EP0276178B1 - Tiltable platform for practising golf - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an adjustable training or exercise plate which can be used, in particular in physiotherapy, rehabilitation of the ankles, knees and hips and in sports of skill such as golf, archery and shooting with pigeons.

Already known from US Pat. No. 3,633,917 a golf training device consisting of an orientable plate pivoting on a large central ball joint, carried by a frame bearing on the ground, as set out in the preamble of claim 1.

This plate can be tilted by two vertical double-acting cylinders arranged at 90 ° to each other with respect to the vertical axis passing through the center of this ball joint, these two cylinders being located at a relatively small distance from the patella. The position of the ball is substantially located in the center of the plate, that is to say in the axis of the ball and the player's feet are offset outside the support surface which requires a very rigid plate and therefore heavy.

In addition in such an arrangement, taking into account the ball in the central position, the jacks, depending on the position of the player, work in both directions, compression and traction.

Furthermore, the jacks only partially take up the forces since they only react against the tilting forces.

The weight component is in fact taken up almost entirely by the central ball joint which must be robust and of large dimension which leads to high manufacturing costs and to a complex design.

The invention therefore aims to achieve a device which can be tilted in several directions and which can support a significant weight, such as the weight of a man, as well as reactions to violent shocks, while being of simple construction, relatively light and inexpensive.

It relates to a training or exercise device, in particular for the practice of golf, comprising a fixed frame and an orientable plate, a means of support and articulation of the orientable plate relative to the fixed frame and two cylinders of actuation, characterized in that the two actuating cylinders also constitute support and articulation members, and that these two cylinders as well as the support and articulation means are arranged substantially at the vertices of an equilateral triangle centered with respect to the plate.

• la Fig. 1 représente une vue en perspective simplifiée d'un dispositif d'entraînement dans le cas d'un entraînement au golf;
• la Fig. 2 représente une vue schématique de dessus du dispositif faisant l'objet de l'invention avec trois points d'appui;
• la Fig. 3 est une vue en coupe schématique selon la ligne 3-3, de la Fig. 2 d'un mode de réalisation du dispositif;
• la Fig. 4 est une vue schématique en coupe selon la ligne 4-4 de la Fig. 2 d'une variante de réalisation du dispositif;
• la Fig. 5 est un schéma de commande hydraulique du dispositif muni de vérins simple effet à plongeur;
• la Fig. 6 est une vue éclatée en perspective d'un autre mode de réalisation détaillé du dispositif selon l'invention;
• la Fig. 7 est une vue latérale d'un tableau de commande et d'un poteau de support faisant partie d'un dispositif selon l'invention;
• la Fig. 7A est une vue de face du tableau de commande;
• la Fig. 7B est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne 7B-7B de la Fig. 7; et
• la Fig. 7C est une vue de dessus du dispositif de fermeture amovible de l'arceau.

The invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, given solely by way of example and in which:

• Fig. 1 shows a simplified perspective view of a training device in the case of golf training;
• Fig. 2 shows a schematic top view of the device which is the subject of the invention with three support points;
• Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view along line 3-3, of FIG. 2 of an embodiment of the device;
• Fig. 4 is a schematic sectional view along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 of an alternative embodiment of the device;
• Fig. 5 is a hydraulic control diagram of the device provided with single-acting plunger cylinders;
• Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another detailed embodiment of the device according to the invention;
• Fig. 7 is a side view of a control panel and a support post forming part of a device according to the invention;
• Fig. 7A is a front view of the control panel;
• Fig. 7B is a sectional view along line 7B-7B of FIG. 7; and
• Fig. 7C is a top view of the removable closing device of the hoop.

In order to simplify the presentation of the invention, only the application of this device to golf training will be described, it being understood that this example is not limiting and that many other applications can be envisaged without departing. of the scope of the invention.

FIG. 1, a simplified perspective view of the device 1 according to the invention in the case of golf training, in particular training in the practice of "swing". The device can be oriented so as to simulate real ground conditions, such as a slope chosen along the axis of the shot.

Fig. 2 shows an embodiment in which an orientable plate 20 is supported at three points positioned so that the support points of the feet G and D and the striking point of the ball B are arranged in a substantially symmetrical manner with respect to the center C of the plateau.

A recommended embodiment is therefore that in which a support and articulation means is located under point B corresponding to the ball, a jack under point G corresponding to the player's left foot and a jack under point D corresponding to the player's right foot. Actually, the cylinders working in compression can withstand high instantaneous forces, in particular that which is reflected in the plate during the golfer's swing and more particularly at the point G when the golfer is right-handed. The support and articulation means under point B receives less weight but must withstand the vibrations propagating as a result of axial shocks coming from bad swings from inexperienced players who strike the plateau before hitting the ball . A means of support and articulation very close to the point of impact is then best able to withstand these shocks.

We see in this same Fig. 2, that the orientable plate 20 is of a surface such that for a given spacing of the feet of the player and for a correct positioning of the ball at point B, the triangle B, D, G is largely inscribed in this orientable plate that the player is not in lack of support surface.

Fig. 3 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of the invention. We see in this figure a fixed frame 30 bearing on the ground and an adjustable plate 20. Between the fixed frame and the adjustable plate is arranged a means of articulation and fixed support 31 consisting of a solid bar connected by any means suitable for the fixed frame, in particular by welding, while at its upper part this bar is connected by a ball joint 32 to the underside of the orientable plate 20.

Furthermore, two cylinders 33 and 34 are connected to the underside of the orientable plate 20 and to the fixed frame 30 by ball joints 330, 331 and 340, 341 respectively.

Another embodiment has been shown in FIG. 4 which is therefore a sectional view along line 4-4 of FIG. 2, a variant in which a spring device marked R has been added in FIG. 2. The fixed support and articulation means 40 of FIG. 4 is connected to the fixed frame 30 by any suitable means, in particular by welding as shown, while at its upper part this fixed support means is provided with a pivoting sphere 41. This sphere 41 is housed in a corresponding hemispherical recess 21 formed in the orientable plate 20, on the other hand the jacks 42 are single acting and the upper end 43 is provided with sliding pads 45 which cooperate with the underside of the orientable plate 20.

The spring return device located between the orientable plate 20 and the frame 30 keeps this orientable plate 20 in abutment on the pivoting sphere 41 and on the pads 45 in all the positions that the orientable plate can take. It comprises two springs 47, 48 working in traction and arranged between a lower support 49 fixed to the frame 30 and a movable upper support 50. This latter support is provided with a threaded bore 51 in which is screwed a bolt 52 passing through the orientable plate 20 and accessible by the upper part of the same swivel plate 20. In the rest position of the springs, the length of the bolt 52 is such that its lower part can be screwed into the bore 51 of the upper support 50 and that by complementary screwing it is possible bring the upper support 50 into contact with the face bottom of the swivel plate 20 thus ensuring the bandage of the springs 47, 48. The assembly and disassembly of the plate is thus carried out very simply.

One can protect such a device against inadvertent disassembly by giving the head of the bolt 52 a particular shape requiring a corresponding tool not available commercially.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 the cylinders 42 of known single acting type are hydraulic. These cylinders can be controlled using electrical, manual controls or using hydraulic micro-controls (not shown). The latter have several advantages, including flexible and silent operation, which is of great interest in the application considered. In this Fig. 5, a single single-acting cylinder has therefore been shown for clarity of the drawing with an electric control 53 and a manual control 54.

A pump 55 is driven by a motor 56 and pressurizes a hydraulic fluid sucked from the reservoir 57 through a filter 58. This pressurized hydraulic fluid is sent into the jacks through the corresponding control systems. On this fluid supply line, a pressure limiter 59 is mounted in series with return to the reservoir 57 in the event of overpressure. In the case of electrical control, a first safety check valve 530 is mounted on the main supply line of the electrically controlled drawer. This drawer works in the following way: the electromagnet 532 when it is supplied allows the passage of the fluid via the passage 531 positioned on the main line, therefore causes the elevation of the piston of the jack while at the reverse in position of rest the valve 533 prevents any supply of the jack 42.

The cylinder is compressed by the weight it supports. The fluid blocked back on the main line by the valve 530 therefore flows through the throttle 534 towards the second control 535, the electromagnet 536 of which when it is supplied allows the fluid to pass through the bore 539 into the tank 57 and the descent of the piston of the jack. When the electromagnet is not supplied, in the rest position, the valve 537 prevents any flow of fluid.

It can therefore be seen that when the two electromagnets are not supplied and the two controls are in the rest state, the valves 530 and 537 prevent any untimely movement of the jack which remains in the fixed position. Line 538 is intended to supply the second cylinder (not shown) and it consists of the same elements as those just described.

The manual control 54 is a three-position control which is obtained by movement of the lever 541 which acts on the slide 542 itself allowing by its bore 543 a passage towards the jack corresponding to the elevation of the piston of the jack, by its bore 544 a passage in the opposite direction corresponding to the elevation of the piston of the jack and by its part 545 a closure of the circulation of the pressurized fluid. A safety valve 540 is mounted on the supply upstream of this drawer. Downstream, in the direction of the cylinder a non-return valve 546 allows the passage of the fluid towards the cylinder while a bypass 547 provided with a throttle 548 allows the braking of the return fluid from the cylinder since the valve 546 is closed in this sense. The element 544 is then brought into position so that the return fluid can be evacuated in the tank 57. When it is desired to maintain the position of the jack at a given value, the drawer is moved so that the element 545 is found interposed on the supply and return line.

Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of a device according to the invention.

In this figure we see the fixed frame 30 resting on a base or on the ground, this frame being provided with tabs such as 61 allowing its fixing. A variant also allows via these tabs 61 a fixing on a rotating device not shown. This frame 30 is more particularly constituted by a U-shaped profile 60, circular, the opening of the U being directed towards the ground. This circular profile is under tension by a plate 62 welded to the upper face of the profile 60, this plate extending towards the inside of the circle up to a distance of about a quarter in diameter, and connected to two fittings 63 and 64 U-shaped profiles whose opening is directed upwards and whose ends are connected to the internal face of the internal wing of the U-shaped profile 60. Thus the base 62 and the fittings 63 and 64 constitute a Y. A spacer 65 is fixed between the two branches 63, 64 of the Y.

The fixed support and articulation means 66 consists of a solid metal bar welded to the upper face of the base 62. The height of this support is therefore defined as a function of the maximum inclination that it is desired to obtain. as well as the place where the tray should be installed. At its upper part, this support and articulation means is provided with a bore 67. In this bore is housed the first articulation axis 68 of a gimbal assembly, the annular part 69 of which constitutes the second articulation axis. Indeed, this part 69 comes to pivot by its axis 70 between two supports 71 and 72. These supports are themselves bored and provided with screws such as 73 in order to allow their subsequent fastenings.

Each of the fittings 63 and 64 receives on the base of the U and in the substantially central position two yokes respectively 74 and 75 intended for a mounting of the ball joint type for fixing the feet 76 and 77 of the jacks 78 and 79. These same jacks of the type with single-acting plunger are provided at the end of their push rods 80 and 81, with a ball joint. The axes of jacks are contained in substantially vertical planes passing through the axis of the upright 40. The distance between the feet 76 and 77 of the jacks and the vertical axis of the upright 40 is less than the distance which separates the connection points of the push rods 80, 81 to the plate 20. Between the two yokes 74, 75 and the articulation and support means there are the hydraulic control means consisting of an electric motor 82, a pump 83, a hydraulic distributor 84 with flexible connections such as 85 enabling the cylinders to be supplied. Separately, an electrical and / or manual distributor control means is provided.

At the upper part of the device, there is provided a movable frame 90 of circular shape and of a diameter substantially identical to that of the fixed frame 30 and produced from a U-shaped profile, the opening of the U being oriented towards the ground. Likewise, fittings 91, 92, 93 are assembled in a Y shape. The fitting 93 is provided with four internal threads such as 94 intended to receive the screws 73 for fixing the mounting to the gimbal. carried by the support and articulation means 66. A plate 100 is superimposed on this movable frame. This circular plate has a diameter greater than the diameter of the fixed frame 30 or of the movable frame 90. Four bores such as 101 allow the fixing of the plate to the movable frame 90, using the screws 73.

The device according to the invention is completed as indicated in FIG. 7 by a housing 110 carrying on its front face a control panel 110a disposed at the upper end of a post 111.

The housing is closed at its rear part by a shutter locked by a lock or any other suitable means. It contains a coin-operated or coin-operated actuator, the slot 112 of which is visible in the table 110a (FIG. 7A). The latter is completed by a lever 113 for orientation control mounted on a ball joint allowing the maneuvering of the plate that can be oriented in all directions relative to a horizontal plane and by information indicators such as 114 indicating the state of the device, namely On Off. In addition, this control panel is provided with an information system 115 indicating the axial and transverse levels. Such information allows players to familiarize themselves with the orientations of the board. Such a control panel can also be provided with a programmable digital control which randomly generates successive positioning of the plate according to different orientations without the intervention of the user.

The post 111 is welded directly to the base 62. It is therefore integral with the frame 30. This post consists of a hollow tube with circular section 116 inside which pass the various control wires from the control panel.

The shape of this post is particular, in particular curved so that the control panel is accessible by the player in position on the orientable plate without the post in itself being a discomfort for this same player during his training, also authorizing the operation of the platform. On the back of this post is fixed a split tube 117 with circular or U-shaped section, the end of this tube 118 extending to the back of the control panel 110. The slot is directed towards the outside of the plate. Another tube 119 forms an arch relative to the first split tube 117 so as to create a free space between the two 120. This arch is articulated at its lower part around the axis 122 on the tube 116. The orientation of this tube is such that the slot faces the slot of the tube 117 so that the two slots constitute a slide. As a variant, the two split tubes can also be articulated both around the axis 122 on the tube 116 of the post 111.

In this space 120 is disposed an advertising panel 121 which is received in the split tubes. Such an arrangement has been detailed on the section shown in FIG. 7B. The arch 119 being articulated on the axis 122 can be opened so as to facilitate the introduction of the advertising panel and this arch has at its upper part a closing means 123, shown in FIG. 7C, consisting of a U 124 positioned on either side of a lug 125 integral with the rear part of the control unit 110, this lug and the two branches of the U being bored to allow passage of a axis 126 of blocking, this same axis being able to be locked by a member 127 of the padlock type or any other suitable means.

The operation of the device according to the invention will now be described.

The orientable plate being in the low position when stopped under the action of the weight of the plate, the player introduces into the actuator 112 a coin or a token so as to power the device. One of the lights then indicates that the device is powered and that the hydraulic circuit is ready to be pressurized. The joystick 113 allows him to tilt the swiveling board at his convenience but the player can also benefit from the advantages of a programmable digital control which will give the board an orientation that only an intervention on his part will allow to change by a new orientation obtained from randomly by this same digital control.

When the player or the digital control modifies the inclination of the swiveling table, the hydraulic distributor, via the control device described above, supplies or discharges the chamber of the jack concerned.

Such an adjustable plate is therefore hydraulically autonomous, it suffices to be connected to an electrical source by a cable in the usual way. Such a system has the advantage of being able to be put out of service by remotely cutting off the power supply so that the device is not used inadvertently. On the other hand, when the fixed frame is mounted on a rotation device as indicated above, such a device allows the training of right-handed or left-handed players by simple rotation of 180 ° of this device. It is understood that this rotation can only be an alternative and not continues so that the power supply wire only rotates 180 °.

As for the advertising medium, it can be changed at any time by the personnel responsible for doing so, who will then have means of opening the padlock and who, after opening the same padlock, will tilt the roll bar 119 relative to the axis 122 and will then exchange the advertising panel in question.

The device according to the invention has the advantage of being very stable by design, thanks to the three supports, and does not require any heavy and expensive support and articulation member.

Such a device is also intended for both improvement and learning, or in the latter case, the shocks on the swivel plate and the offset forces are numerous. In the device according to the invention, these shocks are taken up directly by the support and articulation means with gimbal mounting. The cylinders are only subjected to compressive forces with the exception of any tensile force. Traction springs can however be added to compensate for an exceptional tractive effort when the player takes place on the board.

In the particular application to golf, it can be seen with the device according to the invention that the starting point of the ball is always situated at the same height relative to the ground which facilitates installation in the case where the device is buried and in case the starting point of the ball must be at ground level.

Claims (14)

1. A training or exercise apparatus, particularly for practising golf, comprising a fixed frame (30) and a dirigible table (20), a means (31, 40, 66) of supporting and articulating this dirigible table in relation to the fixed frame and two actuating jacks (33, 34, 42, 78, 79), characterised in that the two actuating jacks likewise constitute supporting and articulating means and in that the said two jacks together with the supporting and articulating means are disposed substantially at the apices of an equilateral triangle which is centred in relation to the table.

2. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the supporting and articulating means (31) comprises an upright (66) rigid with the fixed frame (30) and a universal articulation (32, 41, 67, 71) interposed between the upper part of the said upright and a movable frame (90) which forms part of the dirigible table (20) and in that the two jacks (33, 34) are connected by ball-and-socket joints (330, 340) respectively to the fixed frame (30) and to the movable frame (90).

3. An apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the supporting and articulating means comprise an upright (40) rigid with the fixed frame (30) and provided at its upper end with a ball (41) which is housed in a hemispherical recess (21) disposed in the dirigible table (20) and in that the jacks (42) are rigid with the fixed frame at their bottom ends and provided at their upper ends (43) with sliding shoes (45) which cooperate with the movable frame.

4. An apparatus according to one of Claims 2 and 3, characterised in that the movable frame (90) and the fixed frame (30) each comprise a frame (60, 90) supported by at least one mounting (62, 63, 64) and in that the said mountings carry the supporting and articulating upright (66) and the two jacks (78, 79).

5. An apparatus according to Claim 4, characterised in that the frames (60, 90) are circular and in that the mountings comprise a base (62) which carries the supporting and articulating upright and two branches (63, 64) which diverge from this base and on which are articulated the jacks (78, 79).

6. An apparatus according to any one of Claims 2 to 5, characterised in that the frames (60, 90) and the mountings are U-section profiled members.

7. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the axes of the jacks (78, 79) are contained in substantially vertical planes passing through the axis of the supporting and articulating upright (40).

8. An apparatus according to Claim 7, characterised in that the distance between the feet (76, 77) of the jacks (78, 79) and the vertical axis of the supporting and articulating upright (40) is less than the distance between the fixing points of the thrust rods (80, 81) of the jacks to the table (20) and this vertical axis of the supporting and articulating upright (40).

9. An apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the jacks (78, 79) are hydraulic and are operated by means comprising an electric motor (82), a pump (83), a distributor (84), an electrical control means (53) and/or a manual control means (54) of the distributor, the said control means being situated on the fixed base (30) between the supporting and articulating member and the two jacks.

10. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that it comprises a control panel (110) disposed in the upper part of a post (111) rigid with the fixed frame (30).

11. An apparatus according to Claim 10, characterised in that the post (111) is provided with a sliding member defining a space (120) adapted to accommodate a publicity carrier (121).

12. An apparatus according to Claim 11, characterised in that the slide member consists of two split tubes (117, 119), in which the slits are orientated so that they face each other, at least one of these tubes being articulated at its bottom part (at 122) on the bottom part of the supporting post and fixed (at 124) in detachable manner to the upper part of this support post, at a location (125) situated at the rear of the control panel (110).

13. An apparatus according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the fixed base (30) is mounted on a dirigible support capable of assuming two diametrically opposed positions.

14. An apparatus for golf training according to any one of the Claims, characterised in that the player positions himself in such a way as to bear on the dirigible table at points (G, D) situated flush with the connection points of the jacks and in that the ball is positioned at (B) at right-angles to the supporting and articulating means.

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