JP3133191B2 - Ball washer - 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 washer, and more particularly to a washer useful for cleaning golf balls.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a golf ball washer generally has a structure as shown in FIG. This is installed upright from the ground at an arbitrary place such as a golf course tee ground, and the player puts the ball to be washed into the washer, moves the lever up and down with respect to the ground, and rubs the ball against the brush. It is intended to be washed and taken out.

[0003]

However, the above-described cleaning using a ball washer according to the prior art requires a lot of labor and time to wash a cloth on a washing plate, and lacks the enjoyment of a player enjoying the ball cleaning. . In addition, the place that can be washed is limited to the place where the washing machine such as Tigrand is installed,
If you wanted to wash while playing around the fairways or around the greens, you couldn't do that.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to use a washing machine with a new method which has not been hitherto used, which is quick and clean, and that the player can use the washing machine at any time during play. It is an object of the present invention to provide a new ball washer mechanism that is configured to be small and light so that it can be moved and that can be generally used for ball-shaped objects other than golf balls.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a ball inlet / outlet opening, a ball cleaning unit, a forward direction for moving a ball from the inlet / outlet opening to the cleaning unit side, and a cleaning unit. A brush that selectively rotates in the opposite direction to move from the inlet to the inlet / outlet side, a power means for rotating the brush, and an appropriate pressure by regulating the position of the ball between the inlet / outlet opening and the washing section so that the ball does not come off the brush. And a stopper for holding the ball introduced into the cleaning unit from the entrance / exit opening in the cleaning unit, and a frame for assembling them, and the brush is forwardly moved from the entrance / exit opening to the cleaning unit. Rotate and introduce into the washing section, hold the ball with a stopper in the washing section, and wash the ball with the rotation of the brush,
After the cleaning, the rotation direction of the brush is switched to the opposite direction, and the ball is discharged from the cleaning section to the inlet / outlet opening.

[0006]

In the ball washer constructed as described above, the introduction, cleaning and ejection of the ball are performed by a rotating brush, so that the player can manually move the lever of the cleaner up and down as in the prior art. No moving operation is required, and after the ball is placed in the opening / closing opening, a series of washing operations are completed just by rotating the brush. From the section to the washing section, and when washing is completed, there is no conventional operation of a series of washer such that the ball returns to the inlet / outlet opening, so it is interesting to see and the washer can be made compact. For example, it can be easily attached to any part of the cart, and the course can be freely moved according to the player's play, so that the player can use it anytime and anywhere So as to. Of course, if it is a ball-shaped object other than a golf ball, the same configuration can be used to constitute a cleaning device that can quickly and cleanly clean.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view of a first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the side, FIG. 2 is a view of FIG. 1 as viewed from above, and FIG. 3 is an external view.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a frame composed of an outer frame 101 and an inner frame 102. The inner frame 102 supporting a brush or the like is covered and held by the outer frame 101. Of course, the inner frame may be formed integrally with the outer frame. The outer frame is provided with a ball entrance / exit opening 103.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a rotating brush pivotally supported by the frame 1. A moderately elastic brush 202 is planted on the drum section 201, and rotates integrally with the rotation of the shaft 203.
Further, the tip of the brush may be cut into a concave shape such as 204 so as to abut as little as possible on the surface of the ball.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a power means for rotatingly biasing the rotary brush 2, and here, a DC motor 301, a battery 302, and a power transmission means 304 arbitrarily constituted by gears, belts, and the like.
And a polarity switching switch 303 with an intermediate stop.
By the polarity switch with intermediate stop 303, three states of motor stop, forward rotation ON, and reverse rotation ON can be selectively switched. The switch is
Even if it is not a three-state manual switching type using the polarity switch with intermediate stop described above, for example, only a one-push ON operation switch is used, and automatic control means such as a timer is additionally provided for switching and stopping the rotation direction of the motor. Alternatively, the power means may not be an electric motor type, but may be a manual rotation type using a crank handle as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 4 denotes guide means for pressing the ball between the inlet / outlet opening 103 and the cleaning section 104 with a suitable pressure to the brush and for regulating the position of the ball so as not to come off the brush. The plate is fixed to a frame.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a stopper for holding the ball guided to the cleaning unit 104 by the rotation of the brush at that position.
The space surrounded by the rotating brush 2 and the rotating brush 2 is a cleaning unit 104, and the ball in the cleaning unit 104 is constantly pressed to the cleaning brush 202 appropriately.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a cleaning liquid in which a cleaning liquid is added in order to further increase the cleaning effect. The liquid level is preferably about the height of the cleaning section 104.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a lid device for covering the ball entrance / exit opening 103, which is attached to the frame 1 by a shaft 802 so as to be freely opened and closed, and a tension spring 805 between a frame-side spring suspension portion 804 and a lid-side spring suspension portion 803. Suspended, deadline 806
With the boundary as the boundary, the lid is urged to open more in the direction in which the lid opens, and to close more in the direction in which the lid closes, and the dead line is almost between the lid 8 and the hole entrance / exit opening 103. The opening is selected from the angle at which one ball is included, and when just one ball is included, the lid is urged in the direction of pushing the ball into the cleaning device.
In addition, a stopper 807 restricts the opening direction of the lid to some extent. The lid device 8 also prevents foreign matter from entering the inside of the cleaning device from the ball entrance / exit opening.

In order to use the ball washer constructed as described above, first, the lid 8 is widely opened, the ball is placed on the ball inlet / outlet opening 103 (7 in FIG. 1), and the lid 8 is closed. In this state, when the rotating brush 2 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 by the power means 3, the ball 7 is lightly moved by the lid 8 to the tip of the brush 202 and the guide means 4 when the brush is not initially rotating. It is stationary just by being pressed, but when brush 2 starts rotating, brush 2
The ball 7 moves toward the cleaning section 104 until it hits the stopper 5 so that the ball 7 is caught by the rotation of the brush 02, and continues to be held at the position 7 'by the cleaning section 104 even when the brush 2 is rotated in the same direction. . Further brush 2
Are rotated in the same direction, the ball 7 '
4 is rotated in the clockwise direction in accordance with the rotation of the brush 2 while being held by the brush 4, so that the sliding speed between the stopper 5 and the ball surface causes the rotation speed of the brush tip and the rotation speed of the ball surface. The rotation speed of the ball surface becomes slower and the tip of the brush rubs the ball surface, so that the ball surface is cleaned. Since the ball continues to rotate slowly while being washed, the entire circumference of the ball is washed.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, a rubber plate, an uneven surface, a brush surface, etc. If the ball is arranged and formed, a force is applied to the ball in the cleaning section 104 due to friction in a direction different from the direction of rotation of the ball due to the rotation of the brush 2, so that it is extremely convenient to clean the entire surface. Further, the stopper 5 may be a roller as shown in FIG.

In order to more positively clean the entire surface of the ball, it is preferable to use a rotation urging means for the ball as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. FIG. 7 is a front view of the embodiment in that case, and FIG. 8 is a view of FIG. 7 viewed from the left side. In the drawing, 1 to 6 are the same components as those in FIG. Reference numeral 10 denotes a stopper which is attached to the frame 102 at an angle. The inclination is such that when the ball 7 is urged to move downward in the figure by the rotation of the brush 2, the ball 7 is rotated by a component force. It is attached in such a direction as to press against. The disk 11 is installed near the stopper 10,
The power unit is forcibly rotated by the rotation of the power unit integrally with the shaft 1102 that is linked to the power transmission unit 304. It is more preferable to attach a rubber plate or the like to the surface 1101 on the ball side of the disk 11 so that the rotation of the disk can be more efficiently transmitted to the ball. When the disk 11 is forcibly rotated by the power means, the ball 7
8, the rotation in the direction a shown in FIG. 8 caused by the rotation of the brush 2 and the rotation in the direction b shown in the drawing determined by the rotation direction of the disk 11 also occur, so that the tip of the brush 202 can reliably clean the entire surface of the ball. Become.

FIG. 9 is a modified example of FIGS.
This is an example in which a roller 12 forcibly rotated by a bevel gear 13 interlocked with a power means is used instead of.

In still another embodiment of the means for urging the rotation of the ball, a method in which a roller-shaped stopper having a peculiar shape as shown in FIG. 10 is used instead of the stopper 5 in FIG. That is, the inclined surface portion 1301 of the roller and the disk portion 1302 that contacts the side of the ball are integrally formed on the small diameter side of the inclined surface portion 1301, and the shaft 1303 is rotatably supported by the frame. Further, it is the same as in the case of the above 11 that it is better to make the friction larger than that of the inclined surface portion 1301 by attaching a rubber plate to the ball contact surface side of the disk portion 1302 or the like. If such a roller-shaped stopper 13 is arranged in place of the stopper 5 of FIG. 1, the ball 7 is pressed against the inclined surface portion 1301 of the roller 13 by the rotation of the brush 2, and moves in the directions of FIGS. Since the roller 13 is about to rotate, the roller 13 also rotates due to friction with the ball in accordance with the rotation. The roller 13 presses the ball 7 against the disk portion 1302 by the inclined surface 1301. At this time, the rotation of the roller 13 also rotates the disk portion 1302 to urge the side surface of the ball to rotate in the direction of FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the roller 13 may be forcibly rotated at an arbitrary number of revolutions by a power unit via a power transmission unit, and the roller 13 may be separated from the inclined surface unit 1301 and the disk unit 1302. Alternatively, only the disk portion 1302 may be forcibly rotated.

FIG. 12 shows still another embodiment of the roller-shaped stopper, in which a spring 14 is used instead of the inclined surface 1301 in FIG.
02 is provided with a pressing biasing plate 1403 which is biased by pressing. In this case, the pressing and urging means 1401, 1402, and 1403 are freely rotated completely independently of the disc 1405 so as not to hinder the function of the disc 1405.

In order to remove the ball from the cleaning section after the cleaning has been performed for an arbitrary time as described above, the motor 301 is reversed by turning the changeover switch 303 to the opposite side, and the brush 2 is rotated clockwise in FIG. Let it. Then, the ball is entrained by the rotation of the brush 2 and moves from the cleaning unit 104 to the inlet / outlet opening 103, and pushes the lid 8 closed during cleaning to a half-closed state with a clicking sound and exits from the cleaning device. Come.

At this time, the stopper 5 may be urged by a spring or the like in the direction of pushing up the ball from the cleaning unit 104 to the inlet / outlet opening 103 side, as shown by 503 in FIG. When the brush 5 is rotated, the stopper 5 is pressed against the regulating protrusion 502 against the urging force of the spring 503 to hold the ball 7 in the cleaning section. However, when the brush 2 is rotated clockwise, the stopper 5 Spring 50
The ball 7 is moved from the cleaning unit into and out of the opening 10 by the urging force
3, the ball 7 can be discharged from the cleaning unit 104 to the inlet / outlet opening 103 more smoothly. Reference numeral 501 denotes a support shaft of the stopper 5 to the frame 1. FIG. 14 is an embodiment corresponding to FIG. 13 in which the roller-shaped stopper 13 is used. The roller-shaped stopper 13 is rotatably supported by an arm 1308 and
In 308, the frame 1 is supported by a shaft 1307. Reference numeral 1309 denotes a spring suspended between the arm 1308 and the frame 1 and biases the stopper 13 in a direction to push up the stopper 13 from the cleaning unit 104 side to the entrance / exit opening 103 side. 13
Reference numeral 06 denotes a regulating protrusion.

Although the above description has been made with reference to the example of the drum-shaped rotary brush, a belt-shaped brush may be used as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 16, a drum-shaped brush having a spirally implanted brush may be rotated upright in the frame. FIG. 17 is a diagram of the example of FIG. 16 as viewed from above.

When the washing is completed and the ball pushes the lid 8 halfway open and comes out of the entrance / exit opening 103, the player can further open the lid 8 by hand to take out the ball.
When the lid 8 is urged in the closing direction, when the ball vigorously jumps out of the interior of the cleaning device by the brush, the ball is blocked by the lid to prevent the ball from hitting the player.

FIG. 18 shows a second embodiment. In this embodiment,
An example in which two brushes 2 and 2 'are arranged on both sides of the ball in order to ensure that the introduction, cleaning, and discharge of the ball are performed more smoothly and smoothly. The stopper is made into a roller shape, and the ball is rotated in the direction perpendicular to the brush. The roller 13 for urging the rotation and the roller 15 for urging the discharge are provided separately. Other configurations are basically the same as the example shown in FIG.

The rotating brushes 2 and 2 ′ are used for introducing the ball into the cleaning section 104 through the opening 103 for the ball.
Brush rotates counterclockwise in the figure, brush 2 'rotates clockwise in the figure, and there is a slight difference between the rotation speeds of the brushes 2 and 2'. The spacing between the brushes is determined such that the tips of the brushes are elastically pressed against the ball. When discharging the ball from the cleaning unit 104 to the cleaning unit 103, the brush No. 2 moves in the clockwise direction in FIG.
Is configured to rotate counterclockwise in the figure in the opposite direction. The rotation urging roller 13 is as shown in FIG. 10, and the brushes 2 and 2 'and the rotation urging roller 13 are forcibly rotated by power means. The discharge urging roller 15 includes a roller 1501, an arm 1502, and a spring 1504.
02 is supported on the frame 1 by the support shaft 1503,
A spring 1504 is arranged between the frame 1 and the arm 1502, a roller 1501 is rotatably arranged on the free end side of the arm, and the ball is pressed and urged from the cleaning unit 104 to the entrance / exit opening 103 side. It is.

In the ball washer according to the present embodiment, first, the ball is sandwiched between two brushes 2 and 2 'and introduced into the inlet / outlet openings 103 to 104 by rotation of the two brushes. And the ball is slowly held in one of the clockwise and counterclockwise directions in the figure due to the difference between the rotation speeds of 2 and 2 ′. The roller 13 is also urged to rotate in a direction orthogonal to the direction of rotation by the rotation of the brush, so that the entire surface of the ball can be evenly washed with both the brushes 2 and 2 ′. At this time roller 1
The rotation direction of 3 is a direction which does not hinder the rotation direction of the ball caused by the difference between the rotation speeds of the two brushes 2 and 2 ', or the roller 13 of FIG. The disk part 1302 is forcibly rotated in an arbitrary direction by power means, and the inclined part 1301 is freely rotated by rotation of the ball independently of the disk part 1302. Is also good.

In the discharge urging roller 15, the ball is pressed downward in the drawing against the urging force of the spring 1504 by the rotation of the brush during the cleaning. When the rotation starts, the discharge bias of the spring 1504 is added to the discharge bias of the ball due to the rotation of the brush 2 and 2 ′, and the ball is quickly discharged from the cleaning unit 104 to the inlet / outlet opening 103.

Since the ball washer of the present invention constructed as described above is mainly composed of a rotating brush, it becomes very small and easy to operate. For example, a golf cart as shown in FIG. It can be used by attaching it to a part of 16 with metal fittings like 17 and can be moved on the course according to the movement of the golf player according to the progress of play, and quickly and easily at any time during play at the wish of the player The ball can be washed.

It is obvious that the ball washer of the present invention can be used to quickly and cleanly clean a ball-shaped object other than a golf ball.

Further, in the golf ball washer according to the present invention, a rotating brush system is used instead of a system in which a player lifts and lowers a lever by hand by a player as in the conventional example. When a motor or the like is used, much labor is not required except for operating a switch, and cleaning can be performed very easily and quickly.

In addition, it is seen that the ball is placed in the opening / inlet with only one switch and the ball is automatically inserted into the washing section, or that the ball is discharged into the inlet / outlet after washing is completed. It's fun and fun enough to motivate players to want to watch with this ball washer.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is interesting to use, small in size, can be mounted anywhere, and can be cleaned very quickly and without labor.
There is an effect that a ball cleaner having a new configuration can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of a ball washer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the same.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a case in which a handwheel is used as a power unit.

FIG. 5 is a specific embodiment of the stopper 5;

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment 1 of the stopper 5.

FIG. 7 is an embodiment 1 in which a ball rotation urging means is provided near a stopper.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an embodiment 2 in which a rotation urging means for the ball is provided near the stopper.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the stopper and the rotation urging means.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of the above.

FIG. 12 is an embodiment-4 of a stopper and a rotation urging means.

FIG. 13 shows a first embodiment in which a stopper is provided with a biasing means for discharging the ball.

FIG. 14 Same as Example 2 of the above.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment using a belt type brush as a brush.

FIG. 16 shows an embodiment in which a spiral brush is used as a brush.

FIG. 17 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows an example in which the ball washer of the present invention is mounted on a golf cart.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a conventional golf ball washer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Frame 2 Rotary brush 3 Power means 4 Pressing means 5 Stopper 103 Entry / exit opening 104 Cleaning part

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A ball entrance / exit opening, a ball cleaning unit, a rotary brush positioned between the entrance / exit opening and the cleaning unit, a forward direction for moving the ball from the entrance / exit opening to the cleaning unit side,
A power means for selectively rotating and rotating the rotating brush in the reverse direction for moving the ball from the cleaning section to the entrance / exit opening side, and preventing the ball from coming off the rotating brush from the entrance / exit opening to the cleaning section. A guide means for appropriately pressing while regulating the position, a stopper for holding the ball introduced into the cleaning unit from the inlet / outlet opening against the movement bias by the rotation of the rotating brush in the cleaning unit, and a frame for mounting them. The ball is inserted from the entrance opening, the brush is rotated in the forward direction by the power means, the ball is introduced into the cleaning section, and the ball is washed by the rotation of the brush while the ball is held in the cleaning section with the stopper, and the cleaning is performed. After that, the ball is discharged from the cleaning unit to the inlet / outlet side by rotating the brush in the reverse direction, and the ball is taken out. 2. A ball entrance / exit opening, a ball cleaning unit, a rotating brush positioned between the entrance / exit opening and the cleaning unit, a forward direction for moving the ball from the entrance / exit opening to the cleaning unit side,
A power means for selectively rotating and rotating the rotating brush in the reverse direction for moving the ball from the cleaning section to the entrance / exit opening side, and preventing the ball from coming off the rotating brush from the entrance / exit opening to the cleaning section. A guide means for appropriately pressing while regulating the position, a stopper for holding the ball introduced into the washing section from the entrance opening / closing section in the washing section against the movement bias by the rotation of the rotating brush, and a stopper arranged near the stopper. A rotating urging means for urging the ball to rotate in a direction different from the direction of rotation generated by the rotation of the brush, and a pressing means for pressing the ball to the urging means, and a frame for assembling them. Put the ball through the opening, rotate the brush in the forward direction by the power means, introduce the ball into the cleaning section, hold the ball in the cleaning section with the stopper, and The ball is also urged to rotate in a direction different from the direction of rotation by the rotation of the brush, the entire surface of the ball is washed by the rotation of the brush, and the brush is rotated in the opposite direction after the washing, so that the ball enters and exits from the washing section. A ball washer that discharges to the side of the unit and takes out the ball. 3. A ball inlet / outlet opening, a ball cleaning unit, a rotary brush positioned between the inlet / outlet opening and the cleaning unit, a forward direction for moving the ball from the inlet / outlet opening to the cleaning unit side,
A power means for selectively rotating and rotating the rotating brush in the reverse direction for moving the ball from the cleaning section to the entrance / exit opening side, and preventing the ball from coming off the rotating brush from the entrance / exit opening to the cleaning section. A guide means for appropriately pressing while regulating the position, a stopper for holding the ball introduced into the cleaning section from the entrance opening / closing section in the cleaning section against the movement bias by the rotation of the rotating brush, and a stopper from the cleaning section side It consists of discharge urging means for urging toward the entrance / exit opening side and a frame for assembling them. Balls are inserted from the entrance / exit opening, and the brush is rotated in the forward direction by the power means to introduce the balls into the washing section. The ball is held in the cleaning section by the stopper, and the ball is cleaned by rotating the brush. After the cleaning, the brush is rotated in the reverse direction, and the urging of the ball in the discharging direction and the stopper are performed. Discharged into and out opening side of the ball from the cleaning unit together with the exhaust urging force, the ball scrubber, characterized in that retrieving the ball. 4. An opening for inflow and outflow of a ball, a washing portion for the ball, a lid mounted on the frame and covering the opening and exit opening so as to be openable and closable, the lid including the lid and a ball in the opening and exit opening. A spring that presses the lid toward the closing side in the state, a rotating brush positioned between the entrance / exit opening and the washing unit, a forward direction for moving the ball from the entrance / exit opening to the washing unit side, and an entrance / exit opening for the ball from the washing unit Power means for selectively rotating and rotating the rotating brush in the reverse direction to move the rotating brush toward the cleaning section, and between the entrance and exit openings to the cleaning section, while appropriately regulating the position so that the ball does not come off with respect to the rotating brush. It is composed of a guide means for pressing, a stopper for holding the ball introduced into the cleaning unit from the inlet / outlet opening in the cleaning unit against the movement bias by the rotation of the rotating brush, and a frame for assembling them. The ball in the opening Is closed, the ball is introduced into the cleaning unit in accordance with the urging force of the ball generated by rotating the brush in the forward direction by the power means and the urging force of the lid, and the ball is held in the cleaning unit by the stopper and the rotation of the brush is performed. After washing the ball, the brush is rotated in the opposite direction to discharge the ball from the washing section to the entrance / exit opening side, the ball is held between the lid and the entrance / exit opening, and the lid is opened by hand to remove the ball. A ball washer characterized by being taken out.