KR102792487B1 - Automatic tugging toy - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a robot arm having a tug play cloth attached to one end and capable of moving in a predetermined direction, a driving unit for moving the robot arm in the predetermined direction, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the driving unit.

Description

Automatic tugging toy

The present invention relates to a toy for dogs, and more particularly, to an automatic tugging toy for automatically providing tug-of-war play to dogs.

As the number of people raising dogs in apartments and other shared housing increases and dogs spend more time indoors, the role of dog toys that dogs can play with is becoming increasingly important.

For dog toys, if possible, they should be quiet enough to not bother neighbors, safe for the owner, good for the dog's health, and comfortable for the owner both mentally and physically.

In particular, dog toys should be able to create a certain amount of activity for your dog when he is indoors, help relieve stress in your dog, and keep both the toy and your dog as quiet as possible during their activities.

Meanwhile, tug-of-war refers to a game in which a dog bites a strong cloth or leather object and pulls it left and right. Through tug-of-war, dogs can relieve stress and exercise, which can help their health.

However, the existing tug-of-war game requires the dog owner to hold one end of a strong cloth or leather object in his hand and, when the dog bites the object, the dog owner must pull the object left and right while playing with the dog.

In this case, while playing tug-of-war, the dog may accidentally bite the owner's hand, which may cause injury to the owner. In addition, the owner may feel mentally and physically tired because the dog must continuously pull the tug-of-war object in his or her hand left and right.

Also, in order to arouse a dog's interest in tug-of-war, the owner needs to play tug-of-war with the dog, continuously pulling the tug-of-war object left and right, patting the dog, and praising the dog for doing a good job.

Therefore, an automatic tug toy is required that does not hurt the dog owner's hands, does not require the owner to continuously pull the tug toy held in his/her hand left and right, and can continuously stimulate the dog's interest in tug play.

WO WO2016193795 A1

The problem that the present invention seeks to solve is to provide an automatic tug-of-war toy that does not injure the owner's hand, does not require the owner to continuously pull the tug-of-war object held in his hand left and right, and can continuously stimulate the interest of a companion dog in tug-of-war.

An automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem is:

A robotic arm having a tug-of-war game cloth that can be attached and detached at one end and moved in a predetermined direction;

A driving unit for moving the above robot arm in a predetermined direction; and

It may include a control unit for controlling the operation of the above driving unit.

An automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a housing that accommodates the other end of the robot arm, the driving unit, and the control unit.

In addition, the automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a fixing device for fixing the housing to a wall or floor.

In addition, an automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention,

A grip part formed on one end of the robot arm, one end of the tug play cloth being detachable and partially openable; and

Further comprising a pressure sensor for detecting pressure applied to the above robot arm,

A part of the above grip part is opened and closed by the control of the above control part,

When the pressure applied to the robot arm is greater than a predetermined set pressure or a predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit can open a part of the grip unit to separate the tug play cloth from the robot arm.

In addition, in the automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention, the grip part,

A ring with some parts open;

An opening and closing member having one end rotatably connected to one end of the ring and the other end detachably connected to the other end of the ring;

A locking and releasing pin movable through a through hole formed at the other end of the above opening and closing portion; and

It includes an electromagnet coil part for moving the above locking and releasing pin,

The above control unit controls the operation of the electromagnet coil unit, thereby controlling the movement of the lock and release pin, thereby attaching and detaching the other end of the opening/closing unit to the other end of the ring.

In addition, the automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes a movable joint part connected to the other end of the robot arm and capable of moving in a predetermined direction,

The above driving unit can move the robot arm in a predetermined direction by rotating the movable joint unit in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle.

In addition, the automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes a voice output unit,

The above control unit can periodically output a voice praising the dog playing tug-of-war for doing a good job at the tug-of-war through the above voice output unit.

In addition, an automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention further includes at least one of a snack storage container storing snacks to be provided to a companion dog and a feed storage container storing feed to be provided to a companion dog.

The above control unit can discharge a predetermined amount of at least one of the snacks and feed stored in at least one of the snack storage containers and the feed storage containers when the pressure applied to the robot arm is a predetermined pressure or higher and a predetermined number of times or higher.

In addition, in the automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention, the control unit can control the driving unit to move the robot arm in at least one of the left-right direction and the up-down direction.

In addition, in the automatic tug toy according to one embodiment of the present invention, in order to prevent the spine from being injured when the dog pulls the tug play cloth in an up-and-down direction, the control unit controls the driving unit to move the robot arm only in the left-right direction.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic tug toy does not injure the owner's hand, there is no need for the owner to continuously pull the tug play object held in the owner's hand left and right, and the interest of the dog in the tug play can be continuously stimulated, so that the dog can continuously play the tug play without getting bored of the tug play.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating an automatic tug toy according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are drawings for explaining the operation of an automatic tug toy according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 4a and 4b are drawings for explaining the operation of the grip portion.
FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an automatic tug toy according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an automatic tug toy according to a third embodiment of the invention.

The objects, specific advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Prior to this, the terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted in their usual or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted in a meaning and concept that conforms to the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term in order to explain his or her own invention in the best way.

When adding reference numbers to components of each drawing in this specification, it should be noted that identical components are given the same numbers as much as possible even if they are shown in different drawings.

Additionally, terms such as “first,” “second,” “one side,” “the other side,” etc. are used to distinguish one component from another, and the components are not limited by these terms.

Hereinafter, in describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of related known technologies that may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention will be omitted.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, an automatic tug toy (100) according to a first embodiment of the present invention may include a robot arm (106) having a tug play cloth (120) attached and detached to one end and capable of moving in a predetermined direction, a driving unit (104) for moving the robot arm (106) in a predetermined direction, a control unit (108) for controlling the operation of the driving unit (104), a housing (102) for storing the other end of the robot arm (106), the driving unit (104) and the control unit (110), and a fixing device (112) for fixing the housing (102) to a wall or floor in order to withstand the pulling force of a companion dog.

In addition, the automatic tug toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention may further include a grip portion (121) formed on one end of the robot arm (106), a ring (129) formed on one end of the tug play cloth (120) that is detachable and partially openable, and a pressure sensor (124) for detecting pressure applied to the robot arm (106).

The opening/closing part (125), which is a part of the grip part (121), can be opened/closed under the control of the control part (108), and when the pressure applied to the robot arm (106) is greater than a predetermined set pressure or a predetermined time has elapsed, the control part (114) can open the opening/closing part (125) of the grip part (121) to separate the tug play cloth (120) from the robot arm (106).

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, the grip portion (121) may include a ring (123) with a portion open, an opening/closing portion (125) having one end rotatably connected to one end of the ring (123) and the other end detachably connected to the other end of the ring (123), a locking and releasing pin (127) that can move through a through hole formed in the other end of the opening/closing portion (125), and an electromagnet coil portion (402) for moving the locking and releasing pin (127).

The above control unit (108) controls the operation of the electromagnet coil (408) of the electromagnet coil unit (402), thereby controlling the movement of the lock and release pin (127), thereby allowing the other end of the opening/closing unit (125) to be attached/detached to the other end of the ring (123), thereby opening or closing the opening/closing unit (125).

In addition, the automatic tug toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention may further include a movable joint part (122) connected to the other end of the robot arm (106) and capable of moving in the left-right direction, in the up-down direction, or in all directions of the left-right and up-down directions.

The above driving unit (104) can be implemented as a motor, and can move the robot arm (106) in a predetermined direction by rotating the movable joint unit (122) in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle.

In addition, in order to prevent the spine of the dog from being injured when the dog pulls the tug play cloth (120) up and down, the control unit (108) controls the driving unit (104) to move the robot arm (106) only in the left and right directions.

In addition, the automatic tug toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention further includes a voice output unit (114), and the control unit (108) periodically outputs a voice of praise to a dog playing tug-of-war for playing well through the voice output unit (114), thereby further stimulating the dog's interest in playing tug-of-war.

Meanwhile, reference number 118 represents a timer, reference number 110 represents a power source for supplying power to the control unit (108), driving unit (102), voice output unit (114), and timer (118), and reference number 116 may represent a power button.

The operation of the automatic tug toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

First, it is assumed that the tug play cloth (120) has been attached to the grip part (121) by the owner of the dog.

The method for attaching the tug play cloth (120) to the grip part (121) is to first open the opening/closing part (125) to open the ring (123), attach the ring (129) of the tug play cloth (120) to the ring (123) of the grip part (121) through the open part of the ring (123), and then close the opening/closing part (125).

When the owner of the dog presses the power button (116) to turn on the automatic tug toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the control unit (108) controls the driving unit (104) to move the movable joint unit (122) in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined angle, thereby automatically moving the robot arm (106) in the left-right direction or up-down direction, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in Fig. 2, as the robot arm (106) automatically moves left-right or up-down, the tug play cloth (120) can also move left-right (200) or up-down (202) in conjunction therewith. As the tug play cloth (120) moves left-right and/or up-down, the dog may become interested in the tug play cloth (120) and may bite and pull the tug play cloth (120).

The control unit (108) may include a processor with built-in artificial intelligence that can analyze the behavior of the dog and provide a method to respond to the analyzed behavior in order to prevent the possibility of injury to the dog, and recognize the direction and force with which the dog pulls the tug-of-war cloth (120) based on the pressure detected by the pressure sensor (124), and control the operation of the driving unit (104) so as to move the robot arm (106) with a predetermined force in an appropriate force and appropriate direction, that is, in the same direction or the opposite direction to the direction in which the dog pulls.

As described above, by the control unit (108) moving the robot arm (106) with a predetermined force in an appropriate direction, that is, in the same direction or the opposite direction to the direction in which the dog is pulling, the dog can play tug with the automatic tugging toy (100) while pulling the tug play cloth (120).

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 3, in the case where the dog pulls the tug play cloth (120) with too much force in one direction, in order to prevent the dog from getting hurt and to prevent the automatic tugging toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention from breaking down in the event of excessive movement, the force with which the dog pulls the tug play cloth (120) is detected by the pressure sensor (124), and when the detected pressure is higher than a predetermined set pressure, the control unit (108) opens the opening/closing unit (125) to separate the ring (129) of the tug play cloth (120) from the ring (123) of the grip unit (121), thereby separating the tug play cloth (120) from the automatic tugging toy (100) in the event of excessive movement by the dog.

At this time, the control unit (108) can turn off the power of the automatic tug toy (100) to end the tug play.

In addition, the owner of the dog can set the tug play time by adjusting the timer (118), and when the set time has elapsed, the control unit (108) can cause the ring (129) of the tug play cloth (120) to separate from the ring (123) of the grip unit (121) and turn off the power of the automatic tugging toy (100) to end the tug play.

Figures 4a and 4b are drawings for explaining the operation of the grip portion (121).

The above grip portion (121) may include a ring (123) with a portion open, an opening/closing portion (125) having one end rotatably connected to one end of the ring (123) and the other end detachably connected to the other end of the ring (123), a locking and releasing pin (127) that can move through a through hole formed in the other end of the opening/closing portion (125), and an electromagnet coil portion (402) for moving the locking and releasing pin (127).

The above-mentioned electromagnet coil part (402) may include an electromagnet coil (408, a spring (406) and a storage part (404) for storing the electromagnet coil (408) and the spring (406).

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b, the control unit (108) controls the operation of the electromagnet coil (408) to control the movement of the lock and release pin (127), thereby opening or closing the opening/closing unit (125).

Figure 4a shows a state in which the locking and releasing pin (127) is moved in the direction of the arrow (410) by the water spring (406) and one end of the opening and closing part (125) is closed by being coupled to the ring (123) of the grip part (121) by the locking and releasing pin (127).

When the lock and release pin (127) is in the state of Fig. 4a, one end (131) of the opening/closing part (125) of the grip part (121) can be closed by being coupled to the ring (123) of the grip part (121) by the lock and release pin (127) as shown in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 2, when one end (131) of the opening/closing portion (125) of the grip portion (121) is closed by being connected to the ring (123) of the grip portion (121), the ring (129) of the tug play cloth (120) is attached to the ring (123) of the grip portion (121), so that it cannot come off from the ring (123) of the grip portion (121).

FIG. 4b shows that the control unit (108) controls the operation of the electromagnet coil (408) so that the locking and releasing pin (127) moves in the direction of the arrow (412) so that one end of the opening/closing unit (125) can be separated from the ring (123) of the isolation unit (121) and open without being affected by the locking and releasing pin (127).

When the locking and releasing pin (127) is in the state of Fig. 4b, one end (131) of the opening/closing part (125) of the grip part (121) can be separated from the grip part (121) and opened without being affected by the locking and releasing pin (127), as shown in Fig. 3.

Meanwhile, as shown in Fig. 4b, the upper part of the storage part (404) can be formed in a streamlined shape so that the ring (129) of the tug play cloth (120) at the end of the tug play can easily come out from the ring (123) of the grip part (121) without being caught on the upper part of the storage part (404).

As shown in Fig. 3, when one end (131) of the opening/closing portion (125) of the grip portion (121) is separated from the grip portion (121) and becomes open, the ring (121) of the tug play cloth (120) can be separated from the ring (123) of the grip portion (121) by gravity.

On the other hand, if there is no proper feedback during tug play, there is a possibility that your dog will easily lose interest in tug play.

To prevent this, the control unit (108) periodically outputs a voice praising the dog playing tug-of-war well through the voice output unit (114) to provide appropriate feedback to the dog, thereby further stimulating the dog's interest in playing tug-of-war.

Additionally, in order to provide appropriate feedback to the dog during tug play, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, at least one of a treat and food may be provided to the dog as feedback for the tug play.

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating an automatic tug toy (500) according to a second embodiment of the present invention that can provide a treat to a companion dog as feedback for tug play.

Referring to FIG. 5, an automatic tugging toy (500) according to a second embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 5 may further include, in addition to the automatic tugging toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1, a snack storage container (502) storing snacks to be provided to a companion dog, a discharge port (504) through which snacks stored in the snack storage container (502) are discharged, a gate (508) for controlling discharge of snacks discharged from the discharge port (504), and a bowl (506) for containing the discharged snacks.

The control unit (108) opens the gate (508) to discharge a predetermined amount of snacks stored in the snack storage container (502) when the pressure applied to the robot arm (106) is greater than a certain pressure and greater than a predetermined number of times, thereby providing the dog with a snack as feedback for the tug play. Accordingly, the dog's interest in the tug play can be further aroused.

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating an automatic tug toy (600) according to a third embodiment of the present invention that can provide at least one of a treat and food to a companion dog as feedback for tug play.

Referring to FIG. 6, an automatic tugging toy (600) according to a third embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 6 may further include, in addition to the automatic tugging toy (100) according to the first embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1, a feed storage container (602) storing feed for providing to a dog, a feed discharge port (606) through which feed stored in the feed storage container (602) is discharged, a first gate (614) for controlling discharge of feed discharged from the feed discharge port (606), a snack storage container (604) storing snacks for providing to a dog, a snack discharge port (608) through which feed stored in the snack storage container (604) is discharged, a second gate (616) for controlling discharge of snacks discharged from the snack discharge port (608), and a bowl (610) for containing the discharged feed or snack.

The timer (612) is used to set the time for closing the gate (614, 616). The feed or snack falls down by gravity, and when the time set by the timer (612) elapses, the gate (614, 616) automatically closes, thereby allowing the amount of feed or snack to be adjusted.

The control unit (108) opens the first gate (614) or the second gate (616) when the pressure applied to the robot arm (106) is greater than a certain pressure and greater than a certain number of times, thereby discharging a predetermined amount of at least one of the feed stored in the feed storage container (602) or the snack stored in the snack storage container (604), thereby providing at least one of the feed and the snack to the companion dog as feedback for the tug play. Accordingly, the companion dog's interest in the tug play can be further aroused.

Although the present invention has been described in detail through specific examples, this is intended to specifically explain the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and it will be apparent that modifications or improvements can be made by those skilled in the art within the technical spirit of the present invention.

All simple modifications or changes of the present invention fall within the scope of the present invention, and the specific protection scope of the present invention will be made clear by the appended claims.

100, 500, 600: Automatic Tugging Toys
102 : Housing 104 : Drive Unit
106: Robot arm 108: Control unit
110 : Power 112 : Fixed device
114: Voice output section 116: Power button
118: Timer 120: Tug Play Cloth
121: grip part 122: movable joint part
123: Ring of grip part 124: Pressure sensor
125 : Opening part 127 : Locking and releasing pin
129: Cloth ring for tug play 402: Electromagnetic coil part
404: Storage section 406: Water spring
408: Electromagnetic coil 502: Snack storage bin
504 : outlet 506, 610 : bowl
508: Gate 602: Feed storage bin
604: Snack storage bin 606: Feed outlet
608: Snack Dispenser 612: Timer
614: Gate 1 616: Gate 2

Claims (10)

A robotic arm having a tug-of-war game cloth that can be attached and detached at one end and moved in a predetermined direction;
A driving unit for moving the above robot arm in a predetermined direction;
A control unit for controlling the operation of the above driving unit;
A grip part formed on one end of the robot arm, one end of the tug play cloth being detachable and partially openable; and
Including a pressure sensor for detecting pressure applied to the above robot arm,
A part of the above grip part is opened and closed by the control of the above control part,
An automatic tugging toy, wherein when the pressure applied to the robot arm is greater than a predetermined set pressure or a predetermined time has elapsed, the control unit opens a part of the grip unit to separate the tugging play cloth from the robot arm. In claim 1,
An automatic tugging toy further comprising a housing for accommodating the other end of the robot arm, the driving unit, and the control unit. In claim 2,
An automatic tugging toy further comprising a fixing device for fixing the housing to a wall or floor. delete In claim 1,
The above grip part,
A ring with some parts open;
An opening and closing member having one end rotatably connected to one end of the ring and the other end detachably connected to the other end of the ring;
A locking and releasing pin movable through a through hole formed at the other end of the above opening and closing portion; and
It includes an electromagnet coil part for moving the above locking and releasing pin,
An automatic tugging toy in which the control unit controls the operation of the electromagnet coil unit, thereby controlling the movement of the lock and release pin to attach and detach the other end of the opening/closing unit to the other end of the ring. In claim 1,
It further includes a movable joint part connected to the other end of the above robot arm and capable of moving in a predetermined direction,
An automatic tugging toy in which the above driving unit moves the robot arm in a predetermined direction by rotating the movable joint unit in a predetermined direction at a predetermined angle. In claim 1,
Including a voice output section,
An automatic tugging toy in which the control unit periodically outputs a voice praising the dog for playing tug-of-war well through the voice output unit. A robotic arm having a tug-of-war game cloth that can be attached and detached at one end and moved in a predetermined direction;
A driving unit for moving the above robot arm in a predetermined direction; and
It includes a control unit for controlling the operation of the above driving unit,
At least one further comprising a treat storage container storing treats for providing to the companion dog and a food storage container storing food for providing to the companion dog,
The above control unit is an automatic tugging toy that discharges a predetermined amount of at least one of the snacks and feed stored in at least one of the snack storage containers and the feed storage containers when the pressure applied to the robot arm is greater than a predetermined pressure and greater than a predetermined number of times. In claim 1,
An automatic tugging toy, wherein the control unit controls the driving unit to move the robot arm in at least one of the left-right and up-down directions. In claim 1,
An automatic tugging toy in which the control unit controls the driving unit to move the robot arm only in the left and right directions to prevent the spine from being injured when the dog pulls the tug play cloth up and down.

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