JPH01232981A - Auto ball setter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it unnecessary for a golf training player to stoop and place a ball each time before he enters address by providing a drive section and drive source in which a ball holder is approximately vertically lowered near one turning terminal and an arm is horizontally or obliquely upward turned back to return the height of the ball holder to the initial one near the other turning terminal. CONSTITUTION:An auto ball setter is constituted of an example of a drive section, i.e. a cam 1, arm 2 and lever 7 and an example of a drive source, i.e. a motor 8. When a roll 4 passes by a point C on a cam 1, the roll 4 is not moved, but lifted until it reaches a point D as the cam presents its varied lobe portions. Then, a ball holder 3 starts to drop about a fulcrum 5 so that a ball 40 is shifted onto a tee 50. When the roll 4 reaches a point D of the cam 1, the lift of the roll 4 is stopped and the ball holder 3 reaches the lowermost point. When the roll 4 passes by the point D on the cam 1, the ball holder 3 ascends while returning slowly according to the contour of the cam 1, passes by a point E, increases the return speed, returns to the initial position shown by the solid line and then again has the next ball 40 mounted thereon.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic ball setter, and more particularly to an automatic ball setter that automatically supplies golf balls onto a golf tee during golf practice.

(Prior Art and its Problems) Conventionally, with the spread of golf, a large number of golf practice ranges have been opened and used not only on golf courses but also around urban areas.

The majority of golf practice involves practicing shots with iron clubs and wood clubs, and in the case of iron clubs, balls supplied one by one from a ball storage are placed on artificial turf and used for shots. do. On the other hand, in the case of wood clubs, especially driver clubs, it is common to place the ball on a rubber tubular tee and hit the shot.

With an iron club, you can easily pull the ball onto the artificial turf and place it there, but with a driver club, you have to bend down to grab the ball and place it on the tee each time before entering address. There is a problem in that the players have to put their feet on the floor, and that their legs and hips become fatigued while practicing a large number of times.

Also, when practicing golf, it is important to establish a form that is suitable for you, and it is desirable to have your body memorize the conditions such as address, stance, grip, and distance to the ball for a satisfactory shot. There is also a technical problem in that it is difficult to learn the same form because players are required to place the ball on the tee each time they make a shot.

Therefore, there is a need for a device that mechanically automatically places the ball on the tee, but since there are many hitting areas at a golf driving range, such an automatic feeder is required to have a low unit cost. To date, no such automatic ball setter has been developed or used.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive automatic ball setter.

(Means for solving problems) The above objects have been achieved by the present invention as described below.

That is, the present invention includes an arm having a horseshoe-shaped ball holder at one end and rotatably held horizontally and vertically at a fulcrum at the other end, and an arm that can be rotated approximately horizontally at a desired angle about the fulcrum. , a driving unit that lowers the ball holder approximately vertically near the end point of one turn, swings the arm back horizontally or diagonally upward from the lowered position, and returns the height of the ball holder to the original height near the end point of at least the other turn; It is an automatic ball setter consisting of a source and a ball setter.

(Function) When a ball is placed on the ball holder at the end of the arm using any ball feeding device and the switch is turned on at the end of the club, the arm rotates at an appropriate angle and carries the ball onto the tee. At this position, the tip of the arm, ie, the ball holder, is lowered and the ball is transferred onto the tee.

Next, the ball holder begins to return, rises, returns to its original position and stops, and a new ball is supplied onto the pole hole. By turning on the switch again, the above operation is repeated.

(Examples) The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which schematically show examples of the invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an automatic ball setter according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a side view thereof, and FIGS. 3 to 5 show arrows a, b, and C of the cam 1. 6 shows changes in the height of the peripheral part of the cam 1 and the driven part 4, and FIG. 7 shows changes in the height of the ball holder 3. The dotted chain line indicates the height of the tee.

The illustrated automatic ball setter includes a cam 1, an arm 2, a lever 7, which is an example of a drive unit, and a motor 8, which is an example of a drive source.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cam 1 has a plane whose right half of the center 6 of the circle a drawn by the broken line is approximately close to the circle a;
-C has a larger curvature than circle a, and D-E also has a larger curvature than circle a. On the other hand, the left half is center 6
It has a substantially semi-elliptical shape passing near the center 6 and outside the center 6. In addition, its three-dimensional shape is mostly flat as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, but at least the peripheral part where it engages with the driven part 4 of the lever 7 is flat from A to C, and from C to C. It has a shape that gently rises at D, gently descends at D-+E, and returns to a flat surface at E-+A.

This cam 1 is rotated around 6 by a motor 8. At this time, the height around cam 1 is A-+84C
-+D-+E+A changes as shown in FIG. 6, and accordingly, the driven portion 4 of the lever 7 changes in the same way.

The arm 2 has a horseshoe-shaped ball holder 3 at its tip, and this ball holder 3 has a structure on which a golf ball 40 can be stably placed, and has a gap cut out on one side and into which a tee 50 is inserted. have. The other end of the arm 2 is held by a fulcrum 5 so that it can freely rotate horizontally and vertically, and a lever 7 is connected to the fulcrum 5, and the other end of the lever 7 rolls around the cam 1 so as to be able to follow the movement. 4. Retained by other means. The fulcrum 5 holds the arm 2 such as a universal joint or a ball bearing so that it can swing left and right about the fulcrum 5, and the ball holder 3 can move up and down about the fulcrum 5. Note that the arm 2 and the lever 7 do not need to be bent at the fulcrum 5, and may be straight.

The motor 8 has a mechanism that rotates the cam 1 at an appropriate speed, is activated by turning on a switch (not shown), rotates the cam 1 once, and then stops automatically.

Next, the operation will be explained. In the above structure, when the cam 1 is rotated in the direction of arrow X by the motor 8, the cam 1
The roll 4, which is movably held around the periphery thereof, follows a trajectory indicated by a broken line Y and reaches a roll position 4' indicated by a broken line. At this time, the height of the roll 4 changes as shown in FIG. 6, and the moving speed of the roll 4 is from point A to point B around the cam 1.
It is rapidly decelerated near point B and stops at point 0. At this time, the movement and speed of the roll 4 are directly transmitted to the ball holder 3 at the tip by the fulcrum 5, and the ball holder 3 holding the ball traces the trajectory of the broken line Z and swings to the right in the drawing after approximately 80''. , stops directly above the tee 50, and the speed is such that the ball holder 3
Since the ball 40 is decelerated as it approaches and slowly stops, the ball 40 does not fall out of the ball holder 3.

Next, when the roll 4 passes the 0 point on the cam 1, there is no movement of the roll 4, and as the shape of the cam 1 changes (FIGS. 2 to 5), it rises to point D. At this time, the ball holder 3 begins to descend using the fulcrum 5, and the ball 40 is moved onto the tee 50.

When the roll 4 reaches point D of the cam 1, the rise of the roll 4 (that is, the descent of the ball holder 3) stops, and the ball holder 3 reaches its lowest point. Roll 4 is D on cam l
After passing the point, according to the shape of the cam 1, the ball holder 3 slowly returns to the drawing shed and rises, and after passing the point E, the return speed increases and returns to the original position indicated by the solid line, where it is held again for the next ball. 40 is loaded and the switch is turned on again, the above operation is repeated.

The basic structure of the autopole setter of Example 1 has been described above, but in a more preferred embodiment, the following structure can be added.

(1) Branch the tip of arm 2 into two and attach ball holder 3
By allowing the branch 9 having a diameter to swing left and right with a hinge 10 and adjusting the swing with a spring 11 and a screw 12, fine adjustment of the left and right position of the ball holder 3 is possible.

(2) The middle of the arm 2 is spliced and an elongated hole 13 is formed in both parts, and the arm 2 is held by a screw 14, so that the length and vertical angle of the arm 2 can be finely adjusted.

(3) The lever 7 between the roll 4 and the fulcrum 5 is bifurcated,
On the other hand, fix the lever 15 and move the lever 16 with the roll 4 to the hinge 1.
7 so that the cam 1 can swing left and right, and a spring 18 is provided between the fixed part 15 and the lever 16 having the roll 4.
so as to absorb the pressing force of On the other hand, an arm stopper 19 is provided on the line connecting the fulcrum 5 and the tee 50 to prevent the arm 2 from swinging excessively toward the table in the drawing. can prevent accidental falls.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 8 shows a plan view of an automatic ball setter of Embodiment 2, FIG. 9 shows a side view thereof, and FIG. 10 shows the height difference of the raised portion 34.

This second embodiment also has the same mechanism as the first embodiment, and includes a crank 25 and an arm 36, which are an example of a drive unit, and a motor 24, which is an example of a drive source.

As shown in the figure, the crank 25 has a U-shape (the shape is not limited as long as it has the same function), and a horizontally rotating roll 21 (not limited to a roll as long as it has the same function) is provided at the opposite end of the crank 25. A roll 22 (not limited to rolls as long as it has the same function) that rotates vertically is provided at one end, and is horizontally rotated by a motor 24 at a rotating shaft 23 in the center.

The arm 36 has a horseshoe-shaped ball holder 31 similar to that in Embodiment 1 at one end, engages a spring 32 at the other end, is held rotatable horizontally and vertically about a fulcrum 33, and has a side surface thereof. The arm 36 has a running path 35 for the roll 21, and a chevron-shaped raised portion 34 is formed on the horizontal surface of an arm 36 surrounded by the running path 35. The shape of this raised portion 34 is shown in FIG. 10 in a straight line. Arm 36 at fulcrum 33
The can be held by any holding means such as a universal joint or a ball bearing.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the arm 36 is stopped at the position indicated by the broken line B1, and the ball 40 is placed on the pole hosider 31 by an arbitrary means (not shown). Next, when a motor switch (not shown) is turned on at the tip of the club, the crank 25 begins to rotate, and the arm 36 breaks +11! Move on the Z trajectory to B, → B2 → B3 → B4, and at the same time roll 21 also moves AI-+A2 → A3 → A4
However, as the travel path 35 of D I+D 2 is larger than the radius of circle a, the arm 36 moves to the solid line position B4.
Since the moving speed decreases as the ball approaches , the ball 40 will not fall off the holder 31. When the arm 36 reaches the solid line position B4, the arm 36 comes into contact with the stopper 38 at the right end in the drawing and stops, and the holder 31 stops directly above the tee 50. Crank 25 roll 21
Needle.

Even after passing the point, A4 → A, → A6 → A? During this time, the roll 22 begins to climb the chevron-shaped raised portion 34 at the point C0, but since the height of the roll 22 is fixed, the arm 3
6 is lowered by the height of the raised portion 34 against the force of the spring 39, the ball holder 31 is lowered in proportion to this, and the ball 40 on the hoshider 31 is moved onto the tee 50. When the roll 22 passes through the CI and reaches the position C2, the holder 31 stops descending since the position C2 is the top. When roll 22 passes through 02, at the same time roll 2
1 reaches the position A6, pushes back the arm 36, and the arm 36 starts to return while maintaining a horizontal state. Furthermore, when the roll 21 reaches the position At, the roll 22 passes through C3 and descends from the chevron-shaped raised portion 34 at the point C4, so that the height of the holder 31 returns to its original position. In addition, the arm 36 is connected to the spring 3
Despite the pushing down force of 9, it is kept approximately horizontal due to contact with the stopper 37. When the roll 21 reaches the original position A, the motor 24 automatically stops, one more ball 40 is supplied, and the machine goes into standby mode.

The above is the basic operation of the second embodiment, and the arm 36 is used to finely adjust the distance and angle between the holder 31 and the tee 50.
It is preferable that a part of the tip is stretchable and bendable.

(Effects) According to the present invention as described above, an automatic ball setter with a very simple structure, that is, a very low cost, is provided, and there is no need to bend one's back every time a driver shot is made in golf practice, which reduces the fatigue of the practitioner. As the training speed is reduced and the training speed is improved, the training efficiency is improved, and from the viewpoint of the driving range, the customer turnover rate is improved, which is advantageous in terms of management.

Also, when practicing golf, it is important to establish a form that is suitable for you, and it is desirable to have your body memorize the conditions such as address, stance, grip, and distance to the ball for a satisfactory shot. According to the invention, there is no need to place the ball on the tee each time a shot is made, and it is very easy to learn the same form, which improves practice efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 shows a plan view of the automatic ball setter of the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a side view thereof, FIGS. 3 to 5 show each side section of the cam 1, and FIG. 6 shows the driven part 4. 7 is a diagram showing a change in the height of the ball holder 3, FIG. 8 is a plan view of an automatic ball setter according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a change in the height of the ball holder 3. shows its side view,
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the height difference of the raised portion. 1: Cam 2, 36: Arm 3. 31: Ball holder 4. 21, 22: Roll 5. 33: Fulcrum 6, 23: Rotating shaft 7: Lever
8, 24: Motor 25: Crank 40:
Ball 50: Tee

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An arm having a horseshoe-shaped ball holder at one end and rotatably held horizontally and vertically at a fulcrum at the other end; A drive unit and a drive source that lower the ball holder approximately vertically near the end point of the turn, swing the arm back horizontally or diagonally upward from the lowered position, and return the ball holder to its original height near the end point of at least the other turn. An automatic ball setter. (2) It has a horseshoe-shaped ball holder 3 at its tip, is held horizontally and vertically rotatably by a fulcrum 5 at the other end, and is coupled to a lever 7 having a cam follower 4 at its end via the fulcrum 5 a cam 1 having a shape that engages with the driven portion 4 and rotates the arm 2 horizontally and vertically about a fulcrum 5;
and a motor 8 that rotates the cam 1. (3) A roll 21 that rotates horizontally is provided at one end, a roll 22 that rotates vertically is provided at the other end, and a rotating shaft 23 is provided at the center.
A crank 25 horizontally rotated by a motor 24 at
It has a horseshoe-shaped ball holder 31 at one end, the other end engages with a spring 32, and is held rotatably horizontally and vertically about a fulcrum 33, with a roll 21 on its side.
The arm 3 has a running path 35 and is surrounded by the running path 35.
The running path 35 has a shape that allows the arm to rotate horizontally by the pressing force of the roll 21, and the raised part 34 rotates the arm up and down by the pressing force of the roll 22. An automatic ball setter with a shape that allows you to