Patent Abstract:
Disclosed herein is a robot, which has a simple structure and makes a gesture in a curved shape. The robot includes a body part, at least one cam member symmetrically arranged at both sides of the inside of the body part, an outer cover member surrounding the at least one cam member, and a linear moving device to linearly move the at least one cam member. The shape of the outer cover member is varied, under the condition that the outer cover member is adhered closely to the at least one cam member, according to the movement of the at least one cam member.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2009-0005782, filed on Jan. 23, 2009, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    Embodiments relate to a robot, which makes a gesture. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Due to advances in robotic engineering, robots are increasingly communicating with humans. Various techniques for nonverbal communication between robots and humans have been developed. 
         [0006]    One example of such nonverbal communication is a gesture. The gesture means the motion of a body or a hand, which is used to provide added effect to a conversation. In this way, a robot expresses feelings and state of mind. 
         [0007]    However, a general robot has a structure including various links and joints, and thus has limited ability to gesture. That is, since the robot uses links and joints, the number of parts of the robot is increased and the structure of the robot is complicated. Thereby, the production cost of the robot is increased. Further, if the robot makes a gesture through the links and the joints, the gesture does not appear natural and smooth. Motions of the robot are not smoothly connected, thus detracting from the aesthetics of the robot. 
         [0008]    Therefore, a robot, which flexibly makes a gesture with a simple structure has been required. Emotions expressed by such a robot may be smooth and provide a favorable impression to humans. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0009]    Therefore, it is an aspect to provide a robot, which has a simple structure and makes a gesture with a curved shape. 
         [0010]    Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
         [0011]    The foregoing and/or other aspects of the present invention are achieved by providing a robot including at least one cam member, and an outer cover member surrounding the at least one cam member, wherein the shape of the outer cover member is varied, when the outer cover member is adhered closely to the at least one cam member, according to the movement of the at least one cam member. 
         [0012]    The robot may further include a display device to display data. The at least one cam member may move corresponding to the movement of an image displayed on the display device. The at least one cam member may have a triangular shape with rounded corners. The robot may further include a body part to receive the at least one cam member, and the at least one cam member may be symmetrically arranged at both sides of the inside of the body part. 
         [0013]    Three cam members may be arranged in the vertical direction at each of both sides of the inside of the body part. The outer cover member may be made of a flexible and elastic material. The shape of the outer cover member may be varied into a curved shape. The robot may further include a cam rotary shaft to move the at least one cam member, and the at least one cam member may be rotated on the cam rotary shaft. The robot may further include a linear moving device to linearly move the at least one cam member. 
         [0014]    The linear moving device may include a rack gear to move the at least one cam member in the vertical direction, a pinion gear engaged with the rack gear and moving in the vertical direction, a pinion motor to drive the pinion gear, a cam motor to rotate the at least one cam member, and a bracket to support the pinion motor and the cam motor such that the pinion gear and the at least one cam member move together. 
         [0015]    The foregoing and/or other aspects are also achieved by providing a robot including at least one cam member, and an outer cover member surrounding the at least one cam member, wherein a shape of the outer cover member is varied according to the movement of the at least one cam member, to thereby make a gesture. 
         [0016]    The gesture may represent human arm motions. The arm motions may include a motion of raising both arms, a motion of lowering both arms, and a motion of extending both arms in parallel. The robot may further include a display device to display data. The robot may make the gesture corresponding to the movement of an image displayed on the display device. 
         [0017]    The foregoing and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a robot including a body part, a plurality of cam members symmetrically arranged at both sides of an inside of the body part, an outer cover member adhered to the at least one cam member, and a linear moving device to linearly move the at least one cam member, wherein a shape of the outer cover member is varied, according to the movement of the at least one cam member. 
         [0018]    The robot may further include a display device to display data, and the at least one cam member may move corresponding to the movement of an image displayed on the display device. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of a robot in accordance with one exemplary embodiment; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of a body part of the robot of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 3A  is a front view of the body part in accordance with the embodiment, when both arms of an image displayed on a display device are lowered; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3B  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of the body part in the motion of  FIG. 3A ; 
           [0024]      FIG. 4A  is a front view of the body part in accordance with the embodiment, when one arm of an image displayed on the display device is raised and the other arm of the image is lowered; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4B  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of the body part of the motion of  FIG. 4A ; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a view illustrating an example of the actual application of the robot in accordance with the embodiment; and 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of a body part of a robot in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0028]    Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. 
         [0029]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating the external appearance of a robot in accordance with one exemplary embodiment, and  FIG. 2  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of a body part of the robot of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a robot  1  in accordance with one exemplary embodiment includes a body part  10  to receive cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f,  and a support part  80  formed under the body part  10  to support the body part  10 . 
         [0031]    The body part  10  generally has a rectangular shape, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are installed at both sides of the inside of the body part  10 , and an outer cover member  30  surrounding the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  is installed at both sides of the outside of the body part  10 . Further, a display device  50  to display data is installed on the front surface of the body part  10 . A camera  12  to photograph an image, a microphone  14  to recognize a sound, and a speaker  16  to generate a sound are installed at the upper portion of the body part  10 . 
         [0032]    The cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are installed at both sides of the inside of the body part  10 . A first cam member  20   a,  a third cam member  20   c,  and a fifth cam member  20   e  are installed at the left side of the body part  10  in the vertical direction, and a second cam member  20   b,  a fourth cam member  20   d,  and a sixth cam member  20   f  are installed at the right side of the body part in the vertical direction symmetrically with the first, third, and fifth cam members  20   a,    20   c,  and  20   e.  The arrangement of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  at both sides of the body part  10  in the vertical direction serves to easily make a gesture. That is, this arrangement facilitates the formation of a gesture corresponding to a motion of an image  105  displayed on the display device  50 , which will be described later. The image  105  displayed on the display device  50  is the image of a human, and the arm motion of the human may be made by a gesture of the robot. 
         [0033]    The respective cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  have a triangular shape with rounded corners. Further, the cam members  20   e  and  20   f  installed at the lower portion of the body part  10  are longer than the other cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,  and  20   d.  The triangular shape with round corners of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  serves to easily make a gesture having a curved shape. When the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  have a triangular shape, a motion of raising or lowering arms is easily carried out, and when the corners of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are rounded, a gesture is made having a curved shape and gives a smooth impression. 
         [0034]    Further, the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are respectively connected to the body part  10  by cam rotary shafts  25   a,    25   b,    25   c,    25   d,    25   e,  and  25   f,  and the cam rotary shafts  25   a,    25   b,    25   c,    25   d,    25   e,  and  25   f  are respectively connected to motors  23   a,    23   b,    23   c,    23   d,    23   e,  and  23   f  and rotate the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f.  The rotation of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  makes a gesture when seen from the outside. 
         [0035]    The outer cover member  30  forms the outer surfaces of both sides of the body part  10  and surrounds the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  installed in the body part  10 . The outer cover member  30 , which is made of a flexible and elastic member, closely adheres to the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f,  and thus the shape of the outer cover member  30  varies, when the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  move. Since the corners of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are rounded, the shape of the outer cover member  30  varies according to the motion of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f,  and thus is made in a smooth curved shape. 
         [0036]    The display device  50  is formed on the front surface of the body part  10 , and displays various data. The image  105  is displayed on the display device  50 . The image  105  may be the image of a human or an anthropomorphic animal. Data regarding the arm motion of the human or the animal is transmitted to a control unit (not shown), and the control unit transmits signals to the motors  23   a,    23   b,    23   c,    23   e,    23   d,  and  23   f  connected to the cam rotary shafts  25   a,    25   b,    25   c,    25   d,    25   e,  and  25   f,  and thus rotates the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  corresponding to the arm motion. 
         [0037]    The support part  80  is extended from the lower end of the body part  10 , and serves to support and move the body part  10 . Moving wheels  82  and driving devices (not shown) to drive the moving wheels  82  are installed on the lower surface of the support part  80 , and thus move the robot  10  according to a signal of the control unit. 
         [0038]    Hereinafter, an operation of making a gesture of the robot in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. 
         [0039]      FIG. 3A  is a front view of the body part  10 , when both arms of an image  110  displayed on the display device  50  are lowered, and  FIG. 3B  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of the body part  10  in the motion of  FIG. 3A .  FIG. 4A  is a front view of the body part  10 , when one arm of an image  120  displayed on the display device  50  is raised and the other arm of the image  120  is lowered, and  FIG. 4B  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of the body part  10  in the motion of  FIG. 4A . 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , when both arms of the image  110  of a human displayed on the display device  50  are lowered, a corresponding image signal is transmitted to the control unit (not shown), and the control unit respectively transmits driving signals to the motors  23   a,    23   b,    23   c,    23   d,    23   e,  and  23   f  connected to the cam rotary shafts  25   a,    25   b,    25   c,    25   d,    25   e,  and  25   f  so that the respective cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are rotated. That is, the fifth cam member  20   e  and the sixth cam member  20   f  are rotated to the outside of the body part  10 , and the first cam member  20   a,  the second cam member  20   b,  the third cam member  20   c,  and the fourth cam member  20   d  are rotated to the inside of the body part  10 , so that a motion of lowering both arms of the human when seen from the outside is achieved. Thereby, a gesture of the robot  1 , in which both arms are lowered, is achieved. 
         [0041]    As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , when the right arm of the image  120  of a human displayed on the display device  50  is raised and the left arm of the image  120  is lowered, a corresponding image signal is transmitted to the control unit (not shown), and the control unit respectively transmits driving signals to the motors  23   a,    23   b,    23   c,    23   d,    23   e,  and  23   f  connected to the cam rotary shafts  25   a,    25   b,    25   c,    25   d,    25   e,  and  25   f  so that the respective cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  are rotated. That is, the first cam member  20   a  and the sixth cam member  20   f  are rotated to the outside of the body part  10 , and the second cam member  20   b,  the third cam member  20   c,  the fourth cam member  20   d,  and the fifth cam member  20   e  are rotated to the inside of the body part  10 , so that a motion of raising the right arm and lowering the left arm of the human when seen from the outside is achieved. Thereby, a gesture of the robot  1 , in which the right arm is raised and the left arm is lowered, is achieved. 
         [0042]    When the entire body part  10  corresponds to the bust of the human or the anthropomorphic animal, the image of the bust of the human is displayed on the display device  50 , and when the arms of the image are moved, the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  within the outer cover member  30  are rotated on the extension line of the arm motion according to the arm motion. By this method, various arm motions, i.e., a motion of raising both arms, a motion of lowering both arms, a motion of extending both arms in parallel, etc., may be achieved. 
         [0043]      FIG. 5  is a view illustrating an example of the actual application of the robot  1 . 
         [0044]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the robot  1  may communicate with a human  5  through a gesture. The robot  1  may communicate with an image displayed on the display device  50 . 
         [0045]    The robot  1  captures an image of the human  5  through the camera  12 , and recognizes a voice of the human  5  through the microphone  14 . Further, the robot  1  generates various sounds through the speaker  16  while making a gesture. Here, an arm motion according to the movement of the image is achieved by the rotation of the cam members  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d,    20   e,  and  20   f  surrounded by the outer cover member  30 , and the human  5  communicating with the robot  1  not only communicates with the robot  1  but also obtains a cute and intimate feeling due to the smooth motion caused by the movement of the outer cover member  30 . 
         [0046]    Hereinafter, another exemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings. A detailed description of some parts in this embodiment, which are substantially the same as those in the former exemplary embodiment, will be omitted. 
         [0047]      FIG. 6  is a detailed view illustrating the inside of a body part  100  of a robot in accordance with another exemplary embodiment. 
         [0048]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the robot in accordance with this embodiment further includes a linear moving device  41 , which linearly moves cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  in the vertical direction. 
         [0049]    The linear moving device  41  is respectively installed at both sides of the body part  10 , and includes rack gears  43   a  and  43   b  to move the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  in the vertical direction, pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f  engaged with the rack gears  43   a  and  43   b  and moving in the vertical direction, pinion motors  48   a,    48   b,    48   c,    48   d,    48   e,  and  48   f  to drive the pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f  such that the pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f  move on the rack gears  43   a  and  43   b,  cam motors  49   a,    49   b,    49   c,    49   d,    49   e,  and  49   f  to rotate the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f,  and brackets  42   a,    42   b,    42   c,    42   d,    42   e,  and  42   f  to support the pinion motors  48   a,    48   b,    48   c,    48   d,    48   e,  and  48   f  and the cam motors  49   a,    49   b,    49   c,    49   d,    49   e,  and  49   f  such that the pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f  and the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  move together. The pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f  located on the rack gears  43   a  and  43   b  are respectively moved in the vertical direction by the pinion motors  48   a,    48   b,    48   c,    48   d,    48   e,  and  48   f,  and the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  are respectively rotated on cam rotary shafts  45   a,    45   b,    45   c,    45   d,    45   e,  and  45   f  by the cam motors  49   a,    49   b,    49   c,    49   d,    49   e,  and  49   f.  When the pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f  move in the vertical direction by the driving of the pinion motors  48   a,    48   b,    48   c,    48   d,    48   e,  and  48   f,  the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  restricted by the brackets  42   a,    42   b,    42   c,    42   d,    42   e,  and  42   f  reciprocate in the vertical direction on the rack gear  43   a  and  43   b  together with the pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f.    
         [0050]    Hereinafter, an operation of making a gesture of the robot in accordance with another exemplary embodiment will be described in detail. 
         [0051]    The basic moving principle of the robot in this embodiment is the same as that in the former exemplary embodiment. That is, a gesture may be made by rotating the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  corresponding to the motion of an image displayed on a display device  60 . However, since the robot in this embodiment further includes the linear moving device  41 , the cam members  40   a,    40   b,    40   c,    40   d,    40   e,  and  40   f  may move in the vertical direction according to the vertical movement of the pinion gears  47   a,    47   b,    47   c,    47   d,    47   e,  and  47   f.  Therefore, the formation of a gesture according to the movement of the image displayed on the display device  60  may be more delicate, and a wider variety of gestures may be made. 
         [0052]    Although the above embodiments illustrate that three cam members are installed at each of both sides of the body part  10  or  100 , the number of the cam members may be variously modified. 
         [0053]    Further, although the above embodiments exemplarily illustrate that the image displayed on the display device is the image of a human or an anthropomorphic animal, various images may be displayed on the display device and the number of humans or anthropomorphic animals made in the image may be plural. 
         [0054]    As is apparent from the above description, the robot in accordance with one embodiment employs the cam members and the outer cover member, and thus is capable of making a gesture in a smooth curved shape. Therefore, the gesture provides natural and smooth impressions, and thus the robot may effectively express feelings. 
         [0055]    Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the embodiments, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6