JPH07308414A - Automatic teeing up device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic teeing up device having a sensor capable of surely detecting the presence or absence of a golf ball at the top end of a tee. CONSTITUTION:This teeing up device has a tee 9 which rises automatically to push up the golf ball when this tee receives the golf ball at its top end. The tee 9 falls automatically in order to receive the next golf ball when the golf ball is struck out. The tee 9 is provided with a hollow part 43 penetrating the tee in its perpendicular direction and an arbor 45 is inserted into this hollow part 43. This arbor 45 is energized to spring upward. The arbor 45 is lowered by the gravity of the golf ball when the tee 9 receives the golf ball at its top end. The arbor 45 is risen by spring force when the golf ball is struck out. The device is provided with a sensor 59 for detecting the rise and fall of the arbor 45 when the arbor rises and falls.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic tee-up device installed in a golf driving range or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an automatic tee-up device for automatically teeing up a golf ball is installed in a golf driving range or the like.

This type of tee has a tee that automatically rises when a golf ball is received at the upper end to push the golf ball up. The tee receives the next golf ball when the golf ball is launched. Therefore, it automatically descends (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-3
17673).

[0004]

In an automatic tee-up device, a technically important thing is that a golf ball has been received at the upper end of the tee, or the golf ball at the upper end of the tee has been hit and lost. That is to detect accurately.

Conventionally, the presence or absence of a golf ball is detected using an infrared sensor or the like, but there is a problem in that it is somewhat insufficient in terms of reliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide an automatic tee-up device equipped with a sensor capable of surely detecting the presence or absence of a golf ball at the upper end of the tee. To provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention is to receive a golf ball at its upper end,
The tee is equipped with a tee that automatically rises to push up the golf ball, and when the golf ball is hit, the tee automatically descends to receive the next golf ball. A hollow portion is provided through which the mandrel is vertically movably inserted, and the mandrel extends when the weight of the mandrel alone is applied and the weight of the mandrel and the golf ball is applied. When it is urged upward by a spring and has a golf ball on the upper end of the tee,
When the mandrel is lowered by the gravity of the golf ball and the golf ball is hit, the mandrel is raised by the spring force, and a sensor is provided to detect the ascent and descent of the mandrel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a hollow portion is provided in the tee so as to vertically penetrate therethrough, and a mandrel is vertically movably inserted in the hollow portion. One end of the mandrel is connected to the mandrel below the mandrel. An arm is provided that pushes up the mandrel when only the weight of the mandrel is applied, and pulls down the mandrel when the weight of the mandrel and the golf ball is applied, and the other end of this arm is
A sensor is provided which moves up and down in a substantially vertical direction with the vertical movement of one end of the arm and detects the vertical movement of the other end of the arm.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the golf ball is not received on the upper end of the tee, the mandrel is spring-biased upward, so that the sensor opens the contact point and outputs the signal without the golf ball. Send out. When the golf ball is received at the upper end of the tee, the gravity of the golf ball acts on the mandrel. The mandrel is then pushed down against the spring force, which causes the sensor, for example, to close the contact and output a golf ball present signal. According to this, the presence or absence of the golf ball can be detected extremely accurately.

Further, when the presence or absence of the golf ball is detected by directly detecting the movement of the mandrel, the movement of the mandrel is restricted by the fact that the collar portion is housed in the recessed portion. Excessive force does not act on the sensor, and the durability of the sensor switch is improved.

Further, if the sensor is provided right below the mandrel, the vertical movement of the mandrel can be directly detected.
The presence or absence of a golf ball can be accurately detected, and the entire device can be made compact accordingly.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the arm having one end connected to the mandrel swings as the mandrel moves up and down, the other end of the arm moves up and down in a substantially vertical direction, and the other end moves up and down. Motion is detected by the sensor. The mandrel moves up and down depending on whether or not the golf ball is on the mandrel, and when the mandrel moves up and down, the arm swings. Therefore, the presence or absence of the golf ball is detected by detecting the swinging of the arm.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 indicates the main body of the automatic tee-up device. A belt conveyor 2 is adjacent to the main body 1, and a golf ball fed through the belt conveyor 2 is taken into the main body 1 through a passage 3.

The golf ball taken into the main body 1 enters the groove 5a of the rotating body 5 and, by the rotation of the rotating body 5,
It is pushed up and sent out to the upper end of the tee 9 through the passage 7. Reference numeral 8 is a sensor, and when the golf ball is detected there, the rotation of the rotating body 5 is stopped. The rotating body 5 has two grooves 5a, whereby the golf ball is continuously supplied to the upper end portion of the tee 9. The rotating body 5 is driven by a motor 10 with a brake.

The tee 9 is made of an elastic material (for example, polyurethane rubber), and the lower end portion of the tee 9 is fixed to an elevating table 11 made of, for example, stainless steel. Then, the elevating table 11 repeats elevating and lowering while being guided by the pair of guide posts 13. Reference numeral 15 is a linear bush.

The lift table 11 has a groove 17 extending in the horizontal direction, and a cam follower 19 is fitted in the groove 17. The cam follower 19 is screwed to the tip of the arm 21, and the base end of the arm 21 is fixed to the rotary shaft 23. This rotating shaft 23 is attached to the holder 2 via a bearing 25.
7, the holder 27 is fixed to the fixed portion of the main body 1.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, a gear 29 is fixed to the rotary shaft 23, and a gear 31 is meshed with the gear 29. The gear 31 is attached to an output shaft 35 of a motor 33 with a brake. Fixed. Also, the rotary shaft 23
To the rotary encoder 3 via a coupling 37.
9 are connected.

According to this, when the motor 33 rotates,
The rotary shaft 23 rotates via the gears 29 and 31, and accordingly, the arm 21 rotates, the cam follower 19 at the tip of the arm 21 rolls in the groove 17, and the lift 11 is moved up and down.

In this tee-up device, the position of the tee 9 shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 is the position for receiving the golf ball (the lowest position), and the position of the tee 9 shown by the imaginary line is the position of the golf ball. It is the tee-up position (the highest position). When the golf ball is received at the upper end of the tee 9, the tee 9 moves up, and when the golf ball at the upper end of the tee 9 is hit and disappears, the tee 9 moves down.

According to this embodiment, the tea 9
It is characterized by a configuration for sensing the presence or absence of a golf ball at the upper end of the.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flange 9a is provided at the lower end of the tee 9, and a cap 41 is fitted to the mounting portion 11a of the lifting table 11 so as to press the flange 9a. As a result, first, the tee 9 is fixed to the lift table 11.

A hollow portion 43 is provided in the tee 9, and a mandrel 45 made of the same material as the tee 9 is inserted into the hollow portion 43. The mandrel 45 is provided with a collar portion 45a,
The collar portion 45a includes the step portion 47 of the tee 9 and the lifting table 1
It is accommodated in the recess 51 surrounded by the first mounting portion 11a.
This prevents the mandrel 45 from moving upward or downward so as not to slip out.

Further, the mandrel 45 is provided with a projection 53,
The protrusion 53 penetrates the through hole 55 of the mounting portion 11a,
It extends into the space 57 below the mount 11a. This space 5
7 is provided with a sensor (limit switch having a mechanical opening / closing contact) 59, and a lever 61 of the limit switch 59 abuts on the protrusion 53 of the mandrel 45. According to this, the mandrel 45 is spring-biased upward by the spring force of the lever 61 of the limit switch 59.

The mechanism for sensing the presence or absence of the golf ball will be described. When the golf ball is not received at the upper end of the tee 9, the mandrel 45 is spring-biased upward as shown in FIG. Lever 6 of switch 59
1 outputs a signal without a golf ball by opening a contact, for example.

When the golf ball is received at the upper end portion of the tee 9, the gravity of the golf ball is applied to the mandrel 45 as shown in FIG. Then, the mandrel 45 is pushed down against the spring force of the lever 61 of the limit switch 59, so that the lever 61 of the limit switch 59 closes the contact point, for example, and outputs a golf ball presence signal.

According to this, the presence or absence of the golf ball can be detected extremely accurately.

Since the movement of the mandrel 45 is restricted by the flange portion 45a being housed in the recess 51, the lever 61 of the limit switch 59 is not excessively pushed down, and the durability of the switch is improved.

At the driving range, the height of the tee 9 must be adjustable stepwise or continuously. In this embodiment, the height of the tee 9 is adjusted by controlling the rotation angle of the brake motor 33.

The rotation angle of the motor 33 is detected by the rotary encoder 39, which is fed back to stop the driving of the motor 33 at an appropriate position, whereby the height of the tee 9 is adjusted.

Next, other technical features of the automatic tee-up device will be described.

The main body 1 of this tee-up device is designed to be more compact than the conventional one, and the height H (FIG. 1) is suppressed to a minimum height.

Referring to FIG. 1, if the height H of the main body 1 is suppressed to, for example, 130 mm, there is an advantage that it can be installed as it is without digging a pit in an existing golf driving range. The height H of the body is at least tee 9
It is obvious that the height is equal to or more than the sum of the height of the golf ball and the diameter of the golf ball.

Based on this fact, the height H of the main body 1
In order to suppress the height to 130 mm or less, the following measures are taken in this embodiment.

First, the golf ball introduced into the main body 1 is received by the rotating body 5 and is rotated to supply the golf ball to the upper end portion of the tee 9. According to this, since only the height of the rotating body 5 is required, the height of the portion that receives the golf ball can be kept low.

Secondly, the tee 9 is fixed to the lifting table 11, and the lifting table 11 has a groove 17 extending in the horizontal direction.
A cam follower 19 is fitted into the groove 17, and the cam follower 19 is moved up and down via an arm 21.
Therefore, the lifting table 11 is moved up and down. According to this, since the total height of the height of the tee 9, the height of the lift 11 and the diameter of the golf ball is sufficient,
The height of the part for raising and lowering the tee 9 can be kept low.

Thirdly, the limit switch 59 is used for the lift base 1.
It is a mechanism provided at the bottom of 1. Even if it is included, the height of the lifting table 11 can be kept low, so the main body 1
The height H is kept low as a whole.

According to this, the automatic tee-up device can be installed as it is without digging a pit in the existing golf driving range. As described above, the present invention has been described based on one embodiment. It is not limited to this.

For example, in the above embodiment, the protrusion 53 is integrally provided at the lower end of the mandrel 45, and the lever 61 of the limit switch 59 is pushed by this protrusion 53, but the protrusion 53 is separated from the mandrel 45. It may be a separate one (for example, metal).

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the above embodiment, the limit switch is used as a means (sensor) for detecting whether the mandrel has risen or descended. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other sensors can be used. .

FIGS. 5 and 6 show examples in which an optical sensor is used, and the same parts as those in FIGS. 3 and 4 are designated by the same reference numerals.

Flange 9 provided at the lower end of tee 9
The cap 41 is fitted to the mounting portion 11a of the lifting table 11 so as to press a, and the tee 9 is fixed to the lifting table 11. Further, between the flange 9a and the mounting portion 11a,
A metal fitting 70 is sandwiched to prevent the tee 9 from shifting.

An arm 71 which can be swung via a fulcrum 72 is provided at the lower part of the lift table 11. This arm 7
One end 71a of No. 1 is fixed to the lower surface of the mandrel 45, and the arm 7
A light shielding plate 73 is provided at the other end 71b of the No. 1 unit. A stopper 75 is provided on the other end of the arm 71.

The other end 71b of the arm 71 is heavier than the one end 71a, and normally, due to the difference in weight, the arm 71 rotates clockwise in the drawing through the fulcrum 72, resulting in one end of the arm 71. 71a urges the mandrel 45 upward.
The arm 71 may be biased clockwise by a spring (not shown). As shown in FIG. 5b, a photosensor 74 having a light emitting element 74a, a light receiving element 74b, and a terminal 74c is provided near the light shielding plate 73, and the light shielding plate 73 is provided with the light emitting element 74a and the light receiving element 74.
It is designed so that it can enter the optical path between it and b.

According to this structure, the presence or absence of the golf ball can be detected as follows. First, tea 9
If the golf ball is not received at the upper end of the
As shown in FIG. 5, the arm 71 is restricted from moving downward by the stopper 75, and the light shielding plate 73 is provided with the light emitting element 74a.
Since it does not enter the optical path between the light receiving element 74b and the light receiving element 74b, the amount of light irradiated to the light receiving element 74b does not change (ON state), and a signal indicating that there is no golf ball is output from the terminal 74c.

When the golf ball is received at the upper end portion of the tee 9, the gravity of the golf ball is applied to the mandrel 45 as shown in FIG.

Then, the arm 71 rotates counterclockwise about the fulcrum 72a, and the light shielding plate 73 is moved to the light emitting element 74a.
And the light path between the light receiving element 74b and the light receiving element 74b. Therefore,
The amount of light emitted to the light receiving element becomes zero (OFF state), and a signal indicating that a golf ball exists is output from the terminal 74c of the photo sensor 74.

According to the above construction, the tee 9 and the mandrel 45 are provided.
Even if dust or water drops enter through the gap between and, the sensor 74 does not come into direct contact with the sensor 74, so that malfunction of the sensor 74 can be prevented. Further, since the sensor is provided on the side of the lift table 11, the sensor 74 can be easily replaced.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description, the first to
According to the second invention, the presence or absence of the golf ball on the upper end portion of the tee can be detected extremely accurately.

Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, even if dust or water droplets enter through the gap between the hollow portion of the tee and the mandrel, they do not come into direct contact with the sensor, so that malfunction of the sensor can be prevented. Further, since the sensor is provided on the side, the sensor can be easily replaced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of an automatic tee-up device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an automatic tee-up device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a tee that has not received a golf ball.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a tee receiving a golf ball.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view (a) and a plan view (b) of the relevant part showing another example of a tee that has not received a golf ball.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view (a) showing the other example of receiving a golf ball, and a plan view (b) of the same main part.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 main body 3,7 passage 5 rotating body 9 tee 11 lifting platform 13 guide post 17 groove 19 cam follower 21 arm 23 rotating shaft 29,31 gear 33 brake motor 37 coupling 39 rotary encoder 43 hollow part 45 Mandrel 45a Collar 51 Recess 59 Sensor 61 Lever 71 Arm 73 Light-shielding plate 74 Photosensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tee is provided which automatically rises when a golf ball is received at its upper end to push it up, and when the golf ball is launched, the tee automatically receives the next golf ball. In the automatic tee-up device that descends to, the tee is provided with a hollow portion penetrating in the vertical direction, and a mandrel is vertically movably inserted into the hollow part, and only the weight of the mandrel is applied to the mandrel. When the weight of the mandrel and the golf ball is applied, the weight of the golf ball is urged upward by a spring and receives the golf ball at the upper end of the tee. When the mandrel lowers and the golf ball is launched, the mandrel rises due to the spring force, and when the mandrel rises and lowers, it is detected. Automatic tee device which is characterized in that the provided. 2. A golf ball is provided with a tee that automatically rises when the golf ball is received at the upper end to push the golf ball up. When the golf ball is launched, the tee automatically receives the next golf ball. In the automatic tee-up device that descends to, the tee is provided with a hollow portion penetrating in the vertical direction, and a mandrel is vertically movably inserted into the hollow part, and one end of the mandrel is attached to the mandrel under the mandrel. When connected, push up the mandrel when only the weight of the mandrel is applied,
An arm that pulls down the mandrel when the weight of the mandrel and the golf ball is applied is provided, and the other end of the arm moves up and down in a substantially vertical direction as one end of the arm moves up and down. , An automatic tee-up device provided with a sensor for detecting the vertical movement of the other end of the arm.