JP2008253405A - Ball recovery device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball recovery device capable of quickly recovering many balls and preventing balls once entered in a net from bouncing to the outside. <P>SOLUTION: The ball recovery device includes: a ball introduction part formed into a cylindrical shape having both front/rear opening ends and formed of a mesh material; a frame for fixing the front opening of the ball introduction part in an open state with the lower part formed in parallel to the ground; a handle attached by extending outward from the outer circumference of the frame body; and a ball storage part continuing to the rear opening of the ball introduction part, wherein the rear opening of the ball introduction part has elasticity and, when applying no tension thereto, is a substantially closed state, and the ball storage part stores balls entering from the front opening of the ball introduction part, spreading the rear opening and passing therethrough. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ball collecting device for collecting balls scattered on the ground such as a driving range, tennis court, and baseball field without bending.

In relation to the ball collecting device of the present invention, techniques related to a ball collecting device of the type in which a person collects a ball by hand is described in the following Patent Documents 1 to 3 and the like. The ball collectors described in these documents basically have a structure in which a bag-like net is attached to a frame with a handle. The ball collector is moved to the ground while moving the net opening horizontally along the ground. Collect scattered balls.
JP-A-9-299515 JP 2002-325865 A JP 2006-116263 A

  Even if the conventional ball collector has a step between the bottom edge of the frame and the ground so that the balls in the net do not hit the edge of the frame and go out, the balls in the net are full. If the balls are in a state where they overlap each other, the balls once collected may spill out. If the step is further enlarged, the ball cannot be overcome unless the ball is taken into the net at a high speed. If the ball itself has great elasticity, the ball may bounce at the time of taking in and easily get over the step.

  Even if the ball is not full, a ball that enters the net from the outside may collide with a ball already in the net and jump out. In particular, if a large number of balls are to be collected in a short time, the ball collection device is automatically moved forward quickly, and the relative speed between the ball collection device and the ball increases. If this happens, of course, the repulsive force when hitting a ball in the net will increase, and the number of balls jumping out will increase. If the balls are collected slowly, the ball collection efficiency will deteriorate.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a ball collector that can quickly collect a large number of balls and prevents a ball that has once entered a net from jumping out. It is to provide.

  The present invention for achieving the above object is a ball collecting device for collecting balls scattered on the ground, and is a ball intake portion made of a stretchable mesh material formed in a cylindrical shape with both front and rear ends open. A frame that fixes the front opening of the ball intake portion in an open state in which the lower side is parallel to the ground, a handle that is extended outward from the outer periphery of the frame, and a rear opening of the ball intake portion It consists of a continuous ball storage part, and the rear opening of the ball intake part is stretchable and is almost closed when no tension is applied, and the ball storage part enters from the front opening of the ball intake part. The ball collecting device accommodates the ball that has passed through the rear opening.

  The ball storage portion is formed of a mesh material formed in a cylindrical shape having openings at both front and rear ends, and the front opening of the ball storage portion includes the communication port of the ball intake portion, The rear opening may be a ball collecting device that can be opened and closed in a purse-like manner to serve as a ball outlet.

  The ball storage portion is a box having an opening on the front, and the opening of the ball storage portion has a shape that substantially matches the opening shape of the frame, and is detachably attached to the frame. It can also be set as the ball | bowl collection | recovery device which can take out the ball accommodated in the box by removing from a frame.

  Alternatively, the ball storage portion is a box having an opening at the front, and the opening of the ball storage portion is attached to the frame body in a shape substantially matching the opening shape of the frame body, and constitutes the ball storage portion An openable / closable door portion that can be fixed in a closed state is provided on one surface other than the opening of the box body, and a ball collecting device that allows the ball to be taken out from the open door portion.

  According to the ball collecting device of the present invention, a large number of balls scattered on the ground can be quickly collected, and the balls once entering the net never jump out.

=== First Embodiment ===
FIG. 1 shows an external view of a ball recovery device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The ball collecting device 1a is intended for collecting a hard tennis ball, and its basic shape is a net in which a handle 3 is attached to a rectangular frame 2. The frame 2 opens horizontally with the ground, and the lower end 11 is horizontal with the ground. A handle 3 held by a person is attached substantially vertically to the upper surface of the frame 2 and extends upward.

  The net attached to the frame 2 has a double structure composed of an inner net 4 and an outer net 6 covering the inner net 4. FIG. 2 shows the structure of the inner net 4 when the ball collector 1a is viewed from the rear. In FIG. 2, the outer network 6 is omitted. The inner net 4 is made of a stretchable mesh material, and has an opening 5 at the rear end as well as an opening 7 at the front end that is attached to the frame 2, and this opening 5 is located outside the frame 2 and inside the outer net 6. And the inner net 4 serves as a part for taking the ball 20 outside the frame 2 into the ball collector 1a. And it becomes a part which accommodates the ball | bowl which the outer net | network 6 took in.

  In the present embodiment, the mesh of the inner net 4 is knitted into a cylindrical shape using fibers of 50% rubber and 50% rayon, which are general stretchable materials, as a string material. Note that the stretchability of the inner net 4 may be realized by using a stretchable material for the string material forming the mesh as in this embodiment, or when the tension is applied, the mesh eyes spread. It may be realized by a knitting method. Of course, an elastic material may be used only around the rear opening 5.

  The inner net 4 has a shorter front-rear length than the outer net 6, and the opening 5 in a state where no tension is applied is almost closed due to the stretchability of the mesh material. The outer net 6 is longer in the front-rear direction than the inner net 4, and has a bag shape when storing the taken-in balls. In this example, the rear end 10 which is the bottom of the bag of the outer net 6 also has an opening, and the opening can be opened and closed like a purse. Here, the rear end 10 of the outer net is tied with a string to form a bag. A draw cord may be used instead of the string 11. If the string 11 is released or the draw cord is loosened, the rear end 10 of the outer net 6 is opened, and the ball 20 can be taken out from here. The rear end opening of the outer net 6 is sufficiently larger than the cross-sectional area of the ball 20.

  FIGS. 3A to 3D show the collecting operation of the ball 20 by the ball collecting device 1a. In this figure, the ball collection device 1a is viewed from the side. First, the frame 2 is moved toward the ball 20 in front of the ball collector 1a (A). The ball 20 passes through the frame 2 and enters the inner net 4 (B). By moving the ball collector 1a forward, the balls 20 that have entered the inner net 4 move relatively backward. The ball 20 that has reached the rear end of the inner net 4 pushes the rear opening 5 of the inner net 4 made of stretchable material (C) and enters the outer net 6 (D). Since the rear opening 5 of the inner net 4 is closed except when the ball is passing, the ball 20 once stored cannot pass through the opening 5, and the ball 20 passes again through the rear opening 5 of the inner net 4. It does not jump out of the frame 2 outward. The ball 20 accommodated in the outer net 6 can be easily taken out by releasing the string 11 at the rear end 10 of the outer net 5.

  In addition, if the hand with the handle 3 is shaken so that the frame 2 moves forward more quickly when collecting the balls, the balls 20 in the outer net 5 gather to the rear end 10 side due to inertia. Therefore, it is less likely that the ball 20 in the outer net 6 is immediately after the rear opening 5 of the inner net 4 and blocks the path of movement into the outer net 6. Further, the rear opening 5 can be expanded to an opening area equal to or more than a plurality of balls due to stretchability, and when the ball collecting device 1a is quickly moved forward, a plurality of balls 20 pass through the rear opening 5 at a time. Can do. There is a case where the ball 20 continuously passes through the rear opening 5 in a “jointly connected” state. That is, the faster the ball collection operation, the higher the ball collection efficiency. Of course, depending on the type of the balls to be collected, the expansion / contraction ratio of the material in the rear opening 5 of the inner net 4, the opening area at the time of contraction and expansion, and the like can be set as appropriate.

  In this embodiment, the lower end 9 of the frame 2 is inclined forward so that no step is generated on the ground due to the thickness of the frame 2. Regarding the step due to the thickness of the frame, the ball to be collected is not a ball that is neither too heavy nor too light (such as a golf ball, a baseball ball, or a table tennis ball), but a ball having an appropriate weight (for example, If the ball is lower than the ball radius, there is no problem because the ball cannot get over the frame or bounce off the frame.

=== Second Embodiment ===
FIG. 4 shows an external view of a ball collector 1b according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this example, instead of the outer net 5, the detachable box 12 is inserted into the frame 2 so that the box 12 is used as a ball storage unit. The upper surface of the box 12 has a slit 13 opening at the front end, and the handle 3 attached to the upper surface of the frame 2 extends upward through the slit 13. Of course, the handle 3 may be attached to the upper surface of the box 12 if it is above the frame 2. The ball collecting operation by the ball collecting device 1b is the same as that in the first embodiment. If the box 12 is removed from the frame 2, the ball 20 in the box can be taken out. Further, in this example, in order to eliminate the step with the ground due to the thickness of the box 12 and the thickness of the frame 2 inserted therein, a plate 14 that is inclined forward is attached to the front edge of the lower end of the frame 2. Yes.

  It should be noted that a large number of small holes are formed on each surface of the box 12 so that air resistance during ball collection can be reduced and the ball collection device 1b can be shaken easily, or so that dirt or sand attached to the ball is not stored in the box. Or the box 12 may be a basket made of a wire mesh or the like. Further, the connection structure between the box 12 and the frame 2 is not limited to the embodiment. The box 12 may be connected to the rear of the frame 2 as long as it can be freely detached from the frame 2.

=== Third embodiment ===
FIG. 5 shows the appearance of a ball collecting device according to the third embodiment of the present invention in a partially cutaway view from the rear upper side. The ball collector 1c of the third embodiment has almost the same appearance and structure as the ball collector 1b of the second embodiment. However, the box 15 in this embodiment does not have to be detachable from the frame 2. Instead, a door 17 that can be fixed in a closed state is provided on the rear surface 16 of the box 15, and the door 17 is opened to take out the ball 20 in the box. In addition, what is necessary is just to employ | adopt the mechanism of various lid stoppers and door stoppers, such as a latch and a magnet (magnet catch), as the fixing mechanism of the door 17. FIG. Further, the surface on which the door 17 is provided may be any surface other than the front surface, but it is more preferable that the surface is provided on any one of the upper surface, the side surface, and the rear surface so as not to open carelessly during ball collection.

=== About the pattern ===
In each of the above embodiments, the handle was attached above the frame and extended in the vertical direction. In addition to this structure, the extending direction and shape of the handle may be appropriately formed as long as they extend outward from the outer periphery of the frame. 6A to 6D exemplify ball collectors in which the handle 3 is attached in different directions and shapes. The handle 3 can be attached so as to extend obliquely upward from the side surface of the frame 2 (A), or can be attached so as to extend rearward and upward from the upper surface of the frame 2 (B). Of course, the shape of the handle 3 may not be a simple bar shape. The handle 18 may be bent halfway (C) or provided at the tip so as to intersect the extending direction of the handle 3 (D). Also, for example, the shape and direction of the handle can be appropriately combined, for example, by combining (A) and (D) and bending the handle 3 extending obliquely upward in the horizontal direction.

=== Supplement ===
In each of the above embodiments, a dedicated function for taking out the ball in the ball storage unit (outer net, box) was provided, but no dedicated function was provided, and a person could pass through the rear opening of the inner net to enter the ball storage unit. The ball may be taken out.

It is an external view of the ball recovery device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an inner net constituting the ball collecting device. It is the schematic of the ball | bowl collection | recovery operation | movement by the said ball | bowl collection | recovery device. It is an external view of the ball recovery device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a partially broken external view of the ball collection device concerning the 3rd example of the present invention. It is an external view of the ball | bowl collection | recovery device in the example which changed the attachment form of the handle.

Explanation of symbols

1a, 1b, 1c Ball collector 2 Frame 3 Handle 4 Inner net (Ball intake part)
5 Ball contact 6 Outer net (ball storage)
12, 15 boxes (ball storage)
17 Door

Claims (4)

A ball collector for collecting and collecting balls scattered on the ground,
A ball intake portion made of a mesh material formed in a cylindrical shape with both front and rear ends open, a frame body that fixes the front opening of the ball intake portion in an open state in which the lower portion is parallel to the ground, and an outer periphery of the frame body It consists of a handle that is extended outwardly and a ball storage part that is continuous with the rear opening of the ball intake part.
The rear opening of the ball intake has elasticity and is almost closed when no tension is applied, and the ball storage part enters from the front opening of the ball intake and pushes the rear opening to pass through. To accommodate the balls
A ball collector characterized by that.   2. The ball storage portion according to claim 1, wherein the ball storage portion is formed of a mesh material formed in a cylindrical shape having openings at both front and rear ends, and the front opening of the ball storage portion includes a rear opening of the ball intake portion, A ball collecting device characterized in that the rear opening of the portion can be opened and closed in a purse-like manner to become a ball outlet. 2. The ball storage portion according to claim 1, wherein the ball storage portion is a box body having an opening in the front, and the opening of the ball storage portion has a shape that substantially matches the opening shape of the frame body and is detachably attached to the frame body. A ball collecting device characterized in that the ball housed in the box can be taken out by removing the box from the frame.   The ball storage unit according to claim 1, wherein the ball storage unit is a box having an opening on the front side, and the opening of the ball storage unit is attached to the frame body so as to substantially match the opening shape of the frame body. An openable and closable door portion that can be fixed in a closed state is provided on one surface other than the opening of the box constituting the portion, and a ball can be taken out from the open door portion.