JP7414340B1 - automatic tee-up device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic tee-up device that can eliminate the bridging phenomenon of golf balls and reliably and stably supply golf balls one by one to a tee. [Solution] A rocking plate and a bridge-breaking belt are arranged in the golf ball carrying mechanism of an automatic tee-up device, and the swinging of the golf ball on the rocking plate and the rotation of the golf ball in contact with the bridge-breaking belt are effected. By this cooperation, the golf ball bridging phenomenon is reliably eliminated, and only one golf ball is sent from the golf ball inlet to the golf ball transport mechanism. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically feeding golf balls onto a tee. In particular, the present invention relates to a tee-up device that includes a mechanism that eliminates the bridging phenomenon of golf balls and reliably and stably transports and transports golf balls one by one.

2. Description of the Related Art At a golf driving range, an automatic tee-up device is known that automatically supplies a golf ball to a practitioner with the golf ball placed on a tee. When carrying in and transporting golf balls, each time a practitioner hits a golf ball with a golf club, it is required to reliably send the next golf ball without delay.

The tee-up device includes a mechanism for carrying in golf balls, a mechanism for transporting golf balls, and a mechanism for supplying golf balls to a tee.

In golf ball loading mechanisms, a phenomenon called "bridging" is known, in which golf balls overlap and cannot be loosened due to friction between the golf balls, which hinders loading. This bridging phenomenon may also occur in the hopper section for supplying golf balls to the tee. Several methods have been proposed to eliminate these bridging phenomena.

In Patent Document 1, a rotary table is provided at the bottom of a hopper, and the rotary table is connected to a drive shaft in an inclined state with respect to a horizontal plane of rotation. The bridge is said to be destroyed by swinging up and down with a stroke of 25mm.

In Patent Document 2, a baffle plate is provided in the hopper portion, and the bridging plate is moved back and forth toward the ball supply port to collapse the bridge.

In Patent Document 3, in a ball supply device, a triangular prism-shaped agitation shaft is rotated around a cylinder axis to collapse a bridge in a housing section.

Although the above method is effective in breaking down the bridge, it has not yet been possible to completely eliminate the bridge. It was hoped that a system would be developed that would completely eliminate the bridge and reliably transport golf balls one by one from the transport mechanism to the transport mechanism.

In order to transfer golf balls one by one within the transport mechanism, some ingenuity is required. Several devices have been proposed for this purpose.

In Patent Document 4, one golf ball is placed between the tip stopper and the upper stopper, and the golf balls are fed one by one.

Patent Document 5 provides, as means for moving a golf ball, a lifter capable of pushing up or pushing up a golf ball from below to above a stopper means provided in a guide chute.

Patent Document 6 includes a front shutter and a rear shutter, and when the front of both shutters opens, the rear closes, and when the front closes, the rear opens, and when the front shutter opens, the space between the shutter plates is closed. The golf ball waiting there rolls out and lands on the tee.

In Patent Document 7, a stopper plate is provided so that when the golf ball supply passage is pushed up, it comes into contact with the most advanced golf ball placed on it to stop its movement, and synchronizes with the operation of the golf ball setting arm. The golf ball supply path is swing-controlled to tee up the golf balls one by one.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, the timing is not precise and, therefore, troubles during fine adjustments to feed the golf balls one by one cannot be completely eliminated.

The development of a device that can reliably and stably send golf balls one by one and supply them to the tee at high speed has been awaited.

JP2004-215732 JP2014-18515 JP2022-105381 Utility model registration No. 3209269 JP2000-237365 JP 9-285584 JP 9-103529

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic tee-up device that eliminates the bridging phenomenon of golf balls, reliably imports and conveys golf balls one by one, and stably supplies them to a tee.

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic tee-up device according to the present invention is an automatic tee-up device for a golf driving range, and includes a golf ball carry-in mechanism, a golf ball transport mechanism, a golf ball supply mechanism, and a teeing area. In the golf ball loading mechanism, a swing plate is installed near one of the left and right side walls, and a bridge breaking belt is installed adjacent to the other side wall, and the swing plate is moved horizontally by the rotation of the swing plate motor. The bridge-breaking belt is configured to swing back and forth and vertically up and down, and the bridge-breaking belt acts to rotate the golf ball it comes into contact with due to the rotation of the belt drive motor, and By operating the motors in conjunction with each other, the bridge state of the golf ball is resolved by the coordination of the swinging of the golf ball on the swing plate and the rotation of the golf ball in contact with the bridge-breaking belt. The golf balls are transported one by one from the golf ball loading port to the golf ball transport mechanism, and the transported golf balls are transported to the teeing area by the golf ball supply mechanism.

Further, in the automatic tee-up device according to the present invention, the golf ball transport mechanism includes a preparation area, a golf ball supply area, and an elevator area, and a rear shutter is provided at a boundary between the preparation area and the golf ball supply area, and a rear shutter is provided at the boundary between the preparation area and the golf ball supply area. A front shutter is provided at the boundary between the ball supply area and the elevator area, and the golf ball on the golf ball holder in the elevator area is raised by the movement of the elevator belt, and the golf ball is raised by the movement of the elevator belt. The shutter and the elevator belt are driven in conjunction with a plurality of pulse motors, and when the golf ball in the elevator area starts to rise, the front shutter closes, indicating that the golf ball has reached the highest position. When detected, the rear shutter is opened and one golf ball is moved from the preparation area to the golf ball supply area, and the highest golf ball in the elevator area is placed in the teeing area. When the golf ball cradle starts to descend after being moved onto the tee and the golf ball is not on the golf ball cradle, the rear shutter closes and the ball is moved from the preparation area to the golf ball supply area. The front shutter is then opened to move the golf balls from the golf ball supply area onto the golf ball cradle in the elevator area, and the golf balls are successively placed on the tee. It is characterized by being controlled so that it is supplied to

By combining the swinging of the golf ball on the rocking plate and the rotating action of the golf ball in contact with the bridge-breaking belt, the bridging phenomenon of the golf ball is reliably eliminated, and only one golf ball can pass through the golf ball loading port. The ball is sent to the ball transport mechanism. Furthermore, since the front shutter, rear shutter, and elevator belt are driven in conjunction with each other by a pulse motor, golf balls are reliably and stably fed one by one to the tee at high speed without malfunction.

1 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of a golf ball loading mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an automatic tee-up device. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the golf ball supply mechanism is in contact with a golf ball.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the movement of the golf ball 2 is sequentially followed in the automatic tee-up device 1, the golf ball 2 is transported from the golf ball carry-in mechanism 3 to the golf ball transport mechanism 4. The golf ball transport mechanism is provided with a preparation area 5, a golf ball supply area 6, and an elevator area 7, and the golf ball 2 is transported in this order, and the golf ball supply mechanism 8 brings the golf ball to a tee 10 in a teeing area 9. 2 is supplied.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the golf ball loading mechanism 3. As shown in FIG. The golf ball loading mechanism 3 has a wide rear opening into which golf balls are loaded, and a narrow area near the volf ball loading opening 11 that connects to the golf ball conveying mechanism at the back of the front, and is surrounded by side walls 12 on both sides. There is. A swing plate 13 is installed near one side wall 12, and a bridge breaking belt 14 is installed near the other side wall 12. In FIG. 1, the swing plate 13 is installed near the left side wall 12, and the bridge breaking belt 14 is installed near the right side wall 12, but the arrangement may be reversed.

The rocking plate 13 consists of three plates, but the rear rocking plate 13 and the central rocking plate 13 are screwed together and can be considered as one plate. The center rocking plate 13 and the front rocking plate 13 are connected by a hinge 15. The front swing plate 13 has a substantially triangular shape, with the width becoming narrower toward the tip. When the rocking plate motor 16 rotates, an oval tool (not shown) rotates, and the rear rocking plate 13 in contact swings back and forth in the horizontal direction and up and down in the vertical direction. A fulcrum is provided below the midpoint of the front swing plate 13, and when the hinge 15 moves upward like a seesaw, the tip of the front swing plate 13 moves downward. In this way, the front swing plate 13 also swings back and forth and up and down.
The swing plate 13 may have any other structure as long as it can swing back and forth in the horizontal direction and up and down in the vertical direction. The bridge breaking belt 14 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by a belt drive motor 17.

The diaphragm motor 16 and the belt drive motor 17 are interlocked and actuated simultaneously according to the necessary timing to send the golf ball 2 to the golf ball transport mechanism 4. When the two golf balls 2 contact each other near the golf ball entrance 11 and are in a bridge state, when the diaphragm motor 16 and the belt drive motor 17 operate, the golf ball 2 on the left side in FIG. The golf ball 2 on the right side is shaken by the back and forth and up and down rocking of the tip, and the rotation of the bridge breaking belt 14 causes a force to be pulled rearward where the contact portion with the bridge breaking belt 14 has a wide opening. As a result, since the right golf ball 2 rotates clockwise, the bridge that was caused by friction when it comes into contact with the left golf ball 2 is broken.

By the cooperation between the swinging of the swinging plate 13 and the rotating action of the bridge breaking belt 14, the bridging phenomenon of the golf ball is reliably eliminated, and only one golf ball is sent from the golf ball entrance 11 to the golf ball transport mechanism 4. It will be done. The golf ball 2 to be sent is either the golf ball 2 on the rocking plate 13 or the golf ball 2 that was in contact with the bridge-breaking belt 14, and both are possible.

The golf balls 2 that have entered the preparation area 5 of the golf ball transport mechanism 4 from the golf ball entrance 11 are conveyed to the elevator area via the golf ball supply area. A rear shutter 18 is provided at the boundary between the preparation area 5 and the golf ball supply area 6, and when the rear shutter 18 is opened, the golf balls 2 move from the preparation area 5 to the golf ball supply area 6. The golf ball supply area 6 is designed to accommodate one golf ball, but cannot accommodate more than two golf balls. A front shutter 19 is provided at the boundary between the golf ball supply area 6 and the elevator area 7. Further, a ball pressing jig 20 is provided above the golf ball supply area 6. When the front shutter 19 is opened, the golf balls 2 move from the golf ball supply area 6 to the elevator area 7. The golf balls in the elevator area 7 are placed on a golf ball holder 21 and are moved up and down by the movement of an elevator belt (not shown). When the golf ball 2 reaches the highest position in the elevator area 7, it is moved to a teeing area 9 by a golf ball supply mechanism 8. The front shutter 19, the rear shutter 18, and the elevator belt operate in conjunction with each other and are driven by a plurality of pulse motors (not shown).

A series of movements of the golf ball 2 is performed starting from a state in which there is no golf ball 2 in the golf ball supply area 6 and the golf ball 2 is placed on the golf ball holder 21 in the elevator area 7. The movement of the ball can be explained as follows. The golf ball cradle 21 is located in an elevator (not shown), and when the elevator starts going up, the front shutter first comes down and closes. When it is detected that the golf ball 2 has reached the highest position, the rear shutter 18 is raised and one golf ball is moved from the preparation area 5 to the golf ball supply area 6. At this time, the front shutter 19 is closed and the rear shutter 18 is opened. The golf ball 2 at the highest position is moved to a teeing area 9 by a golf ball supply mechanism 8 and set on a tee 10. The golf ball supply mechanism 8 may be any mechanism that pushes the golf ball 2 and moves it to the teeing area 9, but it is advantageous if the part that contacts the golf ball 2 is spring-loaded and has a surface shape so that the movement can be performed reliably. be. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the golf ball supply mechanism 8 is in contact with the golf ball 2. As shown in FIG. Since the contact point has a planar shape and presses the golf ball strongly and firmly due to the action of the spring, the golf ball 2 can be reliably moved to the teeing area 9.

When the elevator lowers, the rear shutter 19 also begins to lower. The rear shutter 18 loses its spring tension and closes, stopping the golf balls 2 from moving from the preparation room 5 to the golf ball supply area 6. At this point, both the front shutter 19 and the rear shutter 18 are closed.

When the golf ball holder 21 in the elevator area 7 descends downward, the front shutter 19 is completely opened, and the golf balls 2 in the golf ball supply area 6 move onto the golf ball holder 21 in the elevator area 7. do. Since the table on which the golf balls 2 are placed in the golf ball supply area 6 is sloped, the golf balls 2 roll and move to the elevator area 7, but a ball holding jig 20 is placed above the golf ball supply area 7. The golf ball does not move while the golf ball 2 is pressed by the ball holding jig 20, and when the ball holding jig 20 stops pressing the golf ball 2, the golf ball rolls down the slope. If the holding jig is moved to the elevator area 7, the movement can be performed more reliably. At this time, the front shutter 19 is open and the rear shutter 20 is closed.

The elevator then rises and the sequence repeats.

A carry-in control shutter 22 may be provided at the boundary between the golf ball carry-in port 11 and the preparation area 5 to limit the number of golf balls that enter the preparation area 5.

In the above series of operations, the front shutter 18, rear shutter 19, and ball holding jig 20 operate in conjunction with the movement of the elevator belt, and are all driven by a pulse motor, so you can play golf at high speed without malfunction. To reliably and stably supply balls one by one to a tee.

Since it is possible to provide an automatic tee-up device that reliably brings in, transports, and supplies golf balls one by one to a tee, the present invention has great industrial applicability.

1 Automatic tee-up device 2 Golf ball 3 Golf ball loading mechanism 4 Golf ball transport mechanism 5 Preparation area 6 Golf ball supply area 7 Elevator area 8 Golf ball supply mechanism 9 Tee area 10 Tee 11 Golf ball loading port 12 Side wall 13 Swing plate 14 Bridge breaking belt 15 Hinge 16 Swing plate motor 17 Belt drive motor 18 Rear shutter 19 Front shutter 20 Ball holding jig 21 Golf ball holder 22 Loading control shutter

Claims (6)

An automatic tee-up device for a golf driving range, comprising a golf ball loading mechanism, a golf ball transporting mechanism, a golf ball supplying mechanism, and a teeing area, the golf ball loading mechanism includes a swinging device near one of the left and right side walls. A bridge-breaking belt is installed adjacent to the other plate, and the swing plate is configured to swing back and forth in the horizontal direction and up and down in the vertical direction by rotation of the swing plate motor. The breaking belt acts to rotate the golf ball in contact with the rotation of the belt drive motor, and by operating the swinging plate motor and the bridge breaking motor in conjunction with each other, the golf ball on the swinging plate is Due to the combination of the swinging of the golf ball and the rotation of the golf ball in contact with the bridge-breaking belt, the bridge state of the golf ball is resolved, and the golf balls are transported one by one from the golf ball loading port. An automatic tee-up device characterized in that the golf ball is transported to a mechanism, and the transported golf ball is transported to the teeing area by the golf ball supply mechanism. 2. The swing plate is comprised of two plates, front and rear, connected by a hinge, and the two plates alternately swing up and down in the vertical direction by rotation of the swing plate motor. automatic tee-up device. The golf ball transport mechanism includes a preparation area, a golf ball supply area, and an elevator area, a rear shutter at the boundary between the preparation area and the golf ball supply area, and a rear shutter at the boundary between the golf ball supply area and the elevator area. Front shutters are respectively provided, and the golf balls on the golf ball cradle in the elevator area are raised by the movement of an elevator belt, and the rear shutter, the front shutter, and the elevator belt are interlocked. Driven by a plurality of pulse motors, the front shutter is closed when the golf ball in the elevator area starts to rise, and when it is detected that the golf ball has reached the highest position, the rear shutter is opened. Then, one golf ball is moved from the preparation area to the golf ball supply area, and the golf ball at the highest position in the elevator area is moved onto a tee in the teeing area by the golf ball supply mechanism. , when the golf ball cradle starts to descend without the golf ball on the golf ball cradle, the rear shutter closes and the golf ball is moved from the preparation area to the golf ball supply area. The front shutter is then opened, and the golf balls are moved from the golf ball supply area onto the golf ball cradle in the elevator area, so that the golf balls are successively supplied onto the tee. The automatic tee-up device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the automatic tee-up device is controlled by: 4. A portion of the golf ball feeding mechanism that contacts the golf ball in order to push the golf ball and move it to the teeing area has a planar shape, and pushes the golf ball by the action of a spring. Automatic tee-up device as described. A ball holding jig is provided above the golf ball supply area, and while the golf ball is being pressed by the ball holding jig, the golf ball does not move, and the ball holding jig holds down the golf ball. 4. The automatic tee-up device according to claim 3, wherein the golf ball moves from the golf ball supply area to the elevator area by rolling on a slope on which the golf ball is placed when the golf ball is stopped. 4. A carry-in control shutter is provided at a boundary between the golf ball carry-in entrance and the preparation area, and the number of golf balls entering the preparation area is controlled by opening and closing the carry-in control shutter. Automatic tee-up device as described.

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