JP2528117Y2 - Cooling and curing device for thread-wound golf balls and cores - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the production of thread-wound golf balls, and more particularly, to a device for cooling and curing thread-wound golf balls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wound golf ball is formed by cooling and hardening a solid rubber ball or a hollow rubber shell containing a liquid and winding an elastic yarn around the hardened core to form a wound core. It is manufactured by molding a cover around it. JP-A-63-31974 discloses a manufacturing machine and method for continuously cooling and hardening a core, winding a yarn around the cooled and hardened core, and delivering a wound wound core.

[0003] However, this device requires several stations and is inevitably very large. One of the reasons is that indirect cooling with dry ice for cooling and hardening the core takes a very long time. Therefore, the present applicant has previously proposed an apparatus capable of efficiently cooling a golf ball core to a constant temperature using a low-temperature liquefied gas as a refrigerant (Japanese Utility Model Application No. 2-8701).
1, Heikai 4-46678).

This prior-art apparatus is an apparatus which can continuously cool and harden a large number of thread-wound golf balls and cores by successively supplying them, but has the disadvantage that the mechanism is complicated due to continuous supply and continuous removal. was there.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior application device and eliminates a large number of thread-wound golf balls.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of uniformly cooling and hardening a core and taking out one core at a time.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a cooling and curing apparatus for a thread-wound golf ball core according to the present invention is a double-tub-type horizontal cylindrical tank having a heat-insulating structure, and is located outward from the center of both end faces of an inner tank. A low-temperature liquefied gas injection pipe inserted in the rotary support shaft along the horizontal axis of the tank, and a vaporized gas discharge pipe disposed in the rotary support shaft and surrounding the horizontal axis. An apparatus for loading a thread-wound golf ball core into a tub, and a rotary cooling tub having at least one extraction pipe for extracting a golf ball core cooled in the tub, Has a protrusion protruding out of the rotary cooling tank, the protrusion is surrounded by a cover having an opening only on a surface opposite to the rotation direction of the cooling tank, and the opening is an opening. Rotatably attached to the lower end and attached in the direction to close the opening The cover is always closed by a lid extending above the upper surface of the cover, and moves between the approach position and the separation position to the take-out tube to a substantially intermediate facing position where the take-out tube rotates from the horizontal position to the vertex position. A movable take-out chute having a receiving port for a golf ball core discharged from the take-out pipe on a surface facing the take-out pipe, and a fixed take-out chute connected to a lower end thereof and having an outlet at a lower end thereof, The rotatable lid is locked in contact with the opposing surface of the movable ejection chute when in the approach position, and is pivoted in a direction to open the opening of the cover.

In a preferred embodiment according to the invention, the outlet tube projection is cut out on a part of the cylindrical wall facing the opening of the cover and the notched upward end face of the outlet tube protrusion is provided with a cooling outlet to be taken out. The mounting surface of the golf ball core is formed.

[0008]

The cooling and curing apparatus for a thread-wound golf ball core according to the present invention has the above-described structure. The golf ball core inserted into the rotary cooling tank by opening the supply inlet is liquefied at a low temperature. It is cooled and hardened by a low-temperature liquefied gas (preferably liquid nitrogen) injected into a rotating cooling tank from a gas injection pipe. During this cooling operation, the movable take-out chute is at a position separated from the take-out pipe of the rotary cooling tank, and does not come into contact with the lid extending further upward from the cover of the take-out pipe, so that the rotation of the rotary cool tank is not hindered. Done.

When the golf ball core has been sufficiently cooled and hardened, the device is switched from a cooling operation to a removal operation,
The movable extraction chute is moved to a position close to the extraction pipe. As a result, the extension of the lid, which closes the opening of the cover of the outlet pipe protrusion, first contacts the lower slope forming the opposing surface of the movable extraction chute, and further slides the lower slope as the cooling bath continues to rotate. While moving, the locked lid pivots to open the opening of the cover, and one of the cooling and hardening cores that has reached the inside of the cover from the take-out tube enters the receiving port on the upper slope, and the movable take-out chute, then It is removed via a fixed removal chute.

Hereinafter, a thread wound golf ball according to the present invention will be described.
The structure and operation of the cooling and curing device for the core will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view along a vertical plane including a horizontal axis of a horizontal cylindrical rotary cooling tank 4 having an inner tank 1, an outer tank 2, and a heat insulating material layer 3 between both tanks. The rotary cooling tank 4 includes a rotary support shaft 5 extending outward from the center of both end surfaces of the inner tank 1.
5 ′, it is supported on the side wall (not shown) of the box housing the cooling tub 4, and is rotatably supported by a motor.
It can be rotated around like an arrow.

A liquid nitrogen injection pipe 6 is inserted into the rotary support shaft 5 and extends substantially along the horizontal axis of the cooling bath 4 into the bath, and receives liquid nitrogen supplied from a liquid nitrogen storage facility outside the apparatus. Inject into the cooling tank. A temperature sensor 7 for detecting the temperature in the cooling bath 4 is inserted in the other rotation support shaft 5 ′ completely symmetrically with the liquid nitrogen injection pipe 6, and a temperature signal detected by the temperature sensor 7 is supplied to the liquid nitrogen injection pipe 6. Opening and closing an electromagnetic valve (not shown) provided in the liquid nitrogen supply pipe line to the pipe 6,
The temperature in the cooling tank 4 is adjusted so as to be maintained within a predetermined temperature range. As a variant, the liquid nitrogen injection pipe 6 and the temperature sensor 7 can be provided in the same rotary support shaft 5.

The space inside the rotary support shaft 5 'surrounding the temperature sensor 7 forms a nitrogen gas discharge pipe 8 vaporized in the cooling tank 4, and a discharge pipe (not shown) for guiding low-temperature nitrogen gas outside the apparatus. ). The nitrogen gas discharge pipe 8 is
In this case, it is also possible to provide a magnetic safety plate for rapidly discharging a large amount of vaporized nitrogen gas as a safety measure at the discharge opening of the other rotary support shaft 5 '. Also, a nitrogen gas discharge pipe may be provided inside both of the rotary support shafts 5 and 5 '. The rotation support shaft 5
Is provided with a driven pulley 9, and a motor (not shown)
The rotational movement of the driving pulley is transmitted via a belt, and rotates the cooling tub 4 about the rotary support shafts 5, 5 '.

An inlet 10 for inserting a golf ball core to be cooled and cured into the cooling tub 4 is provided with an insulating cover 11 having the same heat insulating material layer 3 as the cooling tub 4 except that it is opened at the time of loading. Is always closed. Removal tube 12 for removing the cooled and cured golf ball core from cooling bath 4
Is provided through the heat insulating lid 11 in the illustrated embodiment,
The protruding portion 13 protruding out of the cooling tank 4 (insulating lid 11) is surrounded by a cover 14. Extraction pipe 12
Will be described in more detail later. Insulation lid 11
Has an inverted funnel shape 15 having an apex near the lower end opening of the take-out tube 12 so that the golf ball core can easily enter the take-out tube 12 when the cooling tub 4 rotates.

FIG. 2 shows the structure near the protruding portion 13 of the take-out tube 12. Along with the rotation of the cooling tub 4, the illustrated part rotates in the direction of the arrow. Projection part 1 of extraction pipe 12
3 is surrounded by the cover 14 as described above, but has an opening 16 on the side surface opposite to the rotation direction. The opening 16 is provided with a lid 1 rotatably attached to its lower end.
7, and the lid 17 is constantly urged by a spring 18 in a direction to close the opening 16. The alternate long and short dash line indicates a position where the lid 17 is rotated in a direction to open the opening 16 against the spring 18.

In the embodiment of FIG.
3, a substantially one-third circumferential portion of the cylindrical wall of the cover 14 facing the opening 16 is cut out from the tip of the protrusion by a length substantially equal to the diameter of the golf ball core. A single golf ball core 20 to be taken out is placed on the cut-out upward end face 19 as shown by a dashed line, and the take-out tube 13 is moved in a horizontal plane as the cooling bath 4 rotates. The core placed on the end surface 19 can maintain its position even when the angle exceeds the above angle, and the other golf ball cores in the extraction tube 12 are returned to the cooling bath 4.

Next, a take-out chute for receiving the golf ball core taken out from the take-out tube 12 and guiding it to the outside of the apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The take-out chute includes a movable take-out chute 21 and a fixed take-out chute 22, and a lower end 23 of the movable take-out chute 21 is connected to an upper end of the fixed take-out chute 22. The movable ejection chute 21 is connected to a side wall 25 of the box via an air cylinder 24,
By the operation of the air cylinder 24, an approach position (solid line) and a separated position (dashed line) with respect to the extraction pipe 12 (that is, the cooling tank 4) can be taken.

A movable take-out chute 2 facing the take-out tube 12
The surface 1 is constituted by a lower slope 26 and an upper slope 27. The lower slope 26 gradually approaches the extraction pipe 12 from below to reach the point of closest approach 28, then becomes the upper slope 27 and gradually moves away again. At the bottom of the upper slope 27,
A receiving port 29 for a golf ball core extracted from the extraction tube 12 is provided. On the other hand, at the lower end of the fixed take-out chute 22, a take-out port 30 for a cooled and hardened golf ball core is provided.

Next, an operation of cooling and hardening a golf ball core using the present apparatus will be described. First, the heat-insulating lid 11 is opened, a large amount of golf ball cores are charged into the rotary cooling tank 4 from the loading port 10, and the heat-insulating lid 11 is closed. The cooling tank 4 is rotated while supplying liquid nitrogen into the cooling tank 4 from the liquid nitrogen injection pipe 6 to start a cooling operation. During the cooling operation, the movable take-out chute 21 is held by the air cylinder 24 at the separated position shown by the dashed line in FIG.
The rotation of the cooling tank 4 is performed without any trouble.

The cooling and hardening of the golf ball core in the cooling tank 4 is performed, for example, at -80 ° C. for 20 minutes, and then the apparatus is switched from the cooling operation to the removal operation. The switching of the operation is performed by a preset timer. When the unloading operation is started, the air cylinder 24 is operated, and the movable unloading chute 21 is moved to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.

As is apparent from FIG. 3, the lid 17 rotating and moving without contacting anything while closing the opening 16 of the cover 14 during the cooling operation is switched to the unloading operation and the approach position is changed. Comes into contact with the lower slope 26 of the movable take-out chute 21 that has moved to the position shown in FIG. The lid 17 which is locked by contacting the lower slope 26 is moved by the spring 18 with the rotation of the cooling bath 4.
The cover 14 rotates in a direction away from the cover 14 to open the opening 16 of the cover 14. At this time, the golf ball core placed on the end face 19 of the take-out tube projection 13 in the cover 14 enters the receiving opening 29 of the movable take-out chute 21 through the opening 14 or the inner surface of the lid 17 and moves as it is. Shoot 2
1. It falls inside the fixed take-out chute 22 and reaches the take-out port 30.

In the embodiment shown, only one take-out tube 12 is provided, so that one cooling-hardened golf ball core is rotated by one rotation of the cooling tub 4 in the manner described above. And reaches the outlet 30 at the lower end of the take-out chute. If one more extraction pipe 12 is provided, for example, at a position opposite to the loading port 10 and penetrates the heat insulating material layer 3, two golf ball cores can be extracted for each rotation of the cooling tub 4. It is possible to halve the unloading operation time.

Since the cooling tank 4 continues to rotate even after the golf ball core is discharged, the lid 14 is
The lid 14 returns to the position shown in FIG. 2 by the force of the spring 18, and again closes the opening 16 of the cover 14. On the other hand, the golf ball core that has reached the take-out port 30 is sent to the thread winding device in the next step by hand or by a transfer means such as a belt conveyor.

[0024]

Effects of the Invention The cooling and curing apparatus for a thread-wound golf ball core according to the present invention has the above-described configuration and operation, and therefore exhibits the following unique effects.

(1) A plurality of golf ball cores are accommodated in a rotary cooling tank, and the golf ball core is uniformly stirred in the cooling tank by rotating the cooling tank while injecting a low-temperature liquefied gas. Since the ball is uniformly cooled from the entire surface of the ball, the hardness of the removed golf ball core does not vary.

(2) The removal of the cooled and hardened golf ball core from the inside of the cooling tank causes the cover surrounding one side of the take-out pipe projection (the side opposite the rotating direction of the cooling tank) to be closed. Since it is performed at the time of opening by contact and locking with a take-out chute provided outside the cooling tank, a large number of golf ball cores that have been cooled and hardened in large quantities can be taken out one by one at regular time intervals.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along a vertical plane including a horizontal axis of a rotary cooling tank of a cooling and curing apparatus for a golf ball core according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a plane perpendicular to a horizontal axis of the cooling tub, showing a structure near a take-out tube protrusion for removing a cooled and cured golf ball core from the cooling tub.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, showing the structure and operation of a take-out tube and a take-out chute;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 inner tank of rotary cooling tank 4 2 outer tank 3 heat insulating material layer 4 rotary cooling tank 5, 5 ′ rotation support shaft 6 liquid nitrogen injection pipe 7 temperature sensor 8 nitrogen gas discharge pipe 9 driven pulley 10 mounting inlet 11 heat insulating lid 12 Take-out tube 13 Projecting portion of take-out tube 12 14 Cover of projecting portion 15 Square funnel 16 Opening of cover 14 17 Cover of opening 16 Spring 19 Notch upward end face of projecting portion 20 Golf ball core to be taken out 21 Movable take-out chute 22 Fixed take-out chute 23 Lower end connecting part of movable take-out chute 24 Air cylinder 25 Side wall of box 26 Lower slope of movable take-out chute 27 Upper slope 28 Same-closest point 29 Same inlet 30 Take-out

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An insulated double tank type horizontal cylindrical tank having a rotary support shaft (5, 5 ') extending outward from the center of both end surfaces of an inner tank, wherein the rotary support shaft is provided. (5) a low-temperature liquefied gas injection pipe (6) inserted along the horizontal axis of the tank, a vaporized gas discharge pipe disposed around the horizontal axis in a rotating support shaft, and a thread-wound golf ball core. An apparatus of the type having a charging inlet (10) for charging the inside of the tub and a rotary cooling tub (4) provided with at least one discharge pipe (12) for discharging the cooled golf ball core, said discharge pipe (10). 1
2) has a protruding portion (1) protruding outside the rotary cooling tank (4).
3), and the projection (13) is surrounded by a cover (14) having an opening (16) only on a surface opposite to the rotation direction of the cooling bath (4), and the opening (13) is provided. 16) is always closed by a lid (17) that is rotatably attached to the lower end of the opening and is urged in a direction to close the opening (16) and extends above the upper surface of the cover (14). The pipe (12) can be moved between an approach position and a separation position with respect to the extraction pipe (12) to a substantially intermediate opposition position where the pipe (12) rotates from a horizontal position to a vertex position, and a surface (27) facing the extraction pipe.
A movable take-out chute (21) provided with an inlet (29) for the golf ball core discharged from the take-out tube (12), and a fixed take-out chute connected to its lower end and provided with an outlet (30) at its lower end. 22) is provided, and the movable unloading chute (2) is provided when the rotating lid is in the approach position.
A thread-wound golf ball core cooling and hardening device, wherein the device is locked in contact with the opposing surface (26) of (1) and is rotated in a direction to open the opening (16) of the cover (14). 2. A cut-out upward end face of the take-out pipe projection (13), wherein a part of the cylindrical wall facing the opening (16) of the cover (14) is cut off. 2. The apparatus for cooling and setting a thread-wound golf ball core according to claim 1, wherein 19) forms a mounting surface of the cooled golf ball core to be taken out.