JP2015016282A - Golf ball carrier device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a golf ball carrier device capable of suppressing generation of noises and quietly carrying a golf ball.SOLUTION: An inclined part 13 of a rail 3 comprises an inclined part body 13a, and a ball rolling part 13b that is provided at an outside end of the inclined part body 13a. The inclined part body 13a is made of a rigid material. A locking pawl 11 is integrally molded below an end. A rail support wall 10 supports the inclined part body 13a. The ball rolling part 13b, which is a part for rolling a golf ball 9, is made of a flexible material.

Description

  The present invention relates to a golf ball transport apparatus installed in a driving range or the like, and more particularly to a golf ball transport apparatus that transports a golf ball by a chain conveyor.

  At the golf driving range, the golf balls hit from each bat and scattered on the green are collected and washed, transported to the bat on each floor, and installed near the automatic tee-up device of the bat Accumulated in the tank.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the golf ball transport apparatus previously proposed by the present inventor.
This golf ball transport apparatus is mainly composed of a long casing 1, an endless chain 2 for transporting a ball movably disposed therein, and a rail 3 installed in the casing 1. .

  The casing 1 has both side walls 4, 4 and a bottom portion 5, and the upper part is open, the cross-sectional shape is substantially U-shaped, and the opening is closed by a lid 6. The casing 1 extends long in the vertical direction toward the drawing.

  A large number of rollers 7 are rotatably supported at a lower portion of the chain 2 at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of ball moving pins 8 are provided at an upper portion of the chain 2 at a predetermined interval. The golf balls 9 on the rails 3 are individually pushed and rolled by the pins 8 for use.

  A plurality of rail support walls 10 are erected in the central portion of the bottom portion 5, and rails 3 having a substantially chevron-shaped cross section inclined on both sides are placed on the upper portions thereof. Locking claws 11 are provided on both lower sides of the rail 3 and elastically engage with the locking walls 12 formed on the rail support walls 10 on both outer sides of the rail support walls 10. Thus, the rail 3 is fixed on the rail support wall 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the golf ball 9 is placed near the outer end of the inclined portion 13 of the rail 3, and a part of the golf ball 9 is in contact with the inner surface of the side wall 4 by the inclination of the inclined portion 13.

  As described above, the roller 7 is rotatably supported at the lower part of the chain 2, and the ball moving pin 8 is provided at the upper part of the chain 2, so that the chain 2 moves in the vertical direction toward the drawing. As a result, the roller 7 rolls and conveys while individually pressing the golf ball 9 on the rail 3 with the ball moving pin 8 while rotating on the bottom 5.

  In addition, as a prior art document of the golf ball conveying apparatus, for example, JP-A-10-179833 can be cited.

JP-A-10-179833

  As described above, in this golf ball transport device, the golf ball 9 moves while rolling on the rail 3 while being pushed by the ball moving pin 8, and the conventional golf ball transport device rolls the golf ball 9. In consideration of wear caused by the above, a hard synthetic resin has been used as the material of the rail 3.

  However, since both the rail 3 and the golf ball 9 are made of a hard material, there is a problem that noise is generated when the golf ball 9 having irregularities on the surface moves on the rail 3 while rolling.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball transport apparatus that can eliminate such disadvantages of the prior art and can quietly transport a golf ball while suppressing generation of noise.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
An elongated casing having a bottom and side walls;
An endless chain for conveying a ball movably disposed in the casing;
A rail installed in the casing has a rail having a substantially mountain-shaped inclined portion;
A plurality of rail support walls are erected from the bottom of the casing, and the rails are placed on the rail support walls,
The rail is fixed on the rail support wall by engaging the locking claws provided on both sides of the lower portion of the rail with the locking walls provided on the rail support wall.
A large number of rollers are rotatably supported at a lower portion of the chain at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of ball moving pins are provided at an upper portion of the chain at a predetermined interval. The upper part protrudes above the inclined surface of the rail,
When a golf ball is placed near the outer end of the inclined portion of the rail, a part of the golf ball comes into contact with the inner surface of the side wall of the casing due to the inclination of the inclined portion,
The present invention is intended for a golf ball transport device that rolls and transports the golf ball while individually pushing the golf ball on the rail with the ball moving pin.

And the first means of the present invention is:
The inclined portion of the rail includes an inclined portion main body and a ball rolling portion provided at an outer end portion of the inclined portion main body, and the inclined portion main body and the ball rolling portion are integrally formed. The part body is made of a hard material, and the locking claw is integrally formed below the end part thereof, and each rail support wall supports and fixes the inclined part body,
The ball rolling portion is a portion on which a golf ball is placed and rolled, and is made of a soft material.

According to a second means of the present invention, in the first means,
The ball rolling portion has a leg portion extending toward the locking claw side of the inclined portion main body, and a tip portion of the leg portion is supported by being joined to a raised portion of the locking claw. It is characterized by being.

  The present invention is configured as described above, and by configuring the ball rolling portion with a soft material, it is possible to greatly reduce noise during the transportation of the golf ball. Moreover, since the inclined part main body which shape | molds a latching claw and is supported and fixed to each rail support wall is comprised with the hard material, the support and fixation of a rail are reliable.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a golf ball transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an expansion longitudinal cross-sectional view of the rail used for the golf ball conveying apparatus. It is an expanded sectional view of the part of FIG. 2A. It is an expanded cross section of the FIG. 2B part. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the conventional golf ball conveying apparatus.

  Next, embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a golf ball transport device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a rail used in the golf ball transport device, FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 2B part.

  This golf ball conveying device is mainly composed of a casing 1 extending in a long shape, an endless chain 2 for conveying a ball movably disposed therein, and a rail 3 installed in the casing 1. ing.

  The casing 1 has both side walls 4, 4 and a bottom portion 5, and the upper part is open, the cross-sectional shape is substantially U-shaped, and the opening is closed by a lid 6. The casing 1 extends long in the vertical direction toward the drawing.

  A large number of rollers 7 are rotatably supported at a lower portion of the chain 2 at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of ball moving pins 8 are provided at an upper portion of the chain 2 at a predetermined interval. The golf balls 9 on the rails 3 are individually pushed and rolled by the pins 8 for use.

  A plurality of rail support walls 10 are erected in the vicinity of the central portion of the bottom 5, and a rail 3 having a substantially chevron-shaped cross section inclined on both sides is placed on the upper portion thereof. Locking claws 11 are provided on both lower sides of the rail 3 and elastically engage with the locking walls 12 formed on the rail support walls 10 on both outer sides of the rail support walls 10. Thus, the rail 3 is fixed on the rail support wall 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the golf ball 9 is placed near the outer end of the inclined portion 13 of the rail 3, and a part of the golf ball 9 is in contact with the inner surface of the side wall 4 by the inclination of the inclined portion 13.

Although illustration is omitted in FIG. 1 because the drawing becomes complicated, the golf ball 9 is also placed on the inclined portion 13 on the right side toward the drawing of the rail 3, and under the golf ball 9. On the side, a chain 2 with rollers 7 is arranged. As the chain 2 moves, the golf ball 9 on the rail 3 is rolled and conveyed while being individually pushed by the ball moving pin 8.
Therefore, the left inclined portion 13 constitutes, for example, the forward path of the golf ball 9 and the right inclined portion 13 constitutes, for example, the return path of the golf ball 9 as viewed in the drawing of the rail 3.

  As described above, the roller 7 is rotatably supported at the lower part of the chain 2, and the ball moving pin 8 is provided at the upper part of the chain 2, and the upper part of the ball moving pin 8 is above the rail 3. Protruding.

  As the chain 2 moves in the vertical direction toward the drawing, the roller 7 rolls and conveys while individually pressing the golf ball 9 on the rail 3 with the ball moving pin 8 while rotating on the bottom 5. It is configured.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the inclined portions 13 provided on both sides of the rail 3 are provided at the inclined portion main body 13 a occupying most of the inclined portion 13 and the outer end portion of the inclined portion main body 13 a. The ball rolling portion 13b has a small area.

  The inclined portion main body 13a is made of a hard material such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyamide, and the like, and a locking claw 11 is integrally formed below the end portion thereof. Each rail support wall 10 has a structure in which a portion of the inclined portion main body 13a is supported and fixed.

  On the other hand, the ball rolling portion 13b is a portion on which the golf ball 9 is placed and rolled, and for example, a soft material such as an elastomer (synthetic rubber, polyisobutylene, polyester, etc.) having a hardness of 50 to 70 degrees. Consists of materials. As shown in FIG. 1, the golf ball 9 rolls on the upper surface of the ball rolling portion 13b.

  The inclined portion main body 13a and the ball rolling portion 13b are integrally formed by two-color molding to constitute the inclined portion 13. In order to secure the joint strength between the inclined portion main body 13a and the ball rolling portion 13b, a chevron-shaped uneven portion 14 is continuously formed so that the inclined portion main body 13a and the ball rolling portion 13b enter. It has a structure. There is no step at the boundary between the inclined portion main body 13a and the ball rolling portion 13b, and they are in the same plane.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ball rolling portion 13b has a substantially horizontal L-shaped cross section, and the lower end portion of the leg portion 16 extending downward toward the locking claw 11 is made of a hard material. It is supported by being joined to the raised portion 17 of the formed locking claw 11.

  By doing so, the ball rolling portion 13b is firmly supported by the inclined portion main body 13a, and even if the transport of the golf ball 9 is repeated for a long period of time, the ball rolling portion 13b does not loosen and its function is sufficiently achieved. It can be demonstrated.

  Since the ball rolling portion 13b is only supported on one side by the inclined portion main body 13a, the joining of the inclined portion main body 13a and the ball rolling portion 13b via the concavo-convex portion 14 described above, and the ball rolling portion 13b If the joint of the leg portion 16 and the raised portion 17 of the locking claw 11 is used in combination, the support of the ball rolling portion 13b is further ensured, and the ball rolling portion 13b is not loosened.

  As described above, the engaging claws 11 provided on both sides of the lower portion of the rail 3 and the engaging walls 12 formed on the rail supporting walls 10 on both outer sides are elastically engaged with each other. The rail 3 is fixed on the rail support wall 10 by screwing (not shown) the head of the rail support wall 10.

  When the rail 3 is fixed on the rail support wall 10 with screws, the screws are inserted from the through holes formed in the rail 3 and screwed into the screw holes provided in the head of the rail support wall 10. However, some flexibility is given to the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the rail 3 so that the positioning of the through hole and the screw hole can be easily performed.

  In order to impart this flexibility, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, one or two triangular small grooves 15 are formed on the upper surface of the rail 3 along the longitudinal direction of the rail 3 (perpendicular to the paper surface). Is formed.

  As described above, the portion where the golf ball 9 is placed and rolled, that is, the ball rolling portion 13b is made of a soft material, so that noise during transportation of the golf ball 9 can be greatly reduced. Further, wear of the golf ball 9 can be reduced.

  If it is only for this noise suppression and wear reduction, the whole rail 3 should just be comprised with a soft material, but it is unpreferable from the point of fixing the rail 3 stably over a long period of time.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the latching claw 11 that engages with the latching wall 12 and the peripheral portion that supports the latching claw 11 and the rail support wall 10 of a plurality of strips are spanned to Since the portion screwed to the head needs to be made of a hard material having a predetermined mechanical strength, the portion excluding the ball rolling portion 13b, that is, the inclined portion main body 13a (rail main body) is hard. Consists of materials.

  By molding the inclined body 13a (rail body) from a hard material, the support of the locking claw 11 is ensured, the engagement strength between the locking claw 11 and the locking wall 12 is increased, and the rail 3 is Even if it is hung between the rail support walls 10, it does not bend and the connection with the rail support wall 10 is ensured.

1. . . casing,
2. . . chain,
3. . . rail,
4). . . Side walls,
5. . . bottom,
8). . . Ball moving pin,
9. . . Golf ball,
10. . . Rail support wall,
11. . . Locking claws,
12 . . Locking wall,
13. . . Inclined part,
13a. . . Inclined body,
13b. . . Ball rolling part,
14 . . Uneven part,
15. . . Small groove,
16. . . leg,
17. . . Swelling part.

And the first means of the present invention is:
The inclined portion of the rail is composed of an inclined portion main body and a ball rolling portion provided at the side wall side end of the inclined portion main body, and the inclined portion main body and the ball rolling portion are formed integrally.
The inclined portion main body is made of a hard material, and the locking claw is integrally formed below the end of the inclined portion main body, and each rail support wall supports and fixes the inclined portion main body,
The ball rolling portion is a portion on which a golf ball is placed and rolled, and is made of a soft material.

Claims (2)

An elongated casing having a bottom and side walls;
An endless chain for conveying a ball movably disposed in the casing;
A rail installed in the casing has a rail having a substantially mountain-shaped inclined portion;
A plurality of rail support walls are erected from the bottom of the casing, and the rails are placed on the rail support walls,
The rail is fixed on the rail support wall by engaging the locking claws provided on both sides of the lower portion of the rail with the locking walls provided on the rail support wall.
A large number of rollers are rotatably supported at a lower portion of the chain at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of ball moving pins are provided at an upper portion of the chain at a predetermined interval. The upper part protrudes above the inclined surface of the rail,
When a golf ball is placed near the outer end of the inclined portion of the rail, a part of the golf ball comes into contact with the inner surface of the side wall of the casing due to the inclination of the inclined portion,
In the golf ball transport device that rolls and transports the golf ball while individually pushing the golf ball on the rail with the ball moving pin as the chain moves,
The inclined portion of the rail includes an inclined portion main body and a ball rolling portion provided at an outer end portion of the inclined portion main body, and the inclined portion main body and the ball rolling portion are integrally formed. The part body is made of a hard material, and the locking claw is integrally formed below the end part thereof, and each rail support wall supports and fixes the inclined part body,
The ball rolling portion is a portion on which a golf ball is placed and rolled, and is made of a soft material. The golf ball transport apparatus according to claim 1,
The ball rolling portion has a leg portion extending toward the locking claw side of the inclined portion main body, and a tip portion of the leg portion is supported by being joined to a raised portion of the locking claw. A golf ball conveying apparatus characterized by comprising:

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