JP2014076100A - Pitching machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pitching machine capable of throwing out a ball with good control.SOLUTION: In a pitching machine (1), ball control means (4) for fixing the launching direction and rotation of a ball (2) is connected to ball launching means (3) for launching a ball (2) by air pressure, a ball passage (50) through which a ball (2) passes is formed in the ball control means (4), and a ball (2) is thrown out from a pitching hole (5) at the distal end of a ball passage (50). In the ball control means (4), a connection pipe (35) having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of a ball (2) is connected to a ball control pipe (34) having an inner diameter being nearly the same as the outer diameter of a ball (2). The connection pipe (35) has multiple friction bodies (39, 42, 43) to have contact with a ball (2) and give rotation to the ball (2). The front surface of one friction body (39) is allowed to be more slippery than the front surface of the ball control pipe (34), and the front surfaces of the other friction bodies (42, 43) are allowed to be less slippery than the front surface of the ball control pipe (34).

Description

  The present invention relates to a pitching machine that uses air pressure to throw a ball.

  Conventionally, pitching machines that throw a ball from a rotating arm as a baseball practice tool or playground equipment have been widely used, but in recent years, a pneumatic pitching machine that uses air pressure instead of an arm type to launch a ball. Has been developed.

  In this pneumatic pitching machine, a ball control means for determining the direction and rotation of the ball is connected to the ball launching means for firing the ball by air pressure, and a ball passage passage through which the ball passes is formed in the ball control means. The ball is thrown out from the throwing port at the tip (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-33157

  In a pneumatic pitching machine, since the ball is fired with air pressure, no rotation is imparted to the ball, and a non-rotating ball is thrown out. Therefore, the thrown-out ball reaches the batter as an unexpected change ball like a knuckle ball. In order to solve this problem and throw a straight ball, a conventional pitching machine is provided with a friction body in contact with the ball passing through the ball passage and rotating the ball in the middle of the ball passage.

  However, when a friction body is provided in the middle of the ball passage, the ball passing at high speed slips through the surface of the friction body and cannot reliably rotate the ball. It was difficult to throw with good control.

  Therefore, in the present invention according to claim 1, the ball launching means for launching the ball with air pressure is connected to the ball control means for determining the direction and rotation of the ball, and a ball passage passage through which the ball passes is formed in the ball control means. In the pitching machine that throws the ball from the throwing port at the tip of the passage, the ball control means connects a connecting pipe having an inner diameter that is larger than the outer diameter of the ball to a ball control pipe having an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the ball, The connecting pipe is provided with a plurality of friction bodies that come into contact with the ball and rotate the ball, and the surface of one friction body is more slippery than the surface of the control tube, and the surface of the other friction body is more Even decided to make the ball less slippery.

  Further, in the present invention according to claim 2, in the present invention according to claim 1, three or more friction bodies arranged in the radial direction from the center of the ball in the connecting pipe are spaced along the outer periphery of the ball. I decided to provide it.

  And in this invention, there exists an effect described below.

  That is, in the present invention, a ball control means for determining the direction and rotation of the ball is connected to the ball launching means for firing the ball by air pressure, a ball passage passage through which the ball passes is formed in the ball control means, In the pitching machine for throwing the ball from the pitching hole, the ball control means connects a ball pipe having an inner diameter substantially larger than the ball outer diameter to a ball pipe having an inner diameter larger than the ball outer diameter, and the ball is connected to the ball. A plurality of friction bodies that rotate the ball in contact with the ball are provided. The ball slides on the surface of one friction body more easily than the surface of the control tube, and the ball slides on the surface of the other friction body than the surface of the control tube. Since it is difficult, the ball can be rotated well, and any ball can be thrown out with good control.

  In particular, when three or more friction bodies arranged in the radial direction from the center of the ball are provided in the connecting pipe at intervals along the outer periphery of the ball, three or more balls are passed when the ball passes through the friction body. This will prevent the ball from rolling, and this will also allow the ball to be thrown out with good control.

The front view which shows the pitching machine which concerns on this invention. FIG. The same side expanded sectional view. The same plane expanded sectional view. The side surface expanded sectional view which shows a rotation mechanism. The front expanded sectional view.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the pitching machine according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the pitching machine 1 determines the firing direction and rotation of the ball 2 fired from the ball launching means 3 at the front end of the ball launching means 3 for firing the ball 2 with air pressure. The ball control means 4 is connected, and the ball 2 is thrown forward (forward) from a pitching port 5 formed at the front end portion (tip portion) of the ball control means 4. Further, the pitching machine 1 is provided with notifying means 6 for notifying that the ball 2 is thrown out in the vicinity of the throwing hole 5.

  The ball launching means 3 includes an air injection mechanism 7 that injects high-pressure compressed air and a ball supply mechanism 8 that supplies the ball 2.

  In the air injection mechanism 7, a tank 10 for storing compressed air is placed at the bottom of a hollow box-shaped casing 9, and an open / close valve 11 is connected to the tank 10. A driving device 12 is connected to the tank 10 and the opening / closing valve 11.

  The air injection mechanism 7 opens the open / close valve 11 to inject compressed air stored in the tank 10 from an injection pipe 13 provided at the front end of the open / close valve 11.

  The ball supply mechanism 8 includes a supply device 14 that supplies the balls 2 one by one and a setting device 15 that sets the balls 2 one by one.

  The supply device 14 connects the upper end portion of the supply pipe 17 extended vertically to a ball supply port 16 formed in the ceiling portion of the casing 9, and the partition plates 18 and 19 are connected to the supply pipe 17 in the vertical direction for approximately one ball. Attach the cylinders 18 and 19 with electric cylinders 22 and 23 supported by brackets 20 and 21 attached to the outer periphery of the supply pipe 17 while opening and closing them so that they can be opened and closed (movable forward and backward). Yes. The drive device 12 is connected to the electric cylinders 22 and 23.

  The supply device 14 supplies the balls 2 one by one from the lower end of the supply pipe 17 to the lower set device 15 by appropriately interlocking the upper and lower partition plates 18 and 19.

  The set device 15 is connected to the front end portion of the injection pipe 13 of the opening / closing valve 11 with the rear end portion of the outer cylinder 24 extended back and forth, and the inner cylinder 25 extended back and forth inside the outer cylinder 24 slides back and forth. It is housed freely. A communication port 26 that communicates with the lower end opening of the supply pipe 17 of the supply device 14 is formed in the front upper portion of the outer cylinder 24. In addition, a pair of left and right arms 28, 28 inserted through elongated holes 27, 27 extending in the front-rear direction formed in the outer cylinder 24 are connected to the left and right side portions of the inner cylinder 25. Are connected to electric cylinders 30, 30 supported by brackets 29, 29 attached to the outer periphery of the outer cylinder 24. A drive device 12 is connected to the electric cylinders 30 and 30.

  The set device 15 opens the communication port 26 by moving the inner cylinder 25 rearward with the electric cylinders 30 and 30 and receives the ball 2 supplied from the supply device 14 into the outer cylinder 24. By moving the inner cylinder 25 forward by the electric cylinders 30 and 30, the ball 2 is pushed out to the front end of the outer cylinder 24 at the front end of the inner cylinder 25, and a communication port 26 or a long hole formed in the outer cylinder 24 27 and 27 are closed and the inside is kept airtight.

  The ball launching means 3 is configured as described above, and the ball 2 is supplied from the supply device 14 to the setting device 15 and set at the front end portion of the outer cylinder 24 by the setting device 15. By injecting high-pressure compressed air from the air injection mechanism 7 toward the front, the ball 2 is fired forward from the front end portion of the outer cylinder 24 by air pressure.

  The ball control means 4 includes a ball control mechanism 31 that determines the firing direction of the ball 2, a rotation mechanism 32 that rotates the ball 2 in contact with the ball 2 fired from the ball launching means 3, and a burst sound that is generated when the ball 2 is fired. And a silencer mechanism 33 for reducing the noise.

  The ball control mechanism 31 is connected to the front end portion of the outer cylinder 24 of the ball firing means 3 in a state where a hollow cylindrical ball control tube 34 having an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the ball 2 is extended in the front-rear direction.

  The ball control mechanism 31 is configured such that when the ball 2 launched from the ball launching means 3 passes through the inside of the ball control tube 34, the outer peripheral portion of the ball 2 and the inner peripheral portion of the ball control tube 34 come into contact with each other. Is set to coincide with the extending direction of the control tube.

  The rotation mechanism 32 has a first friction device 36 attached to the lower part on the rear end side of the hollow cylindrical connecting pipe 35 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the ball 2, and the upper part on the rear end side of the connecting pipe 35. A second friction device 37 is attached. A front end portion of the control tube 34 is inserted into the rear end portion of the connecting tube 35, and the first friction device 36 and the second friction device 37 are positioned at the front end of the control tube 34.

  The first friction device 36 inserts a first friction body 39 through a through-hole 38 formed at the lower rear end of the connection pipe 35 so as to be movable up and down, and the first friction body 39 is inserted into the outer periphery of the connection pipe 35. A pair of left and right brackets 40, 40 are attached so that the vertical position can be adjusted. The first friction device 36 can adjust the rotation applied to the ball 2 by adjusting the vertical position of the first friction body 39 to change the amount of protrusion to the inside of the connecting pipe 35.

  The second friction device 37 is inserted through a through hole 41 formed in the upper rear end of the connecting pipe 35 so that the second friction body 42 and the third friction body 43 can be moved up and down with a spacer 44 therebetween. The second and third friction bodies 42 and 43 and the spacer 44 are supported by a pair of left and right brackets 45 and 45 attached to the outer periphery of the connecting pipe 35 so that the vertical position can be adjusted. The second friction device 37 can adjust the rotation applied to the ball 2 by adjusting the vertical position of the second and third friction bodies 42 and 43 to change the amount of protrusion to the inside of the connecting pipe 35. It has become. Note that the second friction body 42, the third friction body 43, and the spacer 44 may be formed separately, or may be formed integrally as a whole.

  Here, the first friction body 39 of the first friction device 36 extends from the outer periphery of the connection pipe 35 toward the center of the connection pipe 35 (the center of the ball 2 passing through the connection pipe 35), and the tip surface. To make contact with the ball 2. On the other hand, the second and third friction bodies 42 and 43 of the second friction device 37 extend from the outer periphery of the connecting pipe 35 toward the inner side of the connecting pipe 35 and have their tips at the center of the connecting pipe 35 (the connecting pipe The ball 2 is inclined so as to face the center 2 of the ball 2 passing through the tube 35 and comes into contact with the ball 2 on the tip surface. As a result, the first to third friction bodies 39, 42, 43 are arranged in the connecting pipe 35 in the radial direction from the center of the ball 2, and arranged in the circumferential direction along the outer circumference of the ball 2. ing.

  Further, the first friction body 39 of the first friction device 36 is made of a material in which the tip surface contacting the ball 2 is more slippery (the coefficient of dynamic friction with the ball 2 is smaller) than the inner peripheral surface of the control tube 34. It is formed with. On the other hand, in the second and third friction bodies 42 and 43 of the second friction device 37, the tip surfaces that come into contact with the ball 2 are from the tip surface of the first friction body 39 (and the inner peripheral surface of the control tube 34). However, the ball 2 is formed of a material that is difficult to slip (the coefficient of dynamic friction with the ball 2 is large). The second and third friction bodies 42 and 43 are made of a material that expands and contracts in the vertical direction (has a small elastic coefficient) than the first friction body 39.

  The rotating mechanism 32 is configured such that when the ball 2 fired from the ball firing means 3 passes through the connecting pipe 35, the ball 2 comes into contact with the first to third friction bodies 39, 42, 43, thereby A vertical rotation is applied to the ball 2 by the difference in contact resistance (friction) between the friction body 39 and the second and third friction bodies 42 and 43. Since the first friction device 36 and the second friction device 37 are located at the front end of the control tube 34, the rotation mechanism 32 can rotate all the balls 2 to be fired from the ball firing means 3. It can be done. In addition, since the rotating mechanism 32 has the first to third friction bodies 39, 42, 43 projecting from the inner periphery of the connecting pipe 35 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the ball 2, 2 passes while contacting the first to third friction bodies 39, 42, 43, and then the ball 2 passes through the substantially central portion of the connecting pipe 35. As a result, the compressed air injected from the ball launching means 3 flows over the ball 2 from the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the ball 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the connecting tube 35 inside the connecting tube 35. The compressed air can be discharged uniformly and smoothly, and the ball 2 can be passed along the center line of the connecting pipe 35.

  The silencer mechanism 33 has a hollow cylindrical outer cylinder 46 and a hollow porous cylindrical inner cylinder 47 attached at the front end of the casing 9, and a disk-shaped lid at the front ends of the outer cylinder 46 and the inner cylinder 47. 48 and a sound deadening material 49 are filled between the outer cylinder 46 and the inner cylinder 47. The lid 48 is formed with a pitching slot 5 for throwing the ball 2 at the center.

  The muffling mechanism 33 reduces the sound volume by absorbing the plosive sound generated when the ball 2 is fired from the ball launching means 3 with the silencer 49.

  The ball control means 4 is configured as described above, and a ball passage 50 extending back and forth inside the ball control pipe 34 of the ball control mechanism 31, the connecting pipe 35 of the rotation mechanism 32, and the inner cylinder 47 of the silencing mechanism 33. , And the ball 2 fired from the ball firing means 3 passes along the ball passage passage 50 so that the firing direction and rotation of the ball 2 are determined.

  The notification means 6 has a casing 51 attached below the pitching opening 5 of the lid 48 of the silencer mechanism 33, and houses first to third notification means 52, 53, 54 inside the casing 51. The first to third notification means 52, 53 and 54 are arranged in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction) in the order of distance from the pitching slot 5 in the vicinity of the pitching slot 5.

  Each of the notification means 52, 53, 54 is composed of a lamp connected to the driving device 12, and first throws the first notification means 52 for a predetermined time before throwing the ball from the throwing slot 5, and sets a predetermined interval. The second notification means 53 is turned on for a predetermined time after opening, and then the third notification means 54 is turned on for a predetermined time after an interval shorter than the previous interval, and then the ball 2 is thrown out from the throwing hole 5. The lighting is controlled so that

  As described above, in the pitching machine 1, the ball controlling means 4 that determines the firing direction and rotation of the ball 2 is connected to the ball launching means 3 that launches the ball 2 by air pressure, and the ball 2 passes through the ball controlling means 4. A ball passage 50 is formed, and the ball 2 is thrown out from the throwing port 5 at the tip of the ball passage 50.

  The ball control means 4 of the pitching machine 1 connects a connection tube 35 having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the ball 2 to a ball control tube 34 having an inner diameter substantially the same as the outer diameter of the ball 2. Are provided with a plurality of (three in this case) friction bodies 39, 42, 43 that contact the ball 2 to rotate the ball 2, and the surface of one of the friction bodies 39 is more than the surface of the control tube 34. The ball 2 is slippery, and the surface of the other friction bodies 42 and 43 is less slippery than the surface of the control tube 34.

  Therefore, in the pitching machine 1, the ball 2 can be favorably rotated, and any ball 2 can be thrown out with good control.

In the pitching machine 1, three or more friction bodies 39, 42, 43 arranged in the radial direction from the center of the ball 2 are provided in the connecting pipe 35 at intervals along the outer periphery of the ball 2.
Therefore, the pitching machine 1 supports the ball 2 at three or more points when the ball 2 passes through the friction bodies 39, 42, 43, thereby preventing the ball 2 from rolling (blurring). However, the ball 2 can be thrown out with good control.

  Further, in the pitching machine 1, a plurality of notification means 6 (first to third notification means 52, 53, 54) for informing that the ball 2 is thrown out by lighting the light in order from the vicinity of the pitching hole 5 ( Here, three are provided side by side, and the notification means 6 (the first notification means 52, the second notification means 53, and the third notification means 54) are turned on in order of distance from the pitching slot 5.

  Therefore, in the pitching machine 1 having the above-described configuration, it is possible to smoothly see the plurality of notifying units 6 from the throwing hole 5 and easily follow the ball 2 thrown out from the throwing hole 5.

  The pitching machine 1 has a configuration in which a plurality of notification means 6 are arranged vertically below the pitching hole 5.

  Therefore, in the pitching machine 1 having the above-described configuration, the thrown ball 2 can follow more easily and the usability of the pitching machine 1 can be improved.

  Furthermore, the pitching machine 1 is configured to light up a plurality of notification means 6 with the intervals gradually reduced.

  Also by this, in the pitching machine 1 having the above configuration, the thrown ball 2 can follow more easily, and the usability of the pitching machine 1 can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pitching machine 2 Ball | bowl 3 Ball | bowl launching means 4 Ball control means 5 Throwing port 6 Notification means 7 Air injection mechanism 8 Ball supply mechanism 9 Casing 10 Tank
11 Open / close valve 12 Drive unit
13 Injection pipe 14 Feeder
15 Set device 16 Ball supply port
17 Supply pipe 18,19 Partition plate
20,21 Bracket 22,23 Electric cylinder
24 outer cylinder 25 inner cylinder
26 Communication port 27 Long hole
28 Arm 29 Bracket
30 Electric cylinder 31 Ball control mechanism
32 Rotating mechanism 33 Silencer mechanism
34 Control tube 35 Connecting tube
36 First friction device 37 Second friction device
38 Through hole 39 1st friction body
40 Bracket 41 Through hole
42 Second friction body 43 Third friction body
44 Spacer 45 Bracket
46 Outer cylinder 47 Inner cylinder
48 Lid 49 Silencer
50 Ball passage 51 Casing
52 First notification means 53 Second notification means
54 Third notification means

Claims (2)

A ball control means for determining the direction and rotation of the ball is connected to the ball launching means for firing the ball by air pressure, a ball passage passage through which the ball passes is formed in the ball control means, and the ball is thrown from the throwing port at the tip of the ball passage passage In the pitching machine,
The ball control means connects a connection tube having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the ball to a ball control tube having substantially the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the ball, and contacts the ball with the connection tube to rotate the ball. A pitching machine comprising a friction body, wherein a ball is more slid on the surface of one friction body than the surface of the control tube, and the ball is less slid on the surface of the other friction body than the surface of the control tube.   The pitching machine according to claim 1, wherein three or more friction bodies arranged in a radial direction from the center of the ball are provided in the connecting pipe at intervals along the outer periphery of the ball.

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