JP2502901B2 - Ball cleaning device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball cleaning device for automatically cleaning hard balls such as golf balls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ball washing device is provided with a ball feeding device and a washing tank, and the washing tank is provided with a feeding pipe for feeding the balls fed from the ball feeding device. Has a notch formed laterally, and the ball exposed from the notch has been brushed with a rotating brush for cleaning (see JP-A-2-295578).

As another example, a ball delivery device,
A brush that rotates at a high speed is provided in a cylindrical container, and the balls from the ball delivery device are cleaned on the rotating brush while rolling on the outer circumference of the brush by a rotating feed plate (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. HEI 3). -289899 gazette).

[0004]

By the way, in the conventional ball cleaning apparatus, the abrasion of the brush deteriorates the dirt of the ball, and in the case of a new brush, the dirt itself is well removed but the ball is damaged. There was a problem that it was easily attached.

Further, in cleaning with a brush, the tip of the brush does not reach the bottom of the dimple portion of the ball, so that there is a problem that dirt is difficult to remove.

Further, since the dirt on the ball is not uniform such as grass, dirt, and rubbing, if the dirt is severe, it is not possible to clean the ball well by washing only the brush. When the balls are not so dirty, there is a problem that the cleaning process takes too long.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and reduces wear of a rotating brush to suppress damage to the ball, and directly sprays a pressurized cleaning liquid onto a rotating ball to efficiently perform the cleaning. The object is to obtain a ball cleaning device adapted to perform cleaning.

[0008]

According to the present invention, an upper cutout is provided in a delivery pipe in order to expose a ball in the delivery pipe upward in a cleaning chamber, and a ball is exposed toward the upper cutout. It is provided with a first cleaning device having a shower tube for ejecting the pressurized cleaning liquid.

Further, a hard roller brush for cleaning the balls taken out from the first cleaning device by rolling them one after another, a draining roller, and a carrying-out roller are horizontally arranged in proximity to each other. And a second cleaning device.

Further, the hopper is provided with an openable shutter for directly supplying the balls in the hopper to the second cleaning device.

The shower pipe is composed of a low-pressure shower pipe for ejecting a low-pressure cleaning liquid and a high-pressure shower pipe for ejecting a high-pressure cleaning liquid.

[0012]

In the present invention, when the balls from the ball delivery device are delivered to the cleaning chamber and exposed at the side and upper cutouts of the delivery pipe, they come into contact with the rotating rotary brush,
And it is washed with the pressurized washing liquid ejected from the shower tube.

Further, the balls taken out from the first cleaning device are cleaned by moving sequentially while rolling on the hard roller brushes arranged substantially horizontally, the liquid draining roller, and the carry-out roller. .

By opening the shutter provided in the hopper, the balls in the hopper are directly sent to the second cleaning device.

Further, a low-pressure cleaning liquid or a high-pressure cleaning liquid is sprayed on the balls to clean the balls depending on the dirt on the balls.

[0016]

1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main portion of FIG. In these figures, 1 indicates a hard ball such as a golf ball. 2 shows the whole ball cleaning apparatus. 3 is a ball delivery device, 4 is a first cleaning device, and 5 is a second cleaning device, which also serves as a conveying means for the balls 1. 6 is a cleaning liquid, and tap water or a liquid in which a detergent is dissolved is used. Reference numeral 7 is a storage tank for the cleaning liquid 6.

In the ball feeding device 3, 11 is a hopper, into which the dirty ball 1 is thrown in from the throwing port 12 and is received on a rotating plate 13 which is three-dimensionally inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. A plurality of pins 14 are provided on the outer periphery of the rotary plate 13 so as to project the balls 1. Although details of the shape of the pin 14 are omitted, the pin 14 catches one ball 1 in the hopper 11 and inserts it into the delivery pipe 15 from the end. The ball 1 is configured so as not to collide with the end portion of the pipe 15, and the balls 1 are sequentially fed in accordance with the rotation of the rotary plate 13, and the delivery pipe 15 is extended to the first cleaning device 4. Further, the hopper 11 is provided with an openable / closable shutter 16 (see FIG. 2) that changes the cleaning process of the ball 1 depending on the degree of contamination of the ball 1. Reference numeral 17 is an outlet for directly sending the balls 1 in the hopper 11 to the second cleaning device 5 without passing through the first cleaning device 4. Also,
The bottom plate 18 of the hopper 11 is formed so as to be inclined so that the ball 1 in the hopper 11 rolls toward the delivery port 17. In addition, the shutter 16 is provided at the delivery port 17,
The delivery port 17 may be opened and closed.

In the first cleaning device 4, reference numeral 21 is a cleaning chamber for cleaning the balls 1 sent from the ball delivery device 3, and a delivery pipe extending from the ball delivery device 3 in the cleaning chamber 21. 15 penetrates. On both sides of the delivery pipe 15, side cutouts 15a for exposing a part of the ball 1 in the cleaning chamber 21 are formed so as to face each other. An upper cutout 15b is formed for spraying the cleaning liquid 6 under pressure onto the cleaning liquid 1, and the details are shown in the enlarged sectional view of FIG.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 22 is a rotary brush provided so as to lightly contact the ball 1 exposed from the side cutout portion 15a, and reference numeral 23 is a rotary shaft fixed to the rotary brush 22. Further, in order to rotate the rotary brush 23, a driving means including a sprocket 24, a roller chain 25 and a motor 26 is provided. In FIG. 3, 27 is a low-pressure shower tube, which normally spouts the cleaning liquid 6 with tap water pressurized to 1.5 kg / cm ² at a pressure of about tap water. 28 is a high pressure shower tube, usually 110k
The cleaning liquid 6 pressurized to g / cm ² is ejected. Further, in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 15c is an outlet for taking out the ball 1 in the delivery pipe 15. 29 is the cleaning chamber 21
On the bottom plate of the ball 1, the ball 1 is inclined so as to roll toward the ball cleaning device 2. 30 is a delivery port for delivering the ball 1 in the cleaning chamber 21, 31 is a guide plate which is provided integrally with the bottom plate 29 and is inclined, and 32 is a receiving plate which receives the ball 1 falling from the guide plate 31. .

In the second cleaning device 5, 41 is a hard roller brush for cleaning the ball 1, 42 is a draining roller for cleaning liquid 6 adhering to the ball 1, and 43 is a carry-out roller for carrying the ball 1. In each case, the roller chains 44 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction so as to be close to each other, and the roller chains 44 are stretched so as to rotate in the same direction, and a driving motor (not shown) is provided. 45 is a blower for drying the ball 1 on the conveying roller 43.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 51 is a tap water source, which supplies the cleaning liquid 6 as tap water directly to the low-pressure shower pipe 27 via a valve 52, and also via a valve 53 to the water tank 5.
Supply into 4 Reference numeral 55 is a pump for supplying the cleaning liquid 6 in the water storage tank 54 to the high-pressure shower pipe 28, and 56 is a pressure adjusting valve, which supplies water to the water storage tank 54 when the cleaning liquid 6 pressurized by the pump 55 reaches a predetermined pressure or more. Bring to reflux. Further, 57 is a strainer of the pump 55, 58 is a filter that acts when the cleaning liquid 6 in the storage tank 7 is returned to the water storage tank 54, 59 is a valve, and 60 is the dirty cleaning liquid 6 in the water storage tank 54. It is a drainage pipe, and a valve (not shown) is provided.

Next, the operation will be described. When the ball 1 soiled by use is thrown into the hopper 11, the ball 1
Is received on a rotating plate 13 which rotates in the direction of arrow A by driving a motor (not shown), engages with the pin 14, moves in the direction of arrow A, and is fed into the delivery pipe 15. The ball 1 in the delivery pipe 15 is further connected to the first cleaning device 4
Of the delivery pipe 15 to the cleaning chamber 21
It is exposed by 5a and the upper cutout 15b. The exposed ball 1 is rotated by the motor 26 in the direction of arrow C by the rotating brush 22 which is rotated in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3, and by the pressurized cleaning liquid 6 ejected from the low pressure or high pressure shower pipes 27 and 28. To be washed. Further, when the ball 1 is heavily soiled, the cleaning liquid 6 ejected from the high-pressure shower pipe 28 can also remove the dirt accumulated on the bottom of the dimple portion of the ball 1. When the ball 1 is moderately soiled, it is cleaned with the cleaning liquid 6 ejected from the low pressure shower pipe 27. Next, the ball 1 that has been washed while moving in the washing chamber 21 in the direction of the arrow D drops from the take-out port 15c onto the bottom plate 29, and then rolls down on the bottom plate 29 in the direction of the arrow E to descend. From the guide plate 3
1 and then descends, and then falls onto the receiving plate 32. Next, after being received by the receiving plate 32, it is further sent onto the hard roller brush 41.

The ball 1 on the hard roller brush 41 moves in the direction of arrow F while being cleaned by the cleaning liquid 6 flowing from the cleaning chamber 21 together with the ball 1, and is drained by the draining roller 42. Next, the drained ball 1 is dried by the blower 45 while moving on the transport roller 43 to finish the cleaning, and then sent out of the ball cleaning device 2. When the ball 1 is not much soiled, the ball 16 in the hopper 11 is guided from the delivery port 17 to the guide plate 3 without raising the shutter 16 to pass through the first cleaning device 4.
Directly dropped onto 1 and sent to the second cleaning device 5. Next, in the second cleaning device 5, the cleaning liquid 6 is ejected from the low-pressure shower 27, and the cleaning liquid 6 flowing from the cleaning chamber 21 performs the same cleaning as above. The cleaning liquid 6 after cleaning the balls 1 is stored in the storage tank 7. Then, by opening the valve 59, the cleaning liquid 6 in the storage tank 7 is supplied to the water storage tank 54 and stored therein after dirt and impurities are removed by the filter 58. Then, the cleaning liquid 6 in the water storage tank 54 is sucked by the pump 55 through the strainer 57 and is supplied to the high-pressure shower pipe 28.

When cleaning the ball 1, the valve 53 is closed,
By opening the valve 52, low-pressure tap water from the tap water source 51 is directly ejected as the cleaning liquid 6 from the low-pressure shower pipe 27, and by closing the valve 52 and driving the pump 55, the high-pressure cleaning liquid 6 is pressurized. Are jetted from the high-pressure shower pipe 28.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the upper cutout portion formed above the delivery pipe for exposing the ball in the delivery pipe in the cleaning chamber and the ball exposed in the upper cutout portion are provided. Since the cleaning chamber is equipped with a shower tube that sprays the cleaning liquid pressurized toward the ball, even if the ball is slightly contacted with the rotating brush by cleaning with the pressurized cleaning liquid, the dimple part of the ball It has an advantage that the dirt accumulated on the bottom can be removed, and the damage of the ball by the rotating brush and the abrasion of the rotating brush can be prevented.

A hard roller brush for cleaning the balls taken out from the first cleaning device by rolling them sequentially, a draining roller, and a carry-out roller are arranged substantially horizontally in proximity to each other. Since the second cleaning device is provided, the cleaning performance of the ball can be increased, and when the ball is less contaminated, the time required for cleaning the ball can be reduced by directly supplying the ball from the hopper to the second cleaning device. It has an advantage that it can be shortened and the cleaning liquid can be saved.

Further, since the hopper is provided with an openable / closable shutter for directly supplying the balls in the hopper to the second cleaning device, the cleaning process can be selected according to the degree of contamination of the balls by a simple operation of opening / closing the shutter. It has the advantage that it can be done freely.

Further, since the shower pipe is composed of a low-pressure shower pipe for ejecting a low-pressure cleaning liquid and a high-pressure shower pipe for ejecting a high-pressure cleaning liquid, the pressure of the cleaning liquid can be changed depending on the degree of contamination of the balls. It has the advantage that efficient cleaning can be achieved by the rational use amount and reduction of the cost required for cleaning.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a main part of a first ball cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ball 2 ball cleaning device 3 ball delivery device 4 first cleaning device 5 second cleaning device 6 cleaning liquid 11 hopper 15 delivery pipe 15a side notch 15b upper notch 16 shutter 21 cleaning chamber 22 rotating brush 27 low pressure shower pipe 28 High Pressure Shower Tube 41 Hard Roller Brush 42 Draining Roller 43 Delivery Roller

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hopper for containing balls before cleaning, a ball delivery device for delivering the balls contained in the hopper, and a cleaning chamber for cleaning the balls delivered from the ball delivery device with a cleaning liquid. A delivery pipe for penetrating the cleaning chamber to deliver the balls from the ball delivery device, and a side formed opposite to both sides of the delivery pipe for exposing the balls in the delivery pipe in the cleaning chamber A side cutout, a rotating brush that brushes the balls exposed in the side cutout, and an upper cutout formed above the delivery pipe to expose the balls in the delivery pipe in the cleaning chamber. And a first cleaning device having a shower tube for ejecting a cleaning liquid pressurized toward the balls exposed from the upper cutout portion. Cleaning device. 2. A hard roller brush, which moves sequentially while rolling the balls taken out from the first cleaning device to perform cleaning, a draining roller, and a carry-out roller are arranged horizontally in proximity to each other. The ball cleaning device according to claim 1, further comprising a second cleaning device. 3. The ball cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the hopper is provided with an openable / closable shutter for directly supplying the balls in the hopper to the second cleaning apparatus. 4. The ball cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shower pipe is composed of a low pressure shower pipe for ejecting a low pressure cleaning liquid and a high pressure shower pipe for ejecting a high pressure cleaning liquid.