KR-20260064989-A - Line tracer

Abstract

The present invention relates to a line tracer that allows for on-site coding of the display and buttons, and has a structure that is easy to assemble and compact. A robot body comprising a lower case with a plurality of supports installed thereon and an upper case coupled to the lower case and provided with a plurality of button insertion holes; a lower substrate installed on the lower case and having a plurality of sensors for recognizing lines mounted on its lower surface; an upper substrate installed on the plurality of supports; a display mounted on one side of the upper substrate; a plurality of operation buttons mounted on the other side of the upper substrate and inserted into the button insertion holes to protrude upward from the upper case; a pair of wheels installed on the robot body; and a pair of grabs installed at the front of the robot body.

Inventors

• 최병진
• 임수현
• 김철진
• 정연학

Assignees

• (주)엑스로보

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20241030

Claims (6)

1. A robot body comprising a lower case with a plurality of supports installed thereon, and an upper case coupled to the lower case and having a plurality of button insertion holes; A lower substrate installed on the lower case and having a plurality of sensors for recognizing lines mounted on its lower surface; An upper substrate installed on the plurality of supports above; A display mounted on one side of the upper substrate; A plurality of operation buttons mounted on the other side of the upper substrate and inserted into the button insertion hole to protrude upward from the upper case; A pair of wheels installed on the robot body; A pair of grabs installed at the front of the robot body; A line tracer characterized by including
2. In paragraph 1, The upper case above is made of a translucent or translucent material, and A line tracer characterized in that when the display positioned directly below the upper case displays information, the information is displayed to the outside through the upper case, and when the display is not operating, the information is not exposed to the outside.
3. In paragraph 1, A line tracer characterized by a compact structure in which the wheel, a pair of wheel drive motors for driving each wheel, a battery, and a cable electrically connecting each board are arranged in the upper and lower space between the lower board and the upper board.
4. In paragraph 1, The above wheel is installed at the rear relative to the longitudinal center of the robot body, and A line tracer characterized by having a weight installed at the rear end of the robot body to increase the traction force for the wheel located at the rear.
5. In paragraph 1, The above pair of grabs is, A line tracer characterized by being composed of a pair of left and right first and second emerging grabs that are mounted inside a robot body, and are pulled out to the front of the robot body when picking up an object according to a command of an operation code, and are retracted into the robot body when releasing an object.
6. In paragraph 3, The robot body is provided with a guide member that partitions the internal space of the robot body in the front and back directions to secure a space where the grab can rotate in the front of the robot body. The above guide member is characterized by including a central partition wall positioned between the connecting portions of the first and second emerging grabs, which face each other when the first and second emerging grabs are inserted into the robot body, and a pair of front and rear partition walls extending to the left and right of the central partition wall.

Description

Line tracer The present invention relates to a line tracer that allows for on-site coding of the display and buttons, and has a structure that is easy to assemble and compact. As a means of controlling educational or toy robots, coding refers to computer programming—that is, inputting given commands into a language that a computer can understand—and involves creating programs using computer languages such as C, Java, and Python. Coding education has become increasingly important in recent years as it can foster logical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills. Furthermore, the importance of coding is increasing because the things that represent the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, intelligent robots, and big data analysis and utilization, are implemented through software based on ICT (Information and Communication Technology). Coding education is being approached in a game-like manner, such as puzzles or block matching, to help kindergarten or elementary school students understand the basic principles of programming. However, game-based methods such as puzzles or block matching had limitations in teaching the principles of coding because they could not accurately represent inputs and the changes in the program resulting from those inputs. In addition, game methods such as puzzles or block matching were difficult for lower-grade kindergarten or elementary school children to access easily and conveniently, making it difficult to help them easily understand the basics of coding. Recently, Korean Public Patent No. 10-2005-0023968 and Korean Registered Patent No. 10-2083866 have proposed a control device for an educational robot kit that enables experiential learning in which teachers or students in the initial introductory stage of encountering educational or toy robots for the first time can freely control and operate the robot kit's movements without any technical knowledge related to robot control, including computer programming languages such as C or BASIC, thereby allowing them to naturally experience the principles of robots and control. Meanwhile, line-follower robots are a type of educational or toy robot that follows a line by emitting light (infrared) onto the floor and determining its presence based on the amount of reflected light; recently, line-follower competitions are also being actively held. Conventional line tracer robots are assembled with a structure in which the circuit board, connecting pins, and even the cables are exposed to the outside, as shown in FIG. 12. This causes problems such as buttons being easily damaged or detached by external impacts, and dust or moisture being easily exposed to the circuit board, leading to frequent breakdowns. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a line tracer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1, showing a state in which the emerging grab is withdrawn outside the robot body. Figure 3 is a perspective view with the upper case separated from Figure 2. Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of Fig. 2. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a lower substrate and various components mounted on the lower case of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a bottom perspective view of Fig. 1. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the main components mounted inside the line tracer according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing coding information displayed through the upper case in the line tracer of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the appearance of coding information input in the display of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the appearance of the pull-out and pull-out grab of the present invention being withdrawn and pulled in from the lower case. FIGS. 11a and FIGS. 11b are a top view and a bottom view, respectively, of the protruding grab of the present invention. Figure 12 is a photograph of a conventional line tracer. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments described below are merely intended to provide a detailed description sufficient for a person skilled in the art to easily practice the invention, and do not imply that the scope of protection of the present invention is limited thereby. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 11, a line tracer (100) according to the present invention may be configured to include a robot body (110), a lower substrate (131) and an upper substrate (135) mounted within the robot body (110), a plurality of buttons (155a, 155b) installed on the upper part of the robot body (110), and a pair of grabs (170; 170a, 170b) installed in front of the robot body (110). The robot body (110) may be composed of a lower case (111) that is detachably coupled and an upper case (115). In the lower case (111), a plurality of supports (112a) that support the upper substrat