JP2002360757A - Pitching machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pitching machine having a screen which has a high strength and does not break even when a hit ball hits, is excellent in durability, by which a favorable image can be obtained even under direct sunbeams, of which the drainage is favorable even when the coarse surface gets wet with condensation or rain water, and which does not generate transparency. SOLUTION: This pitching machine 1 is constituted of a back surface permeable type projection screen 10, a ball shooting device 20, and a projecting device 30. In this case, the ball shooting device 20 is arranged behind the screen 10 in such a manner that the ball shooting location is made to correspond with the ball outlet opening n on the screen, and shoots balls in front of the screen. The projecting device 30 is arranged behind the screen 10, and projects the pitching form of a baseball pitcher from the rear side of the screen 10 while synchronizing with the ball shooting device 20. The back surface permeable type projection screen 10 is constituted of a reinforced glass of which the coarse surface 11 is faced to the pitching direction, and on which a corrosion treatment is applied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pitching machine used for practicing hitting a baseball or softball, or practicing ball games such as table tennis, tennis, volleyball, and soccer.
In particular, the present invention relates to an improvement in a rear transmission type projection screen in which a form of an opponent such as a pitcher is projected from behind in such a pitching machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as a pitching machine, a virtual pitching machine using a rear transmission type projection screen has been very popular in many batting centers today.

As an example of this type of virtual pitching machine, an over-throw type pitching machine 2 will be briefly described. As shown in FIG. 7, one side behind a rear transmission type projection screen 6 arranged facing the bat 3 side. For example, a left-throwing ball launching device 20 is provided at the right end when viewed from behind the screen 6, and the ball launching position is set to the screen 6.
And a projection device 3 for projecting the pitcher's pitch form onto the screen 6 from behind at the same time as the ball launch device 20 in synchronization with the ball exit opening n at the end of the projection device 3.
0 is arranged behind the screen 6.
The screen 6 and the projection device 30 are housed in an enclosure 40 that opens the front and covers the ceiling, both sides, and the back,
Protected from rain, wind and dust. In addition, a screen protection net N is provided in front of the screen 6.

[0004]

As the rear transmission screen 6 used in the conventional pitching machine 2, a translucent plastic board or frosted glass has been used.

[0005] In the former, when a strong hitting ball hits due to insufficient strength, the ball is torn or cracked, so that protection equipment such as a screen protection net N or a grid is required. As a result, there is a problem that deformation and cracks are generated, and furthermore, a good image cannot be obtained due to inherently poor projection performance.

[0006] In the latter, the projection performance is relatively good, but there is a problem in strength, so that a strong protective equipment is required.
If you touch it with your hand, it will be easy for you to reach your hand or your bill,
In addition, there is a problem that when the rough surface is wet with dew condensation or rainwater, the transparency is increased and the screen effect is lost.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above, and does not break even when hit by a high-strength and strong hitting ball, so that no protective equipment is required and the visibility to images is good. It is hardly affected by temperature fluctuations and sun rays and has excellent durability and good images can be obtained even in direct sunlight. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pitching machine equipped with a rear transmission screen which can maintain good screen performance because it is relatively good and does not have a transparent portion, can obtain good images, and is easy to maintain such as cleaning. The purpose is.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a pitching machine according to the present invention comprises a rear transmission type projection screen, and a ball launching position behind the screen, the ball exit of the screen or the screen exit. Ball launching means arranged to correspond to the outer ball exit close to the end of the ball and firing the ball in front of the screen, pitching of baseball or softball pitchers arranged behind the screen, hitting and kicking of various ball games And projection means for projecting a form such as from behind onto the screen in synchronization with the ball firing means, and the rear transmission type projection screen is made of tempered glass subjected to corrosion processing. Features.

Therefore, in the rear transmission type projection screen made of tempered glass which has been subjected to corrosion processing, the glass rough surface formed by blasting using a grit sand or the like is further subjected to corrosion processing with hydrofluoric acid (hydrofluoric acid) or the like. (Tapestry processing) to form a rough surface with a rounded shape that is suitable for unevenness, and is strengthened by tempering heat treatment (heat treatment that rapidly cools after heating to near the softening temperature), so it is strong at a certain practical thickness The strength is high enough not to break even if hit by a hit ball, so that protection equipment is not required and visibility to the image is improved, and the coefficient of thermal expansion is small, so it is not easily affected by temperature fluctuations, It is stable, is not easily affected by sunlight and the atmosphere, has excellent durability, and has a good rounded roughness, so that good images can be obtained even in direct sunlight. Good images can be obtained with a sense of realism can maintain good screen performance for never transparent portion so the drainage is relatively good results even when wet, further cleaning maintenance is facilitated by such washing.

When the roughened surface is directed to the pitching direction (front side), the corroded tempered glass reduces the reflection of surrounding scenery and the like and the reflection of light so that a better image can be obtained. become.

When a transparent plastic plate or a transparent plastic sheet is bonded to the back side of the tempered glass, the strength is maintained, the weight is reduced, and the damage during transportation can be reduced.

When the tempered glass is colored such as bronze, irregular reflection on a rough surface is reduced, and a better image can be obtained even in direct sunlight.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the pitching machine of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a typical baseball pitching machine according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view of the pitching machine, (b) is a front perspective view thereof, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view of an over-throw arm type as an example of a ball launching device, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ball launching device, and FIG. 5 is a rear projection screen of the same. And FIG. 6 is a front view of another soccer ball throwing machine according to the present invention.

1 to 4, an over-throw type pitching machine 1 is viewed from one rear side of a rear transmission type projection screen 10 arranged frontward toward a bat 3, for example, from behind the screen 10. At the right end side, the ball throwing device for left throwing 20 is used so that the ball thrown at the ball firing position flies from the ball exit opening n at the end of the screen 10 toward the bat 3 (this flying The direction of the pitcher is arranged) and the pitcher's pitch form is synchronized with the pitch of the ball firing device 20 (specifically, when the pitcher's pitcher's hand passes the ball outlet opening n, the ball is opened. As if coming out of)
A projection device 30 that projects onto the screen 10 from behind is arranged behind the screen 10. The screen 10 and the projection device 30 are housed in an enclosure 40 that opens the front and covers the ceiling, both sides, and the rear,
In addition to being protected from rain, wind, dust, etc., the image of the pitcher's pitch form projected from the rear side of the rear transmission screen 10 is shielded by the sunlight, so that the image is realistic.

The widely used over-throw type ball launching apparatus 20 includes a crank section C mounted on a shaft S rotatably mounted on a front portion of a main body frame 20A and connected to one end of the shaft S. A pitching arm 21 stretched by a powerful spring 22 is connected to a torque motor 24 of a low-speed rotation driving device and a chain wheel via a release pin 23 attached to a side surface of a chain wheel 25 rotatably mounted on an axis S. 25 (driven by a torque motor 24 via a chain)
After receiving the ball from the ball supply unit 26 to the ball receiver 21A at the tip of the pitching arm, the spring 22 is strongly tightened by the crank part C with the further rotation of the pitching arm 21. The spring 22 is stretched to its maximum at the rapid rotation start position (determined by the direction in which the spring 22 is stretched, and almost at the upper right position in FIG. 3), and the crank portion C is rapidly rotated by the strong contraction force of the spring 22 thereafter. Arm 2 integrated with crank part C
1 is separated from the release pin 23 and the chain wheel 25 so as to throw the ball with the accumulated strong spring force.

The ball firing position is the position at the moment when the ball separates from the rapidly rotating ball receiver 21A at the rapid rotation start position, and is estimated to be slightly before the opening n with respect to the rotation direction Y. The ball launching device 20 has a pitching arm 21 on the left when viewed from behind, and is installed at the right end of the screen 10 when viewed from behind so that its main body does not interfere with the projection of the projection device 30. . The ball throwing opening n at the right end of the screen 10 is
0 is also formed in a notch on the side edge, and the screen 1
When a net is formed outside the side edge of the zero, the net can also be provided near the screen side edge.

The corroded tempered glass of the rear transmission type projection screen 10 is subjected to a blasting process in which a high-pressure air jet or the like is used to blast a roughened glass surface, and the corroded glass surface is further corroded with hydrofluoric acid (hydrofluoric acid). As shown in FIG. 5, the tapered surface 11 has a rough surface 11 with a rounded surface with a favorable roughness, and is reinforced by a tempering heat treatment (a heat treatment of rapidly cooling after heating to a temperature close to the softening temperature). . For this reason, the glass screen 10 has such a high strength that a certain practical thickness (for example, 8 mm) does not break even when hit with a strong hitting ball, and a conventional protective net is not required, so that the visual screen can be visually recognized. Sex is getting better.

Even a general silicate, phosphate, or borate glass has a small coefficient of thermal expansion and is hardly affected by temperature fluctuations, is chemically stable and is affected by sunlight and the atmosphere. The screen 10 which is difficult and has excellent durability is formed.

In the screen 10 having a moderately rounded roughness as described above, it is difficult for the screen 10 to be stained with hand marks or bills.
By scattering the direct sunlight from obliquely above, good images can be obtained even under direct sunlight through the projection light from behind, and even if the rough surface 11 gets wet with condensation or rainwater, the drainage is relatively good and a transparent part is formed. , And it is possible to maintain good screen performance and obtain a realistic image. Further, the glass screen 10 can be easily washed with water and cleaned and maintained by an air jet. The rough surface 11 of the screen 10 is oriented in a pitching direction (a direction toward the bat 3) to prevent the surrounding scenery from being captured. The tempered glass 10 is also appropriately colored in various colors such as bronze depending on the installation location and the like.

The projection device 30 is mounted on the pedestal 35 behind the screen 10 so as to be position-adjustable, and projects the pitcher's pitch form toward the rear surface of the screen 10. The pitcher pitching image used in the projection device 30 repeats the same form or another form, such as a side throw, etc. at a substantially constant cycle, and is stored in a film or other storage unit. Every 20 pitching operations are projected intermittently. The projection device 30 is composed of a widely used color projector.

In order to project the pitcher's pitch form onto the screen 10 in synchronization with the ball firing device 20, the pitch arm 21 moves the ball transfer position 27 of the firing device 20.
After the ball 21 is received by passing the ball, the arm 21 pushes the control switch W for operating a video storage / reproducing device (not shown) connected to the projector 31, the timing at which the pitcher of the video throws the ball and the pitching arm 21.
Match the timing of throwing the ball (when the pitcher's pitching hand reaches the opening n, the ball firing device 2
So that the pitched ball from 0 comes out of the opening n)
It is installed in an adjustable position. As described above, in addition to the configuration in which the timing signal is transmitted from the ball launching device 20 to the video storage / reproducing device (not shown) connected to the projector 31, a film or a CD-ROM is transmitted from the projector 31.
A configuration is also adopted in which the timing is achieved by rotating the pitching arm 21 of the ball shooting device 20 by a signal corresponding to a predetermined position of the image recorded in the camera.

As the ball launching device 20, a device using a pair of rotating disks vertically spaced slightly smaller than the diameter of the ball in place of the throwing arm type is employed.
At the moment when the ball is thrown from the projector side, a timing signal for supplying the ball between the rotating disks is sent to the ball firing device 20.

In addition to baseball, this pitching machine uses a rotating disk type ball launching device 20 'which is installed low in a semi-basement as shown in FIG. In addition to soccer that pitches the ball in synchronization with the kick image, softball,
It is also applied to the practice of various ball games such as tennis and table tennis.

[0025]

As is clear from the above description, according to the pitching machine of the present invention, the rear transmission type projection screen,
A ball launching means for launching a ball in front of the screen, wherein a ball launching position is provided corresponding to a ball exit of the screen or an outer ball exit near an end of the screen, and a ball launching means located behind the screen; Projection means for projecting a form such as pitching of a baseball or softball pitcher, hitting or kicking of various ball games onto the screen in synchronization with the ball launching means from behind, and the rear transmission projection. Since the screen is made of corroded tempered glass, the following excellent effects are obtained. That is, in the rear transmission type projection screen, the rough surface of the glass formed by blasting using gold sand or the like is further subjected to corrosive processing (tapestry processing) with hydrofluoric acid (hydrofluoric acid) or the like, so that the surface is preferably uneven. A rounded, rough surface is formed and strengthened by tempering heat treatment (heat treatment of quenching after heating to near the softening temperature), so that at a practical thickness, it does not break even when hit with a strong hit ball The strength is so high that no protective equipment is required and the visibility to the image is improved. In addition, its coefficient of thermal expansion is small, so it is hardly affected by temperature fluctuations, it is chemically stable, it is hardly affected by sunlight and the atmosphere, it has excellent durability, and it has good rounded roughness and is good even in direct sunlight In addition, even if the rough surface gets wet with dew condensation or rainwater, the drainage is relatively good, so there is no clear part.Therefore, good screen performance can be maintained, and a realistic and good image can be obtained. In addition, cleaning maintenance by washing with water or the like becomes easy.

When the roughened surface of the corroded tempered glass is directed toward the pitching direction, the surrounding scenery and the like are less reflected and light reflection is reduced, so that a better image can be obtained.

When a transparent plastic plate or a transparent plastic sheet is attached to the back side of the tempered glass, the strength is maintained, the weight is reduced, and the damage during transportation can be reduced.

When the tempered glass is colored such as bronze, irregular reflection on a rough surface is reduced, and a better image can be obtained even in direct sunlight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a typical baseball pitching machine according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view of the pitching machine,
(B) is a front perspective view thereof.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the pitching machine as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an over throw arm type as an example of the ball launching device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ball launching device.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged cross-section of a tempered glass subjected to corrosion processing used in the rear transmission type projection screen.

FIG. 6 is a front view of another soccer pitching machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing a configuration of a conventional pitching machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Throwing machine 10 Rear transmission type projection screen 11 Rough surface 20 Ball launching means 30 Projecting means n Ball exit (opening)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rear transmissive projection screen, and a ball launch position behind the screen corresponding to a ball exit of the screen or an outer ball exit close to an end of the screen, and launches a ball in front of the screen. Ball launching means, and a baseball or softball pitcher throwing a ball, or a form such as hitting or kicking of various ball games placed behind the screen and projecting from the rear side to the screen in synchronization with the ball launching means. A pitching machine comprising: projection means; wherein the rear transmission type projection screen is made of tempered glass subjected to corrosion processing. 2. The pitching machine according to claim 1, wherein the corroded tempered glass has a rough surface directed toward a pitching direction. 3. The pitching machine according to claim 1, wherein the tempered glass has a transparent plastic plate or a transparent plastic sheet attached to the back side. 4. The pitching machine according to claim 1, wherein the tempered glass is colored such as a bronze color.