allow proper control of these robots. Often, those who work in robotics are developing robots that are designed to act and behave similar to humans and can be substituted for humans such as in dangerous environments or to perform highly repetitive tasks in a way that is humanlike.(3) In other cases, though, there are demands for robots that do not look, move, or behave like a human. For example, there has been for demand for robots and robotic characters with novel appearance and that use unusual or even difficult to recognize methods of locomotion. These robots can be used for entertainment in settings with larger crowds or to entertain users at home. In other cases
Claims
1. A robot with bounce-based locomotion on a support surface, comprising: a body comprising an outer wall enclosing an interior space, wherein the outer wall comprises a first portion formed of an elastic material; a driver supported by a mounting element within the interior space of the body; and a controller generating control signals to operate the driver to apply a first force upon the first portion of the outer wall of the body, wherein the body bounces at least in a vertical direction through a range of heights above the support surface, wherein the outer wall comprises a second portion, opposite the first portion, formed of an elastomeric material, wherein the first force comprises a deforming force pulling the first portion of the outer wall a distance toward a center of the interior space, and wherein the controller further operates the driver to repeatedly apply the first force and to repeatedly release the first force during an initial stage of each of the bounces of the body.
9. A robot with bounce-based locomotion on a support surface, comprising: a body comprising an outer wall enclosing an interior space, wherein the outer wall comprises a first portion formed of an elastic material; a driver supported by a mounting element within the interior space of the body; and a controller generating control signals to operate the driver to apply a first force upon the first portion of the outer wall of the body, wherein the body bounces at least in a vertical direction through a range of heights above the support surface, and wherein the body is spherically shaped with the interior space inflated with a gas, wherein the mounting element comprises a circular disk with an outer edge mated to an inner surface of the outer wall, and wherein the driver comprises a spring moved, during the bounces, toward and away from the circular disk toward the first portion of the outer wall by the driver.
13. A robot with bounce-based locomotion on a support surface, comprising: a body comprising an outer wall enclosing an interior space, wherein the outer wall comprises a first portion formed of an elastic material; a driver supported by a mounting element within the interior space of the body; and a controller generating control signals to operate the driver to apply a first force upon the first portion of the outer wall of the body, wherein the body bounces at least in a vertical direction through a range of heights above the support surface, and wherein the body is spherically shaped, wherein the outer wall further comprises a second portion formed of a rigid material, wherein the mounting element sealably partitions a first portion of the interior space enclosed by the first portion of the outer wall and a second portion of the interior space enclosed by the second portion of the outer wall, wherein the second portion of the interior space is filled with a compressed gas, and wherein the driver comprises a valve in the mounting element that is operated by the controller during each of the bounces to release a fraction of the compressed gas into the first portion of the interior space.
17. A robotic bouncing ball, comprising: a hollow body including an outer wall defining an interior space, wherein the outer wall comprises an elastic material; a volume of gas contained in the interior space to inflate the hollow spherical body to an outer diameter within a predefined range of outer diameters; a linear actuator positioned within the interior space; a connector rod connecting the linear actuator with an inner surface of a top portion of the outer wall; and a controller positioned within the interior space and operating the linear actuator, during bouncing operations of the robotic bouncing ball, to repeatedly apply a deforming force to the top portion and to release the deforming force through linear movement of the connector rod, whereby the hollow spherical body moves vertically via a series of bounces in which an outer surface of the outer wall is separated from a support surface.
22. A robot with bounce-based locomotion on a support surface, comprising: a spherically-shaped body comprising an outer wall comprising an elastic material and enclosing an interior space, wherein the interior space contains a volume of gas inflating the spherically-shaped body to at least a predefined minimum outer diameter; a driver positioned within the interior space of the spherically-shaped body; and a controller generating control signals during an operating period to operate the driver to alternate between applying a force upon a first portion of the outer wall and releasing the force, wherein, in response, the body moves with a plurality of bounces and wherein the body reaches a height, within a predefined range of heights, above the support surface.
26. A robot with bounce-based locomotion on a support surface, comprising: a body comprising an outer wall enclosing an interior space, wherein the outer wall comprises a first portion formed of an elastic material; a driver supported by a mounting element within the interior space of the body; and a controller generating control signals to operate the driver to apply a first force upon the first portion of the outer wall of the body, wherein the body bounces at least in a vertical direction through a range of heights above the support surface, and wherein the driver comprises a connecting rod attached to the outer wall in the first portion and further comprises a linear actuator moving the connecting rod along a linear path to apply the first force.