JPH0213016Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Field of industrial application] The present invention particularly relates to a toy pitching machine that uses a light toy ball made of plastic.
This invention relates to a toy pitching machine that allows batting practice by hitting a ball thrown from a pitching machine with a bat by operating a remote control mechanism.

[Conventional technology]

As a pitching machine, for example, one described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-60560 is known. This is top and bottom 2
The rotors are arranged so that they are rotated in opposite directions by motors, and are equipped with a ball feeding mechanism that supplies balls between these two rotors, and the rotation speed of the two rotors is variable. It is configured so that the speed of the ball being thrown can be changed and overspin rotation can be applied. Another example is described in Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-94565,
This is a support plate to which two radial tires, which correspond to rotors, are attached, and can be adjusted to any desired angle.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, regarding the devices using the above-mentioned conventional technology, the former has a built-in device in a "box with wheels attached to make it easier to move", and is not suitable for a toy device that aims to be small and lightweight. The latter had an exposed rotor, and as a toy device, there were problems that needed to be improved from a safety standpoint.

[Purpose of the invention] The present invention is an improved version of the conventional pitching machine described above so that it can be easily operated by children, and is a pitching machine that has improved operability so that each ball is fed to the rotor one by one. We aim to provide the following.

[Means to achieve the purpose]

This invention was made to solve the above problems, and the pitching machine has a pair of rotors for pitching the ball, a motor that operates each rotor individually, and a variable speed control that controls the rotation speed of each motor. A rotation speed adjustment mechanism including a resistor is provided in a single casing, the lower end of the ball feeding tube is connected in communication with the ball supply port at the rear of the casing, and the casing is rotatable about the axis of the ball feeding tube. The tip of the ball-feeding rotor blade attached to the ball-feeding tube projects inward of the ball-feeding tube, and the rotor blade is operated by an operating lever operated by compressed air from an air-feeding pump connected via a pipe. The device is equipped with a remote control mechanism configured to rotate the device.

[Effect]

When a ball is set in the sending cylinder, each rotor is driven to rotate, and a foot-operated air pump installed in front of the ball discharging opening of the pitching machine is operated, the rotor blades installed in the sending cylinder rotate. A ball in the air is supplied between a pair of rotors, and the ball is ejected forward from a ball ejecting opening by a rotating roller.

The toy pitching machine according to the present invention will be explained below based on FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is a front view. In each figure, 16 is a base, and a support 15 is erected on the base 16. A ball sending cylinder 12 constructed by assembling a plurality of frame members is provided on the upper part of the support column 15. The ball sending tube 12 is curved at approximately 90 degrees, and a ball outlet section 19 is provided below the ball inlet section 8 at the upper part of the tube. A ball supply port 3 of a rotor-type pitcher 3 is located at the tip of the ball sending tube 12.
0 is connected, and the pitching machine 3 is rotatably supported with respect to the axis of the pitching tube 12.

The pitching machine 3 has a casing 29, and a pair of rotors 17a, 17b inside the casing 29.
are rotatably arranged at a distance slightly shorter than the diameter of the ball 9. A ball discharging opening 6 is formed in the front part of the casing 29, and
A ball supply port 30 is formed at the rear of the casing 29, and the outlet portion 19 at the tip of the ball sending tube 12 is inserted into the casing 29 through the supply port 30. An annular engagement portion 31 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is provided on the outside of the rear portion of the casing 29 and at the periphery of the supply port 30 . On the other hand, pillar 1
A flange 32 is integrally provided on the front side of the upper part of the holder 5, and the flange 32 is movably engaged with the engaging portion 31 from its inner circumferential opening. Therefore, with the above-mentioned configuration, the ball is rotated around the axis of the annular engaging portion 31 (in other words, around the trajectory of the ball to be thrown forward as will be described later), in other words, the ball is The casing 29 is rotatable (around the axis of the
is supported by the pillar 15.

The rotor 1 provided within the casing 29
7a and 17b are generally made of sponge, rubber, or the like having appropriate hardness, and are fitted into core members 18a and 18b provided inside thereof. A shaft 34 provided at the axial center of each rotor 17a, 17b
a and 34b penetrate the side wall of the casing 29 and protrude outward, and are connected to drive shafts of motors 4a and 4b provided on the outer wall of the casing 29. A battery box 7 is provided on the outer wall of the casing 29.
A battery 35 for supplying electric power to the motors 4a and 4b is housed inside.

5a and 5b are a battery 35 and two motors 4a and 4 as an example of a rotor rotational speed adjustment mechanism.
are variable resistors connected to b, respectively,
Each motor 4a,
4b, and thus the rotation of the rotors 17a, 17b can be individually controlled.

The ball 9 is delivered to the ball supply port 30 of the pitching machine 3 by the rotation of the rotary blade 2 attached to the ball throwing tube 12. The rotary blade 2 is connected to the rotating shaft 1 of the mainspring device 1 provided on the side of the ball sending cylinder 12.
Fixed to 0. The tip of the rotor blade 2 enters the ball sending tube 12 through the space between the frame members of the ball sending tube 12, and the ball 9 is inserted between the rotary blades 2 located at 90° angle intervals in the ball sending tube 12. is sent forward. 11 is a bearing of the rotating shaft 10;
1 is fixed to the ball sending cylinder 12. Although not shown in the figure, a ball storage member in which a large number of balls 9 can be placed is provided at the entrance portion 8 of the ball sending tube 12. The ball 9 is made of a soft and lightweight material such as urethane foam, or a toy ball made of a thin plastic valve formed by hollow molding, which is safe even when thrown around the room.

Next, an example of the operation will be explained.

For example, when the player holds the bat at an appropriate distance from the toy pitching machine and then turns on the power switch (not shown) of the toy pitching machine 3, the motor 4a,
4b is driven, and the rotors 17a and 17b start rotating. Next, when the stored spring force of the mainspring device 1 is released, the cross-shaped rotary blades 2 rotate, and the balls 9 are sent out one by one from the inlet part 8 of the ball sending cylinder 12 toward the outlet part 19 by its own weight due to its inclination. Ball throwing tube 1
The ball 9 sent out from the second outlet 19 is bitten between the two upper and lower rotors 17a and 17b rotating at high speed, accelerated, and thrown out from the ball throwing opening 6 in the front.

At this time, the two variable resistors 5a and 5b can be adjusted individually so that the upper and lower rotors 1
The rotational speeds of the rotors 7a and 17b can be changed. For example, if the rotational speed of the upper rotor 17a is increased, the ball will drop at the batter, and conversely, if the rotational speed of the lower rotor 17b is increased, the ball will drop at the batter. By the way, you can get a hop-like rotation. In other words, you can change the type of pitch in this way. Of course, the upper and lower rotors 17a, 17
By synchronously increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of b, the speed of the ball thrown by the fastball can be changed. Further, the pitching machine main body 3 is rotated around the axis of the ball throwing opening 6 via the engagement support part formed by the annular engagement part 32 at the rear of the casing 29 and the annular collar 32 provided on the support column 15. By rotating, the direction in which the ball 9 bends can be changed, for example, to the right or left direction.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which, as a remote control mechanism for the rotary blade 2, air pressure is utilized by stepping on a pump instead of the mainspring device 1. In the figure, a ratchet wheel 22 is pivotally attached to a shaft 10 that passes through a bearing 11 of a rotor blade 2. As shown in FIG. The ratchet wheel 22 is provided with an elastic piece 27 for preventing reverse rotation and an actuating pawl 36 at the tip of the actuating lever 23 so as to be freely engageable.

The base end of the operating lever 23 is inserted into the cylinder 26, and the piston 25 is coupled to this base end. A spring 24 is installed in the cylinder 26 to pull the piston 25 downward. On the other hand, 20 is a foot-operated air pump, and air pump 2
A flexible pipe 21 drawn out from the cylinder 26 is connected to a piston chamber 37 of the cylinder 26.

The foot-operated air pump 20 is installed on the floor in front of the ball throwing opening 6, and when the player assumes a catching or batting posture,
When the air supply pump 20 is stepped on with a foot, air flows through the pump into the piston chamber 37 of the cylinder 26, and the piston 25 compresses the spring 24 and moves, causing the actuation lever 2 to move.
3 moves up. Next, when you lift your foot from the air pump 20, the piston 25 moves downward due to the elastic force of the spring 24, and at this time, the operating pawl 36 engages the ratchet wheel 22, causing it to rotate counterclockwise as shown in FIG. It rotates the rotor blade 2. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the rotary blade 2 rotates and pitches after the air pump 20 is pushed down, rather than when it is pushed down with the foot, so the batter has plenty of time to take the timing for batting. convenient.

[Effect of idea]

The pitching machine according to the present invention is composed of a single casing equipped with a pair of rotors for pitching a ball, a motor that operates each rotor individually, and a rotation speed adjustment mechanism that controls the rotation speed of each motor. The remote control mechanism for supplying balls to this pitching machine consists of a rotary blade attached to the pitching tube and an air pump connected by a pipe, and by operating the air pump, the ball is sent to the pitching machine. This machine is supplied with a pitcher and allows for "solo games" such as batting practice using the balls thrown arbitrarily from the pitcher, and the mechanism necessary for the pitcher is compactly housed in the casing. Therefore, it is possible to provide a toy pitching machine that has sufficient playability as a toy pitching machine despite being small and lightweight and having a simple structure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toy pitching machine according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a vertical side view, Fig. 3 is a front view, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional explanation showing another example of a drive device for a rotor for sending out a ball. It is a diagram. 2...Rotary wing, 3...Throwing machine, 5a, 5b...
Variable resistor, 6...Ball throwing opening, 8...
Ball entrance part, 9...Ball, 12...Ball throwing tube,
15... Support, 16... Base, 17a, 17b...
... Rotor, 19 ... Ball outlet section, 20 ... Air supply pump, 21 ... Pipe, 23 ... Actuation lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A pitching machine consists of a casing equipped with a pair of rotors for pitching balls, a motor that operates each rotor individually, and a rotation speed adjustment mechanism that includes a variable resistor that controls the rotation speed of each motor. , a lower end of a ball feeding tube is connected in communication with a ball supply port at the rear of the casing, and the casing is provided rotatably about the axis of the ball feeding tube;
The tip of the ball-feeding rotary blade attached to the ball-feeding tube projects inward of the ball-feeding tube, and a ratchet wheel is pivoted to a shaft to which the rotor blade is pivoted. An actuating pawl is provided so as to be freely engageable, and the actuating lever has its base end connected to a piston provided in a cylinder fixed to the ball throwing tube, and the cylinder is connected to the ball throwing opening of the ball throwing machine. A remote control mechanism is provided, which is connected via a pipe to a foot-operated air pump installed in the front, and allows balls to be supplied to the pair of rotors by operating the air pump. A toy pitching machine.