JP3076542B2 - Spherical body identification device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an identification code, such as a bar code, or an identification mark, such as a character or graphic, attached to the surface of a spherical body such as a golf ball (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as "identification information"). ) To identify the spherical body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, golf driving ranges have been expected to introduce a system that not only improves the skill of golfers but also provides a game and moderate gambling so that they can practice with interest. .

For this reason, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-7490, a golf ball provided with different identification information (by bar code, mark, color, etc.) for each of a plurality of at-bats is used. When a golf ball hit by a golfer enters a hole provided in a yard, a golf game device is proposed which detects an identification mark of the golf ball and identifies and displays the hitting position at which the golf ball was hit. Have been.

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-21369, as an object of a golf ball hit from each of a plurality of at-bats, an artificial green for short-distance hitting practice and a standing green for long-distance hitting practice are provided. The target stand and the yard are installed in the yard, and the identification information indicating the at-bat characteristics according to the at-bat characteristics, which is given to the prize ball hitting the target by entering the prize hole or the prize groove according to each grade, There has also been proposed a golf driving range system in which a score is displayed on a terminal device provided at the batting area where the winning ball is hit so that reward balls can be returned according to the score.

When such a system is employed, it is necessary to accurately read the identification information attached to each golf ball in a short time. For this reason, there is known a golf ball in which a required golf ball guided to a ball identification section is rotated to improve the reliability of reading.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a conventional golf ball at-bat identification device. The golf ball 1 shown in this example has a first barcode 1a on the equator as identification information on the surface thereof and a second barcode 1a having the same code pattern as the first barcode 1a on a meridian perpendicular to the equator.
b are printed. Since the code patterns of the first and second bar codes 1a and 1b are different for each at-bat, the golf ball 1 is hit from which at-bat by reading any one of the bar codes. Can be identified.

As described above, the present inventors have previously developed a golf ball in which two identical bar codes formed of a linear code pattern over substantially the entire circumference of the golf ball are formed in directions orthogonal to each other. The bar code reading accuracy can be remarkably improved and the reading speed can be remarkably increased as compared with the case where a normal bar code is printed on a plurality of places on the surface of a golf ball.

The golf ball 1 is rotatably supported by rollers 4 and 5 fixed to respective drive shafts 2a and 3a of a pair of motors 2 and 3 whose axes are orthogonal to each other. Also, the guide member and the gate member (not shown) are locked at a predetermined reading position facing the barcode reader 22 provided above.

When the rollers 4 and 5 rotate in one direction by the driving of the motors 2 and 3, the golf ball 1 rotates while changing the direction by applying a rotational force in two directions. At least one of the first and second barcodes 1a and 1b is scanned and read by the reader 22. Thereby, the bat from which the golf ball 1 was hit is identified. This identification device is not limited to golf balls, and can be used as an identification device for various spherical bodies to which identification information such as a barcode is attached.

[0010]

However, in such a conventional apparatus for identifying a spherical body, the spherical bodies such as golf balls are locked one by one at a predetermined reading position so that the axes are orthogonal to each other. The spherical body is rotated while being supported on two rollers that are respectively driven to rotate by two motors, and the bar code printed on the surface is read by a bar code reader. The structure for locking and supporting in position is complicated,
There was also a risk that the support of the spherical body became unstable and the contact with the roller was impaired.

Further, since the spherical body is simply rotated by contacting with a pair of rollers which apply a rotational force in a direction orthogonal to each other, a change in the rotating direction of the spherical body is small, and the bar code printed portion is a bar code reader. In some cases, it takes a long time to reach a position where the ball 22 can be read, and there is also a problem that the time required for reading a bar code and for identifying a spherical body as a result is uneven.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and reads identification information such as a bar code attached to the surface of various spherical bodies such as golf balls quickly and with high accuracy, and reads the spherical bodies. To be able to identify efficiently,
It is another object of the present invention to provide the identification device at low cost.

[0013]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a spherical body having identification information on its surface is transported while rotating, and identification information on the surface of the spherical body is identified by identification information reading means. The spherical body identification device that reads and identifies the spherical body is configured as follows.

That is, the spherical body discriminating apparatus according to the present invention includes a pair of rollers which are arranged in parallel with each other at intervals so as to be able to contact the spherical body and rotate in the same direction along the traveling direction of the spherical body. The outer peripheral portion has a cutout portion for rotatably capturing the spherical body, the outer peripheral portion having the cutout portion is fitted between the pair of rollers, and the center of the shaft is orthogonal to the axis of the pair of rollers. And a disc-shaped rotor that rotates at an angle, and identification information reading means disposed at a position facing the spherical body that is captured and transferred by the notch of the rotor, and reads identification information on the surface of the spherical body. ing.

By rotating the rotor in one direction, the spherical body is caught in the notch and transported while being rotated in the traveling direction, and the spherical body is brought into contact with the pair of rollers during the transportation. A rotational force is applied to the spherical body in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. By doing so, the probability that the spherical body rotates while changing its direction in a complicated manner (referred to as precession rotation), and the identification information on the surface is directed to a position where the identification information reading device can read the information during the transportation by the rotor. Is extremely high, so that the identification information can be accurately read in a short time and the spherical body can be identified.

Further, when the identification information reading means can read the identification information on the surface of the spherical body while rotating the rotor in the one direction by a predetermined angle, the rotor is continuously rotated in the same direction to fit the notch into the notch. When the captured spherical body is discharged and the identification information reading means cannot read the identification information on the surface of the spherical body, the spherical body is brought into contact with the pair of rollers to rotate the spherical body in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction. After the rotor is once reversed, the reciprocating rotation is repeated within a predetermined angle range, and when the identification information is read by the identification information reading means or when a predetermined time has elapsed without being read, the rotor is rotated. It is preferable to provide a means for controlling the rotation of the rotor so that the spherical body caught in the cutout portion is discharged by rotating in one direction.

The rotor may be provided with a pair of notches at positions facing the outer periphery. Further, it is preferable that the pair of rollers and the rotor are provided in a guide path having a descending gradient in a traveling direction in which the spherical body is guided while being rotated by its own weight. Furthermore, a forced discharge path in which the pair of rollers and the rotor are not disposed on the guide path,
It is desirable to provide a movable gate for guiding the spherical body to the forced discharge path when the power is cut off.

As the spherical body to be identified, a golf ball provided with identification information for each at-bat is suitable. And
A bar code is optimal as the identification information. In that case, a bar code reader may be provided as the identification information reading means.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a golf ball discriminating apparatus will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same golf ball as that shown in FIG. 9 is used for identification. FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part thereof, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a golf ball rotating mechanism, and FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the barcode performed.

First, a schematic configuration of a golf ball identification device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A guide path 12 having a downward slope from an inlet 11 for introducing the golf ball 1 is provided on the base frame 30 so as to be branched into a forced discharge path 12a and an identification discharge path 12b. It is formed by rails, etc.
In FIG. 2, those illustrations are omitted, and only the planar position and width are shown by two-dot chain lines.

On one side of the taxiway 12, the golf ball 1
A first sensor 15 composed of a reflection type photo sensor is provided to detect the insertion of a fork, and a movable gate 14 for switching a path by a latch type solenoid 13 is provided at a branch portion between the forced discharge path 12a and the identification discharge path 12b. , Are rotatably provided at a position shown by a solid line and a position shown by a virtual line.

The ball transport mechanism 1 is connected to the identification transport path 12b.
0 is provided, and a barcode reader 22 indicated by a virtual line as identification information reading means is disposed above the reference numeral 0. A second sensor 21 composed of a reflective photosensor is provided near the entrance of the ball rotation mechanism 10 in the identification conveyance path 12b to detect the introduction of the golf ball 1 into the identification conveyance path 12b. In the vicinity of the exit 12b, a discharge sensor 23 composed of a reflective photosensor is provided to detect the discharge of the golf ball 1.

The ball rotating mechanism 10 is configured as shown in a perspective view in FIGS. 2 and 3, and as shown in FIG.
It is assembled on a substrate 31 fixed on a base frame 30 having a descending gradient of °. Above the bar code reader 22, a bar code reader 22 is supported and held by a pair of legs 32.

A guide plate for forming the identification discharge path 12b shown in FIG. 1 is provided between the ball rotation mechanism 10 and the bar code reader 22 by a plurality of support plates 33 (only one of them is shown in FIG. 2). , But is not shown. Between the support plate 33 and the bent portion 31a of the substrate 31, a pair of rollers 18a, 18b having the same diameter are supported in parallel at intervals along both sides of the identification discharge path 12b. The rollers 18a and 18b are supported by the support plate 3
The gear 1 is driven by a roller motor 16 attached to the gear 3.
7a and the gears 17b or 17c are rotated at the same speed in the same direction (indicated by arrows A and B).

The upper half of the disk-shaped rotor 20 is inserted between the pair of rollers 18a and 18b. The rotor 20 has two notches 20 that can capture the golf ball 1 at symmetrical positions with respect to the center as shown in FIG.
a and 20a, and are driven to rotate in both forward and reverse directions by a rotor motor (stepping motor) 19 having a drive shaft 19a orthogonal to the axes of the rollers 18a and 18b. The rotor motor 19 is attached to a bent portion 31 b on a side edge of the substrate 31.

As shown in FIG. 2, a disk 25 for setting the origin is integrally fixed to the drive shaft 19a of the roller motor 19, and the disk 25 has a notch 20
A pair of cutout grooves 25a, 25a are formed in the circumferential portion at a position shifted by a predetermined angle (for example, 50 °) with respect to a, 20a. Then, the rotor 20 is moved to the position shown in FIGS.
(Origin position), one of the notched grooves 25a, 25a has a rotor origin sensor 24 disposed at a fixed position.
, The rotation of the rotor 20 is temporarily stopped and a standby state is set.

As shown in FIG. 4, the golf ball 1 identified in this embodiment has a first bar code 1a composed of a linear code pattern extending over substantially the entire circumference of the golf ball 1, and a second bar code 1a. The bar code 1b and the bar code 1b are printed in directions orthogonal to each other. The first bar code 1a and the second bar code 1b have the same code pattern, and represent unique identification information indicating a turn at bat using the golf ball 1.

Next, the operation of the golf ball discriminating apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7 in addition to FIGS. 1 to 3 used in the above description. A golf ball (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “ball”) 1 on which a barcode is printed as identification information is thrown from an inlet 11 shown in FIG. At this time, the movable gate 1 for switching the passage by the latch type solenoid 13 is used.
4 is a state in which the forced discharge path 12a is closed and the identification discharge path 12b is opened, as shown by the solid line, the roller 1 is detected by the first sensor 15 when the ball 1 inserted into the guide path 12 is detected. The motor 16 starts rotating.

As a result, the pair of rollers 18a and 18b of the ball rotating mechanism 10 are moved in the directions indicated by arrows A and B in FIGS.
Are rotated at the same speed in the same direction indicated by. The ball 1 thrown into the guide path 12 is guided by the movable gate 14 to the identification discharge path 12b, moves while rotating in the traveling direction by its own gravity, reaches the ball rotation mechanism 10, and is shown in FIGS. The rotor 20 enters the one notch 20a of the rotor 20 waiting at the indicated origin position, is captured there, and stops moving. At this time, the ball 1
, And the rotor motor 19 starts rotating according to the signal.

As a result, the rotor 20 rotates forward in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 (the direction of arrow C in FIG. 5), and the notch 20a
Roller 18a, 18
b, and is forcibly moved in the traveling direction (the direction of arrow E in FIG. 5) while making contact with it. At this time, since the ball 1 receives the rolling force on the rollers 18a and 18b due to the forcible movement thereof and the rotational force in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction due to the rotation of the rollers 18a and 18b, the ball 1 changes its direction in a complicated manner. Differential rotation.

Then, the rotor 20 is rotated by a predetermined angle (for example, 80 ° from the origin position) in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 5 within a range in which the ball 1 does not separate from the cutout portion 20a. The bar code 1a or 1b on the surface 1 is read. At this time, the ball 1 becomes as shown in FIG. 3, and the rotational force of the rollers 18a and 18b and the movement of the rollers 18a and 18
18b, the precession rotation is performed while changing the angle in a complicated manner.
The probability that a or 1b becomes a position readable by the barcode reader 22 is extremely high.

In the meantime, the bar code reader 22
Is read, the rotor 20 further rotates in the direction of arrow C as it is. When the state shown in FIG. 6 is reached, the ball 1 separates from the notch 20a of the rotor 20, rolls on the identification discharge path 12b by its own weight, advances in the direction of arrow E, and moves to the discharge sensor 23 shown in FIG. After being detected by, it is discharged from the discharge port 12c.

However, if the bar code reader 22 cannot read any of the bar codes 1a and 1b of the ball 1 during rotation of the rotor 20 at a predetermined angle due to some cause such as contamination or damage of the ball, the rotor motor 19 causes the rotor 20 to rotate. Is once reversed in the direction shown by the arrow D in FIG. 3, and then reciprocating rotation is repeated for a predetermined time (0.3 to 3.0 seconds) within an angle range smaller than the predetermined angle.

Also at this time, since the ball 1 rotates precession while changing the angle in a complicated manner, the barcode reader 22 can read the barcodes 1a and 1b of the ball 1 almost 100%. If it can be read, the rotor 20
Is largely rotated in the direction of arrow C, the ball 1 is ejected as shown in FIG. 6, and even if reading is not possible even after repeated reciprocation for a predetermined time, the rotor 20 is largely rotated in the direction of arrow C, The ball 1 is discharged.

When a ball sorting device is provided downstream of the discriminating device, for example, a ball whose bar bat has been read and the hitting is identified is sorted for each hitting bat. Sorted as NG balls.

When the leading ball 1 has been discharged, the rotor 20
Further rotates in the direction of arrow C, and the rotor origin sensor 24
Pauses at the position where the origin is detected. And the first,
When the second sensors 15 and 21 do not detect the ball, the rotation of the rollers 18a and 18b by the roller motor 16 is stopped a short time after the ball has passed the discharge sensor 23.

However, as shown in FIG.
Is continuously introduced into the discrimination discharge path 12b, the rotor 20 captures one ball 1 and rotates by a predetermined angle in the direction of arrow C, or further performs the above-described reciprocating rotational movement, thereby forming a bar code. While the reader 22 reads the barcodes 1a and 1b of the ball 1 and then further rotates in the direction of arrow C to eject the golf ball 1, the next ball 1
Abuts on the side surface of the rotor 20 and is locked.

When the rotor 20 further rotates in the same direction to the original position shown in FIG. 5, the notch 20a on the opposite side of the notch 20a that has captured the ball 1 so far complements the next ball. Then, the above operation is repeated. Therefore, in this golf ball identification device, while reading the bar code of one ball, a gate mechanism for locking the next ball immediately before the reading unit and the ball that is reading the bar code are captured by the reading unit. The function of the gate mechanism for keeping the function is also performed by the rotor 20, and there is no need to separately provide those gate mechanisms.

When the second sensor 21 detects the next ball when the rotor 20 reaches the origin position,
The identification work can be sped up by stopping the rotor 20 temporarily and rotating the rotor 20 continuously. In this embodiment, a pair of notches 20a of the rotor 20 are provided at symmetrical positions of the circumferential portion. However, when the diameter of the rotor 20 is small, only one notch 20a may be provided. It is also possible to provide three or more.

When the power is turned off, the electromagnetic force of the latch type solenoid 13 disappears, and the movable gate 14 is forced by its own urging force as shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
Is released so that the ball inserted from the introduction port 11 is forcibly discharged from the forced discharge port 12d to prevent the ball from being connected to the guiding path 12 when the apparatus is not used. . After the power is turned on from this state, the movable gate 14 is switched to the state shown by the solid line in FIG.
When the power is turned on, if a ball remains in the identification discharge path 12b, the rotor 20 is rotated to discharge the ball from the identification discharge port 12c.

The movable gate 14 may not be of a rotary type but may be of an up-down type that moves up and down at a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. In this case, when the power is turned off, the movable gate 14 rises by the urging force of a spring or the like to open the forced discharge path 12a.
a is closed and the inserted ball 1 is discriminated from the discharge passage 12b.
Guide to.

Next, FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a control means for controlling the operation of the above-described operating sections and various sensors of the golf ball identifying apparatus. The operation of each unit described above is controlled by a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as “CPU”) 40 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. FIG.
When the power supply 41 is turned on, the movable gate 14 is switched so that the latch type solenoid 13 is operated to close the forced discharge path 12a and open the identification discharge path 12b.

The first sensor 15 detects the passage of the ball 1 thrown in from the ball entrance 11 and outputs the signal to the CPU 4.
0, the roller motor 16 is started to rotate the rollers 18a and 18b in the same direction, and the ball 1 is moved to the second position.
When the sensor 21 detects the signal and inputs the signal to the CPU 40, the rotor motor 19 is started to rotate the rotor 20 in the ball advancing direction.

The ball 1 is rotated by a predetermined angle of rotation of the rotor 20.
If the barcodes 1a and 1b cannot be read, C
After the ball 1 is captured by the command from the PU 40, the rotor 20 is once rotated in the reverse direction, and reciprocating rotation is repeated for a predetermined time (for example, within 3 seconds) within a predetermined angle range.
The ball 1 is released by rotating 0 in the ball traveling direction.
The reciprocating rotation time can be arbitrarily set by the timer setting unit 42.

When the rotor 20 continues to rotate further and reaches the origin, the rotor origin sensor 24 detects this, and when the signal is input to the CPU 40, the rotor motor 19 is temporarily stopped. After the ball 1 has passed the discharge sensor 23,
For example, the next ball for one second is the first and second sensors 16,
If not detected by the CPU 21, the CPU 40 stops the roller motor 16.

The identification device also includes a display section 43 for displaying the turn at bat number identified by the CPU 40 from the bar code read by the bar code reader 22, various data, errors, and the like. An external serial communication unit 44 is provided for transmitting the contents of an abnormality when it occurs to a computer installed at a remote place.

In the above embodiment, the case where the spherical body is a golf ball has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to all the spherical body identifying apparatuses. Further, the bar code attached to the spherical body is not limited to the bar code shown in FIG. 4, and may be a bar code having a commonly used short-length pattern printed or affixed to a plurality of places on the surface of the spherical body. It is possible.

Further, the identification information attached to the spherical body is not limited to a bar code, but may be various identification codes or identification marks such as characters, symbols, and figures. The identification information reading means may be changed according to the type of the identification information.

[0049]

As described above, the spherical body discriminating apparatus according to the present invention uses the pair of rollers and one rotor to move the spherical body moving while rotating the descending guideway in the traveling direction. And a rotational force in a direction perpendicular to the spherical surface, the spherical body is rotated in a complicated direction, and the identification information attached to the surface is read. The identification information can be accurately read in a short time. In addition, since the transfer of the spherical body is performed by the disk-shaped rotor having the notch, the transfer speed of the spherical body when reading the identification information can be optimally determined according to the reading conditions.

Further, when the identification information cannot be read during the rotation of the rotor at the predetermined angle, the rotor is controlled to repeat the reciprocating rotation within a predetermined angle range for a predetermined time, so that the spherical body can be reliably identified. Become.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a golf ball identification device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the ball rotation mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an essential part of the ball rotating mechanism during a golf ball rotating operation;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a barcode given to the golf ball.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a ball catching position for explaining the operation of the rotor 20 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the ball discharge position.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram during a ball identification operation viewed from the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a control means in the golf ball identification device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an example of a hitting identification device for golf balls as an example of a conventional device for identifying a spherical body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: golf ball (spherical body) 1a, 1b: first and second barcodes (identification information) 10: ball transporter 11: introduction port 12: guideway 12a: forced discharge path 12b: identification discharge path 13: latch Mold solenoid 14: Movable gate 15: First sensor 16: Roller motor 18a, 18b: Roller 19: Rotor motor 20: Rotor 21: Second sensor 22: Barcode reader (identification information reading means) 23: Ejection sensor 24: Rotor origin sensor 25: disk 40: microcomputer (control means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-112045 (JP, A) JP-A-6-7490 (JP, A) JP-A-5-115583 (JP, A) 29571 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A63B 69/36 522 A63B 47/00 B07C 9/00 B65G 47/48

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A spherical body having a surface to which identification information is attached is transported while rotating, and the identification information reading means reads the identification information on the surface of the spherical body and identifies the spherical body by a spherical body identification device. A pair of rollers which are arranged in parallel with the spherical body at an interval so as to be in contact with the spherical body and rotate in the same direction along the traveling direction of the spherical body, and the spherical body is rotatably captured on the outer peripheral portion. A disk-shaped rotor having an outer peripheral portion having the notch portion, the outer peripheral portion having the notch portion being fitted between the pair of rollers, and rotating about an axis orthogonal to the axis of the pair of rollers; And identification information reading means for reading identification information on the surface of the spherical body, the identification information reading means being arranged at a position facing the spherical body captured and transferred by the notch of the rotor. Capturing the spherical body in the part While being transported while rotating in the row direction, the spherical body is brought into contact with the pair of rollers during the transport to apply a rotational force to the spherical body in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. Sphere identification device. 2. The apparatus for identifying a sphere according to claim 1, wherein the identification information reading means reads identification information on the surface of the sphere while rotating the rotor in the one direction by a predetermined angle. The rotor is continuously rotated in the same direction to discharge the spherical body captured in the notch. When the identification information reading means cannot read the identification information on the surface of the spherical body, the spherical body is removed by the pair of rollers. When the identification information is read by the identification information reading means, the rotor is once rotated in the reverse direction and then reciprocally rotated within a predetermined angle range while applying a rotational force in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction by contacting the rotor with the rotor. Alternatively, when a predetermined time has elapsed without reading, the rotor may be rotated in the one direction to discharge the spherical body captured in the notch. A device for identifying a spherical body, comprising means for controlling the rotation of the rotor. 3. An apparatus for identifying a spherical body according to claim 1, wherein said rotor is provided with a pair of said notches at positions opposed to an outer peripheral portion of said rotor. apparatus. 4. The apparatus for identifying a spherical body according to claim 1, wherein the pair of rollers and the rotor descend in a traveling direction in which the spherical body is guided by rotating the spherical body by its own weight. An apparatus for identifying a sphere, which is provided in a taxiway having a slope. 5. The spherical body discriminating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said pair of rollers and said rotor are not disposed on said guide path, and said spherical body is connected to said forced discharge path when power is cut off. An identification device for a spherical body, comprising a movable gate for guiding. 6. The apparatus for identifying a spherical body according to claim 1, wherein the spherical body to be identified is a golf ball. 7. The spherical object identification device according to claim 1, wherein the identification information is a barcode, and the identification information reading means is a barcode reader.