JP2017225518A - Block and block control system - Google Patents

Abstract

A block and a block control system capable of assembling a three-dimensional object capable of displaying various expressions and information.
A block control system 100 of the present invention includes a block 1, a communication terminal 50 in which an application program 51 is stored, and a server 70 that provides the application program 51 on the Internet 60. A connection unit 20 connected to the other block 2, a communication unit 32 that performs wireless communication with the communication terminal 50, a control unit 22 that executes predetermined output processing based on a signal from the communication terminal 50, It is configured with.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a block and a block control system for assembling a three-dimensional object by connecting a plurality of blocks.

  Conventionally, toys that assemble a three-dimensional object by connecting a plurality of blocks are widely known. This toy consists of a block having a convex part on the upper surface of a rectangular parallelepiped or a cubic body and a concave part on the lower surface, for example, and by inserting the convex part of one block into the concave part of another block and connecting it, A three-dimensional object having a shape is assembled (for example, see Patent Document 1 below). Since this type of toy has a basic structure of the color and shape of the block itself, the color and shape of the finished solid object are assumed in advance, and the range of creative expression is limited. There was a problem that.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-091062

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a block and a block control system capable of assembling a three-dimensional object capable of displaying various expressions and information. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention is a block that connects a plurality of blocks to assemble a three-dimensional object, and performs communication that performs wireless communication between a connecting unit connected to another block and a communication terminal. And a control unit that executes predetermined output processing based on a signal from the communication terminal received by the communication unit.

  In the present invention, the block configured as described above may include an LED display unit, and the control unit may control lighting, extinction, blinking, or lighting color of the LED display unit.

  In the present invention, the block configured as described above may include a display unit, and the control unit may control display of the display unit.

  In the present invention, the block having the above-described configuration may include a power supply unit, and the control unit may control power supply from the power supply unit to another block.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a block configured as described above, a communication terminal storing an application program instructing the predetermined output process, and the application program stored in the communication terminal. A block control system comprising: a server that provides the Internet on the Internet.

  The present invention also provides a block configured as described above, a communication terminal storing an application program that instructs the predetermined output processing, and a server that provides the application program stored in the communication terminal on the Internet. A block control system comprising: a message server that transfers a message to the communication terminal via the Internet based on a visible light communication signal transmitted from the block to the communication terminal. .

  According to the block and block control system of the present invention, various output processes can be performed by wirelessly instructing the block from the communication terminal, so that various expressions and information displays such as light, color, characters, and images are displayed. There is an effect that a three-dimensional object that can be assembled can be assembled.

It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the block of this invention. It is a figure which shows the function of the block of this invention. It is a figure showing the whole block control system composition of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the modification of the block of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other modification of the block of this invention. It is a figure which shows the message delivery system using the block control system of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the appearance of the block of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the block 1 of this embodiment includes a resin main body 10 formed into a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a connecting portion 20 that is integrally formed with the main body 10 and connected to another block 2. Has been.

  The connecting portion 20 includes a plurality of convex portions 21, 21,... Provided on the upper surface of the main body 10 and a concave portion 22 provided on the lower surface of the main body 10, and the convex portion 21 of one block 1 is replaced with another block 2. Are fitted into the recess 22 so that a plurality of blocks 1, 2,... Can be coupled to assemble a three-dimensional object having a desired shape. In addition, although the shape of the main body 10 is a rectangular parallelepiped in FIG. 1, various shapes, such as a cube, a cylinder, and a sphere, can be employed. Moreover, although the connection part 20 is provided in the upper surface and lower surface of the main body 10, you may provide in the side surface of the main body 10. FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the function of the block of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the block 1 of this embodiment includes a circuit board 30 in which electronic components are mounted inside a main body 10, and the circuit board 30 includes a power supply unit 31, a communication unit 32, and a control unit. A unit 33 and an LED display unit 34 are provided.

  The power supply unit 31 is formed of a small battery such as a coin-type lithium battery or an alkaline battery, and supplies a power supply voltage boosted by a DC-DC converter to the block 1. The communication unit 32 includes a BLE module having a wireless communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), connects to a communication terminal 50 described later, and receives an instruction from the communication terminal 50 by a signal. The control unit 33 includes an IF module on which a microcomputer is mounted, and executes predetermined programmed output processing based on a signal from the communication terminal 50 received by the communication unit 32. The LED display unit 34 includes red, blue, green, and other LEDs, and the lighting, extinguishing, blinking, or lighting color of the LEDs is controlled according to the output process executed by the control unit 33.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the block control system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the block control system 100 of this embodiment includes the block 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a communication terminal 50 owned by the system user, and a server 70 connected to the Internet 60. Configured.

  The communication terminal 50 can use, for example, a smartphone or tablet PC such as an iOS (registered trademark) terminal or an Android (registered trademark) terminal, and is connected to the block 1 by a wireless communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). . The communication terminal 50 installs and uses a dedicated application program 51 that instructs the predetermined output processing. The application program 51 is provided by uploading from the server 70 to an application providing platform 80 on the Internet 60, for example, “APP Store” of Apple Inc., “Google Play” of Google Inc., etc. To be downloaded.

  The above is the configuration of the block and the block control system of the present invention, and the usage method will be described below.

  A user of the system first connects his / her communication terminal 50 to the Internet 60, downloads a dedicated application program 51 from the application providing platform 80, and installs it on the communication terminal 50. Next, when the power of the block 1 is turned on and the setting of the Bluetooth (registered trademark) function of the communication terminal 50 is turned on, the block 1 is detected as a device that can be connected by wireless communication, and the connection between the two is established. Then, the application program 51 is started on the communication terminal 50 and the LED display unit 34 of the block 1 can be operated to turn on, turn off, blink, or turn on the LED.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, since it becomes possible to operate the output of the LED display unit 34 by instructing the block 1 wirelessly from the communication terminal 50, there are various types depending on the light and color of the LED. You can assemble solid objects that can be expressed. In the present embodiment, the LED display unit 34 is provided in the block 1, but the output process of the block 1 is not limited to this.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a display unit 35 including an LCD (liquid crystal) module, an OLED (organic EL) module, or the like is provided in the block 1 so that the control unit 33 controls characters and images displayed on the display unit 35. Anyway. Thereby, the character and image data created on the communication terminal 50 are transferred to the block 1 by wireless communication and displayed on the display unit 35, thereby assembling a three-dimensional object capable of displaying various information using characters and images. Can do.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a power supply unit 36 may be provided in the block 1, and the control unit 33 may control power supply from the power supply unit 36 to another block 2. Thereby, the solid thing which can be charged by the connected blocks 1, 2, ... can be assembled.

  The embodiments described above are merely examples, and the present invention can be applied to various embodiments. For example, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a message distribution system using the block control system 100 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, this system includes block 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, communication terminals 50A and 50B owned by users of the system, a server 70 and a message server 90 connected to the Internet 60. It is prepared for.

  As a method of using the system, first, a dedicated application program 51 is downloaded from the application providing platform 80 to the communication terminal 50A of the user A via the Internet 60 and installed in the communication terminal 50A. Similarly, the application program 51 is installed in the communication terminal 50B of the user B (STEP 1).

  Next, the power of block 1 is turned on, and the communication terminal 50A is connected to the block 1 by the Bluetooth (registered trademark) function, and the communication terminal 50A uses the application program 51 to the block 1, for characters, sounds, video, etc. Is delivered (STEP 2).

  The distributed message data is stored in the message server 90 via the Internet 60 and is modulated into a visible light communication signal by the control unit 33 of the block 1. As a result, the LED of the LED display unit 34 blinks at high speed, and a visible light communication signal using LED light is transmitted from the block 1 (STEP 3).

  Here, the communication terminal 50B within the irradiation range of the LED light receives the visible light communication signal by the illuminance sensor or the image sensor, amplifies the output signal of the sensor by the amplifier, and demodulates the visible light communication signal by the microcomputer. . The communication terminal 50B is connected to the Internet 60 based on the demodulated visible light communication signal, and the message of the user A is transferred from the message server 90 via the Internet 60. As a result, a message such as characters, sounds, and images is displayed on the screen of the communication terminal 50B of the user B (STEP 4).

  As described above, in this embodiment, by using the block 1 as a visible light communication device (transmitter), it becomes possible to perform visible light communication between the block 1 and the communication terminal 50B. The message can be distributed only to the specific communication terminal 50B.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Block 10: Main body 20: Connection part 21: Convex part 22: Concave part 30: Circuit board 31: Power supply part 32: Communication part 33: Control part 34: LED display part 35: Display part 36: Power supply part 50: Communication Terminal 51: Application program 60: Internet 70: Server 80: Application providing platform 90: Message server 100: Block control system

Claims (6)

A block that connects a plurality of blocks to assemble a three-dimensional object,
A connecting part connected to another block;
A communication unit that performs wireless communication with a communication terminal;
And a control unit that executes predetermined output processing based on a signal from the communication terminal received by the communication unit. The block of claim 1,
With LED display,
The control unit controls lighting, extinguishing, blinking, or lighting color of the LED display unit. The block of claim 1,
With a display,
The block, wherein the control unit controls display on the display unit. The block of claim 1,
With a power supply,
The block, wherein the control unit controls power supply from the power supply unit to another block. The block according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A communication terminal storing an application program for instructing the predetermined output processing;
A block control system comprising: a server that provides the application program stored in the communication terminal on the Internet. The block according to claim 1 or 2,
A communication terminal storing an application program for instructing the predetermined output processing;
A server for providing the application program stored in the communication terminal on the Internet;
A block control system comprising: a message server that transfers a message to the communication terminal via the Internet based on a visible light communication signal transmitted from the block to the communication terminal.